Robin Dymond: "Your Brain and Better Product Development"

© 2012 Robin Dymond

Your Brain on Product

DevelopmentRobin Dymond, CST

Agile Eastern Europe 2012


My Scumbag brain… meme
























What we thought about the brain…

Your intellect and personality are fixed

The best way to learn is by rational thinking

The brain is largely static in adults

Emotions are not important to thinking

The way the brain is wired is not that different person to person


Recent Discoveries in Brain Science

Neuro-plasticity has shown we can rewire our brain and change our thinking processes

Rational thinking is overrated

Emotions play a powerful role in brain function

Willpower has a specific location and there is a limited amount of it

Decision making uses the same circuits as willpower

Brains are wired differently from person to person


The prefrontal cortex


Experiments

Brain mapping prior to epilepsy surgery

Let’s do some arithmetic

The cookie experiment

The Eureka! moment


Specific Brain Functions are a limited resourceComplex higher concentration tasks

Attention is limited

How would that change how you work today?


InsightInsights require you to stop thinking.


Insight

Lab tests show more insights occur when people are happy, much less when anxiety is present

Going and playing a game of foozball or pool may improve insight

Control your brain by learning when to think directly about a problem and when to not think directly about a problem


Product Developers

Rational resources are limited, so try doing the more creative, technical, challenging work early in your day

Only work on one thing at a time

Collaboration improves focus, happiness

Email can wait


Emotions

The Limbic system

Move away from threats

Move toward rewards

We move much faster, stronger, and stay longer in the threat response state

More activity in Limbic area the less effective the PFC


Emotional RegulationSuppression

creates arousal, no change to memory, makes other uncomfortable

Cognitive change strategies

Label itreduces arousal, invokes stronger inhibition of threat response (ie, saying “I must be hungry, angry, etc.”)

Re-appraisalFast re-interpretation of the event to change perspective.

Reduces threat response, improves cognitive ability, memory

Recognizing internal brain function helps improve re-appraisal


Product Developers

Recognize your threat response

Act quickly to re-appraise or label it before cognitive ability is decrease

Realize that we use the same circuits for physical and psychological threat, so we need a work around.


When you hear…

“I need to give you some feedback”

“I need to talk to you about your project”

What is your immediate reaction?


Social issuesBrain is deeply social, massive circuitry dedicated to social issues

Uses same threat reward circuits and pain circuits!

Status

Local group

Large threat response from perceived reduction in position

Certainty

Autonomy

Relatedness

In group: share pain, see what they say,

out group, don’t hear with same brain circuits, default to foe

Fairness


Social issues

Status

Certainty

Autonomy

Relatedness

Fairness

What will improve these? What decreases them?


Attention

We can use the results from brain research to change how we think and work.

Notice what your brain is doing.

Use strategies to change your responses

Minimizing the threat response will increase your problem solving ability and insights

YOU ARE NOT YOUR BRAIN.


Mindfulness

Neuroscience of mindfulness

Noticing internal states

Focus in incoming senses directly

The direct experience allows much better processing of inputs

The internal narrative suppresses inputs


SummaryThe PFC has limited resources for problem solving

Insights come from engaging much larger regions of the brain and are the result of detecting weak relationships

The threat response dramatically decreases our ability to think, yet threat responses are much stronger

Social issues managed by the same threat and pain circuitry

Understanding and attention to internal states allows one to manage cognitive processes

Direct experience of inputs suppresses internal narrative and allows much improved processing of inputs and more insights


Your brain and Scrum

Improves the primary social issues that impact problem solving:

Status

Certainty

Autonomy

Relatedness

Fairness


Your brain and Scrum

Improves focus:

One team, one project at a time

Collaboration, pairing

Social


What can you do tomorrow?

How to better manage your brain’s resources?

How to improve chances for insights?

How to reduce your natural threat response?

How to improve your attention to your internal states?

Documents

Robin Dymond: "Your Brain and Better Product Development"