Presentation I gave at Agile Conference Tokyo 2013.

1. Strategic Kanban: Leading
Business Innovation
Kraig Parkinson,ThoughtWorks
@kraigparkinson #strategickanban
Agile Tokyo, 17 Jul 2013
Friday, June 28, 13

2. “The important thing is this:To be able
at any moment to sacrifice what we are
for what we could become.”
Charles Dubois
Friday, June 28, 13

3. “Ford sells computers-on-wheels.
McKinsey hawks consulting-in-a-
box. FedEx boasts a developer
skunkworks.The era of separating
traditional industries and
technology industries is over—and
those who fail to adapt right now
will soon find themselves obsolete.”
David Kirkpatrick,“Now Every Company is
a Software Company”, Forbes
Friday, June 28, 13

4. “...The expected lifespan of
many products is
shrinking...whole product lines
and business models are seeing a
massive decrease in their typical
longevity....We are now in a
constant state of transition.”
Jonny Leroy,“Beyond Mobile:Thriving in a
Shattered World”, informIT
Friday, June 28, 13

5. “To me, ideas are worth nothing unless executed.They are just
a multiplier. Execution is worth millions.”
Steve Jobs
Image source: http://www.bigvisible.com/2013/05/why-lean-startup-
isnt-enough/
Friday, June 28, 13

6. We face a challenge.
• Successful enterprises use technology to
empower great experiences.
• Traditional organizational design paradigms
don’t work anymore.
• Business models need to be dynamic and
flexible.
• Technology is no longer the constraint, yet
execution is still complex.
Friday, June 28, 13

7. How might we...
...make it easier for the
modern enterprise to
continuously innovate
upon a technology-
empowered experience?
Friday, June 28, 13

8. Use kanban to drive
innovation
• Focus on getting ideas to
execution
• Work with innovation at
various levels of
complexity
• Limit interruptions to the
flow, including speculation
• See and fix the problems
in our design thinking
Friday, June 28, 13

9. Principle 1: Stop Assuming
We Know What the Story Is
We learn to see that a User Story like this:
• As a researcher, I want to organize my surveys
into projects, so that I can quickly access
surveys that may have related insights.
is just one way to addresses an opportunity like this:
• How might we make it easier for researchers to
manage activities related to quantitative
research?
Friday, June 28, 13

10. Principle II: Get the
right people involved
• Business owners (not proxies!)
• User experience (UX) designers
• Technologists
• Users & customers
Friday, June 28, 13

11. Principle III: Go and See
as Often as Possible
• Bring the gemba attitude to your users and
customer segments
• “Get out of the building.” - Steve Blank,
Four Steps to the Epiphany
Friday, June 28, 13

12. Look for signs to start
the work.
analytics
a/b tests
showcases
guerrilla tests
user research
customer validation
kaizen
product surveys
service staging
Friday, June 28, 13

13. A Framework for Continuous Innovation
Divergent Thinking Processes
Framing
Opportunity
Generating
Ideas
Convergent Thinking Processes
Developing
Paths to
Insight
Testing/
Validation
Harvesting
Solutions
User Research & Opportunity Generation
Manage for Learning & Improving
Supporting Delivery Teams
Friday, June 28, 13

14. Each opportunity is a
problem to solve.
• Look from multiple
angles
• Define the “How might
we...?” from a specific
perspective
• Consider timeframes &
relationship to other
opportunities or
initiatives
Framing
Opportunity
Image source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/
adam10414/5975825787/
Friday, June 28, 13

15. A Framework for Continuous Innovation
Divergent Thinking Processes
Framing
Opportunity
Generating
Ideas
Convergent Thinking Processes
Developing
Paths to
Insight
Testing/
Validation
Harvesting
Solutions
User Research & Opportunity Generation
Manage for Learning & Improving
Supporting Delivery Teams
Friday, June 28, 13

16. Challenge conventional
thinking with original ideas.
• Establish brainstorming
rules
• Democratize design with
a charrette
• Keep it simple and
imprecise
Generating
Ideas
Image source: http://inasla.org/content.php?
page=Design_Charrette_at_Outside_the_Box___A_New_Sensor
y_Garden
Friday, June 28, 13

17. A Framework for Continuous Innovation
Divergent Thinking Processes
Framing
Opportunity
Generating
Ideas
Convergent Thinking Processes
Developing
Paths to
Insight
Testing/
Validation
Harvesting
Solutions
User Research & Opportunity Generation
Manage for Learning & Improving
Supporting Delivery Teams
Friday, June 28, 13

18. Be rigorous when
developing paths to insight.
• Decide how/where/with
whom you will test your
concepts
• Design multiple “Safe-Fail
Experiments”
• Always know how you
will amplify or dampen
the impact of ideas
before testing
Developing
Paths to
Insight
Image source: http://hdnaturepictures.com/bambo-forests-
wallpapers.html
Friday, June 28, 13

19. A Framework for Continuous Innovation
Divergent Thinking Processes
Framing
Opportunity
Generating
Ideas
Convergent Thinking Processes
Developing
Paths to
Insight
Testing/
Validation
Harvesting
Solutions
User Research & Opportunity Generation
Manage for Learning & Improving
Supporting Delivery Teams
Friday, June 28, 13

20. Test concepts with real customers
& users to keep solutions practical.
• Watch, listen, empathize
• Encourage critique &
dissent
• 3 people * 30 minutes
Image source: http://andrewmckinney.com/projects/weight-watchers-
iphone-app/iphone-testing.JPG
Testing/
Validation
Friday, June 28, 13

21. A Framework for Continuous Innovation
Divergent Thinking Processes
Framing
Opportunity
Generating
Ideas
Convergent Thinking Processes
Developing
Paths to
Insight
Testing/
Validation
Harvesting
Solutions
User Research & Opportunity Generation
Manage for Learning & Improving
Supporting Delivery Teams
Friday, June 28, 13

22. Always take your
learning forward.
• Write user stories to
support new behaviors
• Adapt the service design
and setup training to
implement at scale
• Be ready to advantage of an
opportunity to pivot
• Iterate design through new
work; don’t let
opportunities churn
Harvesting
Solutions
Image source: http://www.rehs.com/printimage.html?
image_no=1432
Friday, June 28, 13

23. A Framework for Continuous Innovation
Divergent Thinking Processes
Framing
Opportunity
Generating
Ideas
Convergent Thinking Processes
Developing
Paths to
Insight
Testing/
Validation
Harvesting
Solutions
User Research & Opportunity Generation
Manage for Learning & Improving
Supporting Delivery Teams
Friday, June 28, 13

24. Talk openly about
innovation.
@Daily Stand-up
@Showcase
@Regular Planning
@Anytime!
Image source: http://www.manifestajournal.org/sites/default/files/
imagecache/desktop_full/imce/issus16/image_073.jpg
Friday, June 28, 13

25. Make it all work
• Establish a cadence for taking on new
opportunities
• Find the various types of innovation work
• Define WIP limits to create focus and drive pull
• Consider implementing Classes of Service to
accommodate varying priorities
• Find the pace for each kind of work and
manage to it
Friday, June 28, 13

26. Remember these
enabling factors.
• An ambitious mission captivates everyone.
• Embrace Continuous Delivery.
• Design a pivot-friendly architecture.
• Manage visually.
• Do it together.
Friday, June 28, 13

27. There’s more work
ahead.
• Learning the difference between robustness
and resilience
• Looking toward organizational design &
organization development as the next level of
maturity for innovation
Friday, June 28, 13

28. “It is not necessary to change.
Survival is not mandatory.”
-- W. Edwards Deming
Friday, June 28, 13

29. Thank you!
Kraig Parkinson,ThoughtWorks
www.thoughtworks.com
kp@thoughtworks.com
@kraigparkinson #strategickanban
Friday, June 28, 13