Not everything is a nail: choosing the right tools

Not everything is a nail

Choosing, evaluating, and integrating the right tools for

the way you work

Shahina Patel: @shhh_hina at #DC17 #DeliverConf 25th January 2017

Enjoys hands on learning and doing

A big fan of community events and sharing experiences

On Twitter: @shhh_hina

If you want to visit a website: shahinapatel.com

Shahina Patel

Traps! Avoid them.

This workshopWe will be…

Getting to know ourselves better because

Knowing yourself helps you work out what you need and what suits you

Learn how to identify the need for a tool and how to assess their suitability

We will not be…

Telling each other that JIRA is the ideal bug tracker

Finding a way to shoehorn a suite of tools into everything we do

Looking for silver bullets, or golden hammers....

The wrong tool for

the job… causes face-

melting, tear-inducing

frustration in even a fully grown PM

We’re not choosing tools, we’re choosing goals.

“Would you tell me, please, where I ought to go from here?”

“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.

“I don’t much care where-” said Alice.

“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.

“- so long as I get SOMEWHERE,” Alice added as an explanation.

“Oh you’re sure to do that,” said the Cat, “if only you walk long enough.”

Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom

-Tupac Shakur

(Just kidding, it was Aristotle)

Your ‘Work Management’ Persona

Disclaimer: THESE PERSONAS

MAY NOT BE AN EXACT SCIENCE...

..but see if you can recognise your style of workIt’s important to appreciate that we have different communication

styles

We engage with technology, processes and tools in different ways

So what works for you, might not work for someone else!

If you know what your strengths and weaknesses are, you can better align yourself with a solution that suits your particular preferences

This is the same for teams, too

The Team Captain

The Project Manager’s

Project Manager

The Lion Tamer

Understands the tech

Able to soothe the savage stakeholder

Knows every deadline and deliverable by heartWilling and able to pitch

inAlways on point with reporting

Makes connections across teams and across levels

Superhuman efficiency

Can explain complex ideas simply

Not always patient with people who won’t engage with the technology

More interested in doing the work than reporting on the work

“Efficient and succinct” can come across as brusque

Great empathy for end users

Less people-focused, more project-focused

Less interested in the specifics of the tech

Has been known to forget the odd detail

The right tools will...Enhance your strengths and talentsHelp you achieve your goals

Make up for your weaknesses, give you more time to focus on the parts of the job you love

Building your

toolkit: the assessment

Identify your goal/requirement

Select the right tool for that requirement

Evaluate its effectiveness

Integrate it into your practice

Identify your goalAre you solving the right problem?

What are you trying to make better?

How could you spend more time doing the things you love and less time doing the things you hate?

The ‘slow elevator’ problem pt.ifrom https://signalvnoise.com/posts/1244-defining-the-problem-of-elevator-waiting-times:

The problem: The lift in a building is too slow, or so the residents complain. The solution? Make the lift fasterHow? Buy and install a new motor for the lift

But is that the only solution? It’s an expensive one! What if there’s a different way to look at the problem?

The ‘slow elevator’ problem pt.iiThe problem: The wait for the lift feels too long The solution? Give people something to occupy their time withHow? Install mirrors in the lobby and lift area

Learning from lifts (or elevators)Re-framing a problem gives you a different solution space

It doesn’t solve the problem (in this case, the lift is still slow!), but instead helps you consider if there’s a different/better problem to solve

So ask yourself: are you really getting to the root of the problem?

And if not then don’t skip this step! Make it your starting point. Problems help to define goals. Remember to choose goals, not tools.

The # WhysThe 5 Whys techniques can help you get to the root of a problem

quickly

Start with your problem and ask “Why is it occurring?”

If it’s a need, ask “Why do we have this need?”

Keep asking until you have a counter-measure for the problem

(origin: Toyota http://www.toyota-global.com/company/toyota_traditions/quality/mar_apr_2006.html )

Select the right tool

Identify your parameters

Ask for ideas

Do you already have something you can re-purpose?

These are all parameters that Stephen will consider when choosing an issues tracker.

He’s also considering re-purposing what he already has by using:

Google form + JIRA + manpower

Make an evaluation plan

What are your evaluation criteria?

What is the benchmark for improvement? Your minimum viable improvement?

What’s your evaluation period?

Will you have an evaluation team?

Integrate your new tool

What’s your rollout strategy?

What’s your maintenance strategy?

What’s your review strategy?

Organisations have personalities, too

Integrating tools at an organisation levelWill you have an evaluation team?

Consider all the users

Have you considered all the parameters around integration?

Use the plan as an evolving template

Use the plan each time

Always have an escape plan

What’s going into your toolkit?

Tools checklist

Does it match my overall objectives or goals and purpose for finding a tool?

Have I been inclusive of all stakeholders and users?

Power up: can this tool be adapted to suit my purpose better?

Will my evaluation plan capture the success and effectiveness of the new tool?

Get to know your goals

Choose your tools wisely

Take care of those tools

And they will take care of you.

Thanks for staying ‘til the end!

Do you have any questions? Get in touch!

Shahina Patel | Twitter: @shhh_hina | Website: www.shahinapatel.com