Friday 17 February 2017

Timebox Rules For Better Time Management

For many years I studied techniques and practices of time management. Partially for my own sanity, and partially in an effort to help my team or the organisation I was consulting or coaching become quicker and nimbler (aka "agile"). I picked up lots of cool one-liners like "survival of the fittest" is incorrect in modern management philosophy - these days it is about "survival of the ones who learn only the right things the fastest".

We Don't Have Time Means We Have Strategic Conflict! We Use Timeboxing To Make This Transparent And Improve The Situation For All!

So on my journey I realised I also had to study prioritisation theory and practices. Surprising to me at the time, time management and prioritisation are 2 sides of the same coin effectively - especially in light of what it takes to survive (let alone thrive)!

Although there is a good Timeboxing writeup on wikipedia, I found it was too theoretical and not usable for people who had not tried many different options, nor did they want to read all the references to understand how to implement!

The below rules I came up with for my experiential training modules are really simple. I have yet to see any better that really help a group or team of people to focus on the most important thing(s) for the most amount of time available.

Timebox Rules For Better Time Management

I think I was inspired by deep reflections on how the agile Scrum framework and how we learn from our errors to come up with these rules that have helped me and many others who have followed them over the years.

Sometimes I vary the ordering by placing #3 nearer the end but for this timeboxing writeup it seems clearer where it is now:
1. Set the end time
2. Everyone watches the remaining time
3. Break large timeboxes into smaller timeboxes
4. Breadth or overview 1st
5. Depth or detail 2nd
6. Stop when time's run out
7. Don't worry - trust the process and stay with it

By following this guideline, the most important thing(s) have been covered, and you can always iterate or run another timebox again if you need to. (ie, use common sense, always!)

The main thing this framework helps with, is moving individuals and people forward. The brain is a muscle, so the more you and your team practice my timebox rules, the more you will get out of this, and achieve.

For example, a 30 minute meeting to make 2 decisions starting at 10am.

1. Welcome everyone and set the visible timer on the table/wall so that everyone knows that the end time is the end time. This is meeting is serious. (30 seconds)
2. Ask everyone to focus on the remaining time and to remain "in the meeting/room" and help everyone stay on focus of the timebox. (30 seconds)

There are now 29 minutes remaining.

3. Start a 3 minute overview timebox to ensure everyone's initial thoughts are heard before going into details. Agree the order of importance of the 2 decisions ("there can be only 1 priority 1")

There are now 26 minutes remaining.

4. Start a 5 minute timebox on the first decision that needs to be made
(assume the group is unable to decide)

There are now 21 minutes remaining.

5. Start a 2nd 5 minute timebox on the second decision that needs to be made
(assume the group is unable to decide)

There are now 16 minutes remaining.

6. Ask everyone to silently reflect on what they have learned or know about decision 1 for 1 minute
7. Ask everyone to silently reflect on what they have learned or know about decision 2 for 1 minute

There are now 14 minutes remaining.

8. Start a 5 minute timebox on decision 1 again
(assume still no decision)

There are now 9 minutes remaining.

9. Start a 2 minute timebox on decision 1
(assume a decision)

There are now 7 minutes remaining.

10. Start a 5 minute timebox on decision 2
(sometimes magic happens, and you don't need the whole timebox!)
(assume people all unanimously agree within 2 minutes)

There are now 5 minutes remaining.

11. Thank all and end the meeting early. DO NOT DRIFT INTO "any other business" or "miscellaneous agenda items". End the meeting. If people want to social then social, but it's no longer a meeting and make that clear!

For further motivation to help you and your team learn this best time management system, check my earlier post on No Time To Improve. Timeboxing gives you the time for doing the right things right.

Thankyou for reading! :-)

Friday 10 February 2017

Agile Principles 101

So I spent the first few times teaching the Agile Principles in the way that I was ?taught? on a very expensive public certification* and it was the way I saw all the other agile coaches and trainers doing it. Peer pressure - even for an agile coach or agile teacher - is a tough thing to deal with! 

So too is that excruciating inner desire of wanting to teach all of the things (especially the things that took me a long time, and I learned the hard way)! But you only get a few minutes, hours or days in the lives of those whom you wish to help and there is a limit to how much of an impact you can make in those few short moments of time!


How To Really Teach The 12 Agile Principles Mindset - A Mystery Mastered

So 1 MS PowerPoint slide would go up, and the class would read the slide and the words silently. (How did I even know they were reading? Or were they just pretending to read so they could go home earlier?)

I would timebox this reading exercise to 6 minutes, as there are 12 of them. And everyone can read and understand complex phrases within 30 seconds, right?!!? 

And of course then another timebox for 4 minutes for Questions - "Are there any questions about this?" - kind of "emperor has no clothes" style - 99% of the time no one would ask anything. Probably because the principles are so simple to understand - people looking around would see their colleagues, managers, unknown strangers nodding knowingly! Perhaps even smirking with that secret deep understanding!

And, no one ever wants to feel uncomfortable - especially not by asking an obvious (to everyone else) question to clarify their own understanding, their own perception, their own experience!
Here's what that slide typically looked like (it hurts me just to revisit the old old decks!)



Notice how neatly all 12, and the title, fit really neatly onto 1 slide! Win! ;-)

I particularly like the tiny font size, and the bullets! Wow! Those bullets - they really draw attention to what's so very important to make sure the 12 principles of agile successfully transfer off the presentation and into people's consciousness, and cause the learners (?) to change their way of thinking, of being, their behaviours and thus the real target - their way of working to being more productive with the limited resources and time they have available!

Now for some truth of this widely used, common, dare I say - standard or best practice - approach...

In a nutshell, the pro's of this approach are:

  1. The trainer gets at least a 6 minute break
  2. The trainer can "tick the box" on the "we covered the basics" section / poorly defined learning outcomes
  3. Only 1 slide!
  4. Only 1 page to print for the pack for the attendees
  5. Lots of nods from the trainees - the words do seem sensible - which makes all trainers feel good inside!
  6. Very few questions (in 4 minutes) if any, and, no time to get into any real detail of either the trainer's experience(s) or learners' experience(s) - so only quick superficial answers or "park that one" statements to move along!

The con's of this approach are:

  1. Zero positive effect on the learners
  2. Sometimes negative impact on the learners as they begin to logically unpack and envision applying in their own organisation and discover stumbling blocks with all or nearly all of the principles!
  3. Learners feel rushed
  4. Learners realise the trainer might not be a good one or that the training content might not be good

Post mortem: 

Did you notice who gets more benefit from teaching the agile principles like this? Who's paying the money? Who's earning the money? Is it a fair exchange?

No one can apply anything that is read from a densely packed and boring slide like this! The agile principles are too concise and need expansion/discussion to help people interpret them correctly singly and collectively, and within the context of the learners which is unique from group to group, team to team and individual to individual. It's a subjective perspective thing!

I suggest don't teach or try to learn the agile principles this way, please. It's simply a waste of time and energy. I have many more experiences and ideas which I am sharing on What Is Agile For

* Seriously!!? Who can learn something as simple (NOT!) as ballet or agile (or anything else of real substance that is life changing) after only 1 or 2 days on an expensive course for which you get a certificate/certification/membership!!? Certifiable/certified maybe. :-)
Make The Agile Principles Real, Make Them Useful, Make Them Usable, Or STAY HOME! "Hey, teacher! Leave these kids alone!"
Thankyou for supporting! Best wishes on your journey!

Thursday 9 February 2017

What Is Agile For You What Is Agile For Us

So…what do you want to know?

I guess there are 3 readers this agile principles blog post is targeted at:
  1. Total newcomer to the whole agile movement/thing
  2. Someone who has had some brief training, or read a few books, or someone working next to a team “going agile”
  3. Someone who just wants to understand when to reject agile and when to accept agile
Where Do I Start To Learn Agile And What Do I Use It For
What Is Agile For - And How Do I Learn Agile?

Firstly, welcome to this post (actually several that are linked!) about “agile”. I’ve said to myself for a number years, “do not go gentle into that good night” as many many have tried and most have only partially succeeded…the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and many brave good people who tried to communicate their "Eureka!"

To be inspired, and honour William Shakespeare, a little reminder from Hamlet, Act III, Scene 1 with agile updates:

To be [agile], or not to be [agile]: that is the question!
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows [mistakes] of outrageous fortune [delivery in the past],
Or to take arms [learn from the past] against a sea of troubles [complexity],
And by opposing [with a modern, learned mindset and approach] end them [deliver successfully and sustainably with a team that becomes a real competitive advantage]?

Note - I’m not trying to introduce or explain my interpretation of "agile" with this particular post. 

Instead I am going to connect various ways I have taught the 12 agile principles that are behind the agile manifesto to people who have attended my courses or people I have coached or led in organisations. I’ve read (and continue to read) (all) the books, speak to (all) the people and make my own mind up based on my experience.

I reckon if you and your team and/or peers follow the logic of the linked “HowTo Learn/HowTo Teach the agile principles” - and apply my guidance, you and your learners will discover for yourselves what these elusive, ambiguous, uncertain, etc principles mean for you and for your unique situation. And this deeper learning/realisation will set you up for great success in whatever you are going to attempt for the rest of your career.

A pushy declaration, I know. But I’ve been watching the people who really “got it” on my training and how their careers (thanks to linkedin!) have proceeded since 2010…and I am very pleased for them! And even more pleased that a simple manifesto and a few simple principles that were initially thought about in the software development and delivery space that I initially embarked my adult work life in ... have become to be understood as entirely applicable in all walks/works of life.

In the purest nutshell, by the dictionary, agile means "quick and nimble". These days it also has some ambiguous meanings appropriately and inappropriately added to the term, including "10,000 practices you can try to make your organisation quicker and nimbler" - also known as more competitive.

Agile Is Not Too Much To Learn - It Is Mindset
Agile Is [NOT] Too Much To Learn
I’m iterating this post, but over time the dedicated walk-throughs for learners, trainers, teachers, managers and the curious will expand here. Agile is really easy to explain and learn, but challenging to embody. You will see! 
Agile Is A Life Approach It Is A Mindset
What Is Agile For?

My recommended “understand, embrace agile right in mind to do agile right and get the best benefits” and "read them now!" agile books currently are:






Perhaps Agile is not a What, perhaps it is a When, or maybe it is a How?

Thankyou for supporting! Happy learning "to be agile" :-)


A smarter SMART for even better collaborative Objectives (including OKRs)

My favourite coaching tools: SMART Acronym Another Update