Presentation by Craig Smith delivered at Agile Encore 2013 in Melbourne on 14 November 2013. Using task boards or story walls is a key Agile practice, but are you making the most of it? Visual Management is more than just putting cards on a wall, it is a growing style of management that focuses on managing work only by what you can see rather than reports or paper being shuffled around. Visual Management allows you to understand the constraints in the system, mitigate risks before they become issues, report on progress from the micro to the macro. Visual Management can also be used to demonstrate to customers and clients where the work they care about is at. This presentation is all about taking the management of your work to the next stage of transparency.
6. Effective
retention
3 days after
a meeting
Spoken word only
Visual + Oral
Human Learning Retention
Taste
Hearing Smell
Touch
Visual
Why It Is Important
12. Clear Instructions
Instructions
for adding a
card
Development Done:
• Code complete & reviewed
• Unit Tests pass & complete
• Acceptance Tests pass &
complete
• Checked in & build success
• Documentation updated
Instructions
for pushing
a card to
next queue
25. LEGO Portfolio Board
DUPLO holes = Expected size
(people)
Lower level =
Number of
people
needed
Upper level =
Number of
people
allocated
LEGO
colour =
Skill
type
Divider
height =
control
level for
gate
DUPLO height = Expected
value/ROI
DUPLO colour = Business
domain
26. LEGO Portfolio Board
Lego Portfolio Management
Why
Are
Doing
This?
Why
Are
Doing
This?
High
Depend,
High Risk
Under
Resource
Idle
People
42. So What Flow To Use?
No Visual
Management?
Basic Flow?
Process
Flow?
43. At Home
• Predictable
• No Expert
Required
Simple
La Marzocco
• Predictable
• Expert
Required
Complicated
World Barista
Championships
• Unpredictable
• Expert
Required
Complex
Complex Coffee
44. Coffee At Home
At Home
• Predictable
• No Expert
Required
Simple
Is Visual
Management
needed?
45. La Marzocco
• Predictable
• Expert
Required
Complicated
Is Visual Management needed?
To Do
Doing
Large Latte
2 sugars
Flat White
Macchiato
1 Sugar
Done
Cappuccino
2 Sugars
Large Latte
2 sugars
Expresso
Variability
is Small
Coffee At A Coffee Shop
46. Coffee At A Coffee Shop
To Do
Doing
Large Latte
2 sugars
Flat White
Macchiato
1 Sugar
Done
Cappuccino
2 Sugars
Large Latte
2 sugars
Expresso
Variability
is Small
47. • Unpredictable
• Expert
Required
World Barista
Championships
Complex
Is Visual Management needed?
To Do
Get
Stop
tablecloth
Doing
Order
cups
Test new
roast (day
7)
Dependency
Management
Test new
roast (day
8)
Test new
roast (day
9)
Waiting
Diffuser
delivery
Significant
Variability
Events Block
Flow
Done
Test
Kenyan
Roast
Extended
Flow
Championship Coffee
53. As a creator of user stories
I want to use the right coloured
pen
So that it is quicker for the
brain to read
Use a pen that
works!
Use a strong
contrast of pen to
index colour
As a creator of user stories
I want to use the right coloured
pen
So that it is quicker for the
brain to read
Colour Contrast
54. Writing Style
As a creator of user stories
I want to write neatly
So that it is quicker for the brain to
read and recognise the work
Although…
Research shows
hard to read fonts
promote better
recall.
Go figure…
Write neatly or print
cards.
Size does matter!
As a creator of user stories
I want to write neatly
So that it is quicker for the
brain to read and recognise the
work
55. Use real photos not
characters or
images
Renee T
Although, balance
this with fun or
team theme.
Tokens to
determine status
Avatars
56. User Story Templates
As Craig
I want my picture used for my persona
So that it is quicker to recognise all the
work for me
Be consistent with layout
and template
Think different
Put the value first
Don’t write two words or
the solution!
Use pictures / graphics
for personas
Use bold / underline to
emphasise quick searching
In order for it to be quicker to recognise
all the work for me
As Craig
I want my picture used for my persona
57. Can you zoom in on an
area of interest?
Can you stand back and
see the whole flow?
Board Size
Continuous Delivery
is looking left and
right!
Avoid Water-ScrumFall
58. Board Contrast
Ensure that flow lines
are not higher in
contrast than the work
items
Have a strong contrast
between the work
items and the surface
behind them
Painters tape
63. Achievements Wall
I don’t mind a good game
of blackjack too
.
All cards on the team’s flow
board have estimates
against them
The only way is up!
The Cumulative Flow
Diagram has been
consistently updated
each day for four weeks
.
65. Back At
Work?
Make work fun!
Choose your
gaming to the
environment and
the people
Intrinsic
motivation trumps
extrinsic driven
goals
Image: http://www.agent-x.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/Pacman_on_twitter-0723634-218bc0c.jpg
67. Probably not!
Is my
wall
telling
me the
whole
story?
Start by mapping the
flow
Keep adjusting
Image: http://ctparentingclass.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/lets-talk-post-it-notes-300x199.jpg
68. Always go back to the
zone for discussions
about work
Lead others by
example and take all
meetings or status
updates to the wall
Image: http://www.romanpichler.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/iStock_000014624446Medium.jpg
Reinforce
the
zone
69. But my team is distributed…
Like distributed
Agile, it takes
more work!
You need an
electronic zone
The default tool
dashboards are
average
Image: http://ezylearn.com.au/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Lonely-office-man-003.jpg
72. We are grateful to
assistance from:
@craigstrong
Craig Smith
craigsmith.id.au
theagilerevolution.com
unbounddna.com
craig@unbounddna.com
@smithcdau