The Gemba Walk

As part of a recent engagement I went to assess and coach a group of Agile teams out in Iowa.  Each morning, we would arrive before the daily stand-ups.  Each morning we walked around, listened in on conversations and got updates from the teams.  We quietly studied their large team boards and then how they interacted with the boards and one another. I would describe this daily stroll as our Gemba Walk.  Gemba is a Japanese term meaning "the real place." In business, it refers to the place where value is created; in our case the gemba was the west side of the building on the 5th floor where the teams were located.

Gemba Walk

In lean manufacturing, the idea of gemba is that the problems are visible, and the best improvement ideas will come from going to the gemba. The gemba walk, much like Management By Walking Around (MBWA), is an activity that takes management to those doing the actual value delivery, to look for waste and opportunities to practice gemba kaizen, or practical shopfloor improvement.  If you are in management and you want to make a real difference, get out of your office and go on a gemba walk.

If you are on a project team, do your managers go on a daily gemba walk?

HT: Wikipedia

When a Standard is a Distraction

I stopped off to get some gas and found myself spending way too much time analyzing the user interface, trying to figure out how to pump my gas.  I don't want to sound so negative but gas pumps rank right up there with Adobe products, when it comes to non-intuitive UI.  At first glance, the UI was comprised of two areas.  One, there was a monochrome screen with four button on either side.  I've seen this layout at other gas pumps so I was ready for visual queues to come from that.  The other area was a 16 button keypad.  Fortunately, there was a slot for me to insert my credit card, otherwise, I think I would have just driven to another gas station.  The problem started 10 seconds after I inserted my credit card.  It actually took roughly 10 seconds for each action to be registered on the screen, leaving me feeling frustrated throughout the process.

The first text to appear on the screen was In Payment Card. I complied and 10 seconds later the text Debit Card or Credit Card? appeared. I expected the choices to align to one of the 8 white buttons flanking the screen. I then looked at the keypad. Nope, no Debit or Credit keys, which I've seen on other gas pumps.  Just before cancelling the purchase, I noticed two unassuming grey buttons to the right of the receipt dispenser. They were labeled Outside Debit and Outside Credit. I grumbled to myself and selected the Outside Credit button. Ten seconds later (I'm not kidding) Enter Zip Code appeared on the screen.  I typed in my zip code via the keypad.  I waited a solid 10 seconds before Press Enter If OK or Clear appeared. I located and press an Enter OK button on the keypad. The text Authorizing then displayed for an additional 10 seconds. Just as I thought it would tell me to select my grade of gas, Would you like to print a receipt? appeared.  I located and selected the Yes Receipt button on the key pad.  The screen then took an additional 10 seconds to state please see cashier inside for receipt. I stood there dumbfounded (for an additional 10 seconds) when the screen then changed, stating Select your Grade.

Here comes the comparison.  Simple processes like buying your gas should not be this painful.  The same goes for your business processes.  Don't put so much emphasis on things that you're not going to need.  They become wasteful distractions.  In the case of the gas pump, the most important steps of the process were hard to locate and navigate.  I wasted a lot of time just trying to figure out how to do the next step, when I already knew what I needed to do.  On the gas pump, the two unassuming buttons were critical to move forward in the process but weren't even in my line of sight.  You need to think about this when customizing your business processes.  Standards (and processes) are good, as long as they provide value, either by increasing quality or lowering risk.

Jazz Hands at the Daily Standup

While doing an Agile assessment in Des Moines, Iowa, we noticed a team would periodically do "jazz hands".  When we asked the ScrumMaster (Iteration Manager) what was going on, she said others within earshot of the daily standup complained about the team being too loud. In the past, whenever there was good news, the team would cheer and clap.  As a result, in order to continue to show their excitement, the team members now all do "jazz hands". Team "Seniom Sed" (Des Moines backwards), it has been a pleasure watching you all work for the last few days. Actually, it's been a pleasure working with each of the teams. I get one more day to enjoy your addictive enthusiasm.

Keep up the great work!

AgileScout Discount Code

As I'm ramping up my training offerings through LitheSpeed, I realized I would face the same marketing challenges that plagued my start-up back in the 90's.  What's the difference between now and then?  This time, we have tools like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and of course blogs. As many of you know, even if you have the greatest idea since sliced bread, if you can't get the word out, you will fail.  With that, I am distributing unique discount codes to different social circles.  I am also sharing unique discount codes with friends and colleagues, like Peter Saddington over at AgileScout. Thank you, Peter! Read more over at that AgileScout blog.

Sign up for the September 26-28 PMI-ACP workshop.

Big Jump in PMPs

It's been a few months since I reported on PMI numbers.   But, when I got my copy of PMI Today,  I couldn't help but post about it. Though PMI only added 5,956 new members in the month of July, it added 13,869 PMP to the ranks.  I've seen the credential outpace actual membership before but not by such a wide margin.

July 2011 Totals: Active PMPs: 451,868 PMI Members: 362,726 CAPM: 15,129 PMI-RMP: 599 PgMP: 943 PMI-SP: 494

One statistic is yet to come. The PMI-ACP, which hasn't even been launched yet, will start out with 2,649 paid applicants.

Source: PMI Today

PMI-ACP Prep Workshop

I am very excited to announce that I will begin offering my own 3-day PMI-Agile Certified Practitioner Certification Prep workshop, beginning September 26-28.  The workshop will be offered at the Bridge Education Training Facility located at 6716 Alexander Bell Drive, Suite 100, in Columbia, Maryland.  As an added bonus, for those who register for the September (and the to-be-announced October) class, I will give each attendee a free ticket to AgileDC 2011.

Count on 3 full days of learning, simulation, and Legos!

Who Should Attend/Prerequisites

Although this prep course is primarily targeted towards project management professionals interested in achieving the PMI-ACP(sm)  certification, it could benifit many others. It is an effective foundation for anyone interested in adopting and leveraging Agile techniques, including Product & Line Managers, Program Managers, IT Managers, or Senior Technicians.

Course Overview

The PMI-ACP(sm) certification requires the candidate to have 2,000 hours of general Project Management experience, 1,500 hours of Agile Project Management experience, 21 training hours in an Agile specific curriculum, and pass the PMI-ACP(sm) certification exam.

This course will satisfy all of the training requirements for the exam. After taking this course, students will have the strong foundation needed to begin preparing for the certification exam.

Take your course from one of only a few instructors who were independent reviewers of the curriculum, as it was being developed. As independent reviewers of the PMI-ACP, it was our job to modify, revise, update or delete elements to ensure that it was comprehensive, contemporary (reflective of current practice), concise, and clear.

Learning Objectives

The course will provide a broad survey of Agile PM tools, techniques, skills, and knowledge areas. Within the 3-Day course, we will cover all 6 domains of the upcoming PMI-ACP exam

• Value Driven Delivery

• Stakeholder Engagement

• Boosting Team Performance Practices

• Adaptive Planning

• Problem Detection and Resolution

• Continuous Improvement (Product, Process, People)

Some of the topics covered include:

• Active Listening

• Adaptive Leadership

• Agile Frameworks and Terminology

• Agile Manifesto Values and Principles

• Agile Project Accounting Principles

• Assessing and Incorporating Stakeholder Values

• Applying New Agile Practices

• Building High Performance and Empowered Teams

• Coaching and Mentoring within teams

• Communications Management

• Co-Located and Geographically Distributed Teams

• Conflict Resolution

• Continuous Improvement

• Elements of a Project Charter for an Agile project

• Facilitation Methods

• Feedback Techniques (e.g. Prototypes, Simulation, Demonstration, Evaluation)

• Globalization, Culture, and Team Diversity

• Incremental Delivery

• Innovation Games

• Knowledge and Information Sharing

• Leadership tools and Techniques

• PMI's Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct

• Problem Solving Strategies

• Product Roadmapping

• Progressive Elaboration

• Project and Quality Standards

• Principles of Systems Thinking (e.g., complex adaptive, chaos)

• Servant-Leadership

• Stakeholder Management

• Team Motivation Techniques

• Time, Budget, and Cost Estimation

• Variations of Agile Methods and Approaches

• Value Based Analysis, Decomposition, and Prioritization

When:

Monday, September 26, 2011 9:00 AM - Wednesday, September 28, 2011 4:30 PM (Eastern Time)

Where:

Bridge Education Training Facility 6716 Alexander Bell Dr. Suite 100 Columbia, Maryland 21046

Cost:

$1,495 per attendee (plus travel and expenses for private workshops)

Drawing courtesy of Pictofigo

Theory X vs. Theory Y

Do you lead or do you manage?  Do you believe in command-and-control or do you believe in team empowerment?  Recently, while presenting an Agile Enterprise Workshop, we discussed Theory X and Theory Y with our workshop attendees. Theory X and Theory Y are two extremes introduced by Harvard Professor Douglas McGregor in his book “The Human Side of Enterprise”.  It was published over 50 years ago.  Still, you can find both theories in practice today.

Though the theory of x and y are not absolute in how human nature plays out in our places of work, there will always be those among us who are polarizing and think of life as a side of a coin.

So, which do you believe?

Theory X and Theory Y

HT: Dan Pink

HT: Wikipedia

LeanKit Kanban

When the Agile Manifesto for Agile Software Development was written 10 years ago, it stated "We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and helping others do it." The very first of four values listed within the Manifesto was "Individuals and interactions over processes and tools"

The Manifesto goes on to state "...while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more."

Well, I am compelled to write about one of the items on the right.  I still believe the tool should be good enough that it helps you reach your goals.  But after that, it should not become a big process onto itself.  What I want to do is finish tasks and get some actual closure on them.

I recently read in the book Personal Kanban by Jim Benson and Tonianne DeMaria Barry, a phenomenon known as the "Zeigarnik Effect".  It states that 90% of people remember uncompleted or interrupted tasks better than completed tasks.  Soviet psychologist Bluma Zeigarnic found that the human brain becomes preoccupied with things that are not closed.

Though I have leveraged Kanban with teams, it took me a while to realize that Visual Control Systems could be used to visualize and manage both personal and professional work.  I then found myself using a physical board at the office and an electronic version (web-based tool) at home.

What is visual control, exactly?

A visual 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.

The real question is, can a process tool take the place of individuals and interactions?  Perhaps we need to stop and think about the reality of our world.  Is everyone in your company physically located in the same office space or are you geographically dispersed?  If you're not all sitting there together in an open workspace, you need to find a tool that will bridge that physical gap and then stay out of the way. Bandit Software's  LeanKit Kanban does that.  Let me tell you what puts LeanKit in the lead of the Kanban tool race.  It's called mobile computing.

I seem to carry my iPad with me everywhere. (I'll be getting an iPhone as soon as my contract is up).  Though the LeanKit iPhone/iPod interface could use a little work, the iPad interface is completely awesome.  The image above is actually a screen print from my iPad.  The design is simple; it's lightweight; it's functional.  It helps me visualize my work and it helps control my work in process.  Merge LeanKit Kanban and an iPad and you will have an amazing user experience, as it allows individuals to interact wherever they see fit.  I'm happy because I can access half a dozen different boards with tap of my finger and my wife is happy because I didn't cover the walls of my home office with whiteboards and sticky notes.

If you're thinking about using a web-based Kanban tool for yourself, your team, or your organization, all of the vendors out there have relatively similar features.  See which one fits your budget.  If you or your teams are using mobile devices like iPhones, iPods, or iPads (in addition to desktops or laptops), you need to go to iTunes and download this app.  Though you need to have an existing LeanKit account to make the Apple App versions work, you can get a personal account for free!

After you see how well it works for your personal life, I don't doubt you'll be using it in the office in the not-too-distant future.

HT: Wikipedia HT: LeanKit HT: Personal Kanban