Welcome Readers
Here you'll find insightful articles, tips, and templates on agile coaching and visual thinking techniques, all designed to help you succeed. Whether you're looking to stay up-to-date on the latest trends and best practices, gain insights from thought leaders in your industry, or simply expand your knowledge, my blog has something for everyone.
Visual facilitation and thinking with the Office for National Statistics
A sneak peek at our visual facilitation training with ONS, sketching, simplifying concepts, and applying visual thinking in complex contexts.
5 minutes with… Steven Sampson-Jones
In our exclusive "Five Minutes with Steven Sampson-Jones," gain a unique perspective into the world of an accomplished Visual Facilitator and Public Sector Consultant. Steven's journey from the House of Commons to leading pivotal projects reflects a commitment to transformative and people-focused project management. The article delves into his insights on the importance of adaptability, the challenges facing delivery managers, and his experience leading the product development of Universal Credit during the pandemic. For an in-depth exploration of Steven's career, advice for aspiring professionals, and his aspirations inspired by the Brawn GP Formula 1 story,. Discover the dynamic and impactful narrative that defines Steven Sampson-Jones' contributions to the realm of delivery and project management.
Impact Effort Matrix
Dive into our guide on the Impact Effort Matrix tailored for agile product and service delivery. Learn how to identify strategic moves, steer clear of time-wasting tasks, and efficiently seize quick wins. Streamline your approach and elevate your delivery journey with precision and impact.V
Metaphors for Inspiration
Ready to embark on an inspiring journey of strategic planning? Join us in this blog as we explore metaphors that breathe life into successful business endeavors. Uncover how elements like the landscape, time, and milestones become the storytellers of your roadmap to success. Plus, we've whipped up a Now Next Later Roadmapping Poster Template to make your strategic planning a breeze. Let's transform your business journey into an exciting and rewarding adventure—because success is a journey, not just a destination!
Unleashing Creative Courage: Two Exercises to Ignite Innovation
Unleash the power of creative courage with these two dynamic exercises designed to fuel innovation and break free from conventional thinking. Dive into the New Product Idea Generator, where breakfast meets beloved furniture, or explore the Unexpected Combinations exercise, pushing the boundaries of imagination. Discover how these activities can transform your team's mindset and foster a culture of innovation. Read on to unlock the secrets of creativity and ignite the spark of fresh ideas.
Magical Business Insights: A Harry Potter SWOT Adventure
Step into a world where business strategy meets wizardry in our latest exploration. We're weaving the magic of Harry Potter into the classic SWOT analysis, turning your strengths into Elder Wand-like advantages and transforming weaknesses akin to Harry's broken glasses. Join us as we don the Sorting Hat to uncover opportunities and shield our businesses from lurking threats, much like fending off Dementors. Get ready for a magical journey where every business challenge is a chance to discover your inner wizard!
Innovative Approaches to Test Your Ideas: Prototypes and MVP Strategies
Unlock the secrets to successful product development with inventive prototypes and Minimal Viable Products (MVPs). From clever simulations to community-driven crowdfunding, these strategies redefine how ideas come to life. Ready to revolutionize your approach? Dive into our exploration of cutting-edge techniques for testing and refining your next big thing.
Fruit Salad: A Creative Scrum Estimation Scale
Dive into the world of agile project management and uncover the innovative "Fruit Salad" estimation scale. Explore how this unique approach can revolutionise your scrum planning and make task estimation a breeze.
Manual of Me - Discover and Communicate How You Work Best 🧠
Ready to enhance your self-awareness, boost empathy, and promote inclusivity in your workplace? Dive into the world of the "User Manual of Me." This powerful concept is changing the way we collaborate, and the benefits are too good to miss. Learn how to create your own manual and unlock your true potential in the full blog post. Don't wait—start your journey of self-discovery today!
Spice Up Your Agile Workshop: A Saville Heat Pepper Scale Icebreaker
Feeling the heat in your Agile workshop? 🌶️ London's not the only place with sizzling temperatures! Try this fun icebreaker with the Saville Heat Pepper Scale. It's as easy as 1-2-3:
Explain the spice scale (1=mild, 10=hot).
Let participants pick a number.
Connect that heat level to an Agile topic.
Discover hot Agile topics, get conversations flowing, and keep things spicy! 🔥
Discover hot Agile topics, get conversations flowing, and keep things spicy!
The 8 Misunderstood Stances of a Scrum Master
In Agile's intricate dance, a Scrum Master's part goes far beyond jotting down meeting points. While documentation matters, the Scrum Master's essence lies in orchestrating discussions that fuel innovation, foster collaboration, and drive constant growth. By embracing this holistic role, Scrum Masters can propel their teams toward unprecedented heights.
More Than a Scheduler: The Agile Enabler
While scheduling ceremonies is pivotal, the Scrum Master's prowess transcends calendars. They lubricate the gears of Agile machinery, championing unhindered collaboration and swift obstacle removal. Their impact reverberates beyond the realms of time management, spanning the entire spectrum of Agile evolution.
Adaptation over Rigidity: The Agile Balancer
Though Scrum principles are a compass, unwavering rigidity can stifle agility. Agile-hearted Scrum Masters harmonize structure and adaptability, steering teams toward the sweet spot of innovation. With their guidance, teams flourish by embracing Agile values while adapting to context.
Stay tuned for more insights from our blog on demystifying the Scrum Master's role.
Leveling Up Your Agile Retrospectives with a Dash of Mario Kart Magic
Just like in the exhilarating world of Mario Kart, where racers navigate treacherous courses filled with banana peels, lightning-fast stars, and the occasional blue shell, your Agile team can apply the same spirit of adventure, competition, and fun to your retrospectives.
Here's a sneak peek into this exciting approach:
Banana Skins: In Mario Kart, banana skins represent unexpected obstacles. In your retrospective, identify these impediments and strategise on how to navigate them.
Blue Shell: The blue shell clears the path for racers. Likewise, in Agile, what path do you need to clear for your next iteration's success?
Star: The Star in Mario Kart is a turbo boost, propelling you forward at lightning speed. How can you maximize your velocity in the next iteration?
Fake Power Up: Not every power-up is beneficial. In Agile, we can be lured by false benefits. Recognize these distractions and stay on course.
Bowser (Last Place): Bowser symbolizes lagging progress. What's causing your team to fall behind, and how can you disrupt this pattern?
Mario (1st Place): Celebrate success! Identify your iteration champions and give credit where it's due.
Get ready to inject some Mario Kart magic into your retrospectives and watch your team's engagement and problem-solving abilities skyrocket.
The Agile Delivery Manager Top Trumps Exercise
The Agile Delivery Manager Top Trumps exercise is a powerful tool for celebrating skills and fostering collaboration in the public sector. By engaging in meaningful conversations and exchanging personalized cards, participants build connections and promote recognition. Discover how this activity boosts teamwork and appreciation among Agile Delivery Managers.
Triumphs from Setbacks: Inspiring Stories of Resilience
Failure is a universal experience, but it is not the end of the road. In fact, it often serves as a catalyst for growth and success. The stories of Colonel Sanders, Dyson, Michael Jordan, and Walt Disney exemplify the power of resilience and determination in the face of adversity. These individuals encountered setbacks and rejection but refused to let them define their futures. Instead, they harnessed their failures as fuel for their journey towards triumph.
Colonel Sanders, the mastermind behind KFC, faced over a thousand rejections before finding a franchise partner. Sir James Dyson, the renowned inventor, persevered through thousands of failed prototypes before creating his revolutionary vacuum. Michael Jordan, widely regarded as the greatest basketball player of all time, overcame being cut from his high school team to achieve legendary success. Walt Disney, the visionary behind Disney's magical empire, was fired early in his career for lacking imagination. However, he used that setback as motivation to create beloved characters and build an entertainment empire that continues to captivate audiences worldwide.
These stories remind us that failure is not the end but a stepping stone towards greatness. They teach us the importance of resilience, determination, and refusing to give up on our dreams. By embracing failure as an opportunity for growth and learning, we can unleash our potential and achieve extraordinary success. Join us as we delve into the inspiring journeys of these remarkable individuals and discover valuable lessons on overcoming failure and embracing triumph.
Mastering the Art of Public Speaking: Tips and Tricks for Success
Are you ready to conquer the stage and become a master of public speaking?
In this blog post, we delve into the essential tips and tricks that will elevate your speaking skills to new heights. First and foremost, connecting with your audience is key. Discover how to engage and resonate with your listeners through tailored content, relatable stories, and eye contact.
We also emphasise the importance of thorough preparation and practice, guiding you through the process of crafting a compelling message and delivering it with confidence. Additionally, we explore the effective use of visual aids to enhance your presentations without overshadowing your words.
Finally, we highlight common pitfalls to avoid, such as the infamous "picture your audience naked" advice and the monotony of reading from a script. Join us on this journey to unlock the secrets of successful public speaking and leave a lasting impact on any audience you encounter.
Boost Your Visual Thinking Skills with These Free Tools
Enhancing visual thinking skills has never been easier with these free tools. Quick Draw by Google sharpens your drawing abilities, Gartic Phone fosters collaboration and laughter, Auto Draw simplifies drawing for everyone, and Animated Drawings by Meta AI Research adds motion and interactivity to your sketches. Unleash your creativity and tap into the power of visuals with these incredible resources.
🌐 Remote Design Sprints: Unlocking Collaboration and Innovation
In my latest blog post, co-authored with Made Tech, I explore the dynamic world of remote design sprints and how they enable teams to collaborate, innovate, and achieve remarkable results, all without being physically together.
Remote design sprints combine design thinking principles with agile methodologies, making them an ideal solution for teams working in distributed locations or those unable to gather in person. The benefits are abundant: speed and focus, inclusivity, and diversity, and efficient utilisation of technology.
By embracing remote design sprints, teams can complete projects in shorter timeframes, fostering a sense of momentum and heightened focus. The inclusive nature of remote collaboration also allows for diverse perspectives and ideas to emerge, leading to more innovative solutions.
In the blog post, we delve into the intricacies of remote design sprints, exploring adapted tools and techniques, smart scheduling to prevent burnout, and overcoming limitations in a remote environment. To bring the concept to life, we take you through a captivating case study with the Met Office, where we successfully designed a new careers site remotely, optimising accessibility and showcasing their exciting opportunities.
Unleashing Creative Potential: Exploring Alternate Uses with Design Thinking
Discover the transformative power of design thinking through the exploration of alternate uses for everyday objects. Unleash your creativity as you reimagine the potential of a coffee cup, paperclip, or beach ball. By thinking outside the box and embracing unconventional perspectives, you'll unlock innovative solutions and develop essential skills for problem-solving and collaboration. Join us on this journey of design thinking and tap into your boundless imagination to shape a future filled with endless possibilities.
Break the Ice with Blind Portraits: A Fun Team Building Exercise for Remote Teams
Blind Portraits is a classic drawing exercise that is widely used by art teachers to help develop communication between the eyes, brain, and hand. However, it can also be used as a fun and effective icebreaker activity in remote teams. The aim of this exercise is to draw your partner's portrait without looking at the paper. The end result is not important, but the focus is on observation and noticing details. With just paper and pens and at least two participants, you can get started with this activity that is perfect for remote teams. It is a great way to develop communication, observation, and drawing skills, and also helps to break down barriers and set the tone for productive and creative collaboration.
Design the Box: A Powerful Exercise for Visualising and Selling Ideas
It's important for teams to be able to articulate their ideas clearly and effectively. But sometimes, that's easier said than done. That's where the "Design the Box" exercise comes in. This exercise is a powerful tool that can help teams visualize and sell their ideas. By imagining the package for their idea, teams make decisions about important features and other aspects of their vision that might otherwise be difficult to articulate.
The "Design the Box" exercise moves through three phases: an introduction, box creation, and sharing by "selling." In the first phase, teams reflect on what could be in the box. They consider possible names for their idea, as well as potential customers and important defining details. The second phase is all about creating the box itself. Teams have a set amount of time to create the box for their idea and are prompted to think about what it's called, who it's for, what its tagline or slogan is, and what imagery would make it stand out. In the final phase, each team has the chance to "sell" their box to the group, allowing the features of the idea to naturally translate into benefits.
The "Design the Box" exercise is not only effective, but it's also fun. Teams can create simple drawings or actual boxes, which can serve as a friendly reminder of the big picture long after the exercise is over. This exercise is not just limited to software developers. It has been successfully used in a wide range of industries to describe topics ranging from "our future methodology" to "the ideal hire." Whether you're looking to create a tangible product or articulate a vision, the "Design the Box" exercise can help you get there.