The Agile Leadership Kata - Agile Alliance · String Calculator Kata 1. Create a simple String...

The Agile Leadership Kata Discovering the Practice of

Leadership

10,000 hours

Practice Matrix

Shu-Ha-Ri

• shu "protect", "obey" — traditional wisdom — learning fundamentals, techniques, heuristics, proverbs

• ha "detach", "digress" — breaking with tradition — detachment from the illusions of self

• ri "leave", "separate" — transcendence — there are no techniques or proverbs, all moves are natural, becoming one with spirit alone without clinging to forms; transcending the physical

Journals

• Facts

• Feelings

• Findings

Kata

String Calculator Kata

1. Create a simple String calculator with a method int Add(String numbers)

2. Allow the Add method to handle an unknown amount of numbers

3. Allow the Add method to handle new lines between numbers (instead of commas)

4. Allow the Add method to handle a different delimiter

Taken from Roy Osherove’s blog http://osherove.com/tdd-kata-1/

What do Agile

Leaders do?

Solve problems

Manage Process

Envision

Coach/Facilitate

Problem Solving

Reverse Kata

1. State the challenge

2. List your assumptions

3. Reverse each assumption

4. Record differing viewpoints that might be useful to you

5. Ask yourself how to accomplish each reversal

Processes

• What processes do we have?

High

Plan

Do

Check

Act

Problem Solving Process

Medium Plan

Do

Check

Act

Problem Solving Process

Evaluate

Prioritize Review/Accept

Roadmap Process

INT

STAGE

PROD

Release Process

Plan

Dev Review

Dev Process

Low Plan

Do

Check

Act

Problem Solving Process

Evaluate

Prioritize Review/ Accept

Roadmap Process

INT

STAGE

PROD

Release Process

Plan

Dev Review

Dev Process

Sprint 0

Analysis

Grooming

Sizing

Release Planning

Yesterday

Today

Impediments

Standup Process

Report

Review Update

Reporting Process

Submit

Review Approve

CCR Process

Analysis

Review Actions

Post-Mortem Process

A3 Kata

• Background

• Current Condition

• Goal/Target Condition

• Root Cause Analysis

• Countermeasures (Experiments)

• Confirmation (Results)

• Follow Up (Actions)

Example A3

Vision

Remember the Future Kata

1. Imagine it is one year in the future. How has our product saved you money?

2. Another month has gone by, what has product done to make you happy?

Coaching/Facilitating

Alaskan Road Trip Kata

Ingredients:

• Map with driving directions from Dallas, Texas to Anchorage, Alaska (4000 miles)

Directions:

• Each team needs to get to Anchorage to surprise their true love, who is working there. They must create a plan: timeline, what to bring, budget, etc.

Summary

The fundamental things we as managers need to practice are: • Problem Solving • Process • Vision • Coaching/Facilitating We need to engage in disciplined practices (Katas) that will enable us to refine our skills in these domains: • Remember the Future Kata • A3 Kata • Reverse Kata • Alaskan Road Trip Kata

Thank You!

“Many roads lead to the path, but basically there are only two: reason and practice.”

-Bodhidharma

References