AGILE COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE:SET UP, SUSTAIN, AND SUCCEED!

SESHADRI VEERARAGHAVAN

PRINCIPAL PROJECT MANAGER – AGILE TRANSFORMATION

IHS, INC. – HOUSTON, TEXAS

A PRACTICAL APPROACH

DEFINITIONS – COMMON UNDERSTANDING

• Community (noun) - com·mu·ni·ty

• a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals.

• a similarity or identity.

• Practice (noun) – prac·tice

• the actual application or use of an idea, belief, or method as opposed to theories about such application or use.

• repeated exercise in or performance of an activity or skill so as to acquire or maintain proficiency in it.

• Practice (verb)

• perform (an activity) or exercise (a skill) repeatedly or regularly in order to improve or maintain one's proficiency.

• carry out or perform (a particular activity, method, or custom) habitually or regularly.

COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE

Cognitive anthropologists Lave and Wenger define it as a group of people who

-- share a passion for something they do

-- learn how to do it better

-- interact regularly

EXAMPLES OF COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE

• Research areas by Lave and Wenger included studying learning among

• Yucatan midwives

• Tailors in Liberia

• Insurance claims processors

• These groups exhibited common paradigms of sharing, learning, and growth

A MODERN-DAY EXAMPLE OF A COP: XEROX

• Xerox repairmen in the field used to informally exchange tips and tricks on common problems

• Communication usually done over lunch and informal meetings

• Eureka database created to keep track of these tips and tricks

• Savings due to the Eureka database: over $100 MM USD

CHARACTERISTICS OF A SUCCESSFUL COP

• Domain (e.g. agile)

• Community (e.g. ScrumMasters)

• Practice (the practical aspect of the application of the knowledge and sharing the learnings)

SO, WHY SET UP A COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE?

• Share

• Learn

• Grow

• Teach

• Enrich

• Mentor

BENEFITS OF COP

• Organic organizational growth

• Higher productivity

• Happier employees

• Cost savings

• Sharing of key knowledge and technologies

• Unexpected and fruitful collaboration

• Empathy and shared emotions, leading to stronger employee bonding that transcends normal, business-as-usual interactions

• Smoother and easier onboarding of new employees

• A safe environment within which one can learn without judgment and contribute without fear

• Employee empowerment and engagement

• Ownership through involvement

• Innovation through broader collection of ideas

HOW TO CREATE YOUR OWN COP

Practical steps to creating a great Community of Practice

STEP 1 – IDENTIFY THE COP

• Identify the Community that you wish to create (and for which there is an active need)

• Example communities: ScrumMasters; Product Owners; Architects; QA; Developers

• Your role is not important – your passion, commitment, and sphere of influence are

STEP 2 – IDENTIFY THE STAKEHOLDERS

• Figure out who the stakeholders are (influencing; removing roadblocks)

• Example: Development/QA directors and managers; PMO directors and managers

• Resources and time are not free

• Understand and respect the time commitments of all involved

STEP 3 – EDUCATE THE STAKEHOLDERS

• Critical aspect – you must be able to demonstrate the value of such a Community

• Be upfront about what’s needed from participants and sponsors

• Promise to start small and fail quickly and cheaply

STEP 4 – IDENTIFY THE MEMBERS

• Can be done as a parallel/background task with Step 2

• Get recommendations from the stakeholders on those with

• solid knowledge

• ability and willingness to

• share and learn

• These will be your primary contacts, contributors, and cheerleaders

STEP 5 – GET EXECUTIVE SPONSOR (ES) BUY-IN

• Set the scenario by having casual/informal chats; have stakeholders mention the initiative to the ES in advance to “prepare the ground”

• Set up 1:1 meeting with the ES – explain background in the invite

• Prepare well for the meeting – use as few slides as possible

• Show passion and demonstrate knowledge

• Explain previous communications and acceptance by other stakeholders

• Explain the goals and aims of the Community

• Show the value to the bottom line, morale, and productivity by removing silos and sharing learnings

• Show the potential of the Community by listing the numbers of those that may be involved

STEP 6 – CREATE THE CHARTER/MANIFESTO

• The Charter defines your Community’s purpose and goals

• Don’t be too specific

• Leave room for changes as they may very well happen

• Don’t tie yourself down to any specific methodology or a rigid structure/hierarchy

• You’re flattening the landscape at this point – so don’t create silos or towers

STEP 7 – SET UP THE WEBSITE/SOCIAL SITE

• SharePoint has easy-to-use templates to create a basic site

• If using an ESN such as Jive – your work is even easier as it’s geared towards collaboration already

• Upload all of the known information so far: charter, useful links, relevant pictures and videos

• List the executive sponsor’s name if allowed to do so

• Keep the content fresh and relevant

• Create a special area to track members (name, email, location, role, and their profile site on the intranet)

STEP 8 – SOLICIT MEMBERS AND GENERATE BUZZ

• Get stakeholders to talk about this effort via email; in meetings; in the intranet as blogs etc.

• Once the buzz sets in, reach out to the members and set up group meetings

• Explain the purpose, charter, goals, and any other useful information

• Follow-up by saying they’ll hear back soon

STEP 9 – INVITE THE MEMBERS

• Send out a formal communication to the invitees

• List the site URL and other relevant details

• Have them update the member list area of the site so they’ll be involved right from the start

• Encourage them to explore and provide initial thoughts and feedback on the site

• Find a volunteer to make those changes – this will entrench the Community aspect a bit more

STEP 10 – LAUNCH THE COMMUNITY

• Find a suitable time

• Set it up for an hour – no more

• Invite should list the specifics and regurgitate some of the information (this is important at the outset)

• Bring in an expert from within or outside of the company for a talk

• Have them emphasize the value/benefits/relevance of this initiative

• Have the expert speak to their direct experience and provide examples of previous success

STEP 11 – SUSTAIN THE COMMUNITY

• How to collaborate

• engage via internal social media or website

• via email (not preferred) if needed

• via regular sessions (WebEx and teleconference)

• record the sessions

• upload the recordings and related artifacts and send out follow-up email promptly

• have members come up with ideas for the backlog

• let people vote (if possible) on the next session/future sessions

• create an email distribution list for easy access to the members

STEP 12 – SUCCEED!

• After 2-3 months, request feedback on the Community

• Make changes gradually

• Point out the changes being made if appropriate to satisfy those requesting them

• List successes and bring to the attention of the stakeholders and executive sponsor

• Invite stakeholders and executive sponsor to ALL sessions (let them decide if they wish to attend)

• Publish periodic executive summaries in newsletter format, easy to read, short, relevant and interesting. Include links, graphics, and resources

Q&A/SOURCES

• Sources:

• Wikipedia (Communities of Practice/Lave and Wenger)

• Contact:

• Seshadri.Veeraraghavan@ihs.com