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Agile Design Methods: A Conversational Approach

8/18/2017

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Agile design methods are powerfully simple techniques and leadership skills that make process design conversations flow with better collaboration and results.
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The resulting design is typically produced at a lower cost than traditional methods with a high degree of precision and improved stakeholder engagement and satisfaction.

When considering how to get from understanding a problem to designing and delivering a solution, the process is a predictable set of conversations that inform every step along the way from ideation to delivery.

​Getting "from-concept-to-market" faster and more effectively yields competitive advantage as well as a solution more likely to resonate with the people who will ultimately buy or use it.

The concepts described herein apply whether your field of endeavor is operational excellence or product development.

As an organizational leader facilitating efforts to improve a process or product manager engaging your design team, you face predictable challenges when moving from some vague notion of a concept to actually designing the solution.

Here are some aspects that affect your future state design process:

  • Clarity
    Why are we doing this?
    ​Why does it matter?
    What problems are we trying to solve for and who will buy/use our solution?
    How do the problems materialize in the quality of life of those affected?
    How else does the problem materialize?
    What are the qualities of the ideal solution?
​
  • Velocity
    How do we get the design flywheel started?
    What does progress look like in the early stages of the process?
    How do we create a "fast path" to produce high-quality design deliverables that will inform the designers and architects of the envisioned solution?

  • Engagement
    How do we develop trust and confidence within the design team?
    How do we acquire the whole-hearted participation of the people tasked with designing the solution?
    How do we vet the impact of the envisioned solution with potential buyers/users?

A Solution-Oriented Conversational Framework

So just how does one get from concept to delivery? 

The process for getting there is easily represented as a series of conversations.
"We've got a long way to go and a short time to get there." 

- Jerry Reed
​Early conversations focus on Why and What: 
  • Understanding what the problem is and why it matters, and designing by describing what the ideal qualities of the solution entail, in just enough essential detail.
  • These conversations are enabled via agile design methods that produce specific deliverables intended for decision-makers, stakeholders as well as solutions designers and architects.

Latter conversations focus on How:
  • Designing and delivering the solution.
  • These conversations are enabled by agile development methods that produce specific deliverables intended for decision-makers as well as solutions developers and delivery channel stakeholders.

This approach lends itself to introducing the right conversation at the right time.
Conversation #1: Learning and Discovery

The scope of this conversation pertains to the understanding of the problem. ​This conversation is in scope of agile design methods.​

Allow the voice of the people who are experiencing the problem(s) to inform this conversation. Listen and learn and document that learning to describe what each problem looks like and summarize them in problem statements in addition to statements of what is working well.

Document this learning and discovery conversation to inform the future state design conversation. Decide whether or not to proceed to a future state design conversation.

Conversation #2: Future State Design

The scope of this conversation pertains to the describing the ideal solution. This conversation is in scope of agile design methods.

Allow a dedicated and accountable group of contributors to inform a conversation around describing "what" the ideal solution looks without describing "how" the solution will be implemented. The descriptive language is free from any implementation jargon and focuses on delivering a clear description of the envisioned solution that may include process definitions, key solution deliverables, user experience criteria, risks, issues and opportunities.

Document this future state design conversation to inform the solution development conversation. Decide whether or not to continue to a solution development conversation.

Conversation #3: Solution Development

The scope of this conversation pertains to designing and developing the solution. This conversation is out of scope of agile design methods. 

Allow a dedicated and accountable group of designers and architects to inform a conversation that describes "how" the ideal solution will be implemented. The descriptive language is rich in implementation detail. It may provide design alternatives that provide varying degrees of cost, risk, time, return on investment, etc. Decisions are made regarding design alternatives and leading to the actual development of a solution.

Document this solutions development to inform the solution delivery conversation. This conversation is out of scope of agile design methods.

Conversation #4: Solution Delivery

The scope of this conversation pertains to the delivery and support of the solution. This conversation is out of scope of agile design methods.

Allow a dedicated and accountable group to inform a conversation that oversees the delivery of the solution. This includes launching and promoting the solution as well as supporting it and providing user experience feedback to inform solution improvement efforts.

Agile Design Methods Describe What Not How

Agile design methods are those techniques and leadership skills that enable a future state design process characterized by high velocity, collaborative engagement and clarity of ideation. The resulting design is typically produced at a lower cost than traditional methods with a high degree of precision and improved stakeholder engagement and satisfaction.

The outputs of these conversations intentionally stop short of designing the implementation, They describe what the problems are and what the ideal solution qualities look like. This informs solutions architects and designers who are responsible for determining how to design the solution and the production/development teams that will deliver it.
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Agile Design Methods: The What Perspective
Agile design methods, as quickly as practically possible, describe what is envisioned to be an ideal process or solution. They produce ideation deliverables that describe what the problems are and what the ideal solution qualities look like.

Exercising this type of "Design the What" discipline respects a separation of concerns between the market problem definition and the solution design definition. It informs the solution designers and architects who are responsible to "Design the How" of the solution under discussion.

​At the time of this writing, the phrase "agile design methods" is not widely used or understood.
Agile Development Methods: The How Perspective
In contrast, agile development methods, as quickly as practically possible, define how to architect the solution and then proceed in building and delivering that solution. They ​produce deliverables that describe how the solution is to be implemented and they produce the actual solution. ​

At the time of this writing, the phrase "agile software development" is commonplace and is routinely associated with the word "agile".

Agile Design Methods: Subscribe for "How To"

The purpose of this primer has been to establish a foundation of a conversational framework that provides context as to where agile design methods fit in an overall solution development life cycle.

It sets the stage for further elaboration on topics related to agile design methods, collaborative creativity, product development and user experience.

- Chuck

Subscribe to my free blog updates to receive content that vividly describes the techniques and leadership skills that embody the practice of agile design methods. The blog contains not only my ideas on the topic, but the insight of others who actively work and thrive wholeheartedly in the realms of collaborative creativity.

​I look forward to you joining us. It's going to be quite a journey.
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How Words Affect Your Solution

8/4/2017

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As a facilitator leading a collaborative group in pursuit of a solution, the misunderstanding of words surfaces time and again as a velocity-killing pitfall. 

Ambiguity and uncertainty impede progress, whereas clarity and sureness accelerate it. Here is a simple and effective technique that I use to help avoid this predictable pitfall in the collaborative process.

Risks and Delays Result from a Lack of Clarity

To describe this pitfall, imagine that you are leading a series of working meetings comprised of a dedicated group of people who meet regularly. You all are tasked with designing a solution to a problem and communicating it to stakeholders at specific points in time to vet and approve your design.

Here are a few examples of what the pitfall might look like:
  • The Memory-Lapsed Facilitator
    You preside over a learning and discovery meeting comprised of the perfect collaborative tribe. Good natured, synergistic, well-read and knowledgable, every person is a domain expert who contributes openly and actively. It's a joy to lead this group because of their willingness to be present and fully engaged.

    As the meeting unfolds, the group discovers problems and envisions solutions at a rapid clip. There is high energy and a high pace of sharing. However, as you facilitate, you are struggling to record the key concepts being discussed. 

    At the end of your meeting, you find yourself in the unenviable position of having to use your own memory to reconstruct the conversations and record them somehow for the purposes of corporate memory. Despite your best intentions and efforts, you ultimately produce a summary document with unintentional omissions and a lack of clarity regarding what was discussed. When the document is distributed to stakeholders, it causes delays and additional follow-up meetings to reconstruct what was missing or inaccurately recorded.​
    ​
  • The Overwhelmed Reviewer
    Ashwin is a busy domain expert, a business stakeholder who represents an organization affected by your solution. Your team is engaging him in a socialization effort to help vet the solution you have envisioned.

    Ashwin is unable to attend a review meeting due to his demanding schedule. He has requested the solution documentation to review. The document contains jargon and colloquial phrases that have unclear meanings to him. After giving his only available 30 minutes to the effort of reviewing the document, Ashwin quits his review efforts, frustrated because he is unclear about the meaning of the words being used.

    At best, from a velocity perspective, he "approves" of the document without a high degree of certainty because he has no more time to allocate to reviewing your work. This introduces risk to your work effort because of the low quality of vetting. At worst, the work effort is delayed while the team and Ashwin find a meeting time in the future to work out their differences in understanding.

  • The Disaffected Decision Maker
    Regina joins a review meeting as a decision-maker. As a cameo participant, she is uninvested in the words being bantered about in the meeting. As a result, she challenges their meaning and spends a lot of time seeking clarification. Various people from your dedicated group offer explanations. But, their meanings don't converge leaving Regina with more questions than answers.

    As the meeting proceeds, Regina's confidence in the group's understanding of the problem and solution is not reinforced. The work effort stalls. At best, a delay in progress occurs until mutual understanding is established in the future. At worst, the work ends permanently.

Be Intentional: Build a Glossary

As a collaborative facilitator, if your approach does not emphasize the necessity of capturing key concepts and their meanings, you are unintentionally building in delays in the process of getting your work done.

A glossary is an effective accelerator in any collaborative design. It takes focused effort and intentionality to produce one.
Ambiguity and uncertainty are impediments to progress whereas clarity and confidence accelerate progress. 
However, in my experience, having a glossary available to collaborators is worth the effort because it serves as an accelerator an work effort accelerator whereas the absence of a glossary causes delays and other negative side-effects.

Here is an approach I use and recommend while facilitating collaborative meetings;  
  1. Prepare: Make sure that someone (you or a designated person in the meeting) serves as a scribe to record words and their meanings. When meeting in a room, I suggest having 8" x 6" Post-it Super Sticky Notes and a Sharpie permanent marker available at all times. When meeting virtually online or over the phone, I suggest having the Evernote application open at all times.

  2. Listen: While facilitating the collaborative conversation, listen for concepts or notions that might not be easily understood by others not as invested in the conversation. When the you hear a word or phrase, stop the conversation briefly, "Let's capture that idea as a glossary term."

  3. Record:  Typically there is one person in the conversation who can authoritatively verbalize the glossary term. Have that person state it while the scribe records it.

  4. Confirm: Have the scribe read it back to the group to get confirmation. Record any refinements and then move on with the meeting.

    For example, in a recent cross-functional human resources effort, our team came up with these terms. One of them had a single meaning. Another had multiple meanings stated in separate sentenced.

    exit interview – A final meeting to collect specific assets from the employee. A survey conducted with an individual who is separating from employment.

    involuntary – The condition upon which separation occurs that is not initiated by the employee.

    line management – A set of managers in the lower layers of the management hierarchy (e.g., team leader, supervisor) that manage employees who have no supervisory responsibilities.


  5. Publish: Long after the meeting, because you were intentional you now have the corporate memory to reconstruct what was said by publishing the recorded glossary terms in whatever form is appropriate (e.g., appendix in a published document, page on a collaborative website or wiki).

Making your glossary accessible to all stakeholders provides a clarifying reference resource that accelerates understanding and positively affect the progress of your collaborative work effort. I hope this has been a helpful perspective for you.

​- Chuck


Subscribe to my free blog updates to receive content that vividly describes the techniques and leadership skills that embody the practice of agile design methods. The blog contains not only my ideas on the topic, but the insight of others who actively work and thrive wholeheartedly in the realms of collaborative creativity.

​I look forward to you joining us.
​
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    About Chuck Boudreau

    (boo'-dro) - I help people design solutions collaboratively using agile design methods. I have 30+ years of experience in designing software solutions and business processes, leading cross-functional process improvement teams as a business analyst, and helping product managers define and position products using Pragmatic Marketing. I am passionate about user experience design, dog training, beating drums in musical ensembles and collaboratively creating solutions with people.

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