1. Traffic Lights to Burndowns
an introduction to
Visual Management Systems
Session # AGL04
Derek Huether
LeadingAgile
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©2012 Permission is granted to PMI for PMI® Marketplace use only.

2. What Am I Going to Talk About?
• Defining a Visual Management System (VMS)
• How are they different from Information Radiators
• VMS in everyday context we understand
• Transitioning to the workspace
• Visual Management Systems on a team level
• Visual Management Systems on the enterprise level
• Your turn
• Conclusion
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3. Defining a Visual Management System
• Visual management (or control) is a “technique
employed in many places where information is
communicated by using visual signals instead of texts or
other written instructions. The design is deliberate in
allowing quick recognition of the information being
communicated in order to increase efficiency and
clarity.”
Source: Wikipedia (Visual Control, 2012, ¶2)
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©2012 Permission is granted to PMI for PMI® Marketplace use only. 3

4. Relearning What We Know
• Since our teenager years, we have been conditioned to
heed the warnings of automobile indicator lights and
traffic signals. When reaction time is sometimes critical,
these simple visual controls are all that are necessary to
keep us happy and safe.
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5. What’s the difference
• In his book (Crystal Clear, 2004), Alistair Cockburn
introduces the idea of a highly visible information
radiator that allows the viewer to understand information
at a glance.
• A VMS makes problems, abnormalities, or deviation from
standards visible to everyone so corrective action can be
taken immediately.
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©2012 Permission is granted to PMI for PMI® Marketplace use only. 5

6. Establish a Sense of Urgency
• Not all indicators are created equal
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7. Actionable Feedback
• Which has a more powerful message?
• What is the expected outcome?
25
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©2012 Permission is granted to PMI for PMI® Marketplace use only. 7

8. Transition To The Workplace
• Old traffic equipment sometimes is the best notification
system for communicating the current state of software
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©2012 Permission is granted to PMI for PMI® Marketplace use only. 8

9. Team Level
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©2012 Permission is granted to PMI for PMI® Marketplace use only. 9

10. Has Anyone Seen Davis!?
• Have you ever spent too much
time tracking someone down in
the office?
• Members of team self-manage
• Provides the right level of data
to allow others to make
decisions
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©2012 Permission is granted to PMI for PMI® Marketplace use only. 10

11. The Burn Chart
• We just finished iteration 11 of 14
• Would you rather have a 11 status reports or this?
• Do something?
• Do nothing?
• What about Scope?
• What about Budget?
• What about Risk?
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12. Burndown versus Velocity
• Both “Information Radiators” are illustrating the same data
• What story do they tell?
• Is there a sense of urgency? What should we do?
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©2012 Permission is granted to PMI for PMI® Marketplace use only. 12

13. Cumulative Flow Diagram
• Visualize the
workflow
• Limit work in
process to
increase
throughput
• Get more
things done
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©2012 Permission is granted to PMI for PMI® Marketplace use only. 13

14. Starfish Chart
• Is the team working
to its potential or
spiraling out of
control?
• The starfish chart
provides direction to
the team in their
goal of process
improvement.
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©2012 Permission is granted to PMI for PMI® Marketplace use only. 14

15. Team Emotion
• Upon review of historical
data illustrating a
correlation between the
(
I
happiness of the team
(
(
and their productivity,
the organization
changed their focus to
I
keeping the team happy.
(
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©2012 Permission is granted to PMI for PMI® Marketplace use only. 15

16. Enterprise Level
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17. Total Project Status (TPS) Report
• Bill Lumbergh should have used this
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18. Portfolio/Program/Product (P³)
Alignment Wall Card
• Business Architecture
(Portfolio Level)
• Solution Delivery
(Release Level)
• Component Delivery 1 2 3 14 15
(Iteration Level)
4 5 6 12 13
• 15 Step Portfolio
lifecycle visualized 7 8 9 10 11
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©2012 Permission is granted to PMI for PMI® Marketplace use only. 18

19. Portfolio/Program/Product (P³)
Alignment Wall
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©2012 Permission is granted to PMI for PMI® Marketplace use only. 19

20. Your Turn
• Time to teach me something
• Break into groups
• Collaborate
• Create a VMS
• Review
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©2012 Permission is granted to PMI for PMI® Marketplace use only. 20

21. Conclusion
• Though communications is critical to keep projects and
people moving forward, sometimes the effectiveness and
simplicity of these tools are forgotten. Volumes of
instruction and status are written in the hope of
communicating a common message.
We don’t need an accurate document, we need a shared understanding
Quote Source: Patton, J. (2012, August) The Product Owner Role is a Stupid Idea: Improving How We
Handle Customer Requests. Agile 2012, Dallas, Texas, United States.
“PMI” is a registered trade and service mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc.
©2012 Permission is granted to PMI for PMI® Marketplace use only. 21

22. Contact Information
Derek Huether – Enterprise Agile Coach
www.leadingagile.com
(301) 244-8441
Twitter: @leadingagile
Twitter: @derekhuether
LinkedIn: /derekhuether
Session # AGL04
“PMI” is a registered trade and service mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc.
©2012 Permission is granted to PMI for PMI® Marketplace use only.