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Nurturing Diversity in Technology Through Lean Startup & Product Kata
The document discusses how the Women in Agile organization used lean startup and product kata principles to address the lack of gender diversity in the agile community. They conducted experiments like open spaces and dinners to understand the problem. Research found women felt intimidated by the lack of diversity. The organization's goal was then to increase diversity and inclusion through initiatives like conference allyship programs, launching new voices, and seeding local meetup groups to create accessible connections at scale. This supported empowering more women to share their ideas and skills within the agile community.
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Nurturing Diversity in Technology Through Lean Startup & Product Kata
- 1. Nurturing Diversity in TechnologyThrough Lean Startup & Product Kata (case study: Women in Agile Org) Natalie Warnert SGUSA Regional Scrum Gathering October 17, 2019
- 2. @womeninagile How do yousystemize innovation?
- 3. @womeninagileorg • Sowing theseeds of ideation • Approaches for experimentation • Understanding the impact on the system • Case Study: Women in Agile
- 4. @womeninagileorg The Seeds ofInnovation ● Hard work in a specific direction ● Hard work with direction change ● Curiosity ● Wealth and Money ● Necessity ● Combination
- 5. @womeninagileorg @nataliewarnert • A problemthat needs to be solved • Obstacle(s) block a desirable outcome • Highly uncertain paths to desirable outcome What do all products have in common?
- 6. @womeninagileorg @nataliewarnert • A problemthat needs to be solved • Obstacle(s) block a desirable outcome • Highly uncertain paths to desirable outcome What do all products movements have in common?
- 7. @womeninagileorg @nataliewarnert • A problemthat needs to be solved • Obstacle(s) block a desirable outcome • Highly uncertain paths to desirable outcome • Passionate people who are invested & curious What do all products movements have in common?
- 8. @womeninagileorg @nataliewarnert • Slow hunches •Collision with other ideas/hunches • Diverse perspectives and experiences Where do good ideas come from?
- 9. @womeninagileorg @nataliewarnert “It was notlike the legendary apple falling on Newton’s head to demonstrate the concept of gravity…it was a process of accretion (growth by gradual addition).” – Tim Berners-Lee, Weaving the Web Slow hunches
- 10. @womeninagileorg @nataliewarnert “Any seemingly grandidea can be divided into an infinite series of smaller, previously known ideas.” – Scott Berkun Collision with other ideas/hunches
- 11. @womeninagileorg @nataliewarnert “Don’t worry aboutpeople stealing your ideas. If your ideas are good enough you will have to ram them down people’s throats.” Howard H. Aiken The lone innovator is a myth. Diverse perspectives and experiences
- 12. @womeninagileorg @nataliewarnert Where are allthe women? There was a known and noticeable lack of gender parity/proportion in conferences, speakers, bloggers, and other agile events.
- 13. @womeninagile “It doesn’t matterwhere you start as long as you start…Execution demands more effort than idea generation, and it’s difficult to know how much more until you try.” – Scott Berkun, The Myths of Innovation
- 14. @womeninagileorg @nataliewarnert So we dida few “experiments” WiA Open Space 2013 WiA Dinner 2013 Stake- holder Mtg 2014 Dream Session 2015 WomenInAgile site launch Blog on Coaching Agile Teams Face to face meetings #WomenInAgile
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- 16. @womeninagileorg @nataliewarnert Lean Startup Principles •Entrepreneurs are everywhere • Entrepreneurship is management • Validated learning • Innovation Accounting (leading indicators) • Build-Measure-Learn
- 17. @womeninagileorg @nataliewarnert Where do weget stuck? Too many startups begin with an idea for a product that they think people want. ”Just do it” mentality Scope = too big. Lean startup and MVP = corrupt term
- 18. @womeninagileorg @nataliewarnert Scope is too large-- hard to manage, experiment & measure progress The smaller the ambition the better the odds. ”Just do it” mentality Scope = too big. Lean startup and MVP = corrupt term Where do we get stuck?
- 19. @womeninagileorg @nataliewarnert The current stateof the market is not ready ”The secret tragedy of innovators is that their desire to improve the world is rarely matched by support from those they hope to help” – Scott Berkun Where do we get stuck?
- 20. @womeninagileorg @nataliewarnert High expertise and confidencemake people the greatest resisters to new ideas as they have the most to lose. Where do we get stuck?
- 21. @womeninagileorg @nataliewarnert Company Goal, Product KPI,Future State What are users doing now? What is the first little goal User Research, Product Experiments Product Kata to manage & experiment Planning Experimenting Source: Melissa Perri - https://melissaperri.com/blog/2015/07/22/the-product-kata
- 22. @womeninagileorg @nataliewarnert Where are allthe women? There was a known and noticeable lack of gender parity/proportion in conferences, speakers, bloggers, and other agile events. We wanted to change this to be more equitable and inclusive. Company Goal, Product KPI, Future State What are users doing now? What is the first little goal User Research, Product Experiments
- 23. @womeninagileorg BUT WE DIDN’T UNDERSTANDTHE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM…
- 24. @womeninagileorg @nataliewarnert When asked topeople of both genders: Why are you less involved in the agile community? When thinking specifically of women, why do you think they are less involved in the agile community? Thesis Research: May 2015 - Natalie Warnert Company Goal, Product KPI, Future State What are users doing now? What is the first little goal User Research, Product Experiments
- 25. @womeninagileorg @nataliewarnert When asked topeople of both genders: Why are you less involved in the agile community? Intimidation from lack of diversity ■ Women 9% (individually) ■ Men 3% (individually) When thinking specifically of women, why do you think they are less involved in the agile community? Intimidation from lack of diversity ■ Women 33% (perception of women) ■ Men 60% (perception of women) Thesis Research: May 2015 - Natalie Warnert Company Goal, Product KPI, Future State What are users doing now? What is the first little goal User Research, Product Experiments
- 26. @womeninagile It’s notthat women aren’t capable or willing to be involved. It’s that there is a high barrier to entry when everyone thinks you’re one of the loneliest people in the room. It’s a self-serving and implicit bias that we are not addressing the inequality or the root causes. This is caused by societal conditioning & perceptions.
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- 28. @womeninagileorg @nataliewarnert Current condition isself-perpetuating Societal conditioning and perception of women Fewer women (less diversity) in technology industry Implicit bias about intimidation Few/fragmented efforts to decrease the implicit bias Less diversity and participation in the technology community
- 29. @womeninagileorg @nataliewarnert Hypothesis: We believeWomen in Agile Org can inform, empower, extend, and activate more women to develop and share their ideas and skills with the agile community. Goal: Increase diversity, inclusion, and participation of women within the agile community. When there is more diversity and sharing, everyone benefits from the ideas and innovations that are generated. Scope: Women who are already in agile/STEM fields Agile community = conference speaking & organizing, podcasting, blogging, meetup groups We needed targeted hypotheses, goals and defined scope Company Goal, Product KPI, Future State What are users doing now? What is the first little goal User Research, Product Experiments
- 30. @womeninagileorg @nataliewarnert • What problemsdoes the idea solve? Whose problems are they? • What problems does the idea create? Whose problems are they? But it wasn’t that easy…
- 31. @womeninagileorg @nataliewarnert • Bring upthe topic at conferences where we see it • Listen to other obstacles to diversity and inclusion • Code of Conduct • Speaker fees and #paytospeak • Accessible spaces • Need help from allies • Take it to social media and start discussion/promotion • Make spaces for women’s voices to be heard Goal: Create awareness of the inequity of speakers and other obstacles to diversity and inclusion. Company Goal, Product KPI, Future State What are users doing now? What is the first little goal User Research, Product Experiments
- 32. @womeninagileorg @nataliewarnert Make safe spaceswhere all genders work together to discuss problems and find solutions together. Program - Conference Allyship Agile Alliance Initiative 2016-2019, SAFe Summit 2017-2019, Business Agility Conference 2019 (Pictured above: Agile2018 Women in Agile Initiative) • Greater diversity representation • Speaker fee transparency • Attendee sponsorships • Universal code of conduct • Focus on inclusion, allyship • Decentralization of events for scaling
- 33. @womeninagileorg @nataliewarnert • Pairing women& allies together for presentations and mentoring • Specific opportunities for women to speak • Conferences • Podcasts • Blogs • Meetups Goal: Make spaces for women’s voices to be heard Company Goal, Product KPI, Future State What are users doing now? What is the first little goal User Research, Product Experiments
- 34. @womeninagileorg @nataliewarnert New voices powerour diversity, and we seek to lower the barriers to entry while empowering and amplifying those voices. Program - Launching New Voices • 2017 - Launching New Voices Program Established • Lower barrier to entry (mentors/allies) • Showcase new ideas • Grow the next generation • 9 new voices launched via conference presentation • Expanded to podcasts, writing etc.
- 35. @womeninagileorg @nataliewarnert • Local groupsthat can meet more frequently • Places to share ideas and networking • Low barrier to entry, high return and scalability • Meetup expenses paid • Code of conduct • Simple, repeatable onboarding process • Low overhead • Open to anyone Goal: Accessible connections that can scale rapidly Company Goal, Product KPI, Future State What are users doing now? What is the first little goal User Research, Product Experiments
- 36. @womeninagileorg @nataliewarnert Extending reach andconnecting through a network of sustainable local groups Program - Seeding Local Communities ● 2015 – First group formed in Florida ● 2018 - WomeninAgile.ORG group affiliation ● 48 - local groups in the world and continues to grow. ● The Local program has two key goals: growth through launching new groups and nurturing vibrant active groups ● Decentralization of ownership and management By activating sustainable small communities around the world, we broaden the reach and impact year round. We provide tools and support and promotional efforts to the group organizers, to enable community engagement and lower the barrier to entry.
- 37. 30 3 1 1 6 Women in AgileLocal Groups 2 1 1 2
- 38. @womeninagileorg @nataliewarnert Everyone is anentrepreneur and needs to have room to experiment on problems instead of focusing on epiphany. Small experiments through kata can thrive within the larger build-measure-learn loop to chip away at the larger current condition by tackling smaller symptoms if they’re actively managed. Decentralization allows for more diversity, curiosity, ideas and enables rapid scaling. Focus on validated learning and leading indicators of change are set for the current condition in the larger build- measure-learn loop (centralized). Decentralized decision making & control leads to a system that supports systemic scaling of ideas!
- 39. @womeninagileorg @nataliewarnert Women in Agile,Inc. Est 2018 A 501(c)(3) Non-profit Organization (May 2019) The Women in Agile community drives toward equality and inclusion of diversity representation, expertise, and involvement in the agile community. We value diverse idea representation to empower the agile community and enterprises and believe everyone is better off when more ideas are shared. We support this mission through three programs: Conference Allyship Seeding Local Communities Launching New Voices Executive Board Deema Dajani Natalie Warnert Joanna Vahlsing
- 40. Timeline of Experiments May2013 Aug2013 Aug2014 May2015 Aug2015 Fall2015 Aug2016 Aug2017 Oct2017 May2018Aug2018Oct2018Dec2018Mar2019April2019 InitialGatheringWebsite,Twitter,PartnerBlog, LinkedInGroup InformalGatheringThesis&PrimaryResearch DreamingSessionSouthFloridaLocalGroup Aug2019 InitiativeAgile2016 InitiativeAgile2017,LNVLaunch SAFeSummitBreakfast Nonprofitentity&TMapplication,Twitteracct,logo InitiativeAgile2018 SAFeSummitBreakfast CorporateSponsorship,LinkedInCompanypg BizAgilityPartnerConference,Instagramacct 501c3StatusAgile2019PartnerConference Largercurrent condition: There are too few women involved in the agile community.
- 41. @womeninagileorg Leading Indicators: Womenin Agile ■ 3 large supporting donors to the 501(c)(3) non profit ■ Flagship Conference Events Held: 8 (largest with 300 + attendees) ■ Local Groups Started: 48 ■ New Voices Launched: 9 + additional at regional/national events ■ Countless local meetups & regional conference pairings ■ Code of Conducts added to conferences: 5 (known) ■ Female Conference Speaker Increase – 2013-15 Female Agile20xx conference speakers: 25% (avg) – 2016-18 Female Agile20xx conference speakers: 30% (avg) – 2018 (solo) Female Agile2018 conference speakers: 35% – 2019 (solo) Female Agile2019 conference speakers: 38%
- 42. @womeninagile It’s the difference betweencaring and caring enough to do something. Anyone can innovate!
- 43.