https://speakerdeck.com/fcuenca 2023-10-04 10:32:35 -0400 The Inuit have 50 different words for snow. Or so the legend goes. Regardless of whether that's actually the case or not, the concept is that a richer vocabulary can be used to convey a more nuanced understanding around something. Conversely, the use of a single word, while it's helpful to summarize an idea, it also can hide all that nuance. In Kanban we like to talk about "bottlenecks" (and more generally, "delays"), but over time we have actually developed a richer understanding of different kinds of delays. Bottleneck is, then, the Kanban word for "snow". Identifying, and then eliminating, sources of delay is one of the main improvement strategies we follow with Kanban. Therefore, having a more nuanced way of talking and reasoning about delay can help us do that more effectively. This is what we'll be exploring in this session. --- Presented at the Kanban Coaching Exchange Meetup, on Oct 5, 2023 The Inuit have 50 different words for snow. Or so the legend goes. Regardless of whether that's actually the case or not, the concept is that a richer vocabulary can be used to convey a more nuanced understanding around something. Conversely, the use of a single word, while it's helpful to summarize an idea, it also can hide all that nuance. In Kanban we like to talk about "bottlenecks" (and more generally, "delays"), but over time we have actually developed a richer understanding of different kinds of delays. Bottleneck is, then, the Kanban word for "snow". Identifying, and then eliminating, sources of delay is one of the main improvement strategies we follow with Kanban. Therefore, having a more nuanced way of talking and reasoning about delay can help us do that more effectively. This is what we'll be exploring in this session. --- Presented at the Kanban Coaching Exchange Meetup, on Oct 5, 2023 Fri, 06 Oct 2023 00:00:00 -0400 https://speakerdeck.com/fcuenca/delay-the-kanban-word-for-snow https://speakerdeck.com/fcuenca/delay-the-kanban-word-for-snow Have you found that your agile teams have reached an improvement ceiling they don't seem to be able to break through, or that their retros keep exposing lingering frustrations that don't seem to go away? Continuous improvement is an important principle in Agile, yet it's not uncommon to find teams that find themselves in that predicament. It can be easy (even tempting?) to find reasons connected to "motivation" (or "caring"), or insufficient training, etc. But I've found that, as much as that may be the case, it often leads a change agent or coach down roads that may not have enough pragmatism to actually break the stagnation cycle. I have also found that an approach based on deep understanding of how the work actually flows (or doesn't) can serve as the missing catalyst to reenergize those teams. In this session, I will be covering what I mean by all that, how you can help teams understand where their frustrations are coming from, and how to spot actionable improvement opportunities, and more importantly, who is in the position to implement them (spoiler alert: often, this person is not seating in the workshop). Have you found that your agile teams have reached an improvement ceiling they don't seem to be able to break through, or that their retros keep exposing lingering frustrations that don't seem to go away? Continuous improvement is an important principle in Agile, yet it's not uncommon to find teams that find themselves in that predicament. It can be easy (even tempting?) to find reasons connected to "motivation" (or "caring"), or insufficient training, etc. But I've found that, as much as that may be the case, it often leads a change agent or coach down roads that may not have enough pragmatism to actually break the stagnation cycle. I have also found that an approach based on deep understanding of how the work actually flows (or doesn't) can serve as the missing catalyst to reenergize those teams. In this session, I will be covering what I mean by all that, how you can help teams understand where their frustrations are coming from, and how to spot actionable improvement opportunities, and more importantly, who is in the position to implement them (spoiler alert: often, this person is not seating in the workshop). Wed, 04 Oct 2023 00:00:00 -0400 https://speakerdeck.com/fcuenca/re-energizing-agile-teams https://speakerdeck.com/fcuenca/re-energizing-agile-teams