Workshops
Our workshops are intensive, collaborative sessions where real results are achieved. We’ve learned from the best and have many years of experience facilitating diverse groups from the smallest to the hundreds and we also expect to pass along our knowledge of facilitation skills to your facilitators and servant leaders.
We might mix-in some prepared material to set the stage and ensure everyone is on the same page but for the most part you are doing the work and we coach and facilitate.
The golden rule of facilitation is that the facilitator never tries to influence decision making. However we find that our customers always expect some measure of intervention and guidance so for that reason we like to run our large workshops with two coaches. One coach in the role of subject-matter expert and the other as lead facilitator.
Effective Collaboration
Unleashing the full potential of teams
It is not enough to hire the best people and expect them to succeed. For teams and teams of teams to exceed the sum of their parts they must effectively collaborate.
Equally valuable for participants and facilitators our tips and technique for effective collaboration will help you move quickly and effectively to real and meaningful consensus.
8 hours
Continuous Improvement Workshop
Pragmatic continuous improvement
Continuous improvement activities are a challenge for organizations. Either we feel like there is no time, capacity, or resources to make significant improvements, or we feel we have an idea of what we might do to improve things but cannot help feeling that one idea is not going to be enough to impact the business.
The ‘Pragmatic Improvement Workshop' is intended to make the most of limited time, capacity, and resources by providing a focused, facilitated event. The outcome is the establishment of a portfolio areas of strength to amplify as well as of improvement items that are prioritized based on feasibility and impact and include a roadmap for implementation.
1 day
Intro to Value Stream Mapping
Optimizing our system delivery for maximum flow-efficiency
We expect teams to deliver faster and faster yet critical decisions and much needed product increments are delayed because of bottlenecks and delays in our system of delivery.
We will establish a basic understanding of the technique of value stream mapping to gain valuable insight into opportunities for improvement. We reinforce learnings through hands-on exercise.
4 hours
Scaling Agile for Startups
Adapting Agile Practices for Growing IT Teams
As startups grow, they face challenges in scaling processes and practices to accommodate larger, more complicated projects and effective communication and collaboration across teams.
The Scaling Agile for Startups Workshop introduces participants to proven frameworks and strategies for scaling Agile practices, ensuring that growing IT teams can continue to deliver high-quality products quickly.
8 hours
User Story Writing
Effectively communicating purpose and intent
Without feature and user stories that clearly capture and communicate customer value our development teams are just doing stuff not engaged in delivering real value.
Through hands-on experience we help you articulate the real needs and essence of your customer so your teams have a sense of purpose and truly engage in solving customer problems.
4 hours
Kanban System Design
Design the Kanban system for your team
Many rush into Kanban; they create a board and fill it with cards and more cards and yet more cards. Soon they are drowning under the weight of too much work in progress.
We will coach you through designing your Kanban system paying careful attention to the policies and WIP limits you need to establish for most efficient flow through your system.
8 hours
Situational Decision-Making
Equip decision makers with techniques to make better decisions to drive success
Inefficient decision-making processes can lead to suboptimal choices, delays, and missed opportunities, negatively impacting the success and progress of IT projects and overall business goals.
The Decision-Making Workshop includes a variety of decision-making techniques to triage decisions and improve decision quality. Attendees will explore the Cynefin framework, RAPID decision roles, decision roadmaps, and other heuristics.
8 hours
High-Performing Teams Workshop
Are You An Effective Team?
Inefficient development processes and poor teamwork skills can hinder overall performance, leading to delays, communication breakdowns, and decreased morale within development teams.
The High-Performing Teams Workshop focuses on fostering a collaborative and effective environment by enhancing teamwork skills, communication, and mutual accountability.
8 hours
Kanban Essentials
Unlocking the Power of Visual Work Management
Inefficient workflows, limited visibility into work progress, and bottlenecks hinder development teams' performance and impact timely delivery.
The Introduction to Kanban Workshop teaches participants the principles and practices of the Kanban, enabling faster time-to-market, improved visibility, and minimized bottlenecks for enhanced throughput.
8 hours
Building Learning Organizations
Fostering a Culture of Continuous Growth and Experimentation
Establishing an ongoing learning culture within the organization can be challenging, with learning often treated as a one-time event rather than an embedded process.
The Building Learning Organizations Workshop helps participants cultivate a learning and experimentation culture. Explore methods and principles that foster continuous improvement for a competitive edge.
8 hours
Portfolio Management Foundations
Aligning IT Resources for Optimal Results
Ensuring that an organization's IT resources are effectively optimized and aligned with business objectives can be challenging, potentially leading to inefficient resource allocation and suboptimal outcomes.
The Portfolio Management Foundations Workshop introduces key principles and practices of portfolio management, including on core and context analysis, three horizons of growth, and optimization heuristics.
8 hours
Hands on Scrum
Understand and experience the basics of Scrum
Many try to scale Agile without mastering the basics. Scrum is the predominant team level Agile approach and conceptually simple yet challenging to do well.
We will introduce the basics of Scrum and then follow that with a simulated sprint that will encourage team-building activity and build muscle memory.
4 hours
The Agile Leader
Leading in a rapidly changing world
Many struggle making the shift to leading in today's rapidly changing business environment and often fall back on old 20th century habits ill equipped for survival in the age of Agile.
In the Agile Leader Workshop we strip away the buzzwords and focus on the values and principles of modern leadership. We provide real and practical techniques to get off to the right start and avoid key leadership failures.
8 hours
Understanding Your Value Stream
Gain valuable insights into inefficiencies and waste in your value stream.
You can't optimize what you can't see and measure. Mapping your key value streams will give you valuable insight into the bottlenecks and delays in your system.
An intensive hands-on workshop. We will facilitate you through identifying the sequence of activities that participate in your value stream and help you identify the bottlenecks and delays.
8-12 hours
Agile Development Bootcamp
A proven way of working for software development teams
Delivery teams struggle with weak collaboration, ineffective communication, and low morale, which significantly hinder timely delivery and contribute to workforce turnover.
The Agile Development Bootcamp Workshop equips participants with knowledge and practical skills to optimize team performance and ensure successful project outcomes using Agile methodologies.
8 hours
DevOps Culture
Simulation with LEGO and Chocolate
Gain a solid grasp of DevOps Culture by clarifying its “Why” and “What.” Link simulation insights with real-life examples and business challenges, paving the way for actionable improvements.
In this powerful role-based simulation, experience how a large organization works prior to, during, and after embracing DevOps culture. See the benefits of upskilling, eliminating silos, "shifting left" on security, adopting systems thinking, and practice optimizing the flow of value from business to development and IT operations.
4 hours
Defect Management Essentials
Rein in the chaos - how to triage, manage, and prevent defects
High defect rates negatively impact the customer experience, erode credibility with business stakeholders, and distract teams from delivering value.
The Defect Management Essentials Workshop provides development teams with the skills and knowledge to effectively manage defects and proven practices to prevent them.
8 hours
Effective Product Management
Bridging the Gap between Vision and Execution
Startups often struggle with translating their product vision into well-defined, prioritized, and executable plans, leading to confusion, misaligned efforts, and slow progress.
The Effective Product Management Workshop helps teams refine product vision and strategy, establish clear goals, and develop actionable roadmaps ensuring alignment between business objectives and development efforts.
8 hours
(Re)discovering OKRs
Shared Goals to Focus, Align, and Empower Teams
Scattered efforts and lack of focus on important priorities can lead to counterproductive work and insufficient attention given to critical tasks, impacting overall performance.
The (Re)discovering OKRs Workshop is about how to focus collective efforts on a few things that matter most. Attendees will explore implementation questions, trade-offs, and good practices for writing OKRs, empowering teams to focus and align efforts.
8 hours
Collaborative Team Chartering
Crucial Conversations for New and Expanding Teams
As teams grow, maintaining alignment on working processes, roles, and responsibilities becomes increasingly challenging, potentially leading to inefficiencies, decreased effectiveness, and interpersonal conflict.
The Collaborative Team Chartering Workshop guides participants through a series of conversations to establish a charter that covers identity, vision, roles, events, skills, stakeholder analysis, working agreements, & other elements.
6 hours
Program Roadmap Workshop
Align everyone on a shared path to drive results
Misaligned development efforts, conflicting priorities, and lack of clarity on project goals can hinder progress and result in inefficiencies, delays, and suboptimal outcomes.
The Program Roadmap Workshop equips participants with practical skills and insights to create a roadmap that aligns with business objectives and customer needs.
8 hours
Work Intake System Workshop
Controlling the Intake of Work for Improved Delivery of Value
Unreliable delivery timelines and imprecise predictions for the business arise from insufficient visibility and inconsistent practices for assessing, prioritizing, and managing ALL WORK.
The Work Intake System Workshop is designed to establish an effective system to manage the flow of work and improve delivery predictability as your organization grows.
8 hours