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JAFAC 2023

JAFAC was really great! It’s given me lots to think about it, and I have many pages of notes and TODOs.

I really felt like “these are my people”. Agile folk, mostly coaches. People who put people first and understand that a company, more than anything else, is its people.

Below are just my sketchnotes of the talks: just half of the conference and not nearly half of all the ideas that I have!

Day one

Sketchnotes, text version follows this image

Text version of sketchnotes of “Being unapologetically you AF – Emma Kirkman”
  • The time for a map is before you enter the woods
  • Do a 3 + 3 map: your three value drivers, your three best qualities
  • Learn out loud
  • Preserve the core, disrupt the edges
  • Identity drives processes drives outcomes
Text version of sketchnotes of “Building an efficient and adaptable learning organisation – Andrew Mayfield”
  • Understand the context
  • The structure of products often resemble the structure of the company
  • Company culture is like yoghurt or kombucha: it grows on its own. You can only set the conditions, environment.
  • Do things as experiments.
  • Coaches can be key: one in every team.
  • Every person has two hats: squad (primary, cross-functional); faculty (role-based, coaches)
    • .

Sketchnotes, text version follows this image

Text version of sketchnotes of “Be relevant not the elephant – Tod Cooper”
  • We need to look back to look forward
  • A dozen user stories are worth hundreds of pages of functional and non-functional requirements
  • Favour incentives over penalties
  • Good outcomes can be complex and difficult to measure
  • If an action has clear outcomes, (just) get it done, quickly
Text version of sketchnotes of “Seeing 2023 and beyond… What really matters – Hal Josephson”
  • The age of uncertainty, of change.
  • The age of re(-do, -boot, -make, etc)
  • Be a catalyst: intro, refer, link, connect.
Text version of sketchnotes of “Agility at the speed of sound – Brian Healy”
  • Think fast, act faster
  • Mindset
    • OODA loop (Observe, Orient, Decide, Act)
    • alternative loop Execute, Debrief, Plan, Brief
  • Structure
    • Checklists can be for compliance or for conversation
    • Align with the commander’s intent
  • Ownership and autonomy. Accelerated learning
    • Debrief. Objective-focused, “Next time I will”
    • Celebrate failure
    • She Ha Ri pairing. From novice to skilled to master. Follow the rules, break the rules, transcend the rules.

Day 2

Sketchnotes, text version follows this image

Text version of sketchnotes of “The Agile RN: square peg / round hole - Or best fit? – Carey Campbell”
  • Solve business problems, not IT problems
  • Effective change managers don’t stay in their lane
  • People first
  • Design to existing workflows or people will find workarounds
  • Get the language right
  • Say yes to opportunities selectively
  • It’s about will not skill: growth mindset
  • Right thing, right reason, right time
Text version of sketchnotes of “High performance – Simon Young”
  • Care for results, care for people quadrant
    • Low care for results, low care for people: government department
    • Low care for results, high care for people: country club
    • High care for results, low care for people: sweatshop
    • High care for results, high care for people: high performance
    • A frequent path is High performance to country club to sweatshop. Coming out of country club we tend to overcorrect.
  • Financial growth and extrinsic factors don’t really motivate people. You need a mission.
  • Are we working on the most important thing? Might also be the hardest thing.
  • Flywheel: high talent density, great context, released controls, epic feedback

Sketchnotes, text version follows this image

Text version of sketchnotes of “What place does storytelling have in DE&I – Elina Ashimbayeva
  • How people feel, how people experience
  • Many things play into our biases
  • Feeling uncomfortable is a sign that someone cares
  • Where do you get your stories from?
  • Iceberg theory of change: event, pattern, structure, mental models
Text version of sketchnotes of “Love your leaders - they are people too – Sandy Mamoli”
  • COVID hit agile practices hard
  • “People are more fragile, fearful, self-absorbed” – a leader. Makes people want to be told what to do
  • We have very high expectations of our employers, our leaders. Unrealistic, all-encompassing.
  • Ask questions, listen to the answers
Text version of sketchnotes of “Riding the wave – Kimble Vowless”
  • The affect of our thought affects how we experience the world. Self-talk in particular. “Who’s listening?”
  • The brain’s purpose is to produce thoughts
  • Mind the gap between stimulus and response.