Facilitating Agile Meetings - A Comprehensive Facilitation Guide

Facilitating Agile Meetings

Facilitation Principles Meetings are real work * (Good facilitation required) Successful meeting = a fulfilled purpose My Actions enhance their self-organization It s their meeting, not mine I shape the container , they shape the content

Retrospective Facilitation Guide - Example Room Setup Create flip charts: Purpose: Look back at how we worked together, get a shared understanding. Outcome: choose 1-3 agreements to commit to Agenda Questions Placeholder Flip Chart for Activities Step Time Activity Outcome Agenda Question Materials Positivity/ Productivit y Factor Set the stage 5 One word to describe your state of mind Get every person s voice in the room. What is this meeting for? What will we do? Purpose & Agenda Flip Charts Alignment, Accountabi lity, Camarader ie, Communic ation, Values Diversity Review purpose and agenda. Ask permission for the agenda Connect people to the purpose and generate buy-in for the agenda (or an adjusted agenda).

Retrospective Facilitation Guide Example Part 2 Time Activity Outcome Step Agenda Question Materials Positivity/ Productivit y Factor Gather Data 7 Learning Matrix 4 quadrants: Get lots of ideas What happened today? Learning Matrix Flip Chart Accountabi lity, Trust, Respect, Values Diversity, Optimism, People think about the sprint from different perspectives. Happy Sad Idea Appreciation Sticky Writing

Retrospective Facilitation Guide Example Part 3 Time Activity Outcome Step Agenda Question Materials Positivity/ Productivit y Factor Gener ate Insight s 15 Step back: Where are the most stickies/what do you make of that? What do you see? What surprises you? What are you proud of? See the sprint through new eyes What new angles do we see? Goals & Strategy, Values Diversity, Constructi ve Interaction Create a shared understanding of what actually happened Decide what to do 10 Possible Actions & Silent sorting Possibilities to actions What could we possibly do? Index cards Sharpies Goals & Strategy, Decision Making, Trust, Respect, Constructi ve Interaction Each person writes one improvement idea on a index card ( could be something good to keep). 1-3 agreements the team will actually make What will we really do? SILENTLY, sort the cards into highest to lowest impact First of five: Are these top 2 (3?) what you want to commit to for the next print

Retrospective Facilitation Guide Example Part 4 Time Activity Outcome Step Agenda Question Materials Positivity/ Productivit y Factor Close 5 Round Robin: One thing I want to remember about this retrospective is End with participation from everyone. Close positively What was this retro like? Respect, Communic ation, Optimism, Trust

Agile Chartering/Inception Agile Chartering/Inception Purpose & Context To help the key stakeholders and the team collaboratively establish a common overall picture of the product, the project, and the business value Outcomes / Results/ Deliverables Product Vision Project Mission & Mission Tests Proj Tradeoff/Values Measurable Objectives Boundaries / in out of Scope Project Community Roster incl Committed resources Governance Agreements Risk & Mitigations Tools & Techniques Product Vision Box Silent Whiteboarding Story Writing Brainstorming Group/Pair Writing Affinity Mapping Impact Mapping Success Factors Ensure the business sponser is prepared Allow enough time Tolerate early ambiguity Pitfalls Not doing chartering Wishful thinking or no business case Unskilled facilitation Absence of key stakeholders or poor engagement Unmeasurable goals Level of Facilitation Full-scale facilitation, well- designed(perhaps by outside or expert help), closely facilitated Experienced Facilitator

Team Chartering Team Chartering Purpose & Context To help the team bond together around a common process, purpose, and vision To help team members discover themselves as a team, including their values, their diversity, and a common sense of humanity together Outcomes / Results/ Deliverables Designed culture Conflict Protocols Team agreements Team vision / values Core Hours Definition of Done Sprint Length Tools & Techniques Marketplace of Skills Designed Alliance Conflict Protocols Team values exercises (e.g., Values mingle) Lencioni getting to know each other exercises Agile process review (your agile vs my agile) Constellations Success Factors Highly Engaging You don t believe it s touchy-feely Pitfalls Not doing it, or making it primarily about going out somewhere fun together Boring convos around a conference tbale Level of Facilitation Full-scale facilitation, well- designed(perhaps by outside or expert help), closely facilitated

Backlog Grooming (Story Time) Backlog Grooming (Story Time) Purpose & Context Prepare User Stories for sprint planning Develop shared understanding of Customer n needs as represented by User Stories Partner with Product Owner to optimize delivery of business value Outcomes / Results/ Deliverables Well Groomed User Stories include: Business Acceptance Criteria Understand How to demo Understand how to Test Understand/Extend Definition of Done Business Value Priority Tools & Techniques Planning Poker Bockman Technique Triangulation Powerful Questions Listening ATDD (Acceptance Test Driven Development) Success Factors Engaging & authentic Real working software Encouraging conversation Transparency/Safety Pitfalls Not actually done Going thru the motions Fear Insufficient support from business stakeholders Level of Facilitation Full-scale facilitation until a team member wants to, and is capable of, facilitating: then facilitation can rotate

Iteration/Sprint Planning Iteration/Sprint Planning Purpose & Context Aligns team and Product Owner on work plan/commitment Management gets transparency into the team s thinking instead of needing a detailed long-range plan Helps team focus and control their destiny Provides empirical measure of team s capability/capacity Outcomes / Results/ Deliverables Defined iteration goals Iteration Backlog with acceptance Criteria Team Integration Commitment Deeper shared understanding User Story Task breakdown(Optional) Estimated User Story Size Estimates(Optional) Tools & Techniques User Story Grooming Silent Work Brainstorming Story Refactoring Task Bucket Estimating Time Boxing Working Edge Cases First Just Enough/Just In Time Success Factors Highly Engaging Team Alignment Clear desired outcome Pitfalls Ungroomed User Stories Wishful thinking Undue influence from senior team members Level of Facilitation Full-scale facilitation, well-designed, closely facilitated, task oriented, outcome driven, time-boxed

Stand Up Meeting Stand Up Meeting Purpose & Context Helps team coordinate their actions in detail Allows micro-planning and emergent discoveries Daily team commitment meeting (Task < 1 day) Provides visibility into team s process Outcomes / Results/ Deliverables Team coordination Early identification of impediments Team mutual accountability Visibility for non-team members Tools & Techniques Time Boxing Bottom lining Just Enough/Just In Time Talking Stick Working the Task Board Success Factors Start on Time Rigorous Time-boxing Commitment based conversation Full permission to interrupt Pitfalls Start on Time Rigorous Time-boxing Commitment based conversation Full permission to interrupt Level of Facilitation Varies based on team maturity (Shu, Ha, Ri), task oriented, outcome drive, time-boxed

Iteration/Sprint Review Iteration/Sprint Review Purpose & Context Demonstrate progress, show-off the product Real-time customer feedback from all stakeholders Visibility into the team s process, including how the organization creates impediments Allows management to give feedback & make requests Accept the iteration Outcomes / Results/ Deliverables Demonstrate work completed Feedback on work completed Shared understanding of value delivered Improved Team morale Team takes public responsibility for success/failure (bonds them) Tools & Techniques Time Boxing Bottom lining Information sharing Powerful Questions Listening Success Factors Engaging & authentic Real working software Encouraging conversation Transparency/Safety Pitfalls Going thru the motions Powerpoint Fear One way information flow Lack of interest from business stakeholders Level of Facilitation Full-scale facilitation until a team member wants to, and is capable of, facilitating: then facilitation can rotate

Retrospective Retrospective Purpose & Context Primary focal point of the Inspect & Adapt cycle The way for the team to take responsibility for their process Focuses on three major area: product, process, team Outcomes / Results/ Deliverables Greater team understanding of what actually happened Short list (e.g., 1-3) of actions to improve Product/process/team with responsibility Team bonding ( we re in this together ) Tools & Techniques Steps from Agile Retrospectives Book Success Factors Planned ahead Skillfully facilitated Team interacts with the team directly All voices are heard Meeting is owned by the team, therefore, they may invite non-team members Prod Owner may attend IF they are member of team(rather than external customer Pitfalls Light and frequent follow up is crucial during sprint Same old-same old Everything is outside the team s control (never completely true) Level of Facilitation Full-scale facilitation until a team member wants to, and is capable of, facilitating: then facilitation can rotate

Release Planning Release Planning Purpose & Context To align business and team understanding of customer & business value Provide high-level understanding of the features & functionality being delivered To negotiate a schedule and set reasonable expectations about what gets delivered by when Outcomes / Results/ Deliverables Release Plan Preliminary Groomed Product Backlog Story Map(optional) Project Roadmap (optional) Tools & Techniques Story mapping Affinity Mapping Bockman Estimating & Prioritization Technique Silent Work Brainstorming Story Point Sizing Story Refactoring User Story Grooming Success Factors Highly Engaging Business & Technology partnering Pitfalls Lack of team involvement Wishful thinking Coercion/Power Over Level of Facilitation Full-scale facilitation, well- designed(perhaps by outside or expert help), closely facilitated