Agile Communities of Practice - Set Up, Sustain, and Succeed
- 1. AGILE COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE: SET UP, SUSTAIN, AND SUCCEED! SESHADRI VEERARAGHAVAN PRINCIPAL PROJECT MANAGER – AGILE TRANSFORMATION IHS, INC. – HOUSTON, TEXAS A PRACTICAL APPROACH
- 2. DEFINITIONS – COMMON UNDERSTANDING • Community (noun) - com·mu·ni·ty • a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals. • a similarity or identity. • Practice (noun) – prac·tice • the actual application or use of an idea, belief, or method as opposed to theories about such application or use. • repeated exercise in or performance of an activity or skill so as to acquire or maintain proficiency in it. • Practice (verb) • perform (an activity) or exercise (a skill) repeatedly or regularly in order to improve or maintain one's proficiency. • carry out or perform (a particular activity, method, or custom) habitually or regularly.
- 3. COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE Cognitive anthropologists Lave and Wenger define it as a group of people who -- share a passion for something they do -- learn how to do it better -- interact regularly
- 4. EXAMPLES OF COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE • Research areas by Lave and Wenger included studying learning among • Yucatan midwives • Tailors in Liberia • Insurance claims processors • These groups exhibited common paradigms of sharing, learning, and growth
- 5. A MODERN-DAY EXAMPLE OF A COP: XEROX • Xerox repairmen in the field used to informally exchange tips and tricks on common problems • Communication usually done over lunch and informal meetings • Eureka database created to keep track of these tips and tricks • Savings due to the Eureka database: over $100 MM USD
- 6. CHARACTERISTICS OF A SUCCESSFUL COP • Domain (e.g. agile) • Community (e.g. ScrumMasters) • Practice (the practical aspect of the application of the knowledge and sharing the learnings)
- 7. SO, WHY SET UP A COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE? • Share • Learn • Grow • Teach • Enrich • Mentor
- 8. BENEFITS OF COP • Organic organizational growth • Higher productivity • Happier employees • Cost savings • Sharing of key knowledge and technologies • Unexpected and fruitful collaboration • Empathy and shared emotions, leading to stronger employee bonding that transcends normal, business-as-usual interactions • Smoother and easier onboarding of new employees • A safe environment within which one can learn without judgment and contribute without fear • Employee empowerment and engagement • Ownership through involvement • Innovation through broader collection of ideas
- 9. HOW TO CREATE YOUR OWN COP Practical steps to creating a great Community of Practice
- 10. STEP 1 – IDENTIFY THE COP • Identify the Community that you wish to create (and for which there is an active need) • Example communities: ScrumMasters; Product Owners; Architects; QA; Developers • Your role is not important – your passion, commitment, and sphere of influence are
- 11. STEP 2 – IDENTIFY THE STAKEHOLDERS • Figure out who the stakeholders are (influencing; removing roadblocks) • Example: Development/QA directors and managers; PMO directors and managers • Resources and time are not free • Understand and respect the time commitments of all involved
- 12. STEP 3 – EDUCATE THE STAKEHOLDERS • Critical aspect – you must be able to demonstrate the value of such a Community • Be upfront about what’s needed from participants and sponsors • Promise to start small and fail quickly and cheaply
- 13. STEP 4 – IDENTIFY THE MEMBERS • Can be done as a parallel/background task with Step 2 • Get recommendations from the stakeholders on those with • solid knowledge • ability and willingness to • share and learn • These will be your primary contacts, contributors, and cheerleaders
- 14. STEP 5 – GET EXECUTIVE SPONSOR (ES) BUY-IN • Set the scenario by having casual/informal chats; have stakeholders mention the initiative to the ES in advance to “prepare the ground” • Set up 1:1 meeting with the ES – explain background in the invite • Prepare well for the meeting – use as few slides as possible • Show passion and demonstrate knowledge • Explain previous communications and acceptance by other stakeholders • Explain the goals and aims of the Community • Show the value to the bottom line, morale, and productivity by removing silos and sharing learnings • Show the potential of the Community by listing the numbers of those that may be involved
- 15. STEP 6 – CREATE THE CHARTER/MANIFESTO • The Charter defines your Community’s purpose and goals • Don’t be too specific • Leave room for changes as they may very well happen • Don’t tie yourself down to any specific methodology or a rigid structure/hierarchy • You’re flattening the landscape at this point – so don’t create silos or towers
- 16. STEP 7 – SET UP THE WEBSITE/SOCIAL SITE • SharePoint has easy-to-use templates to create a basic site • If using an ESN such as Jive – your work is even easier as it’s geared towards collaboration already • Upload all of the known information so far: charter, useful links, relevant pictures and videos • List the executive sponsor’s name if allowed to do so • Keep the content fresh and relevant • Create a special area to track members (name, email, location, role, and their profile site on the intranet)
- 17. STEP 8 – SOLICIT MEMBERS AND GENERATE BUZZ • Get stakeholders to talk about this effort via email; in meetings; in the intranet as blogs etc. • Once the buzz sets in, reach out to the members and set up group meetings • Explain the purpose, charter, goals, and any other useful information • Follow-up by saying they’ll hear back soon
- 18. STEP 9 – INVITE THE MEMBERS • Send out a formal communication to the invitees • List the site URL and other relevant details • Have them update the member list area of the site so they’ll be involved right from the start • Encourage them to explore and provide initial thoughts and feedback on the site • Find a volunteer to make those changes – this will entrench the Community aspect a bit more
- 19. STEP 10 – LAUNCH THE COMMUNITY • Find a suitable time • Set it up for an hour – no more • Invite should list the specifics and regurgitate some of the information (this is important at the outset) • Bring in an expert from within or outside of the company for a talk • Have them emphasize the value/benefits/relevance of this initiative • Have the expert speak to their direct experience and provide examples of previous success
- 20. STEP 11 – SUSTAIN THE COMMUNITY • How to collaborate • engage via internal social media or website • via email (not preferred) if needed • via regular sessions (WebEx and teleconference) • record the sessions • upload the recordings and related artifacts and send out follow-up email promptly • have members come up with ideas for the backlog • let people vote (if possible) on the next session/future sessions • create an email distribution list for easy access to the members
- 21. STEP 12 – SUCCEED! • After 2-3 months, request feedback on the Community • Make changes gradually • Point out the changes being made if appropriate to satisfy those requesting them • List successes and bring to the attention of the stakeholders and executive sponsor • Invite stakeholders and executive sponsor to ALL sessions (let them decide if they wish to attend) • Publish periodic executive summaries in newsletter format, easy to read, short, relevant and interesting. Include links, graphics, and resources
- 22. Q&A/SOURCES • Sources: • Wikipedia (Communities of Practice/Lave and Wenger) • Contact: • [email protected]