Continuous Improvement from the Trenches

by Ryan McKergow

Insanity; it’s doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results. Improving as an organisation is hard. What is even harder? Continuously improving. Yet it is key to any Agile transformation as we challenge ingrained practices and rigid ways of working. How do we manage to do this?!

During this presentation, I will share the strategies I've used to introduce Retrospectives, Lean Coffee, Brown Bags, Team 1:1s, and Guilds in the trenches. All of these continuous improvement practices have fast tracked Agile transformations in the teams and organisations I've worked with. Implement these practices and you can go beyond Agile adoption too.

Transcript

1. Continuous Improvement from the trenches rmckergow Ryan McKergow
2. think sharp rmckergow Ryan McKergow | Improving is hard
3. think sharp rmckergow Ryan McKergow | Change is emotional Morale Shock Denial Time Frustration Depression Experiment Decision Integration The Kübler-Ross change curve
4. think sharp rmckergow Ryan McKergow | What change really looks like Refer to this blog by @pawelbrodzinski: http://bit.ly/why-we-fail-to-change Performance Time Start Agile Transformation
5. think sharp rmckergow Ryan McKergow | What inevitably happens.. Performance Time Start Agile Transformation Change agent fired Refer to this blog by @pawelbrodzinski: http://bit.ly/why-we-fail-to-change
6. think sharp rmckergow Ryan McKergow | Kaizen vs Kaikaku Kaizen:     Japanese  word  for  “incremental  change”     or  “con7nuous  improvement”     Kaikaku:   Japanese  word  for  “radical  change”  
7. think sharp rmckergow Ryan McKergow | Kaizen vs Kaikaku Performance Time Start Agile Transformation Refer to this blog by @pawelbrodzinski: http://bit.ly/why-we-fail-to-change
8. think sharp rmckergow Ryan McKergow | Kaizen “One of the most notable features of Kaizen is that big results come from many small changes accumulated over time. However, this has been misunderstood to mean that Kaizen equals small changes. In fact, Kaizen means everyone is involved in making improvements. While the majority of changes may be small, the greatest impact may be Kaizens that are led by senior management as transformational projects, or by cross-functional teams as Kaizen events.” Kaizen.com
9. think sharp rmckergow Ryan McKergow | Continuous improvement is everyone’s responsibility
10. think sharp rmckergow Ryan McKergow | Con7nuous     Improvement     Techniques     5 from the trenches
11. think sharp 1. Retrospectives
12. think sharp rmckergow Ryan McKergow | Retros :: Top 5 Agile Techniques DAILY STANDUPS SHORT ITERATIONS PRIORITISED BACKLOGS ITERATION PLANNING RETROS Refer to State of Agile Survey 2014: http://bit.ly/state-of-agile-survey
13. think sharp rmckergow Ryan McKergow | Retrospectives
14. think sharp rmckergow Ryan McKergow | Jeopardy @ SEEK More instructions on this format: http://bit.ly/jeopardy-retro
15. think sharp rmckergow Ryan McKergow | Timeline Retro @ REA Group More instructions on this format: http://bit.ly/timeline-retro
16. think sharp rmckergow Ryan McKergow | Speedboat @ UniSuper More instructions on this format: http://bit.ly/speedboat-retro
17. think sharp How to maintain great retrospectives
18. think sharp rmckergow Ryan McKergow | Be prepared
19. think sharp rmckergow Ryan McKergow | Facilitated with intent
20. think sharp rmckergow Ryan McKergow | Encouraging appropriate behaviour
21. think sharp rmckergow Ryan McKergow | Clear actions that get followed up
22. think sharp 2. Lean Coffee
23. think sharp rmckergow Ryan McKergow | How does it work?
24. think sharp rmckergow Ryan McKergow | Lean Coffee @ UniSuper
25. think sharp rmckergow Ryan McKergow | Lean Coffee @ UniSuper
26. think sharp rmckergow Ryan McKergow | How to setup Lean Coffee •  Find the following: – People  who  are  interested   – Venue  that  works  for  the  group   – Frequency  that  works  for  the  group   •  Limit the amount of people (~8 works well for us) •  Nominate a facilitator each time •  Keep track of actions
27. think sharp rmckergow Ryan McKergow | Idea for a Lean Coffee hack Refer to this blog by @jasonlittle: http://bit.ly/lean-coffee-hack
28. think sharp 3. Team 1:1s
29. think sharp rmckergow Ryan McKergow | Team 1:1s @ REA Group
30. think sharp rmckergow Ryan McKergow | Team 1:1s @ REA Group Leon   Ryan   Princy   Vinh   Miles   Leon   2pm  15/9   2pm  17/9   Ryan   3pm  14/9     10am  9/9     11am  10/9     Princy   Vinh   10am  12/9   Miles  
31. think sharp rmckergow Ryan McKergow | Team 1:1s @ REA Group
32. think sharp rmckergow Ryan McKergow | My feedback “Be careful not to be dismissive of non-Agile approaches, particularly dismissive to people. Gain an understanding of what are the pros & cons of all approaches and where each is appropriate.” (Vinh – Business Analyst)
33. think sharp rmckergow Ryan McKergow | My feedback “Learn to stand up for yourself more when you have a strong opinion, especially when working with strong personalities.” (Leon – Developer)
34. think sharp rmckergow Ryan McKergow | How to set up teams 1:1s •  Find people who are interested •  Be proactive in scheduling them •  Put thought into your feedback •  Push past the awkwardness •  Remember to say thank you
35. think sharp rmckergow Ryan McKergow | Remember this… Leon   Ryan   Princy   Vinh   Miles   Leon   2pm  15/9   2pm  17/9   Ryan   3pm  14/9     10am  9/9     11am  10/9     Princy   Vinh   10am  12/9   Miles  
36. think sharp rmckergow Ryan McKergow | How to set up teams 1:1s •  Find people who are interested •  Be proactive in scheduling them •  Put thought into your feedback •  Push past the awkwardness •  Remember to say thank you
37. think sharp 4. Guilds Also known as Communities of Practice
38. think sharp rmckergow Ryan McKergow | Guilds
39. think sharp rmckergow Ryan McKergow | Presenters Guild @ Elabor8
40. think sharp rmckergow Ryan McKergow | Presenters Guild @ Elabor8
41. think sharp rmckergow Ryan McKergow | How to setup a Guild •  Find the people who share a common passion •  Work out what works best for the Guild –  Chatting on Slack / Yammer / Skype –  Regular catch ups (i.e. Lean Coffee) –  Practice your skill set together •  At least 1 person needs to drive the Guild (at least initially)
42. think sharp 5. Brown Bags Also known as Lunch & Learns
43. think sharp rmckergow Ryan McKergow | Brown Bags @ UniSuper
44. think sharp rmckergow Ryan McKergow | Brown Bags @ UniSuper
45. think sharp rmckergow Ryan McKergow | Brown Bags @ UniSuper
46. think sharp rmckergow Ryan McKergow | Brown Bags @ Elabor8
47. think sharp rmckergow Ryan McKergow | Brown Bags @ Elabor8
48. think sharp rmckergow Ryan McKergow | How to setup Brown Bags Gaining buy in / support: 1.  Get support from your team / leadership 2.  Look for alignment with leadership’s goals 3.  Identify support from within How to build excitement: 4.  Start with a topical talk 5.  Keep promoting the Brown Bags 6.  Mix the topics to keep everyone interested
49. think sharp rmckergow Ryan McKergow | How to setup Brown Bags How to maintain momentum: 7.  Trade with other organisations to get speakers 8.  Select topics that challenge the organisation – get them thinking about the future Just remember… 9.  It’s about helping others, it’s not about you
50. think sharp Con7nuous  Improvement  Techniques     5 from the trenches 1.  Retrospectives 2.  Lean Coffee 3.  Team 1:1s 4.  Guilds 5.  Brown Bags
51. think sharp rmckergow Ryan McKergow | Remember: Continuous improvement is everyone’s responsibility
52. think sharp Con7nuous  Improvement   from the trenches
53. think sharp rmckergow Ryan McKergow | Innovation, Agile Transformation, Project Delivery? Looking for a career in We’re hiring! Visit: elabor8.com.au/careers
54. think sharp rmckergow Ryan McKergow | Image references 1.  Chris Chan blog, (2015). The Improvement Paradox - Too Busy To Improve?. [online] Available at: http://c2reflexions.com/2015/08/05/the-improvement-paradox-too-busy-to-improve/ [Accessed 23 Aug. 2015]. 2.  Ricardounr.files.wordpress.com, (2015). The Kubler-Ross Change Curve. [online] Available at: https:// ricardounr.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/change-curve.png [Accessed 23 Aug. 2015]. 3.  Brodzinski, P. (2015). Why We Fail to Change. [online] Brodzinski.com. Available at: http:// brodzinski.com/2015/02/why-we-fail-to-change.html [Accessed 23 Aug. 2015]. 4.  Info.versionone.com, (2015). The 9th Annual State of Agile™ Survey. [online] Available at: http:// info.versionone.com/state-of-agile-development-survey-ninth.html [Accessed 28 Aug. 2015]. 5.  Furnell, J. (2010). Facilitating Collaborative Design Workshops - a step by step guide for rapidly creating a shared vision for execution. [online] the architecture of everything. Available at: https:// jasonfurnell.wordpress.com/2010/12/01/facilitating-collaborative-design-workshops-a-step-by-step- guide-for-rapidly-creating-a-shared-vision-for-execution/ [Accessed 23 Aug. 2015]. 6.  Little, J. (2015). Hacking a Conservative Organization with Lean Coffee | Lean Change Management. [online] Leanchange.org. Available at: http://leanchange.org/2012/11/hacking-a-conservative- organization-with-lean-coffee/ [Accessed 28 Aug. 2015]. 7.  Imagingigloo.com, (2015). One on ones. [online] Available at: http://imagingigloo.com/wp-content/ uploads/2014/11/one-on-one-meeting.png [Accessed 11 Aug. 2015]. 8.  Spotifylabscom.files.wordpress.com, (2015). [online] Available at: https:// spotifylabscom.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/spotify-engineering-culture-part1.jpeg [Accessed 11 Aug. 2015].