Talk delivered by Craig Smith at Agile Australia 2015 in Sydney on 17 June 2015. Ideas can come from many different places, but how do we best turn these ideas into initiatives and ensure we are working on the right things at the right time? We tend to throw the idea around, discuss it with our team and management, and undertake a lot of analysis to decide if it’s worth spending time and money on. Unfortunately this approach means we have already spent a bunch of time and money, often without realising it! A number of the early Agile approaches described a lifecycle for kicking off projects, but many of the newer and more popular approaches start with a backlog or an assumption that you are already building something. Go back to basics and look at different approaches for kicking off initiatives and the tools and techniques that make up what is often called the discovery, ideation or concept phase. If your team or organisation has too much work in progress or your pipeline is unclear, then learn (or re-learn) approaches to kicking off the right initiatives so you can ensure you are building the right thing!

1. It All Starts
With An Idea…
Kicking Off Initiatives for Success
Craig Smith

2. Welcome
Image: https://sec.ch9.ms/ch9/8b92/13205610-bdd5-478e-88ef-15d6b73f8b92/KeynoteDeanLeffingwell_Custom.jpg

3. The Basics
Image: http://images-2.drive.com.au/2012/03/19/3144600/help_729-420x0.jpg

4. Why?
Image: © Gracie Films / 20th Century Fox Television http://www.wired.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/the-homer-inline2.jpg

5. Approaches

6. Approaches

7. Approaches

8. Approaches

9. Approaches

10. Approaches

11. Approaches

12. Approaches

13. Approaches

14. Approaches

15. Approaches

16. Approaches

17. Approaches

18. Need to go FASTER
Image: http://www.businessdestiny.in/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/CanadianGP-19.jpg

19. Image: http://putdowntheurinalcake.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/fast-and-slow-2.jpg
Dilemma

20. Avoid the Water (Scrum Fall)
Image: https://sinnema313.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/scrumfall.jpg

21. Diving In
Image: http://www.yourdevotions.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/bellyflop.jpg

22. It all starts with an #idea…

23. Where
Do
Ideas
Come
From?
Image: http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5518/9141473102_ac5b6be10a_c.jpg

24. Continuously Gather Ideas!
Image: http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130726103105/creepypasta/images/2/2a/Suggestion-box.jpg

25. Record Ideas (Simply)

26. Need a
sponsor to
help push
your idea
Image: © Scott Adams http://i.ytimg.com/vi/pnUowjCFoaU/maxresdefault.jpg

27. Visualise (Simply)

28. Problem
(#opportunity)
Image: https://media.licdn.com/mpr/mpr/p/1/005/094/20c/37ebb9e.jpg

29. Let’s Start…

30. Facilitiate
Image: http://haveyouheard.it/wp-content/uploads/inflatable-arm-man-orchestra-conductor.jpg

31. Discuss Image: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CDS9FhGWIAEYZ9z.jpg

32. Pitch

33. Pitch

34. Pitch

35. Pitch

36. Conversation
Image: © Weiner Bros. / AMC Studios https://i0.wp.com/images.amcnetworks.com/amc.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/mad-men-episode-613-don-hamm-870x490.jpg

37. As Is / To Be Map

38. Start
Here
Image: https://www.shoptab.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/start-2.jpg

39. Features &
Scope

40. Risks & Issues

41. Image: © Warner Bros. Pictures http://image-cdn.zap2it.com/images/the-lego-movie-outtakes-video.jpg
Success
(#everythingisawesome)

42. Stakeholders

43. Stakeholders

44. Stakeholders

45. Success
Tradeoffs

46. Understand
happiness
Image: https://synestheticsymphony.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/jobs-happy1.jpg

47. Quality
Image: http://www.cse.dcu.ie/essiscope/sm2/9126ref1.gif

48. Impact Mapping

49. Image: https://exploratownium.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/dt-copy.jpg
Design Thinking

50. Viability (#noestimates)
Image: © Sony Pictures Television http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m9rmxh2Bko1qzq4tqo1_1280.jpg

51. Finger In
The Air
(like you
just enough
care…)
Image: © Universal Pictures http://i.stack.imgur.com/8sNfT.jpg

52. Super Simple Estimation
Image: http://www.gs1-us.info/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/diagram_blue_shirt.png

53. Super Simple Estimation
Image: http://www.gs1-us.info/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/diagram_blue_shirt.png
SOLD OUT!
SOLD OUT!

54. As for poker…
Image: © Warner Bros. http://beta.l2am.com/imdb/stills/tt01104782.jpg

55. “You never count
your money when
you’re sitting at
the table, there’ll
be time enough
for counting
when the
dealings done”
-- Kenny Rogers
gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/3ecac962c4ba730a75de2a0ff9bab1002d6aaccc/c=0-240-1869-1644&r=x404&c=534x401/local/-/media/USATODAY/USATODAY/2013/11/01/1383350444000-Kenny-Rogers.jpg

56. Experiment!
Image: © Jim Henson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekBJgsfKnlw

57. Benefits
= Value

58. Should We
Do This?
Image: http://www.beyondtransformations.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/cost-vs-benefits-graph.jpg

59. Visibility (#portfolio #usefuldoco)
Image: © 20th Century Fox https://fogsmoviereviews.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/office_space_milton.png

60. Business Case

61. Push To Discovery

62. Pull Into Delivery

63. Showcase &
Retrospective
Image: https://hakanforss.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/slide4.png

64. “Know when to
hold ‘em, know
when to fold ‘em,
know when to
walk away know
when to run…”
-- Kenny Rogers
gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/3ecac962c4ba730a75de2a0ff9bab1002d6aaccc/c=0-240-1869-1644&r=x404&c=534x401/local/-/media/USATODAY/USATODAY/2013/11/01/1383350444000-Kenny-Rogers.jpg

65. Next
Steps
(#whereto
fromhere)
Image: http://media.mercola.com/ImageServer/Public/2014/March/walking-fb.jpg

66. Start Experimenting
Image: © Warner Bros. Television http://img5q.duitang.com/uploads/item/201502/02/20150202182421_aM5iH.thumb.700_0.jpeg

67. …or start discovery
Image: © Walt Disney Pictures https://dettoldisney.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/pocahontas-disneyscreencaps-com-153.jpg

68. As / when
required…

69. Everything adds value

70. But we do projects at scale…
Image: http://www.cashpassport.com/1/Global/UK%20Corporate/Skyscraper1000.jpg

71. But my team does small or
on-demand work…
Image: http://blog.sarcasmsociety.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/mms.gif

72. But my team does BAU…
Image: http://www.curdhome.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/P1020616-brooms-and-shovels.jpg

73. #Wrap Up
Image: http://media.bizj.us/view/img/2832171/productivity-lightbulb-idea*1200xx5616-3159-0-293.jpg

74. • Start with an Idea –
simple capture; visualise
• Understand the problem -
discuss; map; scope; RAIDs
• Define Success –
stakeholders; tradeoffs; quality; impacts
• Viability –
size; benefits / value
• Visibility –
simple capture; showcase; retrospective
• Get started –
experimentation or discovery
Recall

75. Welcome ideas, give them light

76. Keep it simple

77. No gold medals
Image: http://resources3.news.com.au/images/2012/08/05/1226443/109723-women-039-s-medley-relay.jpg

78. Responding to
change
over
following a
plan
Go
back
to
basics

79. Turn ideas
into success
Image: https://fischerlighting.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/light_dude.jpg

80. Image: © Fuzzy Door Productions / 20th Century Fox Television
Deliver awesome!

81. Questions?
Craig Smith
http://www.craigsmith.id.au
craig@craigsmith.id.au
@smithcdau