Webinar: Human Factors in Agile Transformations

Are we paying attention to the important human factors of coherence, psychological safety, and trust that connect us in the virtual and physical spaces where we gather? In July, agile42 coach Michèle Twomey, alongside our special guest Sonja Blignaut from More Beyond, explored this question and some of the hybrid models we are testing that enable essential human contact during agile transitions.

Michéle kicked off our two-part series on "Human Factors in Agile Transformations". In her video interview, Michéle gave us her take on Gerald M. Weinberg's statement: “all problems are people problems”. She also delved into what human factors one needs to consider in agile transformations as well as her sources of inspiration in her own journey of understanding human factors.

Let's automate what needs to be automated and let's start thinking about where that human magic can really become valuable.

- Michéle Twomey

Next up, Sonja shared her insights on human factors within the realm of "complexity". She addressed the notion that, if we force too much change on people, we compromise their sense of coherence. Ultimately she believes we need to think about limiting the change in progress, the same way we limit work in progress within agile transformations. Listen to Sonja's video interview HERE.

Michéle and Sonja joined forces in our webinar on the 28th of July. The session raised many pressing issues we are currently facing, particularly around the expectation of always being available, always being online, and the important element of trust within the workplace. The audience had the opportunity to engage with their own questions, some of which included:

  • Given a new team who can only work remotely, what would you suggest to build trust?
  • I miss the spontaneous corridor discussions that have in the past been the space where the most impact has been made. Have you seen anything that could substitute this space in the current situation when we're all remote?
  • What do you think helps some people handle digitisation better than others?
  • How is the link between the personality type of the leaders vs the human factor taken into consideration or not?

In the same way you put in place WIP limits, you need to put in change in progress limits. It's like a dam with sleuths - if you don't think carefully about how much water you let out, you flood the downstream.

- Sonja Blignaut

If you missed out on the live session, we have the recording for you here - please feel free to share around with your network. 

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Part 2: Human Factors in Agile Transformations

Our long-time partner, Sonja Blignaut from More Beyond, shares her insights on human factors within the realm of "complexity". She addresses the notion that, if we force too much change on people, we compromise their sense of coherence. Ultimately we need to think about limiting the change in progress, the same way we limit work in progress within agile transformations.

Watch the full interview below:

Watch the recording of Sonja's webinar on "Human Factors in Agile Transformations".

Gerald M. Weinberg said, “all problems are people problems”. What do you make of that statement?

I think the best answer I can give is my favourite answer in complexity, and that is “it depends”. I don’t think we can remove context from that question. The reality is, that both the people as well as the problems are entangled in many different ways we can’t fully understand. 

So, I will counter with another quote by W. Edwards Deming who said: “85% of the reasons for failure are deficiencies in the systems and processes rather than the employee”. He then continues to say that the role of management, therefore, is to change the process rather than badgering individuals to do better. I really like that because it brings together the idea of people and the context, the systems and processes they are embedded in, and how they are co-creating problems rather than just saying “it’s all about the people”.  

What human factors does one need to consider in agile transformations?

In terms of the human factors that we need to consider for agile transformations, I think there are many, however, I will highlight a few and in our webinar, we will discuss more. Firstly we need to consider the anxiety that many people experience when we force too much change on them. It’s a bit paradoxical how we relate to change. Sometimes we seek out novelty and change and other times when it is forced on us, it creates a lot of anxiety and I think sometimes we forget about that. 

One of my favourite frameworks to help me think through the human aspects of change is by Aaron Antonovsky. He created a framework called “individual sense of coherence”. There is much evidence that this has a strong relationship with the collective or organisational resilience. So he talks about three factors that make up an individual sense of coherence, which in essence means that individuals could feel that their internal &external worlds make sense. 

The first factor is “comprehensibility”:

  • Can I understand what is going on? 
  • Can I make sense of it?

The second is “manageability”:

  • Do I feel that I’ve got the internal and external resources & skills to be able to cope with what is happening?

 The third one is “meaningfulness”:

  • Does it feel meaningful?
  • Am I motivated to engage?
  • Can I find meaning in what I am doing? 

I think what happens very often is if we force too much change on people, we compromise their sense of coherence.

What is the role of decision makers in the context of an agile transformation?

From an organisational perspective and considering change in agile transformations, I think the role of an organisation and the decision-makers is to create environments and conditions where people’s sense of coherence can be maintained. 

One of the things that I’ve noticed in many of the companies I have worked with, is that we don’t consider from an upstream perspective the impact of our decisions and the amount of change we put into the system, downstream. Very often an executive would say: “but I’m only driving one project”. But that one project, with all of the various silos that are involved, comprises a huge amount of change downstream, for the people who are at the receiving end of this. So I feel we need to think about limiting the change in progress, the same way we limit work in progress. 

What have been your sources of inspiration in your own journey of understanding human factors?

I am naturally a curious person, so I draw inspiration from multiple places. However, in general, my main source of inspiration is the various theorists and thinkers who work in the field of complexity. So I tend to see everything through the lens of complexity. 

Then also anthropologists like Gillian Tett and Aaron Antonovsky, and the field of systems psychodynamics and how social-technical systems work and all the various unconscious processes that happen there. And finally, my latest area of interest comes from biologists and how they are starting to look at flow and then also from the world of sports coaches.

So as you can see I’m drawing from multiple places and I look forward to seeing you at our webinar.  

Watch the recording of Sonja's webinar on "Human Factors in Agile Transformations".

*Click here to read Part 1 blog post* 

Part 1: Human Factors in Agile Transformations

agile42 coach, Michéle Twomey, kicks off this two-part series on "Human Factors in Agile Transformations". In this video interview, Michéle gives us her take on Gerald M. Weinberg's statement: “all problems are people problems”. She also delves into what human factors one needs to consider in agile transformations as well as her sources of inspiration in her own journey of understanding human factors.

Watch the full interview below:

Watch the recording of Michéle's webinar on "Human Factors in Agile Transformations".

Gerald M. Weinberg said, “all problems are people problems”. What do you make of that statement?

Just last week in a call someone mentioned: “We the people are the greatest obstacle to our change journey”. And yes, the problems seem to appear or become visible between people. This “between people” is how we connect and relate to each other; how we engage and collaborate with each other; how we think and communicate our thoughts with each other. So the space between what’s communicated both verbally and non-verbally and what is heard, perceived, understood, and interpreted on the other side, is what’s interesting. 

The quality of this in-between space strongly depends on the connection to self. My self-awareness of what am I bringing into this space is tremendously important. So I believe that the space in between is where the potential lies and all possibilities are people possibilities. 

What human factors does one need to consider in agile transformations?

Well, humans have different needs and values, but fundamentally people thrive when they belong and are part of a greater shared purpose, are given autonomy and an opportunity for mastery. So in an agile transition, an interesting question to explore is: “how are we intentionally creating and holding spaces for people to connect and relate to the why of an agile transition, to engage and collaborate towards a shared purpose through an agile transition”.

Now more than ever, we should be paying attention to how digital processes and electronic communication tools are reducing the shared experience of the “in-between spaces” where possibilities are born. See when I connect with you remotely through a screen or as an avatar, I no longer share an experience with you in a physical space. I am not able to shake your hand - not just to physically shake your hand but to be able to sense energetically who’s inside that hand. All of this information I believe - all of this auditory, tactile, energetic information is what contributes to the psychological safety and trust between people. 

What have been your sources of inspiration in your own journey of understanding human factors?

My greatest inspiration has been the “gestalt” approach. “Gestalt” meaning “form” or “shape” and “gestalt” sees humans as more than brain and intellect, so connecting mind, body, and spirit energy and also an awareness of energy between people and the possibility of what forms and shapes might emerge in that energy space between people. 

This relates to another inspiration from Dr. Gabor Maté and his work. Where he speaks of people as an embodiment of creative adaptations from past biographical experiences. So knowing self, being connected to self, and being very aware of what are my defenses, what are my triggers, and what am I bringing into this space between people is an important factor when connecting with others around me. 

There are some key themes between “gestalt” and agile transitions that speak to me and one of them is taking personal responsibility as well as the here and now and focusing on how we show up and the quality of how we show up in a space between people.

Watch the recording of Michéle's webinar on "Human Factors in Agile Transformations".

*Click here to read Part 2 blog post*

selective focus photography of brass-colored microphone

The secret to a great talk

I have been part of the Agile Africa organising committee for a couple of years now responsible for speaker coaching. I have loved every minute of it because I have had the opportunity to see speakers grow in confidence during the process.

Most of the speakers were new to conference speaking and a few were experienced. During these times I was reminded that we never stop learning, no matter how experienced we are.

After Joanne Perold’s awesome post on how to get your conference submissions accepted, this topic discusses what to do once your submission has been accepted.

This is a broad topic so I am going to split it into 3 sections:

  1. Crafting your talk,
  2. Presenting your talk, and
  3. Timing your talk.

Crafting your talk

The message map

Carmine Gallo suggests in his book Talk Like TED: The 9 Public Speaking Secrets of the World’s Top Minds a simple yet powerful way to structure your talk by using a message map.

All you need do is remember 3 things:

  1. create a Twitter-friendly headline – memorable and easy to tweet,
  2. keep it simple by breaking your talk into 3 key messages  – more than this and people are bound to get confused,
  3. each key message has supporting points – remember not to have too many of these either.

The picture below shows how easy it is.

The rule of three

This is a powerful speechwriting technique that allows you to “express concepts more completely, emphasize your points and increase the memorability of your message.” (Andrew Lugan).

As a conference speaker, you need to make your message memorable, create passion, and stimulate discussion (see it in action here :-))?. Examples of the Rule of Three can be found in famous speeches throughout history, such as Barack Obama’s inauguration speech,

“we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.”

So try this… group concepts or points that you want to carry across and be remembered long after you have left the stage, in threes.

In his book, Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer, Roy Peter Clarke says that “the mojo of three offers a greater sense of completeness than four or more. Use one for power. Use two for comparison. Use three for completeness, wholeness, roundness. Use four or more to list, inventory, compile, and expand.”

Presenting your talk

Be yourself, be real

The most important advice I ever received as a public speaker was to be myself. It can be tempting to want to imitate a speaker we admire. Unless you are an Oscar-winning actress aim to be real. When you do this your audience will connect with you. People will come to your talk because they’re interested in who you are and what you have to say. How you connect with them will determine if they stay…

Tell stories and use humour

People like stories, our brains are wired for them and become more active when we listen to them. Be they metaphoric or personal, using these to emphasise or illustrate points or concepts ensures that they are memorable. Good stories are powerful, simple and persuasive.

Stories paint a mental picture that invokes all of your audience’s senses – seeing it in their minds and feeling emotion – such that they connect with your content.

I have also found that to start with a story calms my nerves and hooks the audience in right from the start because it creates interest from the get-go.

Keep facts and stats to a minimum

These tend to overwhelm the brain and it’s a quick way to lose your audience. I’m not saying have no facts or stats – think about what you want your audience to take away and focus on delivering this in a memorable way – anchoring them with a story is a good idea. Infographics are also effective at presenting facts and stats – it’s a picture and easy for people to remember.

Timing your talk

You have a timebox in which to deliver your talk. Write a talk that allows time for questions. For example, if you are doing a 45-minute talk allow 10 minutes for questions – this means that you need to write a 35-minute talk. For a 60 minute talk allow 15 minutes for questions.

This also creates a buffer because there are other things that can go wrong on the day. I recently witnessed the following which caused the speakers to rush the ending and didn’t allow time for questions:

  • the clicker didn’t work,
  • the laptop and the projector were not compatible,
  • the audience began asking questions during the talk (this is perfect – just plan for it in your timing, or tell your audience that you will take questions at the end).

Work with a timekeeper – get the MC, facilitator or a friend to give you hand-signals or hold up coloured cards when you reach certain time thresholds.

And a couple of final tips

End on a high note and what’s the takeaway?

A lot of good presentations fizzle out at the end. This could contribute towards a recency bias where your audience will only remember the last part of the presentation which clouds their perception of the rest. You’ve probably heard of this cognitive bias – read more about this systematic error in thinking here.

There are many ways of ending on a high note. A good way of thinking about this is asking yourself ‘what is the one thing that I want my audience to take away or do differently?’ and find a way to communicate this – perhaps another story, a quote, a tweetable moment… it’s all in your imagination.

All of the best with structuring your talk. Work with a coach. And remember: the ultimate secret to a great talk is to make time to prepare and practice, practice, practice!

Do you have any other secrets that you are willing to divulge? Let me know in the comments below.

Commitment: Why and How

At the peak of sprint planning the team pledges “We commit to achieve these stories, no matter what it takes“. It’s a deal with the Product Owner (PO) and the team.

So why do teams commit?

The commitment is only valuable if the team thinks it can actually achieve it. Since the team is invited to pull the right amount of stories from the backlog, the PO trusts that the team makes reliable commitments based on their current capabilities and expected flow. This way the self-organizing team is challenged to constantly improve estimates, deliver value, as well as contribute its stake in risk management.

And how to arrive at a commitment?

  • prepare stories in Product Backlog well
  • discuss to make sure stories are understood
  • confirm the acceptance criteria (get early feedback from customer and PO)
  • discuss implementation order vs. prioritized stories
  • consider Retrospective findings, refine Definition of Done if necessary
  • re-estimate if needed
  • consider need for spike (experiment sprint)
  • recognize the right amount of refactoring and tuning requests to reduce technical debt
  • commitment is always on the story, not on its tasks

The product owner’s trust shall never coerce the team into committing a set of stories they do not feel comfortable achieving. If the team turns out to overcommit and needs to de-scope stories during the sprint, that is part of the intended feedback cycle reflected upon during retrospective, thus it will gradually increase its certainty.