The client & us!? Applying a balanced team mindset in agencies

The client & us!?
Applying a balanced team mindset in agencies
Johanna Kollmann- @johannakoll
Balanced Team Conference, 24 September 2011
Photo by NASA Marshall Space Flight Center http://www.flickr.com/photos/28634332@N05/4941688795/

My definition of a ‘balanced team’
Photo by Frank Kovalchek http://www.flickr.com/photos/72213316@N00/5531444032//

A multi-skilled, collaborative team that is self-empowered, free to choose the best way to achieve what they’ve set out to do, with a culture of learning and skill-sharing.
Photo by Frank Kovalchek http://www.flickr.com/photos/72213316@N00/5531444032//

I work in an agency!

Team A: we are your department
Financial services client
Long-term relationship (years!)
Experience planning, design, development, business analysis
The client sits with us
Team B: we are your consultants
Retail client
Building a long-term relationship
In-house staff, us, plenty of 3rd parties
We spend a lot of time at the client’s

Key success factors
You work on one account at a time
Collaborative planning instead of account managers who ‘sell resources’
Everybody on board from the beginning
Key challenges
Can us + client + 3rd parties = 1 product team?
In the end, it’s about money
The boom of freelancing!

What tripped us up
Neglecting the basics:
process
rituals
work environment
Why did that happen?
Team A got too comfortable
Team B had people drop in and out
Both moved workspace

Balancing requires attention and adjustment
It’s constant and conscious
Photo by Dirk Jan Ranzijn http://www.flickr.com/photos/dirkscircusimages/6155373806/

Agile adoption in agencies: my observations
Collaboration rituals
Client involvement
‘the right fidelity’
Prototyping
Teams, not departments
Mini-waterfalls
Angst management tools
Deliverables, deliverables
Oh research, where art thou?
Roles, not responsibilities

What makes me feel out of balance
Customer feedback & research not (enough) part of the design process
Resourcing, roles and egos
Project vs. product
Learning, coaching, pairing

I’d love your input, please
Traditional UX agency business model is threatened
It’s very early days – agile still scares large clients
Process vs mindset
Any stories to share?

The client & us!? Applying a balanced team mindset in agencies

by johanna kollmann on Sep 26, 2011

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The client & us!? Applying a balanced team mindset in agencies — Presentation Transcript