agile marketing: your key to becoming a modern marketer - presentation by workfront

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Agile MarketingYour Key to Becoming a Modern MarketerBrent Bird, Solutions Marketing Manager, Workfront

Chris Savoie, Director of Product Strategy, Workfront

Modern Marketing,What Does It Look Like?

3/18/16 2015 Workfront. All rights reserved.3

The Modern MarketerDoes more with less Increasingly innovative Up on the latest trends and technologyWorld-class creativityReady for whatever comes their way Attends marketing technology conferences

Expectations are higher than ever for the Modern Marketer. They need to be flexible, able to adapt at a moments notice, while bringing world-class creativity and ideas to the table, all while getting everything done on time. 3/18/16 2015 Workfront. All rights reserved.4

Workfront 2016 Proprietary & Confidential Information For Internal Use Only5

So youre kind of being asked to be a mythical creature. Like a unicorn. 3/18/16 2015 Workfront. All rights reserved.5

Or a brooding centaur with a thoroughly modern chest tattoo 3/18/16 2015 Workfront. All rights reserved.6

20032015

Or Jennifer Lopez. The woman does not AGE.

So whats holding us back from being thoroughly modern in the way we do our jobs? 3/18/16 2015 Workfront. All rights reserved.7

Maybe youve seen this horror movie before:

Swarms of work requestsGrowing workloadsPriorities that change from day to day Constant interruptions Frustrating approval processes and rework Managing work with emails, spreadsheets and meetings

Leaving little time to actually be creative, adaptable or able to get everything done on time. 8

Marketers and creatives need structure in their workflow. We know this goes against a lot of common thinking out there. 3/18/16 2015 Workfront. All rights reserved.9

And youre right, with too much rigidity, creativity can suffocate. 3/18/16 2015 Workfront. All rights reserved.10

But without any structure, creative work is too chaotic. 3/18/16 2015 Workfront. All rights reserved.11

The key is finding the right amount of structure and process for creatives a balance, if you will. The right structure will help creative and content teams:

Clarify priorities, streamline execution, simplify processes, and save time to spend on the fun stuff- being creative!


Traditional Project Management

Traditionally, marketers have either managed their work in what we call a more Waterfall or top down structure, OR they dont really use any structure at all (or they each use their own personal structures) both of which cause chaos and other problems. 3/18/16 2015 Workfront. All rights reserved.13


Modern, successful marketers have been changing the way they manage their work, and theyve been doing that with Agile. First introduced in software development, the Agile methodology focuses on using sprints to prepare for an unpredictable workflow. The adaptive nature of Agile Marketing makes it possible for marketers to respond to changes in process and policy at a much faster rate. And adopting Agile principles in your own marketing work can help you become a true unicorn.


Agile Workflow

In the Agile methodology, the idea is to break work down into smaller, easier to consume pieces, give your team more ownership and accountability in the process, focus on the client, focus on quality through a continuous improvement model, and deliver regularly and on-time.


We Know What Youre Saying

But the way were working now is the way weve always worked!

We know that change is hard, staying with the status quo is easy, and that managing change can be difficult. 3/18/16 2015 Workfront. All rights reserved.17


Doing requires action. Just like when youre a middle aged man in Hollywood, and you need more hair, you proactively have to make that appointment with the plastic surgeon. Its not going to happen on its own. Most action requires change.


Isnt Agile for IT Teams? We are not IT

You may think that Agile is an IT thing and has nothing to do with creative work. Not anymore. 3/18/16 2015 Workfront. All rights reserved.19

Youre all familiar with this obviously. Thanks to technology such as marketing automation, CRM, lead scoring, event management and other technologies, marketing is more data-driven than ever before. To stay competitive, marketing teams need to be nimble and able to produce smaller, frequent pieces of content rapidly. Similar to the way developers need to constantly produce new features for software. 3/18/16 2015 Workfront. All rights reserved.20

Agile would be too complicated for my team

Its true that the transition will take some effort, but heres an important fact to consider.3/18/16 2015 Workfront. All rights reserved.21

What the Research Is Saying

Marketing departments that consider themselves Agile are three times more likely to grow market share.

Additionally, most marketing and creative teams dont approach Agile the same way that IT teams do. You can borrow some principles, to get started. And thats what welll be discussing today.


Agile Principles for MarketingEarly and continuous delivery for enhanced customer satisfactionContinually iterate with changing requirementsClose, daily cooperation among teams Attention to quality content and design Simplicity Marketing team will become more involved, visible and accountable Achievements are recognized and celebrated Team more readily able to reflect on what works and what doesnt

Here are the aspects of Agile that marketing can re-purpose and use to become even more effective. 3/18/16 2015 Workfront. All rights reserved.23

The Agile Continuum

Agile at ScaleWhere do I begin?Team AgileBeing Agile

Continuum = there are tons of steps between not agile and mature agileWhere do I begin?Most folks want to learn about agile without committing to it thats okay, I dated before I got married, too.Team AgileBroaden your agile footprintBeing AgileMake it your ownAgile at ScaleIn business, maturity = scale make it happen, people!3/18/16 2015 Workfront. All rights reserved.24

The Agile ContinuumAgile at ScalePlan Multiple IterationsLarge or Many TeamsSAFEWhere do I begin?Pick a timeframeIdentify upcoming workAgile view of work

Team AgileTeam plan sprintsTry out story pointsPick a toolBeing AgileAdapt to fit YOUUse agile to pivot quicklyCustomer driven sprints

Continuum = there are tons of steps between not agile and mature agileWhere do I begin?The key here is simply to try to look at the work youre already doing from an agile perspectivePick a timeframe a week or two, identify what youll be doing, and throw it in an agile viewThe whole point of agile is to try to get feedback into your process faster, so for that work, figure out how far out youll have to wait before getting feedback from the market you are trying to influenceTeam AgileAs you start to take an agile view, lots of stuff should become clear whos working on what, where you could trade off, how long work takes etcThis allows you to start thinking as a team how long does this stuff take, how much can you get done in a timeframe, and you can organize to provide a formal, repeatable agile view over your selected timeframeTool does not have to equal software most teams start out using post-its, posterboard, excel, whatever; the important thing is that among your team, youre consistentBeing AgileAgile means adapting rapidly, so adapt agile to fit you; remember, the point is to help you work more efficiently, get feedback faster, and generally simplify your work lifeRather than let a major change disrupt you, use agile to respond to the change this could be a market driven or a business driven change but once youve handled a big change with agile, youre goodNow that youve had a successful change, change more often agile should help you be more responsive find a way to have the customer drive you every sprintAgile at ScaleStart using agile on your bigger efforts it was nice to use for social, but now use it for a spring campaign that has multiple months of workPlan the next 2, 3, or 4 sprints and see how they go; commit to dates further out than one sprintApply agile at a higher levelAdopt a scaled framework like SAFE across a large set of the organization3/18/16 2015 Workfront. All rights reserved.25

The Agile ContinuumAgile at ScalePlan Multiple IterationsLarge or Many TeamsSAFEWhere do I begin?Pick a timeframeIdentify upcoming workAgile view of work


Transition to start agile3/18/16 2015 Workfront. All rights reserved.26

3 Steps for Success

1. The Backlog Workfront 2016 Proprietary & Confidential Information For Internal Use Only28

You may have heard the term backlog before in regular work jargon. But in Agile, the backlog is very important. The backlog is essentially your Agile teams to do list. Its the collection of all the requests made of your team, which for creative and content teams, is often much more than half their work. The keys in this structure are to:


Create a Backlog

The keys in this structure are to:a)Develop a single way to add stories to your backlog. Designate a standardized process for people to submit requests to your team. You can use an online form that auto-populates a spreadsheet, an email address like [email protected], or find a work management solution that has a request management feature and Agile capabilities. Whatever you choose, designate one way to receive requests and one place to collect requests. No more desk drive-bys or last-minute emails and phone calls. Communicate this process to your clients. Enforce it. It will make a huge difference.b)Briefly describe each task or story. In Scrum, every story needs some sort of context. c)Prioritize your backlog. With all your requests and work in one place, you can now more easily come up with a prioritization system that works for your team to make sure youre working on the right work. You cant possibly do EVERYTHING in your backlog, so you have to get good at working on the right work at the right times. Visibility into the backlog provides that for you.


2. The Sprint Workfront 2016 Proprietary & Confidential Information For Internal Use Only

Agile teams work in what are called Sprints. This is a designated amount of time, typically 1-3 weeks for a marketing or creative team, when the team chooses the top prioritized work in the backlog (based on the available hours of the team) to complete by the end of the Sprint. This structure does a couple of great things for creative and marketing employeesGreater visibility into whats being worked onMore control over the work Work becomes a little more predictable and a lot less chaotic Allows for change, allowing for refinements and re-prioritization if necessary 3/18/16 2015 Workfront. All rights reserved.30

2. The SprintDetermine length Estimate hours for each storyDetermine lights on work hoursReward the team

Heres how to make this structure work for you:1.Determine the length of the Sprint. Will your team do sprints of 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, or more? How often should you be iterating? 2.Estimate hours for each story, or task. You should have already done this when prioritizing your backlog. Knowing an estimate of how long each story will take will help you understand how many stories can go in your sprint.3.Determine lights on work hours. Lights on refers to the work your team has to do every day (not Sprint work). Things like managing emails, attending meetings, etc. 4.Reward the team. If your team completes all the stories in your Sprint. Let them celebrate. Bring in lunch, let them go home early decide together with your team. The Agile structure is one that should be enhancing your team dynamic and morale.


3. The Visual Storyboard

Pixar animation studio is famous for using storyboards to determine the story they want to tell before they go into production. They roughly draw out what the scenes will most likely look like, draw them out and then use them to plan how the movie will be laid out. 3/18/16 2015 Workfront. All rights reserved.32


For a feature length movie, more than four-thousand storyboard drawings are created as the blueprint. They are revised many times during the creative development process.


3. The Visual Storyboard

Like Pixar, with your marketing work, the storyboard is the structure where your team manages the status of their work. Typically the storyboard is made up of Swim Lanes. One for New Work (the stories youve entered into your sprint, one for Work in Progress (the stories your team is working on currently) one for Awaiting Feedback (the stories currently waiting on approvals), and one for Complete. 3/18/16 2015 Workfront. All rights reserved.34

4. Continually Measure & Evaluate Workfront 2016 Proprietary & Confidential Information For Internal Use Only35

Continually Measure & EvaluateDaily stand-up meetingsReport on progressUpdate storyboard & burndown chartHold sprint reviews


Mature Agile

I Already Did ThatAgile at ScalePlan Multiple IterationsLarge or Many TeamsSAFEWhere do I begin?Pick a timeframeIdentify upcoming workAgile view of work


Yeah, yeah, yeah, I already looked at stuff in an agile way thats kids stuffTeam AgileAs we said, try looking at it as a team; pick a sprint timeframe and plan out everyones workPlay planning poker that is, everyone on the team gives an estimate in arbitrary points Ive used poker chips to make it funFind a way to document it that youre not afraid of other people seeing again, make things pictures and move them to show progressHold a retrospective and try to see what you could have improved after a few sprints the point is to get better!3/18/16 2015 Workfront. All rights reserved.38

Where do I begin?Pick a timeframeIdentify upcoming workAgile view of work

That too, umm, sort ofAgile at ScalePlan Multiple IterationsLarge or Many TeamsSAFETeam AgileTeam plan sprintsTry out story pointsPick a toolBeing AgileAdapt to fit YOUUse agile to pivot quicklyCustomer driven sprints

Yeah, weve got a tool that someone has a login to, or a board or something; Im so proud of you!Being AgileMake it yours its nice that someone else has a tool to tell you how to be agile thats not what agile is aboutVolunteer to be first in a business change and use agile to help your team stay focused and motivated through the changeFind a way to get feedback are you impacting sales, are you getting retweets etc; pivot more quickly to what works and celebrate your quick wins3/18/16 2015 Workfront. All rights reserved.39

Fine, you got meAgile at ScalePlan Multiple IterationsLarge or Many TeamsSAFEWhere do I begin?Pick a timeframeIdentify upcoming workAgile view of work


Agile at ScaleAs we said, maturity = scaleYou did the simple stuff, now plan the big stuffStory point out months worth of work and put them into sprintsSlowly add more and more sprintsLook around at scaled tools like Scaled Agile Framework for EnterprisesSign the agile manifesto . . . With a flourish!3/18/16 2015 Workfront. All rights reserved.40

Pay Your Respects

So here are some classic memes to end on a high noteMost people are either here because they use the word agile like this guy, they hear other people saying agile as a buzzword, or they are tired of hearing agile and being unable to do something about it3/18/16 2015 Workfront. All rights reserved.41

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Final takeaways

Its okay to dip your toe in even just an agile view will give you a new perspective on your workWith the high volume, you need structure, but structure light enough to let you keep flyingFinally, remember, the point is to be agile, so if its not helping you act and react quickly, dont do it! Umm . . . ninjas3/18/16 2015 Workfront. All rights reserved.42

Visit workfront.com/demo or booth #402 to learn more about Workfront for marketing teams.

Get the complete guide to Agile marketing at workfront.com/AgileMktg

Questions?
