From “B.O.O.M. Units: Four steps to evolve your team into a lean, product development machine” by Austin Govella, Sep 2015

Four tools to help evolve your team into a lean, product development machine

B.O.O.M. Units

@austingovella

#boom

http://slideshare.net/austingovella/boomunits

From “B.O.O.M. Units: Four steps to evolve your team into a lean, product development machine” by Austin Govella, Sep 2015

In the Fall of 2013, we executed the perfect project. A national furniture retailer asked my company to redesign the home and product screens for their ecommerce website. I worked with one of our best project managers, one of our best visual designers, one of our best technical architects, and sought frequent feedback and critiques from leading minds inside our organization. We identified goals, communicated them relentlessly, framed every design decision as an experiment around specific user-centered metrics, and worked so collaboratively with the client, they pitched, rationalized, and defended design decisions better than we could. The team of brilliant engineers developed, tested, and pushed the screens, so the client could begin their ongoing testing and optimization.

From “B.O.O.M. Units: Four steps to evolve your team into a lean, product development machine” by Austin Govella, Sep 2015

The perfect project failed.

Interactions couldn’t be measured, screens couldn’t be optimized, conversions couldn’t be improved, furniture wasn’t being sold, and it couldn’t be fixed so furniture could be sold. In every way that mattered, the perfect team with the perfect engagement with the perfect process produced the perfect failure.

From “B.O.O.M. Units: Four steps to evolve your team into a lean, product development machine” by Austin Govella, Sep 2015

The Agricultural Age

To sell 1 blanket: 1. Raise a bunch of sheep 2. Shear a bunch of sheep 3. Spin a bunch of wool

From “B.O.O.M. Units: Four steps to evolve your team into a lean, product development machine” by Austin Govella, Sep 2015Wolf4max on FLickr

to sell 100 blankets 1. buy yarn from a bunch of farmers 2. pay a bunch of people 3. run wool through a bunch of looms

Library of Congress

The Industrial Age

From “B.O.O.M. Units: Four steps to evolve your team into a lean, product development machine” by Austin Govella, Sep 2015

This isn’t the information age or the experience economy or the digital age. In the agricultural age, agricultural processes drove the production of products. In the industrial age, industrial processes drive the production of products. In our age, production is driven by how well you design your web of frameworks. We live in the design age where you can make anything anywhere faster than you can think.

From “B.O.O.M. Units: Four steps to evolve your team into a lean, product development machine” by Austin Govella, Sep 2015

From “B.O.O.M. Units: Four steps to evolve your team into a lean, product development machine” by Austin Govella, Sep 2015

to sell 100,000 blankets 1. query a service that lists a bunch of blanket vendors 2. integrate a bunch of product information 3. publish a catalog of blankets

Architecture, design, and development frameworks accelerate pace of work across a multiplicity of platforms, channels, and contexts. Teams deliver faster than they can think.

From “B.O.O.M. Units: Four steps to evolve your team into a lean, product development machine” by Austin Govella, Sep 2015

Diverse, uneven teams need different architecture, design, and development. There is no one process.

From “B.O.O.M. Units: Four steps to evolve your team into a lean, product development machine” by Austin Govella, Sep 2015

You have to work like an emergency service:

1. Triage need

2. Provide first aid

3. Prescribe for the future

From “B.O.O.M. Units: Four steps to evolve your team into a lean, product development machine” by Austin Govella, Sep 2015

Balanced teams On-time delivery Outcome-focused Maximum impact

B.O.O.M. Units

From “B.O.O.M. Units: Four steps to evolve your team into a lean, product development machine” by Austin Govella, Sep 2015

This is a way for modern teams to approach problems, not a solution to your problems. Every project, team, product will have different answers.

From “B.O.O.M. Units: Four steps to evolve your team into a lean, product development machine” by Austin Govella, Sep 2015

Most people define learning as “problem solving,” so they focus correcting errors outside of themselves and their teams.

You must also reflect on your process, identify how your process contributes to the problem, and then change your process. You must learn how the way you define and solve problems can be a source of problems.

• A thermostat that turns on the heat whenever the temperature in a room drops below 68 degrees is an example of single-loop learning.

• A thermostat that could ask, “Why am I set at 68 degrees?” and explore whether another temperature might be more economical would be an example of double-loop learning.

Adapted from “Teaching smart people how to learn” by Chris Argyris, Harvard Business

Review, May-June, 1991.

From “B.O.O.M. Units: Four steps to evolve your team into a lean, product development machine” by Austin Govella, Sep 2015

From “B.O.O.M. Units: Four steps to evolve your team into a lean, product development machine” by Austin Govella, Sep 2015

BALANCED TEAMSeveryone carries equal weight

At my current job, we have an on staff UI/UX person and since we adopted Scrum across our entire team about two months ago, she has been struggling... I fear our UX person has basically just stopped participating in team activities to everyone's detriment... I'd appreciate any thoughts on how I might help her re-engage and figure out how she might adjust her work to fit in better with an agile process.

From “B.O.O.M. Units: Four steps to evolve your team into a lean, product development machine” by Austin Govella, Sep 2015

Introduction

“When you’re in a Toyota plant (including San Antonio, where I live), you see workers pulling the cords fairly frequently. And, when they do, a team leader is there within seconds.” Mark Graban, “Why Toyota is Eliminating the Andon Cord from its Factories"

From “B.O.O.M. Units: Four steps to evolve your team into a lean, product development machine” by Austin Govella, Sep 2015Image source: allomaths.fr

With the Andon cord, anyone can stop the line and not everyone needs to know why.

From “B.O.O.M. Units: Four steps to evolve your team into a lean, product development machine” by Austin Govella, Sep 2015

Balanced teams require that everyone trusts everyone else’s decisions. How do you ensure you trust decisions made when you’re not there? How do other people trust you?

From “B.O.O.M. Units: Four steps to evolve your team into a lean, product development machine” by Austin Govella, Sep 2015

The Team EntanglerTactic: • Everyone attends all meetings

Benefit: • Fuels shared learning • Breeds shared vision • Generates shared commitment

From “B.O.O.M. Units: Four steps to evolve your team into a lean, product development machine” by Austin Govella, Sep 2015

SPECIAL BOOM POWER

The Un-EntanglerTactic: • Everyone works independently

Benefit: • Increases team’s work-in-process • Allows flow and deep dives

From “B.O.O.M. Units: Four steps to evolve your team into a lean, product development machine” by Austin Govella, Sep 2015

SPECIAL BOOM POWER

Knowing what everyone is responsible for helps you work on your part alone and pull in the right people when you need to.

R - Responsible A - Accountable C - Consulted I - Informed

From “B.O.O.M. Units: Four steps to evolve your team into a lean, product development machine” by Austin Govella, Sep 2015

UX Business analysis

Front-end dev

Back-end dev

Data C R A

Data format A R I A

Content R C I

Layout R A

Behavior R C A C

Visual design R A

HTML/CSS/JS C I R C

CMS integration I C R C

Application integration I C I R

From “B.O.O.M. Units: Four steps to evolve your team into a lean, product development machine” by Austin Govella, Sep 2015

OUTCOME-FOCUSED

vision, not process

I had a reasonably well abstracted sense of the pillars of the platform we needed to develop… [that] could create a shared understanding and a shared vocabulary and (ultimately) a whole lot less code. Unfortunately, when I began to work with Vendor 1 they had no interest in hearing about my pillars. They wanted to work from a simple vision and hundreds of user stories that made no attempt to abstract any concepts that could add to comprehension, achieve efficiencies through reuse… They claimed that emergent design and refactoring would do the trick. Well.... it is two years later and we still don't have time to refactor and the complexity of the poorly abstracted code means we probably never will.

From “B.O.O.M. Units: Four steps to evolve your team into a lean, product development machine” by Austin Govella, Sep 2015https://www.scrum.org/Forums/aft/1222

1 digital platform 3 internal departments 9 lines of business 43 websites 3 marketing agencies my company

From “B.O.O.M. Units: Four steps to evolve your team into a lean, product development machine” by Austin Govella, Sep 2015

Outcome-focused teams share a concrete, testable vision of the future that allows teams to work independently and provides a common language for collaboration.

From “B.O.O.M. Units: Four steps to evolve your team into a lean, product development machine” by Austin Govella, Sep 2015

The Vision-AtorTactic: • Collaboratively identify goals/vision

Benefit: • Creates shared vision • Creates shared language for

collaboration

From “B.O.O.M. Units: Four steps to evolve your team into a lean, product development machine” by Austin Govella, Sep 2015

SPECIAL BOOM POWER

Current state, goals, drivers, barriers, future state (vision), and measurement

From “B.O.O.M. Units: Four steps to evolve your team into a lean, product development machine” by Austin Govella, Sep 2015

From “B.O.O.M. Units: Four steps to evolve your team into a lean, product development machine” by Austin Govella, Sep 2015

ON-TIME DELIVERYrelays depend on hand-offs

As the technical architect, he’s on the hook for delivering everything after this. If you keep changing the design, then he won’t be able to deliver on time. We have to extend the schedule and it will start costing us $100,000 a week.

From “B.O.O.M. Units: Four steps to evolve your team into a lean, product development machine” by Austin Govella, Sep 2015

From “B.O.O.M. Units: Four steps to evolve your team into a lean, product development machine” by Austin Govella, Sep 2015Do people learn like buildings do

The Shelf-InatorTactic: • When ready, place work on a “shelf”

Benefit: • Manages slip between workstreams • Enables “pull”

From “B.O.O.M. Units: Four steps to evolve your team into a lean, product development machine” by Austin Govella, Sep 2015

SPECIAL BOOM POWER

Early is a burden. Don’t make your team think about things they don’t need to.

From “B.O.O.M. Units: Four steps to evolve your team into a lean, product development machine” by Austin Govella, Sep 2015

Waiting is inefficient. Don’t make the team wait on something they need.

From “B.O.O.M. Units: Four steps to evolve your team into a lean, product development machine” by Austin Govella, Sep 2015

From “B.O.O.M. Units: Four steps to evolve your team into a lean, product development machine” by Austin Govella, Sep 2015

MAXIMUM IMPACT

Just enough for you is just enough for the team

I won’t have it ready for review until tomorrow. I need to go clean it up.

From “B.O.O.M. Units: Four steps to evolve your team into a lean, product development machine” by Austin Govella, Sep 2015

From “B.O.O.M. Units: Four steps to evolve your team into a lean, product development machine” by Austin Govella, Sep 2015

Deliver exactly what you need and no more. Complete the smallest task that gives you the biggest value the fastest way.

From “B.O.O.M. Units: Four steps to evolve your team into a lean, product development machine” by Austin Govella, Sep 2015

The User-NatorTactic: • Right-fidelity user models

Benefit: • Identifies key user attributes

From “B.O.O.M. Units: Four steps to evolve your team into a lean, product development machine” by Austin Govella, Sep 2015

SPECIAL BOOM POWER

From “B.O.O.M. Units: Four steps to evolve your team into a lean, product development machine” by Austin Govella, Sep 2015

User Sales ManagerSammy Sales

ManagerSam Crawford, Sales Manager

TASKS What will they do with

the system?x x x x

CONTEXT When, where, and how often will they use the

system?

x x x

INFLUENCERS What pain points,

outcomes, and barriers affect usage?

x x

BONUS: UNKNOWNS What do we not know

that we don’t know?x

From “B.O.O.M. Units: Four steps to evolve your team into a lean, product development machine” by Austin Govella, Sep 2015

BUSINESS GOAL USER PROFILE DATA RESEARCH METHODS

Identify content and functionalityTask-based profilesWhat do users do?

1.Stakeholder interviews 2.Competitive analysis

Improve efficiency Reduce errors Improve output quality

Context-based profilesWhen/where/how do they interact?

1.Web analytics 2.Usability testing

Improve conversion Improve adoption Improve retention Increase engagement and/or social activity

Influence-basedWhat barriers, drivers, and outcomes drive interaction?

1.Contextual inquiry 2.Customer interviews 3.Customer surveys 4.Customer focus groups

Maximize customer value (final optimization) Defend existing markets from disruption Innovate new markets Disrupt existing markets

Unknown unknowns Analysis identifies new and untapped methods of segmentation.

1.Ethnographic research 2.Diary studies

Don’t do more until you need it, and no earlier.

From “B.O.O.M. Units: Four steps to evolve your team into a lean, product development machine” by Austin Govella, Sep 2015

From “B.O.O.M. Units: Four steps to evolve your team into a lean, product development machine” by Austin Govella, Sep 2015

BECOMING A B.O.O.M. UNIT

I want you.

Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed. GK Chesterton

From “B.O.O.M. Units: Four steps to evolve your team into a lean, product development machine” by Austin Govella, Sep 2015

Introduction

From “B.O.O.M. Units: Four steps to evolve your team into a lean, product development machine” by Austin Govella, Sep 2015

Here, there be DRAGONS!!!

Become A B.O.O.M. Unit• BALANCE YOURSELF Entangle yourself with your team

• FOCUS ON OUTCOMES Focus on the experience instead of your tasks and deliverables

• DELIVER JUST-IN-TIME Help you and your team stay productive

• MAXIMIZE IMPACT Choose the smallest thing with the largest impact

From “B.O.O.M. Units: Four steps to evolve your team into a lean, product development machine” by Austin Govella, Sep 2015

From “B.O.O.M. Units: Four steps to evolve your team into a lean, product development machine” by Austin Govella, Sep 2015By Jacob Botter on Flickr

Ask!!!

You don’t learn to ride a bike by reading a book. You need practice and a willingness to explore. Nothing Is Written, Johnnie Moore and Viv McWaters, 2015

From “B.O.O.M. Units: Four steps to evolve your team into a lean, product development machine” by Austin Govella, Sep 2015

Defensive Reasoning (Is Bad)

Defensive reasoners ask:

• How can I remain in control?

• How can I maximize “winning” and minimize

“losing”?

• How can I reduce negative feelings?

Negative feelings include embarrassment, threat,

feeling vulnerable, or incompetent.

From “B.O.O.M. Units: Four steps to evolve your team into a lean, product development machine” by Austin Govella, Sep 2015

Introduction

B.O.O.M. Units Are Offensive, Not Defensive

Offensive reasoners ask themselves:

• How can I share control?

• How can I focus on learning?

• How can I build trust on my team?

From “B.O.O.M. Units: Four steps to evolve your team into a lean, product development machine” by Austin Govella, Sep 2015

Defensive learners fous on “me”

Offensive learners focus on “we”

Keep control Share control with the team

Maximize “winning” Focus on learning

Reduce negative feelings Trust your team

Introduction

B.O.O.M. Units Are Offensive, Not Defensive

From “B.O.O.M. Units: Four steps to evolve your team into a lean, product development machine” by Austin Govella, Sep 2015

From “B.O.O.M. Units: Four steps to evolve your team into a lean, product development machine” by Austin Govella, Sep 2015

THANK YOU