1. Responding to Change
over Following a Plan
Agile Lessons from Antarctica
Julie Wyman

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No plan survives contact
with the enemy.
If you fail to plan, you
plan to fail.
Plans are useless, but
planning is indispensable.
- Dwight D. Eisenhower
A goal without a plan is just a wish.
- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Change is inevitable,
change is constant.
- Benjamin Disraeli
The only constant
in life is change.

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Agile Manifesto
Recap

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Responding to
change
over
following
a plan
Pair discussion
• What does this Agile manifesto
value mean to you?
• What’s one of your examples of
balancing the need to plan with
the need to respond to change?

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Discussion
Understanding
Clear goal
“Just enough”
Planning

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Keep the goal in mind
Adapt the approach
When change
comes…

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Planning & Change
in the context of
an Antarctic Cruise

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Planning
• Highly detailed plans
• Environmental regulations
• Passenger safety
and experience

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Remote
Image: https://www.intrepidtravel.com/us/antarctica/antarctic-
express-crossing-antarctic-circle-punta-arenas-111093

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Be prepared
Enjoyable sunny days
can swiftly change to
cold, windy storms with
snow flurries and
rolling seas.
Pack to dress in layers
so you are prepared
for these rapid
weather changes.

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Environmental
protection

15. Passenger
safety

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Passenger experience

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Trip
Takeaways
1)Planning is still necessary
2)The right planning can make
responding to change easier

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Responding
to Change
• Many forces out
of team’s control
• New information

21. Expectation
setting

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Trip
Takeaways
1)Planning is still necessary
2)The right planning can make
responding to change easier
3)Set expectations early and often

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Example:
An ever-changing day in
Antarctica

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Daily Goal: See Gentoo Penguins

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Goal:
See Gentoo Penguins
• Plan A: Announced before dinner
• Plan B: Announced at wake up
• Plan C: Announced during breakfast
Keep the goal in mind –
adapt the approach

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Trip
Takeaways
1)Planning is still necessary
2)The right planning can make
responding to change easier
3)Set expectations early and often
4)Keep the goal, adapt the approach

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Whale sighting!
And we’re on to Plan D
Sometimes it’s worth
changing the goal
to take advantage of
new circumstances

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Ernest Shackleton:
Endurance
• Continuous need to
respond to change
• Change in goal due to
significant changes in
circumstance
Image: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/antarctic-research-ship-will-
search-wreck-shackletons-endurance-180968780/

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Trip
Takeaways
1)Planning is still necessary
2)The right planning can make
responding to change easier
3)Set expectations early and often
4)Keep the goal, adapt the approach
5)When circumstances necessitate,
change the goal

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Empathy is key
when it comes to change

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Increased empathy…change is hard
Actual disembarkation: January 13th, 11:30pm

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Trip
Takeaways
1)Planning is still necessary
2)The right planning can make
responding to change easier
3)Set expectations early and often
4)Keep the goal, adapt the approach
5)When circumstances necessitate,
change the goal
6)Keep empathy at the forefront

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Pair
discussion
• How can non-software
development examples help
us relate to the challenges
our teams face?
• What lessons can we
apply from how people
respond to change in other
scenarios?

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Takeaways:
Recap

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Trip
Takeaways:
Responding to change
OVER
following a plan
1)Planning is still necessary
2)The right planning can make
responding to change easier
3)Set expectations early and often
4)Keep the goal, adapt the approach
5)When circumstances necessitate,
change the goal
6)Keep empathy at the forefront

51. Questions?

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Contact info…
Julie Wyman
julie.wyman@excella.com
https://excellalabs.com/people/juliewyman/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-wyman/

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