On March 9, I had the chance to participate in the Agile Spring with Christophe Keromen. We had the opportunity to present 2 sessions: a feedback on our Boooksprint, and the musical reading of "small nimble paws" that we had done during our opening night.
But we wanted to bring something else to the participants. More than simple conferences, it is a real experience that we wanted them to live.
I will describe in this article our confidant (conference + workshop) Boooksprint and invites you to read theChristophe's article on our "strange lectelier" ! 🙂
Preparation
Meeting at 7:30 with Christophe to discuss our experiment. Yes, our Boooksprint session was supposed to be in conference format (1h) and we had to find a way to insert a practical part! As usual, Christophe already had an idea in mind, which he shared with me on his portable whiteboard.
The participants will therefore aim to achieve the report of our REX in a 15 min booksprint ! The result will be a set of A5 sheets grouped in an A4 sheet folded in 2 corresponding to the cover page and the 4th cover.
After some discussions we arrived at the following result:
The session being planned for a maximum of 50 people, assuming teams of 5, it was necessary to find about ten themes so as not to run out of subjects. Despite everything, a prioritization was necessary (red dots) to have the main parts of the book.
There Definition of Done would serve as a writing framework: at least a title and content, if possible an illustration.
To view thecontinuous integration, I proposed to Christophe to display the productions directly on the wall, to be visible to all. This will also serve us for validation by the PO.
Our session being at 11:30, the timing was tight. We therefore had to prepare the room well in advance, hence our Definition of Ready : write the instructions beforehand on Paperboard, build the backlog of subjects, define the integration space and the visual management (which we have kept as simple as possible with the columns "To do, in progress, finished").
8:30 having struck, it was finally time to leave! 😉
Conference
About fifteen people come to our room, welcomed by the soft sound of the sea and the seagulls. With his great talent, Christophe begins by forging a link with the participants to find out where they come from and what led them to choose this session. The terms "curiosity" and "writing" resonate several times, proof that our subject was off the beaten track. We also realized that few agilists were present, barely 3.
Before starting, we warn that there will be a practical part in this session and that it is therefore important that they take notes. You could already see a certain concern on the faces of the participants who did not yet know what to expect! 😉
You can find the slides from our REX here.
The conference part finished, let's move on to the workshop part! 😛
Workshop
Finally, we present the Challenge Booksprint framework to the participants. I present myself as a timekeeper and Christophe as a client. We insist on the structure of a team having to include a PO – guarantor of the respect of the Definition of Done – and on the respect of the different phases of the Sprint.
After dividing the assembly into groups, the activity could begin!
The first Sprint is difficult and stressful for the participants, it's a bit of chaos in the room. The POs went to select the subjects, wrote down their first name and moved their Post-it to the current column. We maintain the rhythm by passing in the groups and by marking aloud the timing.
During the review, Christophe asks the POs if their production is "Completed" or not. If so, they will feed the continuous integration wall and update the visual management. They can then take another topic. The participants take the tip and naturally update the board with their Post-it and their first name.
The sauce seems to take hold and we can gradually feel the commitment of the teams building up.
Christophe goes to see the integration wall and invalidates certain productions: “There must be a minimum of text in the content! ". Indeed, the readability criterion is added to the initial Definition of Done. The work must therefore be taken over by the teams concerned.
After the retrospective, we are off to full speed on the second Sprint!
The teams are getting into the rhythm, the discussions are engaged and it reminds me of what we had experienced with the Boooksquetaires. We gradually lose track of time and only one thing drives the group: achieving the common goal.
The death knell then sounds and the result is displayed for all to see:
We then gather around the integration wall to see the result of these 15 minutes of Booksprint challenge. And yes, it was only 15 minutes! 🙂
The review is done all together where we celebrate the productions made.
Of course, there is frustration. We could have done better if we had had more time. But that's also the Booksprint experience: knowing how to accept the result as it is and what you haven't succeeded in achieving. There is energy, frustration gives way to smiles, to the pleasure of having lived this moment together.
Before leaving us, we invite participants to share their feelings following this experience. For this, they will brandish our talking gull, which will become a ritual for us in the future.
The messages are very strong:
You have to get rid of the shackles to be more productive!
I'm happy to have experienced agility, the mess of the beginning!
This requires a certain letting go in the mess!
I didn't want to do it at first.
I was afraid to step out of my comfort zone but I'm glad I did!
It's motivating to work in a group!
We reached the goal not thanks to me, but thanks to the team!
You feel alone at the start but at the end there is the group!
It makes you want to go further!
The common goal united the group!
What energy! A great human component!
Feedback
The feedback is very positive and the participants leave us with a smile. Thanks again to them for their commitment and this moment of sharing.
I think we succeeded in transmitting what we wanted and it is myself with emotion that I am preparing for our next session: the lectelier “little nimble ones”, brilliantly described by Christophe in This article.
If a similar session might interest you, do not hesitate to contact us! 🙂
