Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
in the organizational process asset structure and the techniques of writing
good processes.
4.18 Effective Techniques to Run an Agile TWG
One of the most effective ways to run an Agile TWG is a variant on how I
conduct a gap analysis interview. You can think of an Agile TWG as the next
step in “extracting” the real “as-is” process from the organization that started
during the gap analysis.
To h e l p e x t r a c t t h e “ a s - i s ” p ro c e s s f ro m T W G m e m b e r s I l i k e t o s t a n d a t a
whiteboard and ask the TWG members to throw out words that are either
activities they do as part of this process or products they produce. I tell them
not to worry about creating full sentences. When you ask people to describe
the process they follow, often they get wrapped up in talking about all kinds
of extraneous detail. I find that it is best to let them talk this way during a gap
analysis interview because it puts them at ease, allowing them to communi-
cate more effectively. I have also found that TWGs can easily become bogged
down with a great deal of nonessential discussion. This simplified guideline
I have found helps to keep the working group focused on the task at hand.
This is an area where the TWG lead needs to sense the group dynamics. For a
small working group that has trouble getting started, it might work best to
just let them talk about how they do their jobs for a period of time. However,
if the leader senses the group is getting too far off task he or she might move
to my simplified recommendation.
4.19 Separating the TWG Work from the Lead
Offline Work
The techniques of running an Agile TWG described in the last section are
intended to help keep the group at the desired level of discussion. If the dis-
cussion stays too high, the lead should ask more direct questions such as:
What aids do you use to get your job done such as guides, tools, templates?
The working group members usually do not need to discuss the packaging
of the process assets into “must dos” and “guides.” This is often more effi-
ciently handled by the TWG lead after the group adjourns. It is important for
the lead to take all notes such as drawings or words that were jotted down on
