bob galen "putting the 'story' back in the user story"

Putting the “STORY”

Back in the User Story

Bob Galen President & Principal Consultant

RGCG, LLC [email protected]

Copyright © 2014 RGCG, LLC

Introduction Bob Galen n  Independent Agile Coach (CSC) at RGCG, LLC

n  Principle Agile Evangelist at Velocity Partners

n  Somewhere ‘north’ of 30 years overall experience J n  Wide variety of technical stacks and business domains n  Developer first, then Project Management / Leadership, then

Testing n  Senior/Executive software development leadership for 20 years n  Practicing formal agility since 2000 n  XP, Lean, Scrum, and Kanban experience n  From Cary, North Carolina n  Connect w/ me via LinkedIn and Twitter @bobgalen

Bias Disclaimer:

Agile is THE BEST Methodology for Software Development…

However, NOT a Silver Bullet!

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Storytellers


Outline

n  Intro n  The Leader’s Guide to Storytelling – Stephen Denning n  Tell to Win – Peter Guber n  Techniques n  Examples n  Workshop Storytelling n  Close

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Story Models


Story Telling Model Stephen Denning

n  The Leader’s Guide to Storytelling published in 2005. Author of Squirrel Inc.

n  Similarities to The Story Factor, but with a leadership and more in-depth focus.

n  Denning has gone on to become immersed in innovation, leadership reinvention, and agile methods.


8 Narrative Patterns Stephen Denning 1.  Motivate Others to Action

q  Using narrative to ignite action and implement new ideas

2.  Build Trust in You q  Using narrative to communicate who you are

3.  Build Trust in your Company q  Using narrative to build your brand

4.  Transmit your Values q  Using narrative to instill organizational values


8 Narrative Patterns Stephen Denning 5.  Getting Others Working Together

q  Using narrative to get things done collaboratively

6.  Share Knowledge q  Using narrative to transmit knowledge and understanding

7.  Tame the Grapevine q  Using narrative to neutralize gossip and rumor

8.  Create and Share Your Vision q  Using narrative to lead people into the future


General Techniques


Basic Framework Still quite effective…

n  Tell them what you’re about to tell them n  Tell them n  Tell them what you just told them

n  Oreo Cookie Model (sandwich)

n  From a Planning and a Strategy perspective, consider: q  Opening Moves q  Middle Game q  End Game



The “One Thing”

When it comes to risky, controversial, and emotional conversations, skilled people find a way to get all

relevant information out into the open. That’s it. At the core of every successful conversation lies

the free flow of relevant information. People openly and honestly express their opinions, share their feelings, and

articulate their theories. They willingly and capably share their views, even when

their ideas are controversial or unpopular.

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The Pareto Principal Crossing the Chasm n  Communicate mostly to the 80% n  Communicate mostly to the Early Adopters and the

Majority n  Tailor your message to these folks; reach out to their

interests, connecting to them


Connecting to Your Audience n  Reference their perspectives n  Reference their context n  What would you want to hear IF you were in their shoes n  What sorts of history relates to your topic

n  Walk about, make eye contact n  Talk about what you’d like to help the audience do, how

you’d like to serve them n  Keep the Servant Leadership mindset in mind

throughout

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Goals & Objectives

n  You can’t force collaboration. You can encourage it towards specific expectations surrounding Goals & Objectives… q  Major initiative q  Major project q  Major new methodology q  Challenging new technology q  Quarterly / Annual goal-setting q  Connecting alignment to the top-line strategies

n  We’re all being measured together


Clarifying & Listening

n  Were you listening? n  Play it back to me…what were the key points? n  What do you think will be the most challenging parts of

the strategy? n  Is this the right direction? Does anyone see crucial

adjustments that need to be made?


Humor

n  Self deprecating humor can be incredibly powerful in stories— particularly as an introductory device n  Share internal stories that are commonly views as

humorous n  Twist questions around, be playful with your audience n  You don’t have to be a comedian; be yourself


Adding Context

n  Add appropriate breadth and depth to the context that folks normally wouldn’t have— q  Risk context q  Organizational context q  Impact context q  Customer context q  Dependency context q  Quality context q  Leadership context q  Technical context q  Revenue context


Visualization

n  Try to paint a picture q  Directionally committed – Burn the ships behind you

n  Let pictures do some of your talking for you n  Mine the organization for supportive “pictures”

q  Defect reports, project failures, M&A intentions, success & failure email, metrics, virtually anything that adds to the imagery


When trying to make a point…

n  Let it emerge…

n  Don’t start with it: q  This is a story about incredible courage. At the end, you will

aspire to be like me

n  Or end with: q  And now I expect you all to be like me

n  Allow everyone to come to their own conclusions. n  Of course, you can recount what it means to YOU


Group-based Workshop Storytelling n  Now let’s try some practice.

We’re going to try: q  First to use a User Story format to

communicate a request q  And then try telling a story to get the

same point across

n  You get to pick: q  Refrigerator q  Vacation q  Or something of your own choosing

n  Flow q  5 minutes for the

User Story q  10 minutes for the

STORY q  10 minutes for

Debrief

Please get into your role playing, make stuff up, and have

fun!



Wrap-up

•  Hope we challenged your existing assumptions a bit •  Inspire you to start storytelling as a communications tool •  What did I miss?

•  Final questions or discussion?

Thank you!

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Contact Info

Bob Galen Principal Consultant,

RGalen Consulting Group, L.L.C.

Experience-driven agile focused training, coaching & consulting

Cell: (919) 272-0719

[email protected] www.rgalen.com [email protected] www.velocitypartners.net

Blogs

Project Times - http://www.projecttimes.com/robert-galen/ BA Times - http://www.batimes.com/robert-galen/ Podcast on all things ‘agile’ - http://www.meta-cast.com/

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bob galen "putting the 'story' back in the user story"

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