"Dump and clump" exercises are a fairly common tool in the world of workshop facilitation. Get people to think individually about a topic, and write down the things they think about on individual PostIt notes. ("No, Jeremy. One idea per PostIt note, please. Don't worry, it's not your stationery budget.") You then get people to … Continue reading Snap!
Category: Management
Metaphors are powerful things. They are core to how we make sense of the world. Good metaphors are a great way to get ideas to transmit. Bad metaphors get in the way of understanding. In the last few months I've been thinking about the metaphor of "technical debt" and wondering increasingly if it is much … Continue reading Technical Credit Card
The methods of user-centric design approaches have increasingly permeated the consciousness of software development teams in many sectors. By no means universal, but the general idea that you start by understanding the needs of the user before you start to build things to meet those needs has increasingly been adopted as good practice. But what … Continue reading User-centred technology teams
You may have noticed that I talk a lot about the importance of play and playfulness at work. I've even created a product to help people develop playful skills. (Do you ever give it a rest? - Ed) When I talk about Play, people will often respond with something along the lines of "Oh, we've … Continue reading Play ≠Gamification
A vivid memory I have from growing up in the 1970s was my father's what seemed like annual slide deck preparation. This is, of course, in the days before Harvard Graphics, let alone PowerPoint. Dad was a lecturer at the University of London. He had to prepare lectures for his MSc students, and prepared visual … Continue reading Slide decks
I've spent quite a bit of time this week trying to make agile projects look like waterfall projects to help clients get various pieces of work through financial control and procurement processes on their side. It's kind of frustrating. The world has know for around a quarter of a century that software development works better … Continue reading Financial agility
I've banged on for many years about the weird cult that is Net Promoter Score, a magical metric with organisational healing powers. In one number, it is claimed, the mysteries of business can be unlocked. Ask your customers their likelihood to recommend you and wealth and prosperity will be yours. Except... The world of recommendations … Continue reading Just recommend!
In 2023 I will continue exploring ideas about how relationship-building works in the increasingly hybrid working environment in which we now find ourselves. Whilst there is a wealth of information and people talking about how organisations embrace the new world of office work, the coverage given to inter-organisational working is not as explicit. Many professional … Continue reading Brown Bag Conversations
As we enter into the fourth calendar year of the great global hybrid working experiment that began with the pandemic in 2020, here are some of the things bouncing around my head about how we are currently and going to be working: In-person isn't better or worse, just different. But we need to optimise for … Continue reading Year 4 of the great hybrid experiment
A quick set of field notes from a retro we ran this week to talk about an adapted facilitation technique called Brainwalking. This approach is perfect for allowing all involved to have a say on issues without having to talk over one another. Brain walking Brain walking was introduced to me by my wonderful colleague … Continue reading Brain walking Retro
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