1. The presenter is Arlen Bankston, who has 14 years of Agile experience and is a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt with experience in user experience, product development, training, coaching, and management.
2. The presentation covers the concepts of standard work and A3 problem solving from Lean, and how to apply them to Agile processes to continuously improve practices and processes through experimentation and documentation of standards.
3. Examples are provided of how standard work and A3s can be used to document and improve processes for sprint planning, definition of done, estimation practices, onboarding new team members, and using visual management systems.
2. Meet your Presenter
Arlen Bankston
•
•
•
•
•
Co-Founder of LitheSpeed, LLC
User experience & product
development background
14 years of Agile experience
Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt
Lately 40% training, 20% each of
coaching, product development &
management
3. Agenda
•
The What & Why of “Standard Work”
•
Examples of Standard Work
•
Applying Standard Work to Agile
•
Process Descriptions by Role (Reference)
•
Learn More about Standard Work
5. Agile
Team
Development
Process
Process
–
Assessing
current
prac8ces,
comparing
to
Standard
Work,
and
team
experimenta8on
to
con8nuously
improve
prac8ces
and
processes.
• People
–
Role
development
and
equipping
teams
with
the
skills
to
successfully
implement
Agile
prac8ces.
• Product
–
Product
discovery,
execu8on,
measurement
and
learning.
People
Product
Determine
Standards
Learning
Discover
Adjust
Standard
Work
Assessment
Standard
Work
&
Experimenta8on
Leading
Doing
Teaching
Visual
Management
Systems
Lean
Management
Agile
Delivery
5
Product
Delivery
Process
Role
Development
Standard
Work
Assessment
&
Evolu8on
•
Learn
Build
Measure
6. Defining
“Standard
Work”
Standard
Work
is
a
Lean
prac8ce
that
drives
con8nuous
improvement.
• Teams
brie*ly
describe
current
processes
• Find
and
try
ways
to
work
better
• Adopt
or
reverse
these
changes
based
upon
observed
impact
• Celebrate
and
share
improvements
6
7. Standard
Work
Template
Simply
describe
how
you
do
a
job
today:
•
•
•
•
•
Who needs to do what?
What information, tools
or other inputs are needed?
How will the work be performed?
What are the expected outputs?
How long should it take (if appropriate)?
*
Standardized
work
training
example
from
Toyota.
7
Thanks
to
hOp://artoflean.com/index.php/2011/01/21/standardized-‐work/
*
8. Defining
“A3
Planning”
A3
Planning
is
a
way
to
suggest
and
implement
improvements
to
Standard
Work.
• Teams highlight problems with current processes
• Find root causes of issues
Plan
• Suggest “countermeasures” to
improve things
Act
Do
• Test these new ways of working
• Adopt them if they’re better
Check
9. A3
Improvement
Process
Template
Plan
Plan
• What’s the problem?
Act
• Who’s involved in fixing it?
• What’s the targeted goal?
Check
• What are the root causes of the problem?
Do
• How will we try to solve the problem?
Check
• How will we know the problem is solved?
Act
• What’s next?
• How will we document and share the results?
Do
10. Benefits
of
Standardized
Work
“Without
standards,
there
can
be
no
Kaizen.”
–
Taiichi
Ohno
•
Process
improvement
Evolving standards in and across teams
•
ExpectaJon
management
reliable
delivery
Definition of done, working agreements, coding standards
•
Audit
Regulatory
support
Well-defined documented standards
•
OrganizaJonal
learning
training
Rapid bootstrapping of new team members
•
Self-‐organizaJon
Personal ownership accountability for processes
12. Standard
Work
in
a
Hospital
1.
Plan
2.
Do
4.
Act
3.
Check
12
Images
from
hOp://leanhealthcarewest.com/Page/A3-‐Problem-‐Solving
13. Gebng
“Ready”
to
Plan
a
Sprint
DefiniJon
of
“Ready”
• Choose
the
few
items
that
your
team
finds
most
useful
in
Sprint
Planning.
• Confident
and
quick
Sprint
Planning
and
smooth
Sprints
that
produce
polished
results
are
your
goals.
þ
q
q
þ
þ
þ
q
Interac8on
Diagrams
Prototypes
Wireframes
Sample
Data
Testable
Examples
Acceptance
Criteria
State
Diagrams
Small
Enough
Agreement
from
other
teams
RITE
/
Wizard
of
Oz
/
UX
Test
Approvals
(Compliance,
Security,
Brand
Mgmt,
etc.)
q Dependency
List
q Stakeholder
signoff
þ
q
q
q
14. A3s
for
Storage
EsJmaJon
You
can
use
A3s
to
improve
esJmaJon
pracJces
or
arJfact
storage
processes.
15. When
is
a
Story
“Done?”
DefiniJon
of
“Done”
• A
shared
definiJon
and
compact
between
Teams
and
Stakeholders
• Denotes
what
stories
require
to
be
accepted
• Ideally
represents
“potenJally
releasable”
or
even
released
state
þ
þ
þ
þ
q
q
q
Acceptance
Criteria
are
met
Cleared
by
QA
Accepted
by
Tac8cal
PO
Accepted
by
Strategic
PO
Live
for
A/B
Tes8ng
Final
Deployment
Training
Script
þ
q
þ
q
þ
þ
þ
Pair
reviewed
Peer
Reviewed
Integrated
Lightweight
usability
tested
Automated
tes8ng
in
place
User
documenta8on
created
Ops
documenta8on
created
16. A3
for
New
Associate
Integra8on
You
can
use
A3s
to
improve
how
new
team
members
are
on-‐boarded.
17. Standard
Work
for
Card
Type
Core
Values
You
can
use
Standard
Work
to
define
how
your
current
visual
management
systems
work,
and
to
evolve
them
when
beOer
ways
are
found.
Standard
work
can
also
be
applied
to
illustrate
current
working
agreements
among
teams.
17
18. A
Manager’s
Improvement
Board
Managers
can
use
simple
visual
management
systems
to
support
and
track
process
improvements
within
their
staff.
20. Where
Does
Standard
Work
Live?
Standard Work is ideally used as a physical
visual management system.
• On the Wall
Team norms, daily stand-up rules
…but can also be captured digitally for crossteam improvement.
• In a Wiki
Coding standards, audit repository
21. Standard
Work
in
OrganizaJonal
Metrics
Product
Process
(Led
by
Product
Owners
Managers)
(Led
by
ScrumMasters
Coaches)
External
Stakeholder
SaJsfacJon
• Quarterly
survey
• Assessment
score
Quality:
• %
Code
Coverage
• %
Scenario
Coverage
• %
Delivered
features
with
zero
cri8cal
post
itera8on
defect
count
Delivery
Cadence:
• Time
from
concept
to
cash
• Velocity
stability
People
(Led
by
Func8onal
Managers)
Standard
Work
Assessment
Process
AdopJon
• #
of
Agile
teams
• #
of
cer8fica8ons
Associate
Engagement
/
Happiness
• Assessment
Score
Learning
OrganizaJon
• #
of
Agile
Prac88oners
at
Process
Improvement
various
levels
• Change
in
Assessment
scores
• Updates
to
standard
work
CollaboraJon
• RetrospecJve
acJons
impacts
*
Standard
Work-‐related
metrics
22. A
Simple
Standard
Work
Process
Drive
con8nuous
improvement
by
establishing
standards,
then
tasking
teams
to
conJnuously
improve
upon
them
and
share
their
learnings.
Determine
Standards
•
•
Iden8fy
Agile
prac8ces
used
by
teams
or
recommended
Develop
assessment
to
measure
adop8on
of
prac8ces
Standard
Work
ExperimentaJon
Assessment
•
•
•
Conduct
assessments
Document
adop8on
levels
of
prac8ces
Set
baseline
for
con8nuous
improvement
and
experimenta8on
•
•
•
Teams
work
towards
adop8ng
standard
Agile
prac8ces
Teams
experiment
with
various
prac8ces
Teams
document
outcomes
of
experimenta8on
based
on
feedback
Adjust
Standard
Work
•
•
Teams
report
outcomes
to
Agile
Working
Group
Agile
Working
Group
shares
Standard
Work
prac8ces
across
teams
and
updates
assessments
and
recommenda8ons
24. Accountable
AdopJon
Teams
Big changes require dedicated attention:
ExecuJve
Agile
Steering
Group
•
•
•
•
•
Set broad, organizational goals
Define measures of success
Communicate to middle management and staff frequently
Review progress regularly
Address organizational barriers to adoption
Agile
Working
Group
•
•
•
•
A cross-functional problem solving group
SW Dev, QA, Production, BA, PMO, Resource Managers
Anticipate, uncover, address tactical issues
Make recommendations to executive team
25. Process
Improvement
Roles
ResponsibiliJes
How
typical
roles
might
take
part
in
Standard
Work:
• ScrumMasters
Team
Leads
–
Own
Assessment
and
Standard
Work
prac8ces
for
their
teams,
lead
adapta8on
through
retrospec8ves
• FuncJonal
Managers
–
Drive
Standard
Work
improvements
through
direct
assistance
and
provision
of
coaching,
training
tools
• Agile
Working
Group
–
Review
Standard
Work
paOerns
across
departments
and
drive
common
support
like
training
and
presenta8ons
• Agile
Teams
–
Iden8fy
improvement
areas
in
working
agreements
and
coding
standards,
experiment
to
advance
standard
work
over
8me
• Product
Owners
–
Look
for
ways
to
enhance
feedback
loops
and
interfaces
with
agile
teams,
external
stakeholders,
customers
and
users
27. ScrumMasters
Coaches
Own
Assessment
and
associated
Standard
Work
prac8ces
for
their
teams,
lead
introspec8on
and
adapta8on
through
retrospec8ves.
Determine
Standards
•
Help
construct
Team
Self-‐
Assessments
• Observe
and
help
Describe
Current
State
Prac8ces
•
Assessment
Ra8onalize
Varia8ons
to
Standard
Work
as
Described
during
Assessment
•
Standard
Work
ExperimentaJon
Lead
Team
Retrospec8ves
• Develop
Plan
to
Implement
Retrospec8ve
Sugges8ons
• Guide
Implementa8on
of
Sugges8ons
Adjust
Standard
Work
• Highlight
Changes
to
Standard
Work
• Describe
Results
of
New
Process
Experiments
28. Agile
Working
Group
Review
Standard
Work
paOerns
across
departments
and
drive
large
group
support
ac8vi8es
such
as
training
and
presenta8ons.
Determine
standards
•
Work
with
managers
to
schedule
assessments
• Provide
assessments
to
managers
and
SMs
•
Assessment
Conduct
assessments
• Take
detailed
notes
on
current
state
prac8ces
and
ra8onales
• Gather
improvement
ideas
and
denote
if
team
needs
AWG
assistance
•
Standard
work
experimentaJon
Provide
assistance
to
teams
as
requested
• Analyze
trends
across
standard
work
items
• Determine
needs
for
cross-‐team
assistance
(training,
brown
bags,
etc.)
• Update
assessment
and
scorecard
as
needed
Adjust
standard
work
•
Determine
if
assessor
is
needed
• Conduct
assessment
as
required
• Adjust
standard
work
for
specific
teams
or
the
enterprise
at
large
29. Agile
Teams
Iden8fy
improvement
areas
in
working
agreements
and
coding
standards,
experiment
to
advance
standard
work
over
8me.
Determine
standards
•
Self
assess
and
provide
detailed
informa8on
on
current
state
prac8ces
•
Assessment
Par8cipate
in
assessment
• Find
prac8ces,
tools
and
principles
that
need
aOen8on
•
Standard
work
experimentaJon
Implement
improvement
ac8ons
• Experiment
and
document
devia8ons
from
standard
work
Adjust
standard
work
•
Update
standard
work
based
upon
experimental
results
30. Func8onal
Managers
Own
Standard
Work
devia8ons
and
drive
improvement
through
direct
assistance
and
provision
of
coaching,
training
tools.
Determine
standards
•
Schedule
assessments
with
teams
• Provide
assessment
results
to
AWG
•
Assessment
Provide
feedback
from
managerial
perspec8ve
•
Standard
work
experimentaJon
Support
implementa8on
of
retrospec8ve
sugges8ons
• Daily
standups
with
SMs
to
discuss
opera8onal
issues
and
process
improvements
• Daily
standups
with
peers
to
discuss
opera8onal
and
process
trends
Adjust
standard
work
•
Provide
feedback
on
process
improvements
• Share
results
with
peers
and
execu8ve
steering
group
31. Product
Owners
Look
for
ways
to
enhance
feedback
loops
and
interfaces
with
agile
teams,
external
stakeholders,
customers
and
users.
Determine
standards
•
Gather
internal
and
external
stakeholder
sa8sfac8on
ra8ngs
from
real
users
and
customers
• Determine
tool
usage
standards
•
Assessment
Provide
insight
to
team
rela8onship
and
interac8ons
with
stakeholders
• Assess
how
well
product-‐related
tools
and
processes
are
working
•
Standard
work
experimentaJon
Assist
implementa8on
of
improvement
items
as
appropriate
• Provide
updates
on
stakeholder
sa8sfac8on
and
team
interface
impacts
Adjust
standard
work
• Update
interfaces
between
team
and
PO,
team
and
stakeholders,
PO
stakeholders
as
needed
• Update
tools
33. Tips
for
Effec8ve
Standard
Work
•
•
•
•
•
Workers define and improve
their own day-to-day work
Managers review and support
improvements to big-picture processes
Make standards visible and obvious
Incent celebrate improvements
Share learning across teams
34. Reading
List
–
Lean
Standard
Work
•
•
•
•
Managing to Learn – Shook
Lean Thinking – Womack Jones
Understanding A3 Thinking – Sobek
The Checklist Manifesto – Gawande
35. Contact
Us
for
Further
Informa8on
Arlen Bankston
Vice President
Arlen.Bankston@lithespeed.com
Sanjiv Augustine
President
Sanjiv.Augustine@lithespeed.com
www.lithespeed.com
I
only
wish
I
had
read
this
book
when
I
started
my
career
in
sorware
product
management,
or
even
beOer
yet,
when
I
was
given
my
first
project
to
manage.
In
addi8on
to
providing
an
excellent
handbook
for
managing
with
agile
sorware
development
methodologies,
Managing
Agile
Projects
offers
a
guide
to
more
effec8ve
project
management
in
many
business
sebngs.
John
P.
Barnes,
former
Vice
President
of
Product
Management
at
Emergis,
Inc.