Posted by jc-Qualitystreet on 2013/03/18
Inspired by classic coaching tools (like the wheel of life), this wheel of Agile Management helps me in my coaching activities with Managers involved in Agile transformation. The tool is visual and efficient, useful to explore current situation or to prepare coaching.
Thank you to @bangalaurent helping me to formalize it!
The Wheel of Agile Management
Obviously, the wheel is not fixed and can be contextualized …
For details of each category, take a look at this article : Manager 3.0 Being an Agile Manager or the set of articles on my french blog (www.qualitystreet.fr)
How to use it?
This is a self-assessment tool …
- Explain each category (for example what does it mean to support self-organized agile teams? what is behind delegation?)
- Ask the manager to score his sense of satisfaction for each acategory, with 0 (the worst) to 10 (the best) and to join up all the marks (numbers)
- Ask Questions … for example, what did you notice by completing the wheel? Does your Agile Management wheel look and feel balanced? Which category do you want to improve first? With regard to this wheel, what exactly do you want now?
Posted by jc-Qualitystreet on 2012/05/26
Here are the slides of the presentation I gave at Agile France 2012 (Paris)
Posted by jc-Qualitystreet on 2012/03/01
The art of the specification in a agile context is above all collaborative. It’s also a matter of behavior.
As you know I like user stories. The format is a good way to express a requirement and to initiate the conversation between a Product Owner (supported or not by UX specialist, Business Analyst…) and the Team.
But of course, this short description, usually in one or two lines, is not sufficient to enable a Team to develop the functionality described… (see agile PROTOTYPING)
A generic template that must be adjusted to your own conditions of readiness
In short, the idea behind this precious checklist (inspired by Lisa Crispin and Janet Gregory’s book) is to facilitate the job of the Product Owner.
With this checklist, the Product Owner identifies the key elements that must come (in his context) with a specific User story. For example, these important test cases must be envisioned or a link to UX stuff, wireframe of the screen, UI library or a prototype must be provided.
This is also the place where you can start describing required business rules (the business rules paragraph was crucial for financial and supply chain projects I was involved in and we linked it to an ATDD approach).
The Product Backlog Refinement (the” forgotten” 5th Scrum ceremonial for grooming activities 
) or other dedicated collaborative workshops are good opportunities to work on the checklist and to make sure that a specific user story will be ready to be taken and developed during the next sprint.
Product Backlog Refinement Agenda
Then, several days later, first day of the new sprint, the sprint planning part I (scope definition) will be used to confirm the various elements, especially the conditions of satisfaction, and the engagement of the Team to develop, by the end of the sprint, the user stories discussed.
Remember: feedback and collaboration!
Posted by jc-Qualitystreet on 2011/12/01
Including the notorious “To learn list” in a mini format…
At home, I don’t really need a feedback door…, but the “Taskboard door” is more useful
Visual management At home
Release 1 contains:
- An area dedicated to generic tasks (To do / In progresss; no need to track the done)
- An area dedicaded to learning tasks (crucial to me): need to be enlarged and improved
- An area dedicated to shopping (food shopping; before leaving I just have to take the note)
- An area dedicated to appointements (in french, we say RDV)
Using it for one month, I like it!
Posted by jc-Qualitystreet on 2011/11/27
“Remember the Future” is one of the 13 games offered and popularized by Luke Hohmann.
I’ve already talked about the Product Vision Box and Speed Boat which I use regularly … it is now time to introduce you with another game…
Remember the future … not only to mitigate cognitive biase
your customers and users are not good to speculate on the use of a future product. The user is not a designer, and this kind of questions: “What should our product do?” is mostly useless.
Too vague, too open,… As a designer or user researcher you, you need to be cautious with the comments users make about a future usage…
Users tend to generalize, simplify or idealize ...
Remember the future is a little technique to minimize these biases by immersing the user in a past that will be more concrete for him.
It’s a simple game, really appropriate to frame the content of a release, or to agree on the success criteria of a specific project or mission. *
And this is exactly how I have used it for the first time 4 years ago: the objectives of the mission were unclear, the context was complex, we had a large number of “high level” participants at our workshop…. Remember the future allowed us to move smoothly and to complete the impressive series of workshops requested …
Remember the future help you to establish a reference point for comparison; it gives context and enables both better understanding and exploration. As Luke Hohman says, it works:
“Because it is easier to understand and describe a future event from the past tense over a possible future event ”
An example of scenario:
“We are in September 2012 it is now six months that you use this new product, you’re happy with it and people can see it. (Step 1) This morning you meet your boss asking you what do you like so much in this new product, and what the product has done for you the last three months” (Step 2)
There are many variations on the implementation of the game (various scenarios or levels of detail) but the most important element remains the questioning:
BEFORE (and classically without the game): “What the product should do?”
AFTER (as part of the game): Context + “What will the product have done?”
The idea behind the game, as any UX technique, is to play the game with many users… Don’t hesitate to alternate “one on one” formats or small group dynamics …
Another benefit of Remember the future is that it can be used in multiple situations. Recently, I used the game to fit the expectations of my clients for my agile coaching activities.
They were two … we first exchanged on the issue, I gave them the scenario and asked them to work individually for 5 minutes generating notes. Then, they did grouping on the poster.
Results: we had a clear idea of 4 or 5 areas to focus on!
“Involve me and I’ll understand!”
