Continuous Improvement

I thought it might be useful to record more details about the session I did on this subject. Not least because I might want to do it again someday.



This session was based on a combination of a presentation given by Lizette Morris at an Agile New England monthly meeting, and some of Jurgen Appelo's Management 3.0 work. 
Before beginning, I provided two working agreements: that people present would indeed be present (no phones or laptops), and the "Law of Two Feet" used by Open Space conveners, which turned out to require some explanation, so next time I won't use the jargon. 
I set the stage by asking people first to write down what they wanted from this session (since it was the first one, I was driving blind to a large extend) and then to write down ideas they already had about continual improvement, whether it was from experience or in theory. These filled in the WANT and HAVE rows on the sheets provided. 
I moved briefly into presentation mode and suggested that any continuous action plan must meet the following criteria:
  • Has a goal (or it's a hobby – not that there's anything wrong with hobbies!) 
  • Describes a specific action (or it's a daydream – ditto)
  • Includes at least one kind of measurement (or it's not improvement – or rather, you can't tell whether or not it's improvement) 
  • Includes an inspection loop (or it's not continuous) 
For the body of the session, I had attendees work through creating their own continuous action plan on a goal of their choice. I melded Lizette's six-step plan with the Plan/Do/CheckAct lean model described in one of Jurgen's books. At each step I tried to provide examples of how different plans might reflect different considerations.  
Plan 
In Lizette's model, this includes the following steps:
Identify the Goal – what is your current situation vs what do you want to achieve? how will you know that you've arrived? 
"Pick Your Programming," by which she means hone in on the critical aspects of that goal. By identifying not only what you are interested in but also what you are not concerned about with regard to the goal, you can create your plan more effectively. 
Get a Coach Who Loves You - I lean heavily on this whenever I discuss goal-setting behaviors; most of us are not islands. We tend to view failure at such a program as a failure of individual discipline, but for many goals, having a coach – whether that means someone who can teach you the relevant material, someone who can guide you to improve something you already know something about, or someone who will help provide accountability – is critical. Before selecting one, make sure to consider what characteristics will be helpful to you. 
Do
I consider the breakdown Lizette uses to be a useful addition to the raw verb "do". Answering these questions can surface dependencies that will make a difference in how we approach the goal. Do we need equipment? Assistance? Can it only be worked on during certain times, or in certain places? How can we create the space needed for our own success? 
Who 
What? 
Where?
When? 
How?
Check
Measurement is critical to continuous improvement. 
Act
Analyze the results of your check with your coach – as often as possible, and as close as possible to the action – and tune your approach accordingly. 

10 people participated. At the end of the session I asked people to complete a feedback form (1-10 score with spaces for comments). Average score was an 8, and the most common suggestions for improvement were to provide more time and examples. 

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