In 2006 Esther and I introduced a Flexible Framework for Agile Retrospectives, a series of stages for designing effective retrospectives: Set the Stage; Gather Data; Generate Insights; Decide What to Do; and Close the Retrospective. We recommended a recurring cycle of retrospectives after each iteration as a process for the team to “reflect, tune and adjust”, as the Agile Manifesto principle decrees.

While a defined opening and closing belong in any effectively facilitated meeting, what happens in between looks very much like HSD’s Adaptive Action cycle. Put simply, it goes like this: What? So What? Now What?

“Adaptive Action provides an iterative process of seeing the patterns in the environment, planning for change, and the re-scanning the environment to see what is needed next. Adaptive Action can be used to bring about both short-term, operational, day-to-day change and longer term improvements. It is a process that can be used at any level of the organization at any time…All it requires is a commitment to improvement based on data from the environment and the willingness to review progress continuously.” - Royce Holladay and Kristine Quade, Influencing Patterns for Change: A Human Systems Dynamics Primer for Leaders.

HSD provides group activities for understanding complex adaptive human systems that fit the purpose of each part of the model.

An example:
In “What?” a retrospective facilitator shows the team how to describe its environment in terms of Containers, Differences, and Exchanges (CDE conditions for self-organizing) or guides team members to brainstorm the ways this iteration was the Same and Different from previous ones. The team asks questions, collects data, and observes patterns. They ask “What just happened or is happening now with regard to the focus of this retrospective?”

In “So What?”, the team looks for patterns and analyzes how those patterns influence their work or examines the Generative STAR model to identify areas of strengths and challenges or reflect on the implications of differences in Decision Map models between the team and its customers. They seek to understand what is important about the “what,” they analyze the data, and make meaning of it. They ask, “What patterns help us? How could we shift patterns that don’t help us? What CDEs exist, and how can we move them to create different patterns?”

In “Now What?”, the team chooses one adaptive action to implement in the next iteration. While implementing it, team members observe the new patterns that emerge, and collect new data to bring to the next retrospective.

Adaptive Action iterates, pays attention to patterns, flexes to accommodate new data, sees many dimensions, and relies on fast cycles.

“Using an iterative cycle of ‘What?’ ‘So What?’ ‘Now What?’ helps planning (for continuous improvement) move progressively forward.” - Holladay and Quade

And Now What?
If you’re interested in learning more about the HSD program and/or the models and methods for working in complex adaptive human systems during complex times, check out the website for resources, upcoming events, and links to webinars.

Add “Project Weather” to your retrospective design to both “Set the Stage” and “Close the Retrospective”.  As an opening, it provides a useful segue into creating a shared story and begins the process of gathering data. As a closing, it illustrates any shifts in team members’ perspectives that have occurred as a result of their collaboration in the retrospective.

To Prepare:
Create a pre-drawn flip chart with a heading at the top: Project Weather. Add hand drawn graphics across the top, like a sun coming out from behind clouds, clouds and rain, or even the occasional tornado! Divide the flip chart portion below the title into three columns: Name, Weather Report, and Weather Forecast. See the example below.

To Set the Stage:
An introduction for Project Weather goes something like this,

“Every environment has a climate, and we experience climate change from time to time. Thinking back over the metaphorical climate of recent iteration, how would you characterize the “weather” you experienced? Using only one or a few words, how would your local TV meteorologist describe it? Who will start?”

A hand goes up or someone speaks up, and we begin. Since just about everyone is familiar with the terminology of weather reports in the media, you’ll almost never have to give further examples. People know this metaphor well.

As you go around the circle (or around the room), write each person’s name and their “weather report” comment. Ask every team member for their contribution. This serves to set a tone that we expect everyone to participate during the meeting. Keep the written record because we’ll come back to it later in the wrap-up. When everyone has offered their report, ask for volunteers to give a few brief overview comments on what they see as the commonalities and variances in the reports.

Then move the group into whatever more extensive activity(ies) you’ve planned for the Gather Data step, such as Timeline, FRIM, Team Radar, etc.

To Close the Retrospective:
After the team has learned about their shared story and collective data for the iteration; thought together to analyze what it means for them and the implications for their upcoming work; and made a joint decision about what improvement action or experiment to try next time, it’s time to bring the retrospective to a close.

As the retrospective leader, return to the Project Weather flip chart. This time reintroduce it and ask for a weather forecast,

“Earlier you all reported the weather for last iteration. Given the work you’ve done together in this retrospective, and your plans for improving, let’s go around again and see what you each forecast for the next iteration. Again, in just one or a few words, use the terms you’d hear on a TV news cast.”

Starting down the list of names in the same order, write down the “forecasts.” Ask, “How does this look the same or different from our earlier reports?” Take only a couple of comments, before moving to whatever activity you have planned for getting feedback on the retrospective. (For an example of a completed Project Weather flip chart, see photo below.)

Overview:
As a quick group process activity, Project Weather provides useful “bookends” for the retrospective, and sets it apart from the meetings that often come just before and just after - Iteration Demo/Product Review and Iteration Planning. It also injects a sense of playfulness and creativity into the process. We’ve shared it with many teams, and, so far, it’s been well-accepted by everyone.

Acknowledgement: The core idea for this activity came originally from Jutta Eckstein at the 2006 Retrospective Facilitators Gathering in Baden-Baden, Germany.

Join industry experts, James Shore and Diana Larsen, for an in-depth immersion into real-world Agile development.  Learn how to plan and deliver Agile projects and practice doing so in real teams delivering working software.  The training emphasizes real-word experiences and promotes a hands-on approach for students.

Days 1 & 2: The Art of Agile Planning (April 23rd - April 24th)
Discover how to use Agile methods and how to plan an Agile project. You will leave this training able to:

Days 3, 4, & 5: The Art of Agile Delivery (April 25th - April 27th) will
Focus on creating and delivering software in a real-world Agile environment. After taking this intensive 3-day course, you will be prepared to:

This course is for developers, project managers, programmers, Scrum masters, business analysts, testers and product managers.  Although anyone involved in software development, managers, and leaders interested in learning more about Agile can benefit from this course.   Both Agile novices and experts will walk away with truly valuable new skills.

For a complete course description, visit http://www.cyrusinnovation.com/index.php/art-of-Agile-nyc.

For optimal learning, register for the full-week immersion course here.

About the Instructors
James Shore is a thought leader in the Agile software development community. He combines deep technical expertise with whole-system thinking to help development teams worldwide achieve. He has been coaching teams in Agile development since 1999 and is a recipient of the Agile Alliance’s prestigious Gordon Pask Award for Agile Excellence. James consults with development teams worldwide to help them meet commitments, improve product quality and increase productivity. He is co-author of The Art Of Agile Development.

Diana Larsen consults with leaders and teams to create work processes where innovation, inspiration, and imagination flourish. With more than fifteen years of experience working with technical professionals, Diana brings focus to the human side of organizations, teams and projects. She activates and strengthens her clients’ proficiency in shaping an environment for productive teams and thriving in times of change. Diana co-authored Agile Retrospectives: Making Good Teams Great! and Liftoff: Launching Agile Teams & Projects. She is the current Treasurer of the Agile Alliance Board of Directors.

David Greuse at Convergence Design, noted that “…we reject the notion of work-life balance, although we take the idea very seriously. To us, the phrase ‘work-life balance’ suggests that ‘work’ and ‘personal life’ are two separate categories that must be kept in separate containers lest a toxic mixture result. We believe the opposite: that work and personal and community commitments should be merged into a seamless whole that might be called ‘life’. Work is not antithetical to life: it is an integral part of life.”¹

John Beeson in a recent Harvard Business Review blog noted that for senior level execs there is no such thing as work-life balance. He says your work consumes all your waking (and most of your sleeping) hours. The best you can hope for is a power nap. Guess that leaves me out…

Edy Greenblatt says we should be asking a different question. Instead of wondering whether you have balance or not, we should look at all the facets of our lives and ask how we are performing. Are we fully engaged? Are we physically energized, emotionally connected, mentally focused, and connected to something significant in life? If the answer to any of these is no, one of our “muscles” likely needs to be developed.  The key is to identify what restores us and depletes us.  In both work and non-work activities, we must do more of what we find restorative.

Sherrie Bourg-Carter, author of a book on what she calls “High-Octane Women” says the bottom line is that balance needs to be self-defined; it’s what works for you and your family. If you allow it to be anything else, you’re only adding another thing to your “to-do” list.  And frankly, isn’t that list full enough?

Personally, the comment that resonated most with me was a few lines sent to me by a friend. I don’t think she wrote this but wise woman that she is, perhaps she did.  The comment was “Start with what’s scarce: time.  You only get so much, and you can’t hit ‘undo’.  Some things are abundant.  Time is not one of them.  The goal is to get so focused on what’s vital, that you get in the regular habit of saying ‘I don’t have time for that’  to anything that doesn’t serve what really matters.  Don’t fall into the trap of thinking there’s ‘work’ and ‘life’.  There’s only life.”

Here are just a few references if you want to read more on this topic:

Bourg-Carter, S. (2011). High Octane Women: How Superachievers Can Avoid Burnout (Prometheus Books, 2011).

Greenblatt, E. (2009). Restore Yourself: The Antidote for Professional Exhaustion. Los Angeles, CA. Execu-Care Press.

Footnotes
¹ The Myth of Work-Life Balance: http://www.convergencedesignllc.com/blog/index.php/the-myth-of-work-life-balance/

A version of this blog was previously published at www.wcleadership.com.

Human Systems Dynamics brings together theory and practice to effectively respond to today’s unpredictable, complex and emergent environments.  Rooted in complexity science, HSD incorporates a system of simple strategies that help to make sense of the patterns that emerge from chaos when people work and play together in groups, families, organizations, and communities.

Human Systems Dynamics is based on the premise that we interact in complex adaptive systems on a daily basis, in our personal and professional life.  Glenda Eoyang, founder of the HSD Institute, and Thomas Berkas, Ph.D, define complex adaptive systems as consisting of

interdependent agents, [where] the behavior of each agent conforms to a short list of simple rules, and the group of agents exhibits emergent, system-wide patterns of behaviors.

Recognizing these patterns of behaviors and how they influence the actions of groups and/or organizations helps us to understand the dynamics at play. From that recognition and understanding, we can apply simple rules to guide the behaviors of each person or team member in the organization, and in turn, lead to better and more effective working relationships.

In my practice, HSD has made an indelible impact on my approach with organizational systems and individuals.  Sharing the concepts and methods of HSD with my clients has had considerable influence on how my clients think about and work in organizational systems and, in turn, has brought about effective change in their organizations.

I recently facilitated a meeting with a group of managers who needed to create closer working relationships in order to effectively support their Agile teams and continue their enterprise IT Agile adoption efforts. To help them think about the culture and system they wanted to evolve, I introduced a short series of models and methods from complexity science and HSD that helped them to visualize their current system, describe their desired system, and choose next steps to move into an emerging future. By applying HSD processes, the group was able to move forward successfully.

I will be attending the HSDP Certification Training Program in Portland on January 18-20, 2012, as a volunteer Teaching Assistant (TA). The training consists of 10 full-days broken in three sessions (Jan, Feb, and Mar). Don’t let the time commitment dissuade you; it is well-worth it.

If you think this is something that would benefit you and your organization, consider registering for the training.  Or send me an email: dlarsen@futureworksconsulting.com.  I’ll be happy to answer any questions you may have or share information about my experiences with HSD.*

For additional Information on HSD, please check the following resources:

- Human Systems Dynamics Institute

- Options for Action: Power point presentation by Glenda Eoyang which describes paradoxes found in human systems dynamics.

- Simple Rules: Organizational DNA: This article by Royce Holladay describes the power of Simple Rules to establish patterns in organizations.

- Free webinars on HSD can be accessed here.

- Additional articles on HSD can be found here.

*Note: As FYI - I have no financial stake in this workshop or the institute, nor will I gain any additional benefit from it’s presence in Portland other than participating in it again while avoiding the travel. The “WIIFM” is the opportunity to create a local cohort of people who know and understand the methods and models. I look forward to the opportunity to create an ongoing learning group in which we can find more ways to help our clients and our organizations as they navigate complex times.

Citing results from a number of well-respected researchers in the US and the UK, Bunting raises an interesting question, namely why the question of sex differences exerts such a powerful hold on us? Regardless of whether you believe sex differences are real or not, what makes raising the question occur with such frequency and such passion?

Elizabeth Spelke, Ph.D., a widely respected professor at Harvard, has studied the field of cognitive development for many years. Her research demonstrates that children as early as 10 months old categorize the world by gender. It is interesting that infants in her studies apparently do not show the same categorizations by race. Spelke notes that humans are “…predisposed to see the social landscape in terms of gender” and that we keep on looking for differences because that is one of the basic ways we order our experience of the world.

So does it add or detract from our experience of the world, our relationships, our ability to lead and manage others to think in terms of sex differences? When we do, are we simply perpetuating stereotypes or are we honoring diversity? What is your view on this topic?

For a free download of the article pdf, register at the Cutter site. You can also order reprints from Cutter to use as a discussion case study for your own management teams as they navigate the transition to Agile.

Price:  $1750 per participant*
Group Rate:  Register 3 or more participants at $1550 per person

REGISTER

The workshop is limited to 18 participants, so make sure to reserve your spot soon!

Course Overview 
Managers have a unique role to fulfill in an Agile world. Whether leading a shift to Agile methods or guiding a newly Agile organization, effective managers join their current skills with strategic tools learned in this course to keep people and teams on track.
 
This course gives you the hands-on experience and builds the skill set you will require to thoroughly understand and utilize the real-world fundamentals of managing in an agile environment. The instructors bring their expertise in agile management, planning and development to help managers utilize their knowledge and skills to harness the power of an Agile organization.

Course Description

Workshop Leaders
Diana Larsen
Sharon Buckmaster

*The price includes participation in the 2-day workshop AND two (2) hours of individual one-on-one coaching with one of the instructors.

A short essay, “Promoting Double Loop Learning in Retrospectives”
and
A slideshow, “Double Loop Learning in Retrospectives II”

To learn more about Chris Argyris and his theories of action, including double loop learning, see:
Smith, M. K. (2001) ‘Chris Argyris: theories of action, double-loop learning and organizational learning’, the encyclopedia of informal education, www.infed.org/thinkers/argyris.htm. Last update: September 07, 2009
and
Wikipedia. “”Chris Argyris”

It’s all fine and well to say identify and remove impediments but often we bump up against a stumbling block, find a way around, and make things work anyway without further thought. It’s second nature. Moving forward is what’s important. And, besides, those stumbling blocks? That’s just how it is around here.

Recognizing and shining a spotlight on impediments isn’t as easy as it sounds. At the Agile Roots 2009 conference Tom Perry led a session to do just that.

In his session, the participants (including me) focused on this question. We came up with a list teams could use to amplify their ability to recognize and manage impediments. Typical impediments fall into categories, including:

Incomplete work
Missing information
Repeated work
Waiting
Missing dependencies
Interruptions
Defects
Bureaucracy
Missed/Unclear communication
Unmade decisions
Faulty assumptions
Insufficient time
Missing parts
Unknown new technology (contributed by @mxmoss)

…to name a few.

What kinds of impediments do you find?