Insanity; it’s doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results. Improving as an organisation is hard. What is even harder? Continuously improving. Yet it is key to any Agile transformation as we challenge ingrained practices and rigid ways of working. How do we manage to do this?! During this presentation, I will share the strategies I've used to introduce Retrospectives, Lean Coffee, Brown Bags, Team 1:1s, and Guilds in the trenches. All of these continuous improvement practices have fast tracked Agile transformations in the teams and organisations I've worked with. Implement these practices and you can go beyond Agile adoption too.

1. Continuous
Improvement
from the trenches
rmckergow
Ryan McKergow

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Improving is hard

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Change is emotionalMorale
Shock
Denial
Time
Frustration
Depression
Experiment
Decision
Integration
The Kübler-Ross change curve

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What change really looks like
Refer to this blog by @pawelbrodzinski: http://bit.ly/why-we-fail-to-change
Performance
Time
Start Agile
Transformation

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What inevitably happens..Performance
Time
Start Agile
Transformation
Change agent fired
Refer to this blog by @pawelbrodzinski: http://bit.ly/why-we-fail-to-change

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Kaizen vs Kaikaku
Kaizen:
Japanese word for “incremental change”
or “continuous improvement”
Kaikaku:
Japanese word for “radical change”

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Kaizen vs KaikakuPerformance
Time
Start Agile
Transformation
Refer to this blog by @pawelbrodzinski: http://bit.ly/why-we-fail-to-change

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Kaizen
“One of the most notable features of Kaizen is that big
results come from many small changes accumulated over
time. However, this has been misunderstood to mean that
Kaizen equals small changes. In fact, Kaizen means
everyone is involved in making improvements. While the
majority of changes may be small, the greatest impact
may be Kaizens that are led by senior management as
transformational projects, or by cross-functional teams
as Kaizen events.” Kaizen.com

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Continuous improvement is
everyone’s responsibility

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Continuous
Improvement
Techniques
5
from the trenches

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1. Retrospectives

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Retrospectives
“Retrospectives are special meetings
where a team regularly steps back,
examines the way they work, and
identifies ways they can improve.”
Ester Derby

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Retrospectives

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Retros :: Top 5 Agile Techniques
DAILY
STANDUPS
SHORT
ITERATIONS
PRIORITISED
BACKLOGS
ITERATION
PLANNING
RETROS
Refer to State of Agile Survey 2014: http://bit.ly/state-of-agile-survey

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The most important Agile team practice?

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The reason = Continuous Improvement

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Retrospectives @ UniSuper

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How to setup Retrospectives
• Agree with your team you want to improve now
• Nominate a facilitator for each Retro who will:
• Prepare (format, book a large room, sharpies, post it notes)
• Facilitate the Retro (explaining the format, give instructions)
• Write up actions and follow them up
• Hold them regularly and consistently

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2. Lean Coffee

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How does it work?

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Lean Coffee @ UniSuper

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Lean Coffee @ UniSuper

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How to setup Lean Coffee
• Find the following:
– People who are interested
– Venue that works for the group
– Frequency that works for the group
• Limit the amount of people (~8 works well for us)
• Nominate a facilitator each time
• Keep track of actions

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Idea for a Lean Coffee hack
Refer to this blog by @jasonlittle: http://bit.ly/lean-coffee-hack

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3. Team 1:1s

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Team 1:1s @ REA Group

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Team 1:1s @ REA Group
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

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Team 1:1s @ REA Group

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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)

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My feedback
“Learn to stand up for yourself more when you have
a strong opinion, especially when working with
strong personalities.”
(Leon – Developer)

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How to set up teams 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

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Remember this…
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

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How to set up teams 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

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4. Guilds
Also known as Communities of Practice

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Guilds

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Presenters Guild @ Elabor8

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Presenters Guild @ Elabor8

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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 needs to drive the Guild
(at least initially)

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5. Brown Bags
Also known as Lunch & Learns

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Brown Bags @ UniSuper

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Brown Bags @ UniSuper

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Brown Bags @ UniSuper

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Brown Bags @ Elabor8

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Brown Bags @ Elabor8

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How to setup Brown Bags
Gaining buy in / support:
1. Get support from your team / leadership
2. Look for alignment with leadership’s goals
3. Identify support from within
How to build excitement:
4. Start with a topical talk
5. Keep promoting the Brown Bags
6. Mix the topics to keep everyone interested

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How to setup Brown Bags
How to maintain momentum:
7. Trade with other organisations to get
speakers
8. Select topics that challenge the organisation
– get them thinking about the future
Just remember…
9. It’s about helping others, it’s not about you

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Continuous Improvement Techniques
5
from the trenches
1. Retrospectives
2. Lean Coffee
3. Team 1:1s
4. Guilds
5. Brown Bags

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Remember: Continuous improvement is
everyone’s responsibility

49. Continuous
Improvement
from the trenches
rmckergow
Ryan McKergow
ryan.mckergow@elabor8.com.au

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Image references
1. Chris Chan blog, (2015). The Improvement Paradox - Too Busy To Improve?. [online] Available at:
http://c2reflexions.com/2015/08/05/the-improvement-paradox-too-busy-to-improve/ [Accessed 23 Aug.
2015].
2. Ricardounr.files.wordpress.com, (2015). The Kubler-Ross Change Curve. [online] Available at:
https://ricardounr.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/change-curve.png [Accessed 23 Aug. 2015].
3. Brodzinski, P. (2015). Why We Fail to Change. [online] Brodzinski.com. Available at:
http://brodzinski.com/2015/02/why-we-fail-to-change.html [Accessed 23 Aug. 2015].
4. Info.versionone.com, (2015). The 9th Annual State of Agile™ Survey. [online] Available at:
http://info.versionone.com/state-of-agile-development-survey-ninth.html [Accessed 28 Aug. 2015].
5. Furnell, J. (2010). Facilitating Collaborative Design Workshops - a step by step guide for rapidly creating
a shared vision for execution. [online] the architecture of everything. Available at:
https://jasonfurnell.wordpress.com/2010/12/01/facilitating-collaborative-design-workshops-a-step-by-
step-guide-for-rapidly-creating-a-shared-vision-for-execution/ [Accessed 23 Aug. 2015].
6. Little, J. (2015). Hacking a Conservative Organization with Lean Coffee | Lean Change Management.
[online] Leanchange.org. Available at: http://leanchange.org/2012/11/hacking-a-conservative-
organization-with-lean-coffee/ [Accessed 28 Aug. 2015].
7. Imagingigloo.com, (2015). One on ones. [online] Available at: http://imagingigloo.com/wp-
content/uploads/2014/11/one-on-one-meeting.png [Accessed 11 Aug. 2015].
8. Spotifylabscom.files.wordpress.com, (2015). [online] Available at:
https://spotifylabscom.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/spotify-engineering-culture-part1.jpeg [Accessed 11
Aug. 2015].