[OSList] Open Agile Adoption, Part 2

Daniel Mezick dan at newtechusa.net
Wed Aug 28 02:50:48 PDT 2013


Hi Christine,

Thanks for your note! My post there "Open Agile Adoption Explained" is a 
summary and not the whole, detailed story. I need to clarify one aspect 
of Open Agile Adoption for this group:

Regarding the Agile Coach and Open Space Facilitation
----------------------------------------------

OAA creates a rite of passage contained by two Open Space events 
separated by time and possibly by space. The 2 OST events form a kind of 
container for learning (and the resulting liminality) in between. While 
the Agile coach may elect to Facilitate the 1st/opening/beginning OST 
meeting, that is the only one. The Agile coach does not Facilitate any 
more of the meetings, ever.


The 1st reason is very simple. The people of the org are the star of 
this show. The Agile coach is serving them and is avoiding being seen as 
an authority figure. In Open Agile Adoption, after the 1st meeting, the 
Agile coach functions as a Participant in the Open Space events.

The 2ns reason is more complicated. The behavior of the Agile coach has 
a practical aspect and a symbolic aspect throughout the OAA process. One 
symbolic aspect of the Agile coach NOT Facilitating is the sense of 
progress created by the Agile coach's ongoing role change. At each 
instance of Open Space, the coaches role is diminished on purpose. This 
places responsibility for learning where it belongs, with the people in 
the organization.

OAA creates demand for skilled OST Facilitation by prescribing that the 
Agile coach may Facilitate the initial meeting only. The Agile coach 
helps the Sponsor and the people by functioning as the Master of 
Ceremonies of a multi-month passage rite. (More detail to follow.)

Summary:
The Agile Coach never Facilitates more than one OST meeting in this 
role. In practical terms this probably means a new Facilitator is 
brought in each time. This is a detail best decided by the Agile coach 
and Sponsor. OAA is silent on whether a new Facilitator is brought in 
each time. It just says the Agile coach may (optionally) Facilitate ONLY 
the 1st meeting, and no more,  for the very reasons you have mentioned.

Does this help? Can I answer more questions?

Link:
http://newtechusa.net/agile/open-agile-adoption-explained/

Kind Regards,
Dan




On 8/28/13 3:26 AM, christine koehler wrote:
> Hi Dan
>
> Interesting readings.
> We'll probably have interesting conversations about the facilitator's 
> role  vs Agile coach's role, when I read "In Open Agile Adoption, the 
> coach assisting you plays an important role by providing guidance and 
> teaching" and "An /Agile coach/ functions as the master of ceremonies 
> throughout".
> When I talk about facilitator's role, I mean the way we usually 
> understand it in this list, "we" representing probably diverse 
> practices but  a broad understanding as being as invisible as possible 
> in order not to interfere with group self-organizing and empowering 
> the group in the idea that noone has better solutions for himself 
> (itself ?es I mean "the group") than members of the group themselves.
>
> Christine
>
>
> On Wed, Aug 28, 2013 at 2:47 AM, Daniel Mezick <dan at newtechusa.net 
> <mailto:dan at newtechusa.net>> wrote:
>
>     Hi All,
>
>     Here for the first time is the complete high-level description of
>     Open Agile Adoption and some diagrams describing the Open Agile
>     Adoption approach.
>
>     If Harrison's book "SPIRIT: Development and Transformation in
>     Organizations" is a kind of operating system, then Open Agile
>     Adoption is a kind of app that runs on it.
>
>     Is that SPIRIT book not very amazing?
>
>     Open Agile Adoption Explained:
>     http://newtechusa.net/agile/open-agile-adoption-explained/
>
>
>
>     On 8/22/13 9:14 AM, Daniel Mezick wrote:
>>     Here's a recent Tweet I think you might like:
>>     https://twitter.com/DanMezick/status/370523537817083905
>>
>>     What seems to be taking shape as a meme is the word [invitation].
>>     It seems to be resonating out there in the zeitgeist.
>>
>>     Michael Herman has written quite a lot about this for  long time,
>>     and at first, it just didn't hit me. I missed it.
>>
>>     Yet, these past several years, I have become 100% attuned to the
>>     total lack of invitation in what we have come to call "Agile
>>     adoptions". And it is crystal clear to me now that this is THE
>>     missing ingredient.
>>
>>     When invitation is present, genuine Agile adoptions can and do
>>     happen. When it is absent, the initial results do not last very long.
>>
>>     Here is a wonderful essay by Martin Fowler, an Agile Manifesto
>>     signatory, on this very topic:
>>     http://martinfowler.com/bliki/AgileImposition.html
>>
>>     If any of the members here have a question or two about Agile
>>     adoption, and how OST fits in a very wonderful way, I am very
>>     eager to help. Will you ask me some questions? I plan to schedule
>>     and announce some conference calls as well.
>>
>>     Kind Regards,
>>     Dan
>>
>>
>>
>>     On 8/19/13 1:34 PM, Daniel Mezick wrote:
>>>     Greetings to All,
>>>
>>>     First of all, I apologize for taking so long in communicating
>>>     further. This summer I emptied and sold a house, moved into
>>>     another....
>>>
>>>     ...and I became a grandfather!
>>>
>>>     Here's a pic of the new wonderful baby person, Clara Louise, Aug 6:
>>>     https://twitter.com/DanMezick/status/367104332493119488/photo/1
>>>
>>>     All of that AND some technical glitches communicating with you
>>>     all via OSTLIST. Special thanks to Harold Shinsato for helping
>>>     me overcome OSTLIST technical-interface problems.
>>>
>>>     Will you please accept my apology for being away for so long?
>>>
>>>     The Global Scrum Gathering keynote is September 24, and of
>>>     course I plan to explain Open Agile Adoption with OST during my
>>>     address.
>>>     I'm writing blog posts on the components, preparing my
>>>     presentation, and pretty much scaring myself to death at the
>>>     prospect of the 600-700 people who will be present.
>>>
>>>     I know we have a huge story to tell about the utility of using
>>>     Open Space during Agile adoptions, and I am working very hard to
>>>     prepare, and to make sure I represent Open Space in the best
>>>     possible light with respect to its surprising (and often
>>>     amazing) usefulness inside Agile adoptions.
>>>
>>>     Leading up to the Scrum Gathering, I plan to post fresh
>>>     information here on OSTLIST as I create it, and also inside the
>>>     Open Agile Adoption group on FaceBook:
>>>     https://www.facebook.com/groups/openagileadoption/
>>>     ...if you are a member, will you do some "likes", comments and
>>>     maybe some posts there?!? Special thanks to Suzanne for quickly
>>>     posting some comments!
>>>
>>>     There are several blog posts up now, and you can always see
>>>     up-to-date information at www.OpenAgileAdoption.com
>>>     <http://www.OpenAgileAdoption.com>.
>>>
>>>
>>>     The Picture
>>>
>>>     Here are 3 blog posts that sketch out some of the sociological
>>>     and psychological issues that exist in Agile Adoptions, and how
>>>     an approach based on invitation & especially Open Space can help
>>>     address these issues.
>>>
>>>     I want and need to be clear that I have composed some elements,
>>>     nothing more. For example, the passage-rite concept is ancient.
>>>     I have simply found a useful place to apply it in the modern
>>>     world. Open Agile Adoption creates a modern passage rite, to
>>>     help get the folks from here to there.
>>>
>>>     Likewise, the canonical form of Open Space as described in the
>>>     Guide is used. It is used to dramatically increase engagement,
>>>     on the hypothesis that engagement is the very fuel of a good and
>>>     lasting Agile adoption. Storytelling is another core component.
>>>     It's as old as the hills. I have not created anything new here.
>>>     On the contrary: Open Agile Adoption composes some very ancient
>>>     ideas into a cultural experience-design for modern tribes
>>>
>>>     Here are the most recent posts:
>>>
>>>     On Liminality
>>>     http://newtechusa.net/agile/liminality/
>>>
>>>     On Passage Rites
>>>     http://newtechusa.net/agile/on-passage-rites/
>>>
>>>     People, Then Practices: On Mandates
>>>     http://newtechusa.net/agile/people-then-practices/
>>>
>>>     I am busy as a bee now, documenting all the elements of Open
>>>     Agile Adoption technique. I plan to share early and often with
>>>     the members of this list as the documentation is completed.
>>>     Thanks for your patience!
>>>
>>>     Agile Orientation for OSTLIST Members
>>>
>>>     It came to my attention via Harold Shinsato that some folks on
>>>     this list might like to get an orientation on Agile, and how
>>>     Open Space fits there. If you are reading this and new to Agile
>>>     and want an orientation, I am willing to schedule a concall at a
>>>     convenient time using Maestro conference, which is a wonderful
>>>     tool for doing that kind of work. Will you let me know if a
>>>     brief Agile orientation (with some lively Q&A) interests you? If
>>>     enough people express interest, I will schedule an event where
>>>     we can hop on a call, do a brief orientation, and get some Q&A
>>>     going.
>>>
>>>     Thanks for suspending your disbelief, and for being so kind!
>>>
>>>     Best Regards,
>>>     Dan
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>     -- 
>>>
>>>     Daniel Mezick, President
>>>
>>>     New Technology Solutions Inc.
>>>
>>>     (203) 915 7248 (cell)
>>>
>>>     Bio <http://newtechusa.net/dan-mezick/>. Blog
>>>     <http://newtechusa.net/blog/>. Twitter
>>>     <http://twitter.com/#%21/danmezick/>.
>>>
>>>     Examine my new book:The Culture Game
>>>     <http://newtechusa.net/about/the-culture-game-book/>: Tools for
>>>     the Agile Manager.
>>>
>>>     Explore Agile Team Training
>>>     <http://newtechusa.net/services/agile-scrum-training/> and
>>>     Coaching. <http://newtechusa.net/services/agile-scrum-coaching/>
>>>
>>>     Explore the Agile Boston
>>>     <http://newtechusa.net//user-groups/ma/>Community.
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>
>>     -- 
>>
>>     Daniel Mezick, President
>>
>>     New Technology Solutions Inc.
>>
>>     (203) 915 7248 (cell)
>>
>>     Bio <http://newtechusa.net/dan-mezick/>. Blog
>>     <http://newtechusa.net/blog/>. Twitter
>>     <http://twitter.com/#%21/danmezick/>.
>>
>>     Examine my new book:The Culture Game
>>     <http://newtechusa.net/about/the-culture-game-book/>: Tools for
>>     the Agile Manager.
>>
>>     Explore Agile Team Training
>>     <http://newtechusa.net/services/agile-scrum-training/> and
>>     Coaching. <http://newtechusa.net/services/agile-scrum-coaching/>
>>
>>     Explore the Agile Boston
>>     <http://newtechusa.net//user-groups/ma/>Community.
>>
>>
>>
>>     _______________________________________________
>>     OSList mailing list
>>     To post send emails toOSList at lists.openspacetech.org  <mailto:OSList at lists.openspacetech.org>
>>     To unsubscribe send an email toOSList-leave at lists.openspacetech.org  <mailto:OSList-leave at lists.openspacetech.org>
>>     To subscribe or manage your subscription click below:
>>     http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org
>
>     -- 
>
>     Daniel Mezick, President
>
>     New Technology Solutions Inc.
>
>     (203) 915 7248 (cell)
>
>     Bio <http://newtechusa.net/dan-mezick/>. Blog
>     <http://newtechusa.net/blog/>. Twitter
>     <http://twitter.com/#%21/danmezick/>.
>
>     Examine my new book:The Culture Game
>     <http://newtechusa.net/about/the-culture-game-book/>: Tools for
>     the Agile Manager.
>
>     Explore Agile Team Training
>     <http://newtechusa.net/services/agile-scrum-training/> and
>     Coaching. <http://newtechusa.net/services/agile-scrum-coaching/>
>
>     Explore the Agile Boston
>     <http://newtechusa.net//user-groups/ma/>Community.
>
>
>     _______________________________________________
>     OSList mailing list
>     To post send emails to OSList at lists.openspacetech.org
>     <mailto:OSList at lists.openspacetech.org>
>     To unsubscribe send an email to
>     OSList-leave at lists.openspacetech.org
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>     To subscribe or manage your subscription click below:
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>
>
>
>
> -- 
>
> Christine Koehler, créatrice d'espace de Dialogue et de Coopération
>  Executive Coach, Médiateur
> www.christine-koehler.fr <http://www.christine-koehler.fr/>
>  Tel :  06 13 28 71 38
>   Fax : 09 72  32 36  65
> New ! Formation 20/06/2013 De l'évènement au Processus 
> <http://christine-koehler.fr/2013/formation-de-levenement-au-processus-avril-2013/>
>
>
>
>
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-- 

Daniel Mezick, President

New Technology Solutions Inc.

(203) 915 7248 (cell)

Bio <http://newtechusa.net/dan-mezick/>. Blog 
<http://newtechusa.net/blog/>. Twitter <http://twitter.com/#%21/danmezick/>.

Examine my new book:The Culture Game 
<http://newtechusa.net/about/the-culture-game-book/>: Tools for the 
Agile Manager.

Explore Agile Team Training 
<http://newtechusa.net/services/agile-scrum-training/> and Coaching. 
<http://newtechusa.net/services/agile-scrum-coaching/>

Explore the Agile Boston <http://newtechusa.net//user-groups/ma/>Community.

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