Slides from presentation at Agile Tour Montreal 2017 by Sue Johnston and Marilyn Powers on communication gap between product side of business and building side of business

1. Do Your Product Owners
Speak A Foreign Language?
Techniques for creating shared understanding
Marilyn Powers
+
Sue Johnston

2. 3
Who are we?
MARILYN POWERS
• Curious about interactions
that make good teams great
• Work on a remote team
• Believe communication is at
the root of why things go great
or fail
@PowersMarilyn
Senior Product Manager
Powers Tech
SUE JOHNSTON
@itsunderstood
Communication Specialist
It’s Understood
• Goal is to make organizations
fit for humans
• Years of work in and study of
workplace communication
• Train coaches for agile
workplace

3. What is language?
The method of human
communication, either spoken or
written, consisting of the use of
words in a structured and
conventional way
A system of
communication
used by a
particular country
or community
Bla, bla Agreed! Hmm! Bla, bla Really?

4. 5
1 2 3
The Shape of the Session
Intro Big Idea Who? What? How? Wrap
ExerciseExerciseExerciseExercise

5. 6
Each table needs a volunteer to be the “official
communicator.”
They’ll have a photograph of one unusual but real
product the team will imagine building.
Exercise
1 Without showing the team the picture,
“communicator” describes the product to build.
3
When drawings are done, communicator shares
the picture. As a group, observe how close people
come to the real thing
2
Based on this story, team members will create the
product by sketching it.

6. Why
always
matters
1 2 3
The
Big
Idea

7. Talk
about
it!
1 2 3
The
Big
Idea

8. How important is effective communication?
The
Big
Idea

9. How effective is communication where you work?
Good
Poor
Nonexistant
The
Big
Idea

10. Structure
Culture
Process
Mindset
Personal Behaviour
BARRIERS
Structure
Culture
Process
Mindset
Personal Behaviour
ENABLERS
Structure
Culture
Process
Mindset
Personal Behaviour
MAGIC WAND
The
Big
Idea
Pros, Cons + Dreams

11. So, what can we control?
Be intentional about
and conscious of
all communication
The
Big
Idea

12. What happens when
we don’t think about
communication?
The
Big
Idea

13. 1
4
Improve the Conversation
1 WHO? Do we know how to
communicate with our teams?
3
HOW? Do we know how to
have an explicit conversation?
2 WHAT? Are we having the right
conversation?
As well as being intentional
communication practices, all of
these invite us to interrogate
what we believe is reality.

14. 1 2 3
1. WHO?
Do we know how to communicate with our team?

15. Different Communication Styles
1
itsunderstood.com

16. Team Agreements
1

17. The Remote Team Dilemma
1
lisettesutherland.com

18. 1
9
Exercise
1 In your table groups, recall the original
conversation about the product.
3
Write down some questions you could
ask to help the team’s communication.
2 Discuss how the conversation might have
improved had you been thinking and
conversing like a team.
1

19. 1 2 3
2. WHAT?
Do we know we’re having the right conversation?

20. 2. Do we know we’re having the right conversation?
Make
your work
visible!
DRAW ALL
THE
THINGS
2

21. Problem Statement Tool
3 Image: Kent McDonald, kbpmedia.com
2

22. Impact Mapping
Idea: Gojko Adzic, https://gojko.net/ Image: Karl Scotland, availagility.co.uk
2

23. 2
Story mapping
Image: Steve Rogalsky, www.winnipegagilist.blogspot.ca

24. 2
5
Exercise
1 In your table groups, build on the
conversation about the product.
3
Capture on the sheet, for future
reference.
2 Discuss how the techniques introduced
might ensure you’re talking about the
right things.
2

25. 1 2 3
3. HOW?
How do we
know?
How can we
find out?
What
would have
to be true
for that to
work?
Do we know how to have an explicit conversation?

26. 2
7
Exercise
1 In your table groups, discuss how
comfortable you or colleagues would
feel asking about assumptions.
3
Capture ideas on work sheet, for future
reference.
2 If it doesn’t feel safe or comfortable,
what could you do to change that?
3

27. 1 2 3

28. Summary
DO YOU
RECOGNIZE THE
CHALLENGE?
1 2 3
ARE YOU
INTENTIONAL +
CONSCIOUS
ABOUT
CONVERSATIONS?
ARE YOU
TALKING AS ONE
TEAM?
WHO?
ARE YOU USING
TECHNIQUES TO MAKE
CONVERSATION
VISIBLE?
WHAT?
WHAT WILL
YOU DO
ABOUT IT?
ARE YOU
MAKING
ASSUMPTIONS
EXPLICIT?
HOW?

29. What will YOU do?

30. Useful References
Steve Rogalsky’s
blog
Google:
“Winnipeg Agilist
Story Map”

31. Kitchener-Waterloo
Find us here
Sue Johnston
sue@itsunderstood.com
@itsunderstood
Marilyn Powers
Marilyn.Powers@icloud.com
@PowersMarilyn