Agile Kids #2A Collection of posts that includes tips andinsights for applying agile with kids athome and for taking agile into morepersonal uses

Shirly ronen Harel

This book is for sale at http://leanpub.com/test1234567898765

This version was published on 2014-10-18

This is a Leanpub book. Leanpub empowers authors andpublishers with the Lean Publishing process. Lean Publishing isthe act of publishing an in-progress ebook using lightweight toolsand many iterations to get reader feedback, pivot until you havethe right book and build traction once you do.

©2014 Shirly ronen Harel

The first ‘Agile Kids’ book gives the actual practice, step by step, ofhow to initiate agile with our kids at home. During the past few

years and even before the first ‘Agile Kids’ book was written I havebeen practicing agile in the Hi-tech industry, with families andkids, other workplaces and wherever it was welcome. I have been

collecting practical examples and tips of using agile in many areas.This book includes a collection of those tips and tricks as they werepublished in the ‘Agile & family’ blog during the last 4 years. It’s

free. Enjoy.

Contents

Agile and families and everything in between . . . . . . . 1

The difference between developing software in Agile andimplementing Agile at home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

What is a homemade Agile (Kanban&Scrum) system? . . 9

Our children go through childhood once , and we are theones responsible for it. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Operating a task board in 10 min . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

The cards on the wall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Permanent task boards are nice, but they aren’t the point! 32

The Four Quadrants of the To Do list . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

10 Top tips to succeed in preventing multi-tasking! . . . . 38

KanPlan - A neat Homemade Kanban way to do yourhomework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

‘Homeschooling’ - making it easier with kanban . . . . . 44

Easily estimating our home made Kanban tasks . . . . . . 47

Mind mapping and your to-do list: . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

CONTENTS

Going back to school schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Kaizen example video, Watch this Video to Learn! . . . . 61

How to study for your next exam with Kanban . . . . . . 62

Learning a routine, using a task board with kids. . . . . . 72

My most effective time to get things done . . . . . . . . . 74

The Agile Values and Principles for Everyone . . . . . . . 81

On our way (Burn) up! - Part#1: It does not mean the burndown chart makes us go down. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Getting things done with user stories As actor stories. . . 99

Be like God - Kanban your way into the world . . . . . . 108

Agile and families andeverything in between

Well, Agile isn’t just for developing software - it’s just as goodfor developing families.

That’s right - using Agile in the family with your kids is just asbeneficial (if not more) as using Agile with your team.

I’m an Agile coach and I tend to use practical examples when I dopresentations. I found myself giving more and more examples frommy family daily routine to explain how Agile should work - andgetting nods and questions from the audience, about how would Iuse Agile in the family.

I thought - well, why not?

After all, there have been a number studies done that show thatmanaging is like parenting in more ways than one.We all wantto get the family chores done, and at the same time, empower andraise our children to be decent, hard-working and independent, allwithout losing our parental authority on the way. Now think of theway Agile teams work. Sounds familiar?

So I sat down, and adapted Agile, Scrum and Kanbanmethodologiesinto something we could use around the house. When I tried it out,I was amazed at how quickly the kids took to it, and how simpleit was to get them into the spirit of things. It was easier than withmost teams I worked with :)

The biggest difference between Agile for the family and Agilefor the team is that instead of using communication to completeproject tasks and increase profit, we use the project tasks to talkto one another and increase family communication.

How does it work?

Agile and families and everything in between 2

1. We put up a family task board with the usual ‘Backlog’, ‘Todo’, and ‘Done’ columns.

2. We set up priorities for the different tasks.3. We got together once a day and talked about how we’re

progressing. We let the kids talk first - it makes them feelit’s their domain more than anybody else’s.

Once a week we planned the next week and looked back at theprevious week and learned from what we did.

¹

1. We ended up enjoying the conversation so much it becamethe real reason we met :)

So you see? Introducing Agile into your family means you havetons of fun with them, chores get done AND you get to talk to yourkids a lot!

Want to read more about Agile Kids?

¹http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_qyvL9LhyKI/UJI57bdxM7I/AAAAAAAAAlI/bQLCb8N4FMQ/s1600/upload_b6lsfk570h66eecoenfaqdk7a0417879-final.jpg

Agile and families and everything in between 3

• http://www.slideshare.net/shirlyronen/agile-kids²• Agile Kids Ebook³• http://www.slideshare.net/shirlyronen/agile-kids-14-free-managing-family-task-board⁴

²http://www.slideshare.net/shirlyronen/agile-kids³http://www.lulu.com/product/ebook/agile-kids/18709028⁴http://www.slideshare.net/shirlyronen/agile-kids-14-free-managing-family-task-

board

The difference betweendeveloping software inAgile and implementing

Agile at home

⁵

Talking to a fried made me realize that many software engineersstruggle with the same questions.

“OK, so we know Agile and Kanban get things done at work.But is it really a good idea to do this at home?”

“It might work, but it feels too much like turning the family into acompany - and we’re the management”.

KellyWaters, from All About Agile bookreviewed Agile Kids Book⁶and had a similar issue with bringing Kanban home.

⁵http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Gt65XW7rHTU/UJJJFY1X2qI/AAAAAAAAAp4/DYqrs1I7iS4/s1600/Agile_scrum_kanban_home1.png

⁶http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.allaboutagile.com%2Fhave-you-got-agile-kids%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFVo74Ag0UFL6fPVw-Zvw_UIe-xAA

The difference between developing software in Agile and implementing Agile athome 5

According to him, although the concept is interesting, he “think(s)it feels a little awkward applying a management methodology withyour kids (althoughmy kids certainly needmanaging!). So I couldn’tquite decide what I thought in the end. I think it might be one of thosethings you either love or hate.”

You may be surprised, but I completely agree with him.

Our kids are NOT a project (although some parents will disagreewithme ).We shouldNOTmanage our home using a rigid “softwareproject management methodology”. Just saying that makes it feelthat the family is just a collection of resources, that have to givequality delivery results, and make sure we get a nice profit.

Doesn’t sound much fun now, does it?

Now, although a family does live within certain rules and bound-aries, I think most of you will agree that there’s more psychologyinvolved than project management.

(and there are many interesting psychology theories that comparefamilies and organization managements, showing how manage-ment techniques are strangely similar to parenting techniques, andvice versa).

In a family, managerial skills like creating a healthy dialogue,self motivation, the ability to communicate, share ideas or actas a group are valuable, and of course, far more important than‘delivering a project’.But even a family needs to get things done, such as chores or tasks,that if not completed, will cause problems down the road.

Come back with me to the Agile software development world for aminute.

Here , our statement is:We aim to deliver something that can golive, in a relatively short period of time with the highest qualitywhile answering customer expectation.

The short short version (and keep in mind, guys, that Agile software

The difference between developing software in Agile and implementing Agile athome 6

development is a long road with lots of engineering practices, toolsand principles) is that we coach the teams to collaborate, towork as a team, to be self motivated. We coach the managersto empower their employees, to think about motivation andcommunication as a key to success and delivering a qualityproduct. We use scrum and Kanban as tools. We coach tovisualization and communication above all as powerful tool ofgetting things done.

Or, in a more simple form: We use the task board, which helpsus visualize the project tasks, as a tool. We use the backlog tomanage the release components. We use the daily stand-up meetingas tool of communication and collaboration and as a mean for selforganization; we use the retrospective as a mean to improve…. andmany more Scrum and Kanban mindset tools. Because we want toimprove our delivery and quality.

But the bottom line of software development with agile is thatthe mindset and tools are just the means to a better delivery (inthis case, money)! It’s not the goal.

We teach all those soft skills because we believe they are key todelivering something that can go live, in a relatively short period oftime with the highest quality answering customer expectation.

The difference between developing software in Agile and implementing Agile athome 7

⁷

At home, it’s exactly the opposite

The mindset and the agile attitude ARE the goal. The means are theproject management tools. The Agile mindset is used to improvethe family dialogue, and the tools get things done along the way.

We just use the Agile project management tools (task board,daily, retrospective) as means to reach empowerment, to ele-vate self motivation, to teach healthy communication and toelevate improvement culture.

It’s a modern family; we have tons of tasks to complete, parentsworking all hours of the day, and we don’t have as much time totalk to one another as we used to. And along comes Agile, and offersan amazing tool to get things done AND improve communicationin such a simple way. So why not use it?!

Of course we use the task board as a way of managing the familytasks (which need to be done) , but the real purpose is to start talkingover those tasks. We use the daily gathering when we talk abouttasks to create a period of quality time, where we can talk and beheard.

⁷http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Xfga5RLsgBc/UJJJQup_LII/AAAAAAAAAqA/5Jffu25Xaqg/s1600/Agile_scrum_kanban_software.png

The difference between developing software in Agile and implementing Agile athome 8

It’s not the delivery of the house chores and kids tasks that matter(well, OK, they do, but they are not the goal), it is the ability ofthe child and family to understand the goals, to be heard, to getfeedback, to communicate with the parents, to make mistakes andcorrect them and to be able to see the way using visualization tools.Completing the tasks is a by product (a very important one!). It’sthe same mindset tools we use for software development, but herethey become the goal.

We believe that Agile self motivation and communication tools willhelp our kids get things done in the future, and they will also makeus a better family and those happier. And most of all, they willlead to a self and family growth!

Spoiler: it really works. Using Agile techniques at home, atschool, with our kids just works. And the reason it works isthat it is not at all project management, it’s all about soft skills.

What is a homemade Agile(Kanban&Scrum) system?

It’s probably time I gave a brief explanation about Kanbanmainly, and how it **translates to an effective family commu-nication system that helps us get things done .

I’ll keep it short, OK?

Kanban is a Lean manufacturing tool, aiming to lower costs in highproduction environments. “Kan-Ban” is Japanese for signal card,that had all the product information written on it, and what isneeded to be done after production. A Kanban system contains aset of cards allocated to each station in the manufacturing line.

The Kanban System was developed few decades ago by Mr. TaiichiOhno, a vice president in Toyota, to achieve his goals of reducingcosts, while retaining high quality in the manufacturing line. Thesystem is still used today by industrial factories all over the world,and has beenwidely adopted by the software development industry.Today, more and more uses are being found for Kanban - selfmanagement , time management, and GTD (Getting Things Done).

See? I promised it would be short.

Kanban principles (And a bit of Scrum) and howthey translate to the Agile Kids system:

Visualize your Needs.

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⁸http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R89l8ySTk_8/UJI8sBU8MpI/AAAAAAAAAlo/ACFFm7ddihU/s1600/kanban1.png

What is a homemade Agile (Kanban&Scrum) system? 10

Think about all the things you want to do, or things that you aretrying to do, but just don’t get to them. For example: The morningroutine with the kids is full of tasks. Are we doing it well? Are theygetting to school on time?

What about my office, am I managing my tasks well?

Just write it down, preferably on stickynotes⁹, so you can see them.Visualization is valuable, and it helps get things done.

Imagine you are a work manager of a chair factory. If you weremaking a chair, you would write down the materials and tasks youneed - measure, saw, glue, and so on. You want chairs of differentsizes, and different colors… These are all tasks.

Some tasks consist of smaller tasks, while other tasks depend ontasks that come before them. So you need to list them all. Of course,you can list down all the tasks you want to complete for your familyor your office.

This is our wish list, or ‘backlog’.

Some of the tasks we list are urgent, some are wishful thinking, andothers are tasks we’ve put off for a long time.

We can create wish list for our tasks in the office or for our homechores. Whatever.

⁹http://agileandfamily.blogspot.com/2012/04/power-of-sticky-notes.html

What is a homemade Agile (Kanban&Scrum) system? 11

¹⁰

Now all we need to do, is visualize. Your basic work flow hasthree simple steps. ‘To do’, In progress’ and ‘Done’.

As a work manager in our chair factory, If you were making a chair,then your workflow would look like this:

Measure → Saw→ Assemble → Paint → Ship.

In your case, tasks look a little bit different, but you still have aworkflow. Of course, you mustn’t forget to prioritize your tasks!¹¹

Visualizing our tasks this way helps us see what we need to do, andwhen to start working on the stuff we want to do.

¹⁰http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tzSrIH6k57o/UJI8vSXRp6I/AAAAAAAAAmQ/SJ_I3CowcPw/s1600/kanbanWhish+list.png

¹¹http://agileandfamily.blogspot.com/2012/03/four-quadrants-of-to-do-list.html

What is a homemade Agile (Kanban&Scrum) system? 12

¹²

Limit your WIP (Work In Progress)

¹³

Start working. But remember, trying to bite off more than you canchew is the best way to fail.

Do one thing at a time. Pull one tasks , complete it , and thenpull the next task in line. In time, you’ll see how many tasks youcan perform at the same time, but to start off with, it’s better tocomplete one task at a time, then start five, and not complete anyof them.

Take the chairs factory for example. After you set up your tasks,you try to build 100 chairs at once. You need to assemble them,paint them and ship them. You might be able to assemble them all,but that’s about it. All those unpainted chairs will just sit there, alarge bottleneck you’ll have to deal with later, and of course, notone is shipped out.

¹²http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aoFLDUPXvZs/UJI8xMdx4sI/AAAAAAAAAmc/-BFU3waF2rY/s1600/kanbanvisualflow.png

¹³http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-X2PkRqoaZaI/UJI8s3L5QoI/AAAAAAAAAls/QpQApl8GV7o/s1600/kanban2.png

What is a homemade Agile (Kanban&Scrum) system? 13

But what if you would have tried to build and ship FIVE chairs?

In the industry, when a factory starts a cycle of work but does notfinish, it is called inventory. Factories can’t sell inventory, and ittakes up room (which needs to be paid for) and kept at a specifictemperature (which needs to be paid for). In our personal life, wepay for that wasted inventory with delays, stress and overtime, justbecause we try to keep up with too many tasks. Context switching(jumping from one task to another without completing either) isanother way to get little or no value from our tasks.

Visualization helps you identify your limits and control yourworkload.

¹⁴

Improve

¹⁵

Say you have a goal in mind, and a list of tasks. Just completingeach task in turn and moving on to the next one won’t necessarilyget you anywhere, and you won’t be able to improve on what you

¹⁴http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7T0azQ4rh90/UJI8wYGGT6I/AAAAAAAAAmY/rZZjZXWXOWY/s1600/kanban_limitwork.png

¹⁵http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MpvM36tKCUU/UJI8tv5QNnI/AAAAAAAAAlw/9fGhSxpJ284/s1600/kanban3.png

What is a homemade Agile (Kanban&Scrum) system? 14

did. You need to review your performance and avoid making thesame mistake over and over again.

Lets go back to our chair making. Remember that you need tomeasure the wood, then saw it? If your saw isn’t sharp enough, thenyou’ll be working twice as hard just to cut the pieces. Then you’llwork at sanding them down, joining them, and so on. You need tostop every so often, and sharpen your saw, before you get back towork. Or in other words, review your tasks. identify the areas ofimprovement and keep on the work. then stop again , review yourperformance , change , and continue with your changed flow.

It isn’t hard to find examples from our Family life, either. Everymorning, the whole family waits by the door while my son huntsfor his shoes. Isn’t it obvious that we need to put his shoes next tothe door the night before? Of course it is. It can be about tasks assimple as putting on shoes in the morning, and as complicated asmanaging your meeting schedule in the office.

Stop, and think about your work flow. Otherwise you’ll findyourself making the same mistakes over and over again.

Kanban is not enough ,This is the point where scrum comes intothe picture. when we use Kanban with our family , scrum andagile mindset are also part of our success. ¹⁶

Run your tasks in small iterations of time (optional), it allows kidsand us to scope better. Meet once a day ,as a family , review yourprogress and needs. Retrospect over what you did and plan thenext step accordingly. Talk things over with your kids; get ideasabout how to improve on your tasks. In the industry, this formof improvement may be ‘let’s meet once a day, review the projectand learn how to do it better’ or identify the area of improvement,talk it over and perform the change. Then, try the news setup.This is exactly the same thing at home…meet , talk it over. We

¹⁶http://agileandfamily.blogspot.com/2011/10/how-agile-helped-father-get-his-kid-to.html

What is a homemade Agile (Kanban&Scrum) system? 15

then improve and free some valuable time to talk over the reallyimportant stuff.

Make Process Policies Explicit.

¹⁷

Policies are created based on experience to allow us fast and smoothflow performance. Meaning, getting things done. One rule in ourchair factory is ‘don’t paint the chair before the glue dries’. Thisrule, or policy, is simple of course, and we have lots of them. Buteven the simple (and obvious) ones must be stated, so that everyoneknows them

The same goes for our house. Bedtime and meal times are knownand understood by all. They are known policies. Of course, policiescan change - for instance, our policy is to complete homework whenthe kids get back from school. But after a week, we find out that theydo a much better job when they do their homework after supper. Sothe policy changes, and our kids can get their homework done fasterand better - but the policy is still stated explicitly, so that everyoneknows what it is.

You can apply the same system of policy rules to your office day -‘leave 5 min at the end of every meeting’, ‘don’t have consecutivemeetings as you won’t get there on time’ and so on.

Improving is also about being able to set new policies, followthem and see if they work for us better.

Measure And Manage Flow.

¹⁸

¹⁷http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-j6ADIgZVpQ0/UJI8uNOVsxI/AAAAAAAAAl8/WSArRkv3iUo/s1600/kanban4.png

¹⁸http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZZ3TRNScZfc/UJI8u1BazKI/AAAAAAAAAmE/KZZpBW8b27s/s1600/kanban5.png

What is a homemade Agile (Kanban&Scrum) system? 16

In our chair factory, we put a lot of effort into our task flow, aswe care about the time it takes from when the customer’s ordercomes in to the point when they get their chair. We want to knowexactly where the bottlenecks are, and make sure we are workingas efficiently as possible.

Around the house we aren’t so ruthless in our pursuit of efficiency,but we do expect to know what we are doing, and see how wecan improve, and free up quality time to be with our family. Forexample, once you learn to put the kids’ shoes by the door eachnight, you can actually relax with your kids a few more minutes atthe breakfast table each morning. Isn’t that better than waiting forthem by the door while they hunt for their shoes?

In the office I also want to be more efficient, so I can free up timeto pay attention to my customers. Just as an example, say I use theprinter a lot - but it is located two floors up. Wouldn’t it be moreefficient to change the printer’s place, or buy a new one for me,instead of running up and down two flights of stairs each time Iprinted something out? Once you free up that valuable time, youcan use it for more productive things. and at the same time speedup your flow of delivery to your customers.

To Sum Up:

Just follow some simple rules:

1. Visualize2. Your tasks: Know what you need to do and make a list3. Visualize your workflow: Place it on a board4. Do one thing at a time. Don’t take on more than you can

handle.5. Follow and inspect your progress and outcome to improve.

Talk it over, every day.6. Remember Scrum. Meet once a day for a family gathering,

retrospect and plan your week.

What is a homemade Agile (Kanban&Scrum) system? 17

7. Understand your limits and set your relevant policies andrules.

8. Measure and manage your flow

Resources:

• Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-scale Production,Taiichi Ohno

• Henrik Kniberg Scrum and XP From the Trenches¹⁹• Henrik Kniberg Kanban and Scrum a practical guide²⁰• Kanban for software engineering²¹• Convert a Scrum to Kanban²²• http://www.crisp.se/henrik.kniberg/Kanban-vs-Scrum.pdf²³_-

¹⁹http://www.crisp.se/henrik.kniberg/ScrumAndXpFromTheTrenches.pdf²⁰http://blog.crisp.se/henrikkniberg/2009/11/19/1258614240000.html%20²¹http://leanandkanban.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/kanban-for-software-

engineering-apr-242.pdf²²http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.crisp.se%2Fmattiasskarin%

2Ffiles%2Fpdf%2Fconverting_a_scrum_team_to_kanban.pdf&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEWiGLDKA_xTLJfrKPK32SsWHLQTA

²³http://www.crisp.se/henrik.kniberg/Kanban-vs-Scrum.pdf

Our children go throughchildhood once , and we arethe ones responsible for it.

By using simple Kanban and scrum techniques, Agile Kids teachyou how to clean out the daily tasks noise and free the valuabletime to a meaningful family dialog.

You are wellcome to learn how.

Enjoy the Agile Kids Slideshow:

• http://www.slideshare.net/shirlyronen/agile-kids²⁴

²⁵

²⁴http://www.slideshare.net/shirlyronen/agile-kids²⁵http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7zE7o2flVho/UJOQfQKc6cI/AAAAAAAAA08/

RiUIkzqdFj0/s1600/responsible.png

Operating a task board in10 min

Materials:

• Sticky notes• writing implement (pen, pencil) , marker pen• Board / wall. Window

²⁶

²⁶http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7AWtKVsmnjE/UJJjAYuHsYI/AAAAAAAAAtk/i_rjixEnc2Q/s1600/taskboard1.png

Operating a task board in 10 min 20

²⁷

Start simple:

• Introduce the idea to the kids• Remember that it should be a fun game• Encourage the kids to take an active part• Kids are the ones building the board

Start with the simplest board

3 columns

• To do• In progress• Done

²⁷http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4lwF3cjDZDU/UJJjBkxIt1I/AAAAAAAAAts/90V7VHq_3j0/s1600/taskboard2.png

Operating a task board in 10 min 21

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Add tasks to the board

• Start simple. With the most simple one or two tasks

²⁹

Pull tasks according to what you need to do

²⁸http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FjKbb47ToPY/UJJjORUWPlI/AAAAAAAAAt0/gNUgG7peoKA/s1600/taskboard3.png

²⁹http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wEZwzTm2Fhw/UJJjf8E_lhI/AAAAAAAAAuM/XkUpJcZW2Xc/s1600/taskboard4+-+Copy.png

Operating a task board in 10 min 22

³⁰

Set tasks priority and make sure to move tasks according to theirpriority

³¹

Pull – Not push

³⁰http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r0922mppEZ4/UJJjhdHw9tI/AAAAAAAAAuU/UudUKIltS-E/s1600/taskboard5+-+Copy.png

³¹http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lIB6X344huY/UJJji67N8YI/AAAAAAAAAuc/MaWzCXwOtEs/s1600/taskboard6+-+Copy.png

Operating a task board in 10 min 23

³²

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You can add an impediment column if you like

³²http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AePRnjjyk1c/UJJjmKPM1EI/AAAAAAAAAus/l6JS2g9eUtk/s1600/taskboard7+-+Copy.png

³³http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hiVSAxbRwok/UJJkV18ykZI/AAAAAAAAAvE/_mAlJx7hFBU/s1600/tashboard7.jpg

Operating a task board in 10 min 24

³⁴

Don’t forget to have Fun!!!

Thank you the greatest family for your pics J

³⁴http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WG6P38uDsC4/UJJkayyFI9I/AAAAAAAAAvM/3QqFAUrg09A/s1600/tashboard9.jpg

Operating a task board in 10 min 25

³⁵ ³⁶

³⁵http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6fZO1TqjDLc/UJJjdBNKx6I/AAAAAAAAAuE/xonJQG24Icg/s1600/taskboard11.png

³⁶http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fbQyujTswrQ/UJJjcBn2JFI/AAAAAAAAAt8/r9qDix3_AiQ/s1600/taskboard10.png

The cards on the wallThe task card represents what needs to be done.

There are a few types of cards.

The Simple card:

Describes itself, for example, ‘do the dishes’.

The Parent card:

These cards include other tasks that may even be performed byother family members. For example, the math exam task belowincludes different types of problems that need to be learnt, each asa separate task. When they are completed, only then is the Parenttask complete.

The cards on the wall 27

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³⁷http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OMCbUNesLpU/UJJnJKOE3xI/AAAAAAAAAv4/ncKopfbg3ck/s1600/shirlyronencard2.jpg

The cards on the wall 28

³⁸

The details on the card

A card may include more specific details, such as who is responsiblefor it, maybe a deadline, and more.

Between you and me - it doesn’t matter. The main thing is that thetasks are visible, and that your kids see their name on the boards,and understand what they need to do. Other than the family, no oneneeds to understand the board, so put up the cards that make themost sense to you.

Don’t forget though - Keep It Simple. You aren’t running a softwareproject, this is your family.

³⁸http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kMXQ6OYTPD0/UJJnIVqHesI/AAAAAAAAAv0/ns3fRZ-6a_A/s1600/shirlyronencard1.jpg

The cards on the wall 29

Here are a few examples of tasks that families have included intheir Agile Kids efforts, ranging from the simple ones like ‘brushmy teeth’ to the more complicated ones like ‘clean the house’, or‘plan my birthday’.

Here, the small blue sticker shows the family who owns the task.

³⁹

Here, you can see a large task broken down into smaller ones.

³⁹http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-L-YD-zSjKH0/UJJnJg4VyLI/AAAAAAAAAwA/cxOELvhfGvY/s1600/shirlyronencard3.jpg

The cards on the wall 30

⁴⁰

Here, the colour of the note shows who owns it.

⁴¹

Here, each small coloured note shows the owner.

⁴⁰http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sNF5GG6KeAk/UJJnLa4U2nI/AAAAAAAAAwM/GfPyGcjZfXQ/s1600/shirlyronencard4.png

⁴¹http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-i3_DjX1ir8M/UJJnMWvkuiI/AAAAAAAAAwQ/BrBVSx06fRk/s1600/shirlyronencard5.jpg

The cards on the wall 31

⁴²

⁴²http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Q5IbF27JBOA/UJJnNQA8y-I/AAAAAAAAAwc/-pmcX0aZfxY/s1600/shirlyronencard6.png

Permanent task boards arenice, but they aren’t the

point!What do we do with all the permanent tasks? The ones that repeatthemselves again and again? Those that we’ll be moving across theboard every day?

One of the ways of creating Agile boards in the house is to reversethe columns.

What do I mean?

Well, instead of moving tasks through the columns, as we’ve shownin the book and previous posts, we put up a board with pre-definedtasks per family member, which are seen throughout the week, andadd a ‘Doing’ note to the task in question.

I can see these boards posted everywhere. They are colorful, de-lightful, and some even have every possible task you can imaginethat you would ever do around the house.

And that’s EXACTLY what bothers me.

People, don’t forget. The task board isn’t the point. The point is theway we treat tasks!

The point is communication, around the tasks at hand, with anemphasis on empowering the child, developing his responsibilityand his commitment to the tasks, together with a healthy familydialogue, like I show in agile kids book and in other chapters

The family dialogue pulse is what matters. The task board is just ananswer to a symptom, which can be disorganization, or not doingthe chores around the house. The task board isn’t the goal.

Permanent task boards are nice, but they aren’t the point! 33

We have to understand that setting up a board is just a meansto more important goals.

⁴³

And so:

• Talk to your kids and build the list of permanent tasks to-gether. This simple activity creates the initial understandingof tasks, and enables us to hear what our children think aboutthe tasks, and you’ll be surprised at what they have to say.You might find that just from these conversations you canalready agree on ground rules that will prevent arguments inthe future.

Don’t force them. Don’t come with a pre-defined board and presentit to them as a given. There can be some tasks that may cross someundetermined line (such as when to go to bed), but in an opendiscussion you’ll be able to present them as part of all the tasks.

⁴³http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dxVEX5XU72c/UJJCeyws1lI/AAAAAAAAAnI/XUrZCJWeE8s/s1600/ptasks1.png

Permanent task boards are nice, but they aren’t the point! 34

• Be prepared. Think in advancewhat youwant to achieve. Youcan’t just pile a whole lot of tasks on the board, which makesit difficult to see who is doing what and when.

• Focus is important. Choose the really important tasks first.With time, you’ll be adding more tasks anyway.

• The children can create their own schedule from tasks thatthey are each interested in doing during the week. We’ll keeptrack of the schedule, and mark each task as done.

• Put the tasks on the board together with your children.Visibility gives a sense of control, and is the first step towardstaking responsibility for our tasks. This means that the chil-dren have to be part of creating the task list.

• Put the board in an easily accessible part of the house, whereeveryone can see it. A task board that’s put in a drawer isuseless. You can’t see it, and it doesn’t create any awarenessof tasks and responsibility.

• Meet once a day, and talk about the tasks.• Make sure that the children are the ones that move the taskson the board, not you. Let them choose and mark the tasks -not you.

• Make sure that the tasks are more or less balanced, and thatthe brunt of the tasks fall on one family member.

• You need to put your tasks on the board as well. This createstrust.

After we mapped out this week’s tasks, each task can be markedwith a check-mark, a smiley, or any other mark that you choose. :)

And don’t forget to have fun…

The Four Quadrants of theTo Do list

Stick to the important, before it becomes urgent.

Here’s another way to manage the ‘To do’ list when there are manytasks that need to be taken care of , immediately, or in the longrun. This method is also very useful when we find ourselves doingnothing but putting out fires.

Instead of just putting out the fires, and constantly chasingafter the daily tasks, we should stop for five minutes, and evenwithout knowing time management theories, simply presentour tasks in a visual way That waywe can start working onwhat’sREALLY important, and stop the constant crisis breaking out.

So what DO you do?

Start off with KISS. Keep It Simple.

Now, how can we manage the task list better?

Let’s divide our tasks into four, like below:

The Four Quadrants of the To Do list 36

⁴⁴

Now, start adding your tasks to the board, each task according tohow important and urgent it really is.

(Of course, when it comes to Agile Kids, we do this as a family).

This way, the task board appears much clearer, and we know whatneeds to be done.

This is known as the Eisenhower Method⁴⁵.

⁴⁴http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-W3LKCqi0tN8/UJJpkIEaVeI/AAAAAAAAAxs/AyGp3zuBJ0s/s1600/Urgent1.jpg

⁴⁵http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_management#The_Eisenhower_Method

The Four Quadrants of the To Do list 37

⁴⁶

Now, when you want to complete a task, just follow these simplerules to determine if it’s REALLY what you need to do next.

1. Stick to the importantSometimes you find that what’s really important as a family -like reading a book to your children, or talking to them - isn’turgent, so it keeps getting postponed. Don’t forget that whatyou don’t do today, will come to haunt you in the future as acrisis. So if the task is important - make sure you complete it.

2. Start with those that are due soon and assign them witha date and an owner.

3. Then work on those tasks that may be due later.4. Delegate urgent and non important issues.5. Make sure to review your tasks from time to time and see

if their position in the four quadrants has changed.**

⁴⁶http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-odzsTSMRH48/UJJplBbD2YI/AAAAAAAAAxw/lH1TEx8NuOU/s1600/urgent2.png

10 Top tips to succeed inpreventing multi-tasking!

1. Relax. A ‘fun’ mood is better than stress, and always helps makethings better, especially for kids. If you are so stressed from yourcurrent exploding task list , take a deep breath , count to 10 , relaxyourself and only than start deal with your tasks using the followingtips.

2. Visualize your tasks. Visualization enables you to put things inorder, get things done and feel in control. Use a task board. For first-timers, take the time to draw a list and place all your tasks on theboard.

You don’t need a special visualization or order just yet. The firstsmall step will be Just – visualize.

The second step , a small one , will be to separate 1-3 tasks out ofthe entire tasks list, and visualize them. Our brain deals better withsmall lists then large once , but it can also be fooled thinking youhave a small list of tasks only by separating visually , with a simpleline, a bunch of tasks from the entire wish list.

10 Top tips to succeed in preventing multi-tasking! 39

⁴⁷

3. Scope Only On the Important.Even if it means not doing something else!

4. Prioritize.Prioritize the things you need to do. If you can not completeeverything, that’s OK. Complete the important things.

Discover why multi-tasking wastes your time⁴⁸>>

5. Use a Time Frame. That means giving yourself a short set oftime limits and perform your tasks within those limits. The TimeTimer⁴⁹ can help.

Choose one start point and one end point and aim to hold taskswithin this time frame. Nothing else goes in at that time as a task.

Timeframe objectives help get things done! When the Timeframeis small and controllable, you increase your sense of control andreduce stress – one of the major causes of multi-tasking. It also helpus scope on a small portion of work and get it done.

6. Pull one task. Complete it. Then pull the next task in line.

⁴⁷http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--bBwatAA2aI/U_jWxKjKYlI/AAAAAAAAD-Q/ja9i3L_LVbY/s1600/IMG_20140807_1217201.jpg

⁴⁸http://www.timetimer.com/blog/103/why-multi-tasking-wastes-your-time---by-agilekids/

⁴⁹http://www.timetimer.com/store/product/2/time-timer(and)reg;-8-(tta1)

10 Top tips to succeed in preventing multi-tasking! 40

7. When pulling more than one task if needed, make sure oneof the tasks is familiar!

“It’s not that we can’t do some tasks simultaneously. We can allchew gum while walking, and most of us can drive a car and carryon a conversation. But if we are lost in heavy traffic in an unfamiliarpart of town, then the radio goes off and the talking stops. If twotasks are performed at once, then one of the tasks has to be familiar.”_- Sound Advice for Helping Kids Grow Smarter, Healthier andHappier, by David Walsh, Ph.D.⁵⁰

8. Divide big assignments into smaller ones that have value.

This will help you reduce the multi-tasking into scoped and smallpractice outcomes.

9. Stop and Assess.What do you NEED to do? Stop and asses once in a while. You canuse the timeframe for that. When a Timeframe is up, the next bulkof tasks can be placed for review and priority.

10. Stuck? Get Help!

When you are stuck with a task, ask for help first before starting anew task!

⁵⁰http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/smart-parenting-smarter-kids/201107/can-kids-multitask

10 Top tips to succeed in preventing multi-tasking! 41

⁵¹

⁵¹http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P7ULUEwVs44/U_jXH3RcoaI/AAAAAAAAD-Y/VMqETF0FbVQ/s1600/IMG_20140728_092842.jpg

KanPlan - A neatHomemade Kanban way to

do your homeworkSometimes all I need to do is download a new app for my androidtablets, and watch the kids use it. In this case - I got KanPlan, andin two minutes my children were all over the iPad, adding theirhomework tasks, and getting things done.

KanPlan⁵² was developed by Houda Hamdane⁵³ as a solution forparents who want to organize homework time for their kids, whilemaking it fun for everyone. KanPlan, as you probably understandfrom the name, uses Kanban to make this happen, and you know Ibelieve Kanban to be one of the best tools in dealing with childrenand family tasks.

I first heard about KanPlan when commented on my LinkedIn post.Obviously, we both share the same interest in Kanban and believein the home made /self made Kanban way to get things done.

⁵⁴

⁵²http://www.kanplan.net/⁵³http://ca.linkedin.com/pub/houda-hamdane/5/300/159⁵⁴http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TsPcN85QHUw/UJJRTPWbVdI/AAAAAAAAArQ/

lD5u0lMfsWM/s1600/Kanplan.png

KanPlan - A neat Homemade Kanban way to do your homework 43

Now, as you already know, I love simple. And KanPlan is simple.

You can add all sorts of tasks of course, not just homework. You candrag and drop your tasks according to their relevant status, and itis just full of colour.

They’ve even got a game - the KanQuiz - that you can solve to getpoints.

It just makes sense, when you think about it. Children today arenaturally drawn to smart devices - smartphones, tablets, touchscreens. Apps are their natural environment. So why not takeadvantage of that fact, and help them visualize their task with toolsthey are familiar with? Not only that, but pretty soon tablets willstart replacing school books - so you are also preparing them forthe not-too-distant future. The value of Kanban to the family andchildren go without saying (just take a look⁵⁵ around the blog).KanPlan gives us a neat Kanban app for the kids, and has potentialto be even bigger.

So go on - check it out. You’ll be amazed at how easy KanPlan is topick up and use.

http://www.screenr.com/Vkg8⁵⁶

Other than this video, there’s also a step by step tutorial ⁵⁷ of course.

You can get the KanPlan version for free from here: KanPlanhasno ads in it (after all this is an application for kids)

• http://www.kanplan.net/home.html⁵⁸• http://www.screenr.com/RVh8)⁵⁹

⁵⁵http://agileandfamily.blogspot.com/2012/03/operating-task-board-in-10-min.html⁵⁶http://www.screenr.com/Vkg8⁵⁷http://www.kanplan.net/guideforparents.html⁵⁸http://www.kanplan.net/home.html⁵⁹http://www.screenr.com/RVh8

‘Homeschooling’ - making iteasier with kanban

Sometimes Scrum and your task board can be the easiest way tohandle your daily homeschool activities.

Take, for instance, one of the families I worked with developed ahome schooling curriculum in using Agile and Scrum.

How did they accomplish that?

Well, it went like this:

First, they put up a task board in the learning area, a flet coveredboard - the notes had scotch on the back.

The task board held the entire home schooling tasks for the nextweek. For example, addition and subtraction for Ben, and learningGensis for Liz.

Each child wrote their name on the back of the relevant tasks forthat week.

Each child knew what his tasks where, and both knew, after thetasks were divided into smaller tasks, how to take the task himself,and move it around on the board, according to its status, of course.

For example, they had a task to learn about the creation of theworld, which was divided into each Day of Creation (in the Biblicalsense). Each Day they learned about, they took the relevant noteand moved it across the board. They even added an extra columnfor a drawing :), which was the definition for ‘Done’. Once the childdrew in the Day of Creation they studied that day, the task wasconsidered to be complete.

Each morning, the family had a daily meeting, which made sureeveryone was up to scratch about the material they were learning.

‘Homeschooling’ - making it easier with kanban 45

Yes, including the parents, but the meeting was mainly about thechildren. Themeeting created the daily agenda, with goals and tasksthat the children needed to complete by the end of that day.

During the day, the children would move their tasks across theboard according to their lessons, and the daily chores when theystarted or completed them.

This way, the children can see for themselves how their studies areprogressing, and they even take part in planning how, and how fast,their studies will advance.

The daily planning sessions enabled the family to plan their home-school schedule ahead one or two weeks, and of course the retro-spective session that they had weekly helped the family continuallyimprove.

⁶⁰

This is EXACTLY how Scrum works. Scrum/Kanban is a powerfultool, that develops empowerment and goal achievement, with ahealthy dialog on the way.

So start using Agile to manage your homeschooling today - Get the

⁶⁰http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qpaeSCHkRZs/UJOSu3S3VKI/AAAAAAAAA1U/sDg5XLBmQnE/s1600/school+shirly+ronen1.jpg

‘Homeschooling’ - making it easier with kanban 46

Agile Kids book!

Easily estimating our homemade Kanban tasks

A lot has already been written about Agile project estimation,and people practice task size estimation to varying degrees, asknowing how long your taskswill take helps achieve a better controland understanding towards the project’s delivery. Kanban is a bitdeferent in terms of estimation since the items suppose to be closeto being in the same size. Estimation in this sense is having ouritems closer to the size we can achieve them. There are manytechniques that you can apply, and of course, arguments as to whyeach one is obviously the best.

I think that sometimes we can agree that we cannot avoid estimat-ing/sizing our features and our tasks for a software project that hasa budget, time line and content. We all know that estimation is acomplicated thing to do, and that we learn how to get better atit by making lots of mistakes along the way. We also know thatour estimates are probably wrong most of the time (at least at thebeginning) and the best way to deal with it is to develop a continuesimprovement thinking of how to improve our time estimations, andof course, how tomanage the inevitable delays. but we do know thatwhenworking on a ‘small’ size tasks is a good start for achivingthem and the entire project delivery.

So how, you ask, do you balance task estimationwith the limitationswhen using Agile and Kanban for ourselves and inside our family?

The answer is, of course, “it depends”.Using Agile and Kanban at home is a bit different when it comes toestimating tasks. After all, can we expect our kids to estimate thetime it takes them to tidy their room or to have their homeworkdone? And should we even ask them to? but we can work on an

Easily estimating our home made Kanban tasks 48

achivable size of tasks.

In cases when we have set budgets and time-lines, it’s probably bestto try to estimate our tasks as best as possible. Grading exams, orworking on a university seminar are good examples. I’d even toss ina burn-down chart, but that’s a different discussion. Appointmentsand meetings could also be a good project to estimate your tasks for- A meeting takes 45 minutes, and I make sure I have a 15 minutebreak between meetings. So I can have five or six meetings a day,and still make sure that I have a break.

But do we need this level of estimation for kids and familychores?

No. You don’t. There are other ways to get things done and stillbe able to size them to fit our needs. In my opinion Estimationis not so needed in Kanban since the items suppose to be closedto being in the same size. Estimation in this sense is having ouritems closer to the size we can achieve them. Its all about identifythis ‘size’.

Here is a nice technique, often used in verity of softwareprojects, that will help you size your tasks so that you’ll be ableto achieve more.

1. Create your backlog and visualize it.

Visualize whatever you need to do. Once all the tasks are on theboard, tasks become easy to manage and size. It also becomes easierto understand the size of the tasks one against the other.

2. Use three types for a rough estimation.SmallMediumBig

** Very big - optional

The ‘sizing estimation’ in this step acts as a big containerallowing us to identify and separate tasks into different chunks.

Easily estimating our home made Kanban tasks 49

you can create a column for each size, or give each size a different-colored sticky.

Now, ask your child to size his tasks according to what he thinksand place the in the Right column on the board.

⁶¹

3. Listen and learn.

Remember when you where a child, places look bigger to you thenthey look today? That’s how your kids see their tasks. A lot biggerthan they do to us. So listen and ask questions to make sure youunderstand the size of the task as it appears to your children:

What is a small task?

What is a big task? What makes it big?

Compare tasks to understand how the child sees the terms of ‘big’and ‘small’.

4. Once you have all the important tasks, divide big tasks intosmaller ones.

Following an example of a big task the better be split to smallerones:

⁶¹http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jEtePufzTQQ/UJJTinRX0EI/AAAAAAAAAsg/3NVJA-jOyRw/s1600/Kanbanhomesize1.png

Easily estimating our home made Kanban tasks 50

⁶²

5. Stick to the small-medium tasks and prioritize your tasks.

6. Pick one or two tasks, and off we go.

⁶²http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qYq8F0qJA4Q/UJJTjSnCstI/AAAAAAAAAso/wPugEhtwZ-Q/s1600/Kanbanhomesize2.png

Easily estimating our home made Kanban tasks 51

⁶³

7. Not everything at home needs to be estimated. In fact almosteverything does not.

For example: let’s say we have 2 days to complete learning to amathexam. Then the estimation may be a rough one: what is supposed tobe done in the first day and what is our child expected to finish inthe second day.We can then discuss each task and try to understandif it’s in the first or second day. We can then use rough estimationsfor tasks that we think will need it.

So try to keep things simple.

Rough estimation may be “just enough” at home with our kids:whenever we have a big task to do , let’s examine our needs,divide it to smaller tasks to the size of ‘just enough’.

Remember, we are dealing with kids not hi-tech employees. Visu-alization works for them much more. The same goes for colors, andplaying games, and the fact that we parents are involved makes it

⁶³http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ksh61sRXBHU/UJJTkRB47gI/AAAAAAAAAsw/-EflP3CbNfQ/s1600/Kanbanhomesize3.png

Easily estimating our home made Kanban tasks 52

even better. They love being with us, and they love it whenwe listento them.

So, while this simple technique will help them learn how to estimatetask sizes, and stick to what is really important to do without theburden of time pressure.

And as always , keep it simple , and don’t forget to have fun alongthe way.

Mind mapping and yourto-do list:

Here we are again, presenting another fun and creative way toarrange our tasks to help us get things done.

Today, I want to introduce to you - The Mind Map.

Googling mind map ⁶⁴

⁶⁵

I’ve even published an article about mind mapping the softwaretesting exploratory technique⁶⁶

Mind mapping is one of the most powerful visualization toolsfor ideas, flows, goals - whatever we want to achieve. It workswonders with kids, as they visualize their way through the thingsthey want to do.

Why use it at home?

⁶⁴https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&hl=en&source=hp&biw=1159&bih=868&q=mind+map&gbv=2&oq=mind+ma&aq=0&aqi=g10&aql=&gs_l=img.3.0.0l10.1256l2028l0l3507l7l7l0l0l0l0l161l688l4j3l7l0.frgbld.

⁶⁵http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xfBPaRupFHs/UJI27ETVpZI/AAAAAAAAAkI/fXJ4L5Z3o_E/s1600/mindmap1.png

⁶⁶http://www.slideshare.net/shirlyronen/brainstorming-and-mind-mapping-the-exploratory-testing

Mind mapping and your to-do list: 54

Because it is another way that helps us get things done. Because itworks for so many people. Because It is so simple and effective, thatI just had to talk about it.

As usual, I want to keep things simple. I prefer to use mindmapping as an initial tool to initiate our wish list, to get ourto-do list in order.

But first, what exactly _is _mind mapping?

“A mind map is a diagram used to represent words ideas, tasks,or other items linked to and arranged around a central key wordor idea… Mind maps have many applications in personal, fam-ily,educational and business situations, including note taking, brain-storming (wherein ideas are inserted into the map radically aroundthe center node, without the implicit prioritization that comes fromhierarchy or sequential arrangements, and wherein grouping andorganizing is reserved for later stages), summarizing, as atechnique,or to sort out a complicated idea. Mind maps are also promoted asa way to collaborate in color pen creativity sessions.

Mind maps can be used for:

• problem solving• outline/framework design• structure/relationship representations• anonymous collaboration• marriage of words and visuals• individual expression of creativity• condensing material into a concise and memorable format• team building or synergy creating activity• enhancing work morale”

Wikipeida⁶⁷

⁶⁷http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_map

Mind mapping and your to-do list: 55

Kids are doing it all over the world any way. So how do we do it?

Lets say we have this three week vacation coming up, and we wantto plan what we want to do. As a regular reader of my blog youalready know, that the best thing to do is build a mind map as afamily, together. Visualize it, talk it over, and have fun with it!

1. So the first step of mind mapping will be to** visualize a centralword, topic, idea, subject, or concept.

Say - Holidays family activities.

⁶⁸

2. Now, we add three or four ideas that are linked to the mainidea.

Think , for example , what would we like to do in that period oftime ?:

‘Have fun’

‘Do homework’

‘Paint the house’

Write those down on the board, or add sticky notes.

⁶⁸http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nUZOecvmZR4/UJI28EZLUcI/AAAAAAAAAkM/ubli4ZYvQhg/s1600/mindmap2.png

Mind mapping and your to-do list: 56

⁶⁹

3. Now continue to add even more ideas under those ideas. Usebright colors! Arrows! Colored lines! Anything that makes the mindmap easy and fun to follow.**

⁷⁰

4. Now, can we actually do everything we set down in the mind

⁶⁹http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DuAJzRzVRyE/UJI28gzHypI/AAAAAAAAAkU/FJlFWSDlrRE/s1600/mindmap3.png

⁷⁰http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VLB4Wl45oGI/UJI29cN2S2I/AAAAAAAAAkg/ioOLZZ68QCg/s1600/mindmap4.png

Mind mapping and your to-do list: 57

map?Well, luckily, you used sticky notes. Move them around, seewhat’s really important, and add them to a board. Call this your ‘Todo’ column.

⁷¹

5. Now add two more columns - ‘In progress’ and ‘Done’.

⁷²

See?

⁷¹http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aIYWFh46BwY/UJI2-giUUKI/AAAAAAAAAko/uEmi95RagIU/s1600/mindmap5.png

⁷²http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-L-FN_OFAO6A/UJI2_nLpFQI/AAAAAAAAAks/Ae357Za2TLM/s1600/mindmap6.png

Mind mapping and your to-do list: 58

Mind maps are used all over, for all sorts of things. Education, lifeskills, chores, and so on. For us, it’s just another fun way to help usget things done.

Citations:

• http://www.thinkbuzan.com/uk⁷³• Mind map pattern from : Tony Buzan © 2004 “Mind Maps forKids : Rev up for Revision”

⁷³http://www.thinkbuzan.com/uk

Going back to schoolschedule

Remember when your kids spent the last month following a dailyschedule, going to bed early, getting up early, and setting aside timefor their homework?

You don’t?

The holidays might have had something to do with that :) Kids tendto sleep late, lose track of time, have no schedule whatsoever - butthey’re kids. They are allowed to.

But school is just around the corner, and you need to start gettingback on track.Going to bed at normal hours, setting a daily schedule,and so on.

⁷⁴

⁷⁴http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hpWqgiRbt5s/UCtd-RToP6I/AAAAAAAAANc/3upPcyIz0uk/s1600/goingback+toschool.png

Going back to school schedule 60

How do we do that?

1. First, we’ll refresh the basic rules.2. Bed time.3. TV schedule.4. Homework place and schedule.5. And of course, any other rules that matter.6. Gradually get back to track :7. Pick a few issues to start changing, and practice them.8. Retrospect each day over the results and select the next issues.9. Insist on getting tasks done.

I’ll finish this post with some practical tips of getting kids ready togo back to school - Enjoy!

• http://www.slideshare.net/shirlyronen/going-back-to-school-with-agile-kids⁷⁵

⁷⁵http://www.slideshare.net/shirlyronen/going-back-to-school-with-agile-kids

Kaizen example video,Watch this Video to Learn!

What Does Kaizen and Emptying a Dishwasher Have in Common?

• http://GembaAcademy.com⁷⁶

⁷⁶http://gembaacademy.com/

How to study for your nextexam with Kanban

The best way to plan and execute a project is of course, usingAgile. But planning an Agile project, even around the house, isnot just about Kanban, it’s also about adopting the right way ofcontinuous planning. The GTD (Getting Things Done) approach,and being able to follow through, make conclusions and makechanges, based on real life changes.

Let’s take studying for exams as an excellent example.

I still remember the pressure as a student, when you have to prepfor several exams together, each one covering a whole semester. Ihad tons of material to cover – and of course, I was also waitingtables at the time.

It’s not easy to study, work, schedule around the exam datesand cover all the material, when you sometimes have to copewith seven exams in a month. In fact, it requires a plan.

As luck would have it, we have this post about Agile to help usplan this out :)

1. Create your backlog:

Use continuous planning methods –drill down to the level ofdetail you need at the righ moment.

” Lets think of the planning process as continuously decomposinga product vision while focusing on those features of greaterpriority (value) to the business. This decomposition uses just-in-time methods to prevent wasted effort on lower-priority orunneeded features. That is, we expand on features just as much aswe need to according to our expectations of when we will build

How to study for your next exam with Kanban 63

them (this order is determined by the value they provide to thecustomer).

This plan enables the team to look ahead responsibly so that large-effort activities can be broken down in small enough segments(right-sized work) and balanced against higher priority items thatcome up. A good release plan provides a clear visual control andobviates the need to look too far ahead and work too far in advanceon future, larger features.”

• InformIT - Transparent and Continuous Planning⁷⁷

For starters, to cover the studying period, list the courses thatyou’ll be taking exams on. Don’t go into detail yet – look at thefirst column in the chart below.

⁷⁸

Visualize your courses with different colors.

⁷⁷http://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=1412224&seqNum=2⁷⁸http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--0IX27zz0vA/UHkfCcJ5XrI/AAAAAAAAAb4/

geUqAXLKRzI/s1600/Kanban+exam1.png

How to study for your next exam with Kanban 64

⁷⁹

Visualize your exams timeline.

Order your exams according to their set date.

⁷⁹http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fv9Ke76Li8g/UHkfjYuXSgI/AAAAAAAAAcA/-rmaXoGkeKI/s1600/Kanban+exam2.png

How to study for your next exam with Kanban 65

⁸⁰

�

Tip: Estimate the effort it will take you to study for the exam usingour simple sizing technique.

⁸⁰http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mMoxi-3aDcQ/UHkfkQTUVRI/AAAAAAAAAcE/dYPd6nkgGfg/s1600/Kanban+exam3.png

How to study for your next exam with Kanban 66

This actionwill allow you to visualize your ability to complete thosebuilding blocks.

⁸¹

Now that you have your overview, start drilling down into eachsubject, adding elaboration where needed. Do just what you need,no more.

(For example, if you were planning a wedding, you’d write downhigh level tasks (where, when, dress, guest list). You don’t startwriting down who sites where (or at least, not until you are muchcloser to the wedding day).)

⁸¹http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-14bATht-_K4/UHkgDU2Ks9I/AAAAAAAAAcQ/_TfMyZjVWNQ/s1600/Kanban+exam4.png

How to study for your next exam with Kanban 67

⁸²

• Each course exam is broken down into reasonable study units• Some units are broken down further, if required.• You don’t have to go into minute detail on all the units – justthose you need to at the time. For example, if “Fundamentalsof Psychology” is coming up, I’ll break it down into smallerparts, and when I really start studying, I will break it downto even smaller tasks.

Priority level of details settings:

When you drill down into each exam, decide how detailed youwantit to be. Do you really need the details of every sub-subject?

⁸²http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8huNlqXke6c/UHkglHXyunI/AAAAAAAAAcY/0XPOCIXXjkY/s1600/Kanban+exam5.png

How to study for your next exam with Kanban 68

⁸³

Ready To Go:

These items are what you need to start working on right away, andso have the maximum detail necessary. They have a clear definitionof ‘done’ (For example: pages 1-20 + answer questions 23-56)

Don’t add too much detail!

Don’t add detail for every task, for every subject, for every exam,right away. When the date approaches – then you can start fleshingthings out with more detail.

⁸³http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hk5GXbhPYbs/UHkhwChiI_I/AAAAAAAAAco/Tsd560QyUbM/s1600/Kanban+exam6.png

How to study for your next exam with Kanban 69

⁸⁴

Work with small items, meaning make sure ready items are ina level of details that is reasonable to achieve. ‘(a day size itemmay be enough).

Use sticky notes as a good visualization of what we need to study.It also makes sure that you can quickly change, add and adapt tochange. (Agile, remember?)

2. In progress: what we actual studying.

� Pick up items according to priority.Learn one topic at a time and move it along the board.Work on one item at a time.

⁸⁴http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ubwFggTERHs/UHkhSPk40RI/AAAAAAAAAcg/SRZWdZJGB84/s1600/Kanban+exam7.png

How to study for your next exam with Kanban 70

⁸⁵

3. Done

Follow the Definition Of Done. It’s not done till it’s done.

⁸⁶

⁸⁵http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nKEr7g2r-do/UHkiOKnXacI/AAAAAAAAAcw/doc9hZ3TGYY/s1600/Kanban+exam8.png

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How to study for your next exam with Kanban 71

• � Example taken from myagile.co.il.

And don’t forget to have fun while doing it J

Learning a routine, using atask board with kids.

A routine is A prescribed, detailed course of action to be followedregularly; a standard procedure. Kids are not born knowing howto follow a routine. So sometimes we need to teach them howto follow a set of steps, a routine till it’s clear to the childwhat is expected to be performed. An obvious example may themorning routine in which we need to wake up , prepare to schooland eventually get out of the house ; or the evening routine ;even aroutine of learning the alphabets may not be so obvious for kids.

Let’s take the morning routine as an example: if it’s an issue, here’sanother simple tip (among many in this blog) to help you get thisgoing. Just build a routine task board.

1. First step will be to visualize your tasks using drowning orpictures⁸⁷ . Visualization works wonders with kids. Make alist of tasks on the board according to the order expected.

2. Make sure to mark tasks when they are done. Do it with yourchild! _It usually works best with smaller kids. The mark canbe a smile, a star or whatever incentive to continue to performhis/hers tasks and learn the routine.

You can collect the marks during the week, or count them for a priceor a praise.

3. Never assume that just having a task board for your childwill make him/her perform his chores. No matter what kind ofa task board you use with your child, **don’t forget to talk it over

⁸⁷http://agileandfamily.blogspot.co.il/2012/08/using-task-boards-with-youngsters.html

Learning a routine, using a task board with kids. 73

with the child every day. This is the agile part. Let your child be anactive part on planning his tasks, placing them on the list or board,performing them and moving them around. Don’t do it for him/her**

⁸⁸

There are many other ways to deal with routine tasks, or learninga routine you just need to pick whatever fits your best.

⁸⁸http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-flQzSpif9kU/UiSAt5_kzGI/AAAAAAAAChE/xNIlUGrJJR4/s1600/Picture1.png

Mymost effective time toget things done

My most effective time to get things done

Beyond the fact that I hold a backlog including all those tasks Ineed to do, I do need to get them done in the most effective andefficient way. With all other things I need to consider and planI also need to pay attention to the timing of those tasks. Afterall, there are tasks that are bounded by time. For instance, whatgood it will do to brush my teeth and then eat a good meal justbefore going to bed and not the other way around?

As part of the agile method and especially when implementingscrum, we are used to stop at the end of every sprint (iteration),look ahead and plan our coming sprint tasks. This is also a goodopportunity to take a look at those tasks timing and reflect overthe best time to execute them. There may be a verity of reasons toexecute tasks in a specific time frame or another, after all each ofus holds different goals, tasks and time considerations.

As in any new techniques, we don’t have to start using it if wehave no problem executing our tasks. It really aims to those tasksthat needs a special timing consideration such as : an outstandingbunch of tasks; Tasks that require a special concentration; Tasks thatholds dependencies to other tasks; Tasks that holds progress fromother activities and many more…

All you have to do is:

• Look ahead and identify those most effective time frames(according to the task time, urgency, needs, time framelimitations, priority…)

My most effective time to get things done 75

Ask yourself, what are my best weekdays to perform thosetasks? What is my best time of day to perform those tasks?

It may happen that in each week there are different time and weekdays to perform the same tasks.

For example:

Maybe you are a morning/night person? So there are types of tasksthat demand a high level of concentration that you want to performat this time frame only.

Will it be easier to address emails at the beginning of my workingday or at the end of it? Maybe both? Or maybe if I just take few thinslices of time during the day to cover the accumulating amount ofemails and messages will be the best timing for this task? (BTW ,the last one is my favorite)

There are tasks that weekdays and day time will enforce our timing,such as…the best time to work with my sun over his final classassignment will be the weekend. Or , the best time to walk the dogis in the morning, otherwise…

• The next step will be to Create visibility to those mosteffective hours. A task board with special time zones maybe great, or tasks divided according to weekdays and more…

• Act accordingly.• Make sure to retrospect over the effective and efficientof the performance of those tasks according to the timeframe set. **If needed, change it.

• And as always, don’t forget to have fun.

Lets take a look at few examples I have gathered:

A father that marks Wednesdays in his calendar as the best days tospend some time with his kids. Obvious, right!?

Keep inmind that this visualization not only acts as a good reminderbut also creates a level of commitment to this type of task.

My most effective time to get things done 76

⁸⁹

⁹⁰

The clock- the clock creates a good understanding over the timewe may or may not perform a specific task. These can be used forhomework tasks, play hours and more….

⁸⁹http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tXl0IeiuAIY/UnZgylHF9WI/AAAAAAAADMQ/18smw87TdIA/s1600/best+time1.png

⁹⁰http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DGWfCXi5GVs/UnZg5aB-6fI/AAAAAAAADNI/CXTm_aYTm3I/s1600/best+time2.png

My most effective time to get things done 77

The following table presents a time frame where I produce the mostvalue during the day. Therefore, I will targetmy tasks to these hours.

It may be that my type of work is such that I would prefer doing the“paper work” early in the morning, and the coaching stuff, meetingand face to face communication later on intothe day when otherpeople are around.

⁹¹

The following is a chart showing Light and Time of Day. What’s

⁹¹http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-avpRwk18muM/UnZgzW0kXTI/AAAAAAAADMk/wp6YspyHt-s/s1600/best+time4.png

My most effective time to get things done 78

the best time of day to go painting outdoors?

• http://mchesleyjohnson.blogspot.co.il/2013/02/light-and-time-of-day.html⁹²

⁹³

When is the right time to publish one of my blog posts?

On Sunday when no one from my American readers is on the web,or on Friday when no one of my Israeli readers is on the web?

⁹²http://mchesleyjohnson.blogspot.co.il/2013/02/light-and-time-of-day.html⁹³http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-v1t_qYUca0Q/UnZg3He2tCI/AAAAAAAADNE/

x2geqpZNvdQ/s1600/best+time5.png.jpg

My most effective time to get things done 79

⁹⁴

• http://readwrite.com/2012/01/27/whens_the_best_time_to_blog_-share⁹⁵

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⁹⁴http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TT2rbB1fsrI/UnZgz1dkubI/AAAAAAAADMw/qFDFNsOgJME/s1600/best+time6.png

⁹⁵http://readwrite.com/2012/01/27/whens_the_best_time_to_blog_share⁹⁶http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P7nnjABTWD8/UnZg1afihbI/AAAAAAAADM4/

WcbaR47FD6M/s1600/best+time7.png.jpg

My most effective time to get things done 80

⁹⁷

⁹⁷http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MVXsT8N7RxY/UnZg2LDiEpI/AAAAAAAADM8/IJ7c7K-d9rc/s1600/best+time8.png

The Agile Values andPrinciples for Everyone

Agile hold a minimum set of values and principles, followingthem, will allow taking the agile almost anywhere. Once we getthe grip of that, we can implement agile, its tools and mindsetalmost for anything. Only fine tuning andmodifications will berequired.

Post takeaways:

· An overview over the agile values

· How to translate those to your own context

· How was it translated to family context

· How was it translated to schools context

· Try yourself check list

First, Let’s dive in to the original agile values.

Agile is an empirical process based on the principles of deliveringworking items and continues improve by continues adopting anawareness to problems and solving them within. It is a method ofadapting to complex and constantly changed systems.

Agile is not one methodology, it’s actually a set of tools, values,principles, a collection of mindset beliefs that helps getting thingsdone. In agile, like in agile, you can never implement the exact sameframework in two organization. You will always need to adjust, beagile, and refine your activities and tool. This is because agile relayson people and effectiveness of processes and each group of peopleso deferent, even if they are manufacturing the same product.

Agile is Based on the mindset and psychological aspect, whereteams are self-organizing and self-directed. It holds more than

The Agile Values and Principles for Everyone 82

just few mindsets approaches related to empowered individuals,self motivate individuals and Creativity and innovation are highlyappreciated and encouraged. When those individuals are part of agroup with a common goals (let’s say, school for example) the agilemethod proves to get things done faster than any other method;the agile method will also facilitate the grows of the group andindividuals within and though grow the outcome of a group forbetter performance.

It’s a way to improve and get things done. It’s a light designed framework, easy to adapt even in partial aspects, where all of these canhappen regardless the type of area of which we wish to evolve toagile.

The agile software development manifesto.

Initially, the agile as a method and its values and the principlesbehind it were mostly fit to the IT and software engineeringindustry. You can find them all here.

http://agilemanifesto.org/principles.html⁹⁸

http://agilemanifesto.org/⁹⁹

Lets dive into them a bit and reappear back and see how we cantake those into “everyone’s” world

“We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing itand helping others do it.

Through this work we have come to value:

Individuals and interactions over processes and tools”

We believe that effective communication may drive a group of peo-ple toward better efficient and effective performance. We employa vast set of communication tools to make sure it happens, and wedemand the same from team members and management.

⁹⁸http://agilemanifesto.org/principles.html⁹⁹http://agilemanifesto.org/

The Agile Values and Principles for Everyone 83

We believe that face to face communication is a key for success.We believe that using frequent communication is even better. Andwe make sure direct communication is kept as a key using varioustools such as a daily standup meeting, retrospective, talking aboutplanning, visualizing our work to our team members and stake-holders. And we prefer doing that face to face over communicatingusing several of tools. It’s just doesn’t work when we have so manymediators (phone, applications, reports). After all we are people,working together.

We believe then in:

· Frequent , direct communication

· Transparency and truth in a communication that leads to trust

· Transparency toward decisions, toward impediments

We strive to coach and lead individuals and group to follow thecommunication set of behaviors.

For example, isn’t it better for a teacher to hold a close commu-nication with a child parent then keep all her feedback to the lastmoment before giving the grade? Isn’t it easier to get early feedbackfrom the teacher, besides only via a tool (grade) and then get theopportunity for early improvement and early feedback once again?After all, we all know the grade are just a tool, there is a lot goingon beyond the grades.

Inset it better to talk to the teacher then get her feedback via email?Wouldn’t it give us the opportunity to react, and get feedback?

”Working software over comprehensive documentation”

This is our deliverables.

We deliverworking outcome as set of intervals each holding a value.Instead of long month of planning, design, developing and testingan entire system, we do this more frequent, with smaller portionsand each portion is a working software.

The Agile Values and Principles for Everyone 84

We make sure everything we do that we want to deliver holds itsdefinition of done. Meaning, what will make this task complete.

In order to deliver something bit that works, we believe thatdividing it to smaller portions that each works and holds a value isbetter than building in parallel many parts and try to shamble themat the end. The effort to build it up , correct and change is huge ,sometime needs getting back to the core developed framework , theamount of errs are out of control. The feedback is sometimes toolate and the changes will be build ad plasters over a non workingproduct.

This is a mindset change statement. It allows as at early staged giveand get early feedback over our work. And we should be open tothat feedback.

Lets say , we are building a car , so we better not check at the lastmoment that the wheel is working as part of assembling and testingthe entire product. We will probably build the wheel as a separatemechanism, test it (reuse it), then connect it to other working itemssuch as the wheels and retest them. Errs will the be easy to detectand solve.

”Customer collaboration over contract negotiation”

Collaborating with our stakeholders

When the stakeholder is involved, he feels more in control, anxietyreduced and communication flows better. We don’t have to wait along period of time till the end of a project finding out we didn’tdevelop what the customer wanted. And, god, how often did thishappen?! Almost 90% of the times!

We need to have the ability for early feedback.

In school as an example, I tend to consider the teachers as theprinciple customer and vice versa. Therefore, sharing your plansand outcomes in an early stage, while at the same time having ahart bit of healthy feedback may empower the entire system toward

The Agile Values and Principles for Everyone 85

better ideas, better cooperation and better performance. Everyonefeels they have a share. And agile does exactly that.

”Responding to change over following a plan”

We leave in a very small world, communication is faster andchanges are all over. In the industry of software developmentchange is a reality. And we may better understand it and adapt.It’s not only that the technology is changing all around, it’s also ourneed to develop over these technology frameworks (such as developover iphone , tablet, PC , Mac) it’s also the frequent of changes inwhat we developmay change. People may also change their priorityfor variety of reasons , especially customers. People are not born toforecast the future (well at least most of us), so it may be that wewant something develop today and change our mind in few weeks.

Agile holds a set of rules and behaviors allowing us better to reactto the changing environment , weather with hard strict rules (“Thesprint is the team safe zone”) or with soft skills supplied (frequentcommunication) or tools (standup meeting).

Same goes to all of us, the non software world residents. Weneed to embrace change first, acknowledge that changes arefact of life, and embrace the tools thatwill allowus better accepta change and grow to take advantage out of it.

We may hold a yearlong curriculum plan for our class, but thencomes an event , that make us change. We want to be able toembrace change, understand the we are working according to thevalue of each deliverable holds and we may leave a side otherdeliverable and artifacts as a result of a change. We are not expectedto toe everything at once , but we are expected to be agile enoughto leave in this fast changed reality.

That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value theitems on the left more.

The software development Principles behind the Agile Mani-festo

The Agile Values and Principles for Everyone 86

These reflecting the values above in a more practical sense.

**We follow these principles:

1. Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through earlyand continuous delivery of valuable software.

2. Welcome changing requirements, even late in development.Agile processes harness change for the customer’s competi-tive advantage.

3. Deliver working software frequently, from a couple ofweeks to a couple of months, with a preference to the shortertimescale.

4. Business people and developers must work together dailythroughout the project.

5. Build projects around motivated individuals. Give themthe environment and support they need, and trust them toget the job done.

6. The most efficient and effective method of conveying infor-mation to and within a development team is face-to-faceconversation.

7. Working software is the primary measure of progress.8. Agile processes promote sustainable development. The spon-

sors, developers, and users should be able to maintain aconstant pace indefinitely.

9. Continuous attention to technical excellence and good de-sign enhances agility.

10. Simplicity–the art of maximizing the amount of work notdone–is essential.

11. The best architectures, requirements, and designs emergefrom self-organizing teams.

12. At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to becomemore effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accord-ingly.

The Agile Values and Principles for Everyone 87

• http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd997578.aspx¹⁰⁰• http://www.ambysoft.com/essays/agileManifesto.html¹⁰¹

The first thing will be to try and understand those values andprinciples to fit to a more common ground then just software.

Remember: these are not lip service, we need to understand each ofthem and follow them.

Well, mainly when taking it to the common ground of practice agileprinciples are about:

Individuals and interactions over process and tools

Communication is a key , we can’t skip it. We live in a world ofconstant and fast communication using tools. Face to face commu-nication cannot be skipped and its proven to be effective than anyother tool.

Getting things done over measures of behaviors

Stop concentrating over measures, grades. It’s not that it is notimportant, rather than it should not be the scope of evaluatingyourself. Achieving a true progress a long with mindset change isthe true goal.

We better deliver 100% of 80% then 80% of 100% , its better to stickto the important then just do things we don’t need; understandingwhat is important is an art.

Stakeholder’s collaboration over lack of feedback

Involve others that have interest, get early feedback. Its alwaysbetter to do small mistakes then big last minute big mistakes.

Responding to change over following a plan

Changes are part of our day to day activities; we better accept itand adapt to change all the time. Changing I a potential for growth;

¹⁰⁰http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd997578.aspx¹⁰¹http://www.ambysoft.com/essays/agileManifesto.html

The Agile Values and Principles for Everyone 88

staying in one place will get you stuck. Change and adapt all thetime

Self organization leads to prosperity

Take decisions; Fail; Learn to grow for your mistakes; is a key tosuccess

Then, the next step should be, to try and fit those values to theone , you are trying to evolve to agile.

For examples, when we came to implement the agile into a familyand with kids , we initially defined some of our values as guidelines:

The Agile@Home Values and principles:

¹⁰²

That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value theitems on the left more

We also took the principles behind the values and translated themto what we believe in to be our agile way.

1. Our highest priority is our family and our children. Ourchildren go through childhood once, and we are the onesresponsible for it.

2. We believe that the parent is the key to family growth andshould be coached to be the role model for any requiredchanges.

¹⁰²http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Wyxt-ipp4ag/UlVGiCCusyI/AAAAAAAADAQ/TGB5haiCcCw/s1600/agile+at+home.png

The Agile Values and Principles for Everyone 89

3. The family must work together as a team in order toenhance its communication, achievements and abilities, in-cluding the children regardless of their age.

4. Investing constantly in our family, even for brief periods oftime and regardless of negative or positive events, will bringabout good results.

5. The parents must supply the family with the right tools tosucceed, and trust them that they will know best how to usethem for their needs.

6. We believe that face to face communication is the mosteffective form of communication.

7. The most effective family empowerment and growth willcome from the ability of parents and children to have an opendialog.

8. Simplicity is an art. Dividing big issues into small chunkswill bring the best results. Doing ‘just enough’ from thesechunks will bring about the best results. An effective changeis one that is done gradually, so it is quantifiable and man-ageable in real time, while at the same time the entire familyis responsible for the change.

9. The best outcomes come from children and families thatmanage themselves effectively.

10. we believe that enhancing one’s strengths also enhances hisweaknesses. Therefore we prefer to focus on the strong andpositive over the weak and negative.

11. We believe that all family members must evaluate theiractions constantly, not just when a crisis emerges.

12. Visibility and openness is the key to family empowerment.13. We believe that fun, rather than ‘serious’ takes us further.

Therefore, we will make sure that everything we do willinvolve the element of fun, although we will insist on makingit fit to the spirit of the events.

It’s that obvious!

The Agile Values and Principles for Everyone 90

I’m amazed at how easily it translates to education if you areapplying scrum in schools for example:

I have encountered this article of a very talented teacher stating theagile values as he sees fir to the education arena (contact him)

About the Author:

Steve Peha¹⁰³ is the President of Teaching That Makes Sense¹⁰⁴,an education consultancy in Carrboro, NC specializing in literacy,assessment, and school leadership. Since 1995, he has taught inthousands of classrooms and hundreds of schools across the UnitedStates and Canada. Prior to that he was a software entrepreneur

The Twelve Principles of Agile Schools

We follow these principles:

1. Our highest priority is to satisfy the needs of children andtheir families through early and continuous delivery ofmean-ingful learning.

2. Welcome changing requirements, even late in a learningcycle. Harness change for the benefit of children and theirfamilies.

3. Deliver meaningful learning frequently, from a couple ofdays to a couple of weeks, with a preference to the shortertimescale.

4. School and family team members work together daily tocreate learning opportunities for all participants.

5. Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them theenvironment and support they need, and trust them to get thejob done.

6. The most efficient and effective method of conveying infor-mation to and within a team is face-to-face conversation.

¹⁰³http://www.ttms.org/steve_peha/steve_peha.htm¹⁰⁴https://www.ttms.org/

The Agile Values and Principles for Everyone 91

7. Meaningful learning is the primary measure of progress.8. Our processes promote sustainability. Educators, students,

and families should be able to maintain a constant paceindefinitely.

9. Continuous attention to technical excellence and good designenhances adaptability.

10. Simplicity-the art of maximizing the amount of work notdone-is essential.

11. The best ideas and initiatives emerge from self-organizingteams.

12. At regular intervals, teams reflect on how to become moreeffective, then tune and adjust their behavior accordingly.

Here again, we find a blueprint for better schooling.

Now it’s your turn:

Individuals and interactions over process and tools

…………

Getting things done over measures of behaviors

……..

Steak holder’s collaboration over lack of feedback

……..

Responding to change over following a plan

……

Self organization leads to prosperity

…….

1. Our highest priority is ….2. Welcome changing ……..3. Deliver meaningful ……

The Agile Values and Principles for Everyone 92

4. …….. Team members work together daily ……..5. Build projects around motivated individuals……….6. face-to-face communication is………7. Meaningful outcome is the primary measure of progress….8. Constantly invest in….9. Continues improvement is……10. Simplicity-the art of maximizing the amount of work not

done-is essential…..11. The best ideas and initiatives emerge from self-organizing

teams.12. Simplicity is an art…Dividing big issues into small chunks

will bring the best results. …13. The best outcomes come from ….. that manage themselves

effectively.14. Visibility and openness is the key ……15. We believe that fun, rather than ‘serious’ takes us further……16. And more……

On our way (Burn) up! -Part#1: It does not mean

the burn down chart makesus go down.

A burn up chart (not be confused with the burn down chart¹⁰⁵) isa true motivator for getting things done. It enables us to see ourprogress, it provides quick feedback that allows decision making,and you can quickly see if your decisions were efficient andeffective. Behind the burn up chart lies a process, of course, andour performance is reflected in the chart. Using the burn up chartwith Agile enables one person, or a team with a common goal, tocontinuously improve over things that needs to be done.

Burn up charts are widely used in software development Scrumteams to reflect the release status as compared to the changedrelease scope.

But the truth is that it is an awesome tool for personal improvement.

So what IS a burn up chart?

A burn up chart is a graphical representation that tracks progressover time by accumulating functionality as it is completed. Theaccumulated functionality can be compared to a goal, such as abudget or release plan to provide the team and others with feedback.

The X axis: Represents time (days, sprints, weeks )

The Y axis: Represents the accumulated functionality completedover that period of time (stories, value or cost).

¹⁰⁵http://agileandfamily.blogspot.co.il/2012/07/burn-down-charts-home-are-best-thing.html

On our way (Burn) up! - Part#1: It does not mean the burn down chart makes usgo down. 94

Metrics Minute Burn up Charts¹⁰⁶

Every period of time (X axis) we track the progress workcompleted over our functionality (Y axis)

For example: For an orange factory, we ship orange crates. Everyweek, we add the amount accumulated to the chart at this weekpoint in time. Now obviously, behind the ‘shipped orange crate’item there is a process that needs to be followed.

What’s the process? in this case:

Pick the oranges → Sort → Clean → Pack → Transport to thewarehouse → load the trucks Ship → Reach destination.

¹⁰⁷

The way the factory performs this process effectively andefficiently will be reflected in the chart final outcome points.The chart is just a reflection of a process performance.

¹⁰⁶http://tcagley.wordpress.com/2011/05/09/metrics-minute-burn-up-charts/¹⁰⁷http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ucW247pD7A8/UMngdCZJ-LI/AAAAAAAABeI/-

mvyYZToOq8/s1600/burnup1.png

On our way (Burn) up! - Part#1: It does not mean the burn down chart makes usgo down. 95

¹⁰⁸

http://soft-tactics.com/2012/05/burn-up-chart/¹⁰⁹

So what’s the difference between a burn DOWN chart¹¹⁰** anda burn UP chart?**

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¹⁰⁸http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xM9FKmGx_G0/UMngiFlCtsI/AAAAAAAABeQ/uKhT1RqzWjk/s1600/burnup2.png

¹⁰⁹http://soft-tactics.com/2012/05/burn-up-chart/¹¹⁰http://agileandfamily.blogspot.co.il/2012/07/burn-down-charts-home-are-best-

thing.html¹¹¹http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xHrD1QcaYS8/UMnhinJZUgI/AAAAAAAABeo/uklxcreO-

JU/s1600/burnup2.png

On our way (Burn) up! - Part#1: It does not mean the burn down chart makes usgo down. 96

¹¹²

And now in detail.

The burn down chart:

¹¹³

When we do have a fixed amount of tasks that need doing in aspecific time frame, a good way to motivate the team can be tofollow the amount of work left. Visualizing the progress from oneday to another as a team has a good impact toward achieving thegoal.

It provides feedback, and earl feedback at that!

¹¹²http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V5R5OQ47ZX4/UMnhk2WiWLI/AAAAAAAABew/-mCXejn8tq4/s1600/burnup3.png

¹¹³http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Y1mTNfW0wCE/UMngu8xqt9I/AAAAAAAABeY/EGEzTQDjp0E/s1600/burnup4.png

On our way (Burn) up! - Part#1: It does not mean the burn down chart makes usgo down. 97

Seeing your team’s progress means that it’s far more likely that thetasks will be carried out. We can deal with any impediments thatmay occur early on, and make decisions that will change our workflow as we approach our goal. We knowwhere we stand at each andevery step, we know how fast we are progressing, and the changeswe need to do to complete it.

For example: a teacher has committed to finish grading 20 examsby the end of the week. Counting down the work left is a goodmotivator; it’s like a countdown toward the spaceship or a missilelaunch.

¹¹⁴

The burn up chart:

When our goal is one of completion, even within a specified timeframe, and we want to track the progress and the amount of workwe can do, we may want to use a burn up chart.

For example - converting leads into opportunities as compared tothe monthly goal for the sales department.

In this case, turning a lead into an opportunity is a long processinvolving many hands and operations. Visualizing the amount ofcontracts signed is a huge motivator for a team to keep drivingtowards the goal.

Knowing the rate of change enables us to use the early feedback

¹¹⁴http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pc4c77lVlVg/UMng3JsRsZI/AAAAAAAABeg/6YzzPNc5Y14/s1600/burnup5.png

On our way (Burn) up! - Part#1: It does not mean the burn down chart makes usgo down. 98

coming from the chart to take action and project the lines forwardin time.

So both burn up and a burn down charts encourage teams to getthings done.

●Wecan use each of themon the same project. Each reflecting adifferent scope or process and each is valuable for encouragingcontinues improvement.

● They are both visibility tools – and as we know, visibility is apowerful tool in getting things done.

● They both reflect reality as it changes. Reality = the process ofwork we set to get from point A to point Z.

● They are both dynamic enough to reflect a decision or processchange immediately.

For example : Yesterdaywe had a rank of 50. Due tomarket changes,we made a small change - and that is immediately reflected. Earlyfeedback enables us to review our decisions.

● All of the above acts as good motivators towards success –our ability to see and control the flow of events play a curtailrule here in getting things done.

Getting things done withuser stories As actor

stories.By now you know that Agile isn’t restricted to software develop-ment. Neither are user stories. They can be used for personal goalssetting or team work agenda outside the IT industry.

** In this chapter , when I am referring to a ‘team’ it may also berelevant to an individual applying agile.

A user story is defined as a card with a short description of theusers’ desired outcome, leading to a practical outcome, whichis completed in a relatively short period of time.

User stories are simple, and provide small doable chunks of thewhole project that need to be delivered. It makes sense what isexpected out of it.

A user story is then divided into a list of practical tasks – ‘done’ or‘not done’. Completing them completes the entire user story.

So basically, the concept of a user story can be used any-where. We just need to understand the principle behind a userstory, removing the whole ‘software development process’ fora while.

Think about the user story as a ‘goal’, and then add actors andan expected outcome that brings value to that actor. Now youcan easily get things done faster and related to the initial intent(the actor desired outcome)

What is a user? A user can be anyone that is interested in anoutcome, and requested it. It can be a student, a mother, a customer– anyone, anywhere. We’ll call the user an ‘Actor’ for now.

Getting things done with user stories As actor stories. 100

Let’s take an example from day-to-day life– baking a cake. Yes,‘baking’ as in baking, and ‘cake’ as in cake. No metaphors involved.

This is taken from a conversation with a colleague:

• Who needs this cake?• My mom. It’s her birthday tomorrow.• What kind of cake?• Well, it is her birthday, so it should be a special cake.• What does your mother think a special cake is?• I think she’d appreciate a cranberry cake.• hat kind of cranberry cake?• Wow, well, three layers. With tons of chocolate as well. She’dlove that, and you know, she would appreciate the attention.

Somy actor (user) story is: Bake a special, 3-layer, chocolate coveredcranberry cake. Want to guess the definition of done? J

The user story is broken down into tasks – like so:

• The ingredients• The recipe• The baking process

In the high-tech industry It is the product owner’s responsibilityto create user stories so we can start working. But again , productowner is just a role , of course, anyone can write them, as long asthe ‘product owner’ is involved and approves.

Actor stories can be written on a note or sticky notes and beordered on a wall according to their importance to perform.

Getting things done with user stories As actor stories. 101

¹¹⁵

Actor story format should reflect the fact that we need to get insidethe actors’ head, walk the path they will take, and set our goalsaccordingly.

In software development, user stories are treated more like goals.User story formatting changes according to the business needs atthe time, but the principles of keeping track of whether our userstory is “ready” are pretty much the same.

There are many debates about how a user story should be written. Idon’t think that our goal is necessarily sticking to a certain format.Our goal is to follow the actor as he walks through the process,and understanding his needs. That will lead to a successfulcompletion of the user/actor story.

So our thinking guidelines should be along these lines:

As an ‘Actor’ I would like ‘What’ so I can ‘Why’

For example: As a ‘Student’(Actor), I would like (What) ‘to be ableto write in my textbooks’ (Why) so I can ‘avoid copying everythingfrom my notes’.

Of course, not all Actor stories need to be formatted this way. Youonly need to be sure that the outcome is clear and we know what is

¹¹⁵http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-n37QNGcaHXI/URX0X_Q3N-I/AAAAAAAABpo/j2TptqQlXD8/s1600/actor+story+as+user+story1.png

Getting things done with user stories As actor stories. 102

expected. Remember, this isn’t a software development story so wemay vary in the way we define it. But, we do need rules to definehow we work with Actor stories, define them, and follow them.

The Actor story should be (Bill Wake¹¹⁶):

• I – Independent – so we can start and finish it completely asan item with independent value. We can also schedule andimplement them in any order.

• N – Negotiable- it’s not a definite explicit call for order andcommand. It’s something we should talk about. It does nothave to be detailed as long as we know the intent.

• V – Valuable- reflects that value to the relevant ‘Actor’. Itshould include all the information to hold an end to endvalue.

• E – Estimable – can estimate the effort to make it done, notin great detail, but enough to size it.

• S – Small – small enough to complete it in a reasonable time.Usually no more than a week’s work.

• T – Testable – We can verify that it is what we aimed toachieve, which is why every story should include a definitionof done.

An Actor story can be split into smaller Actor stories, if they are toolarge, or the Definition Of Done is too big to achieve in relativelyshort time frame, or if the Actor story has more than one value toit, and so on.

Actor story - Definition Of Done :

Every story needs an ending. We aren’t telepathic – we don’t knowwhat’s expected from us. We have to be told ‘this is when the storyis done’. Every task or assignment needs to have some kind of aboundary that defines it as being done.

¹¹⁶http://xp123.com/

Getting things done with user stories As actor stories. 103

I’ve managed teams myself in the post, and I know that sometimesyou need to be very specific, making sure that stories’ Definition ofDone is clear.

It’s the team role to understand the story, as after all, it’s their jobto deliver and perform.

A good Definition of Done is one that is specific enough to un-derstand what results are expected, and has rules, boundariesand surroundings to make sure that things get done.

For a good Definition of Done, ask yourself:

What is expected from us to show at the end of this Actor story?

How am I going to carry out this Actor story?

For example:

The Actor story is:

As a school principle I would like to understand what is the schoolteachers’ pain in their day to day activities with special kids so wewill be able to present it to the board of committee.

What does ‘research teacher pains’ mean?

Does the outcome have to be a research?

Do we need to present our school view over the matter?

What will we see at the end when this user story is done?

Talk it over, understand what is expected.

Remember: communication is a key.

Actor story information – the card:

Visualize your actor story on the board. When you can see it, youcan address it and the probability of getting it done is higher.

How do we visualize an actor story? Well, we can do it in severalways.

Getting things done with user stories As actor stories. 104

• The Actor Story card usually contains : The subject.• It also contains the goal or “As an “Actor” I would like “What”so I can “why” .

• Estimation/Size if needed.• Owner.• Due date if needed.• Priority – or ordered on the board according to the order ofwork.

• Remaining effort vs. planned effort.

Remember – on one hand, the information needs to be pre-sented clearly, so we can understand what we need to do, whoand why, just by glancing at the card. On the other hand, youdon’t want to swamp team members or yourself with too muchinformation. Keep inmind that the team or you , gathers aroundthe board every day so we want them to look at the cards andquickly understand them.

(Between you and me - it doesn’t matter. The main thing is that theuser stories are visible, and that the team sees their name on theboards, and understands what they need to do. )

Other than the team, no one needs to understand the board, so putup the cards that make the most sense to you.

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¹¹⁷http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JkrEJfZ6O_U/URX0X93Pa5I/AAAAAAAABpw/4LG_-JdWeio/s1600/actor+story+as+user+story2.png

Getting things done with user stories As actor stories. 105

¹¹⁸

Ready Actor story:

A ready story is a statement where we know that or the team canstart work on this story. It is a list of criteria that announces thatthis story is ready for work. It is a story written in a way wherethe team understands the expected outcome, negotiated around thestory, and the Definition Of Done is clear. The principle is to beable to define and follow those ready criteria, understanding thateventually it will help the team to perform it better, faster andcheaper according to the value expected.

Each organization and related product defines ready above whatmentioned before differently and add data to it differently.

There may be projects where stories require a sketch, or a sort ofbudget approval, or some other data before it can be consideredready.

Actor stories should be ready two sprints in advance, to allow the

¹¹⁸http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HvJsn9ZkZzc/URX0YIO4SKI/AAAAAAAABps/xrIzuc4-rt8/s1600/actor+story+as+user+story3.png.jpg

Getting things done with user stories As actor stories. 106

team to visualize their detailed scope in advance, understand whatis expected in the context of what they are doing and see the bigpicture.

Ordering an Actor story :

We’ll talk about it more when we deal with planning the sprintbut to make it short and simple, Actor stories should be orderedaccording to the value they give. If you feel that everything is vitaland super important at the same time (which never happens), justlet the team pick up whatever they think they should complete first.

You can easily maintain a stack of ordered Actor stories by movingthe cards around in the stack as appropriate.

Accepting Actor stories.

Actor story should start and end within each sprint. Therefore,it is best to plan the strategic of having all of those stories acceptedduring the sprint. The best strategy will be to work on one thing ata time according to the team capabilities.

During the sprint, when the team completes each user story, theProduct Owner has to accept them. This means that the teamachieved the Definition of Done, and the product owner read andaccepted the user story.

¹¹⁹

¹¹⁹http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7Cn_WwYcrzk/URX0Y449JDI/AAAAAAAABqA/2UTMrowQDeQ/s1600/actor+story+as+user+story4.png

Getting things done with user stories As actor stories. 107

To sum this up :

• A user story may be used outside the IT industry, and wesuggest to refer to is as an Actor story.

• An actor story is a card with a short description over theoutcome desired from the eyes of the actor, leading to apractical outcome completed in a relatively short period oftime.

• Actor story format should reflect getting inside the ‘Actor’shoes, walk the walk and set the goal.

• It better be SMART.• Actor story should hold a definition of done (DOD) one thatis specific enough to understand what results are expected.

• Order your stories. You can just order them on the boardaccording to the order of value given.

• Visualize the Actor stories on the board.• The Actor story card on the board should hold just enoughinformation for the team to understand .

• Make sure to have “ready” stories two sprints a head: a list ofcriteria announcing this story is ready for work.

• Work on one user story at a time.• Accept stories during the sprint.

References :

• User Stories Applied¹²⁰• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_story¹²¹• Mike Cohn, “User Stories Applied”, 2004, Addison Wesley,ISBN 0-321-20568-5¹²²

• Mike Cohn: Agile Estimating and Planning, 2006, PrenticeHall, ISBN 0-13-147941-5¹²³

¹²⁰http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0321205685/ambysoftinc/¹²¹http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_story¹²²http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0321205685¹²³http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0131479415

Be like God - Kanban yourway into the world

Whether you believe in God or not, the story of Genesis is anexcellent example of doing one thing at a time.

As you probably know, God created our world in just seven days(vacation included)- by completing onemajor deliverable every day,which was made up of smaller, manageable tasks.

If you want more details, herews the original ¹²⁴.

Of course, things are never that simple. On the third day, Godcompleted not one, but TWO tasks. Why? Wait for the end of thepost to find out :)

So what do I mean by saying that God does Kanban¹²⁵and God hasa limited WIP? I actually mean, that God avoids multi taskingand getting things done by controlling the load of its tasks.

Well, WIP, as you know, is Work In Progress. In Agile, it refersto all materials and partly finished products¹²⁶ that are at variousstages of the production process.

Comparing it to an industry production line: In Genesis, God puthis materials in one end, ran it through the production line, and gotthe magnificent outcome on the other end - Our world.

¹²⁴http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+1&version=NIV¹²⁵http://agileandfamily.blogspot.co.il/2012/05/what-is-homemade-kanban-system.html¹²⁶http://www.investopedia.com/terms/w/workinprogress.asp#axzz1xkASDksf

Be like God - Kanban your way into the world 109

¹²⁷

Don’t take me literally,obviously, but just look at the pattern here.Each day, God selected one deliverable with a related value, andeach deliverable was composed of few small tasks, each doneone at a time. At the end of each day (deliverable) God took onestep back, looked at the creation (demo), and took up where heleft off the next day.

This is an excellent example that shows you aboutWIP limitations.Doing one thing at a time, and challenging yourself to achieve moreaccording to your limits. Obviously, God doesn’t have a limit. Butperhaps he was trying to teach us to do one thing at a time, byexample.

Control your WIP (work in progress): It’s simple. When wedo more than we can handle, we probably won’t completeanything. Starting a lot of tasks at once, doing a little bit ofeverything, means that you finish late, or not at all. This also meansthat we have to understand what we are capable of, the size andissues we can grasp in one time.

¹²⁷http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cqKkOZSWhIY/UJIt1pKCiKI/AAAAAAAAAig/kDxSVz6kij8/s1600/god1.png

Be like God - Kanban your way into the world 110

Start finishing and finish starting.

¹²⁸

¹²⁹

Doing just a little bit from everything means you don’t doanything.

An easy example of limiting your WIP is having to attend twomeetings at the same time. That’s easy. You pick one - and go toit. But what about preparing a presentation, writing a blog post,

¹²⁸http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IHQ83wZjmlg/UJIuLT6fiTI/AAAAAAAAAio/y36EgaDySXM/s1600/god2.png

¹²⁹http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n_d4LhKU6ho/UJIuMdaHKlI/AAAAAAAAAis/1sSX-eNPB1c/s1600/god3.png

Be like God - Kanban your way into the world 111

checking your email, preparing for a meeting with your team, andresearching stuff for your manager. If you start all that at the sametime, you won’t get any of it done, and you’ll end up missing yourpresentation, not answering all your emails, and meeting your teamunprepared.

Now think about your kid. You’re telling him to clean his room, dohis homework, feed the dog, clear the table, brush his teeth, takeout the trash…. that could confuse even God :)

So how do we handle it then? How can we create our own smallworld, in such we can do valuable things and deliver the outcome?

Start off by making it clear (to yourself as well) that you areexpected to do ‘one thing at a time’.

Then, order your tasks by schedule, priority or importance.

Make sure to start doing things with value first.

So lets take the previous example. You need to prepare a presen-tation next week? Start today by creating the presentation outline(‘Small task’) and send it along to get early feedback. Treating the‘prepare presentation’ task as one big one means that your defi-nition¹³⁰of¹³¹done¹³²means that you have to finish the presentationtoday. This will affect your ability to complete your other tasks, somake sure you start and finish the scope of work as you definedit. Don’t leave unfinished tasks around.

Pick one task, complete it , and then take the next task in line. Intime, you’ll see how many tasks you can perform at the same time,but to start off with, it’s better to complete one task at a time, thanstart five, and not complete any of them¹³³**

¹³⁰http://agileandfamily.blogspot.co.il/2012/05/definition-of-done-how-to-use-agile-to.html

¹³¹http://agileandfamily.blogspot.co.il/2012/05/definition-of-done-how-to-use-agile-to.html

¹³²http://agileandfamily.blogspot.co.il/2012/05/definition-of-done-how-to-use-agile-to.html

¹³³http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanban

Be like God - Kanban your way into the world 112

In industrial factories, an incomplete cycle of work is called inven-tory. Factories can’t sell inventory. Inventory takes up space, whichyou pay for. Inventory needs to be maintained, which you pay for.Inventory is waste.

In our personal life, we pay for that wasted inventory with delays,stress and overtime, just because we try to keep up with too manytasks.

Context switching (jumping from one task to another withoutcompleting either) is another way to get little or no value fromour tasks.

A nice story a friend just told me the other day about a typicalKanban situation at home illustrates another example of the sameproblem:

“It was Friday noon, and we were preparing for our daughterbirthday party. I was with my hands in the pizza dough, and mywife said: I can’t really help you, so I’ll bake a cake for us to eatduring the week. In theory, there’s no problem. But when I neededthe blender, it was dirty with chocolate and I had to wash it. WhenI wanted to use the oven, I had to wait 40 minutes for the cake tobe done.

I should have told her to just relax and drink some coffee, or putsome music and chat with me, instead!”

The value = daughter birthday party âž” pizza : was not achieved

The resources= help from others with the blender, oven. : was notavailable

Over doing =using the oven as a resource to bake a cake while atthe same time the pizza (which holds more value) needs the sameresource.

Following the concept of ‘doing one thing at a time ‘ will be madeeasier when you visualize your tasks on a task board. The task

Be like God - Kanban your way into the world 113

board will help you see your tasks, prioritize them, understand yourlimits and challenge yourself toward improvement.

So… doing one thing time, it’s easier when , We understands that :

1. Whenwe domore thanwe can handle, we probablywon’tcomplete anything.

2. Context switching (jumping from one task to anotherwithout completing either) is another way to get little orno value from our tasks.

3. Doing just a little bit from everything means you don’tdo anything.

4. Start finishing and finish starting.

So the actions applies will be:

¹³⁴

1. Visualize your tasks. Use a task board.2. Set priority to the things you need to do (see important vs

urgent)

¹³⁴http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6hohH8j59Rw/UJIuNN47S3I/AAAAAAAAAiw/Y-X_fvObPX8/s1600/wip.png

Be like God - Kanban your way into the world 114

3. Pull one task, complete it , and then pull the next task inline. make sure you start and finish the scope of work as youdefined it. Don’t leave unfinished tasks around.

4. Divide big assignments into smaller ones that have value (seehow God took two small tasks on Tuesday?)

5. Understand your resources and limits demanding to performthe tasks.

6. Stick to doing what has the most value – even if it meansnot doing something else.

7. Look back at your results. Retrospect and change if necessary8. Learn and adapt to your abilities. Once in a while, challenge

yourself to take more tasks (although not in parallel!), just asGod did on Tuesday.

Enjoy :)

Read more:

• http://www.investopedia.com/terms/w/workinprogress.asp#ixzz1xkAVzbPs¹³⁵• http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/M/multitasking.html¹³⁶• http://searchsoftwarequality.techtarget.com/definition/WIP-limit¹³⁷

• http://blog.agilebuddy.com/2009/06/stop-starting-and-start-finishing-a-successful-lean-philosophy.html¹³⁸

¹³⁵http://www.investopedia.com/terms/w/workinprogress.asp#ixzz1xkAVzbPs¹³⁶http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/M/multitasking.html¹³⁷http://searchsoftwarequality.techtarget.com/definition/WIP-limit¹³⁸http://blog.agilebuddy.com/2009/06/stop-starting-and-start-finishing-a-successful-

lean-philosophy.html