Continuous improvementfrom the trenches

Ryan McKergow

ryanmckergow

rmckergow

elabor8

elabor8

Feel all too familiar?

Change is emotional

Mor

ale

Shock

Denial

Time

Frustration

Depression

Experiment

Decision

Integration

The Kübler-Ross change curve

What change really looks like

Refer to this blog by @pawelbrodzinski: http://bit.ly/why-we-fail-to-change

Perfo

rman

ce

Time

Start AgileTransformation

What inevitably happens...

Perfo

rman

ce

Time

Start AgileTransformation

Change agent fired

Refer to this blog by @pawelbrodzinski: http://bit.ly/why-we-fail-to-change

Kaizen vs Kaikaku

Kaizen: Japanese word for “incremental change”

or “continuous improvement”

Kaikaku:Japanese word for “radical change”

Kaizen vs Kaikaku

Refer to this blog by @pawelbrodzinski: http://bit.ly/why-we-fail-to-change

Perfo

rman

ce

Time

Start AgileTransformation

Continuous improvement is everyone’s responsibility

5 Continuous Improvement Techniquesfrom the trenches

1 Retrospectives

Remember this?

Too busy to improve on this format?

What worked well? What didn’t worked well? What’s puzzling me?

Appreciative Retrospective

past iteration

the future

strengths

successes

events

Appreciative Retrospective – In real life

Celebration Grid – Celebrate Learning!

Celebration Grid – Celebrate Learning!

Celebration Grid – Celebrate Learning!

Check out the video that we missed watching today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNkTgMUQGDE

Celebration Grid – In real life

Ready to try something new?

Retro formats to check out: • https://elabor8.com.au/retrospectives-a-fresh-look• https://elabor8.com.au/retrospectives-strike-back-new-f

ormats/• https://elabor8.com.au/team-culture-retrospective/• http://retrospectivewiki.org/index.php?title=Retrospecti

ve_Plans• http://www.funretrospectives.com/• https://jayhyett.wordpress.com/

2 Lean Coffee

How does it work?

Lean Coffee – In real life

Lean Coffee – In real life

How to setup Lean Coffee

• Find the following:People who are interestedVenue that works for the groupFrequency that works for the group

• Limit the amount of people (~8 works well for us)

• Nominate a facilitator each time• Keep track of actions

3 Team 1:1s

Team 1:1s – In real life

Team 1:1s – In real life

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

Team 1:1s – In real life

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)

My feedback

“Learn to stand up for yourself more

when you have a strong opinion,

especially when working with strong personalities.”

(Leon – Developer)

How to setup Team 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

How to setup Team 1:1s

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

How to setup Team 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

4 Guilds (aka Communities of Practice)

How do they work?

Guilds – In real life – The Presenters Guild

Guilds – In real life - #guild-delivery

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 driving the Guild initially• But… plan for a successor/s

Want to know more?

Check our Emily Webber’s slides from YOW! Brisbane 2016:

http://yowconference.com.au/slides/yow2016/Webber-

CommunitiesOfPractice.pdf

5 Lunch and Learns

Lunch and Learns – In real life

Lunch and Learns – In real life

Lunch and Learns – In real life

Lunch and Learns – In real life

How to setup Lunch and Learns

Gaining buy in / support:1. Get support from your team / leadership2. Look for alignment with leadership’s goals3. Identify support from withinHow to build excitement:4. Always keep promoting the Lunch and Learns5. Mix the topics to keep everyone interested6. Value community discussion

How to setup Lunch and Learns

How to maintain momentum:7. Invite speakers from outside your organisation8. Plan for successor/s Fresh perspectiveJust remember…9. It’s about helping others, it’s not about you

5 Continuous Improvement Techniques from the trenches

1. Retrospectives2. Lean Coffee3. Team 1:1s4. Guilds 5. Lunch and Learns

Continuous improvement is everyone’s responsibility

Thank youRyan McKergow

ryanmckergow

rmckergow

elabor8

elabor8