My keynote at Agile Testing Days 2016 in Potsdam Germany. Explore why communities are powerful , where they fit in the universe of work and learning. Discover tips to start them with the best chance of sustaining them and harness their awesome perform for personal and professional growth.

1. The Power of
Communities of
Practice in Testing
Squaring the circle of learning
#AgileTD

2. Mike Sutton
Agile Coach and Improvement Partner
“I help technology organisations become more effective in
meeting their business goals by applying simple and effective
tools - that reduce risk, increase value and create knowledge -
and by nurturing a culture of open and joyful collaboration.
Startup Founder. Partner & Practitioner
“I help technology companies become more
effective at meeting their business goals by
applying simple and effective tools to reduce risk,
increase joy, create knowledge and get good stuff
shipped.”
23 11 ~200 ~2200
years in
tech
years as a
coach
teams
helped
people
supported
Helping teams and individuals
build resilience, their own good
habits and responsibly own their
working process
Helping organisational leaders
develop modern, human centric
strategies for knowledge work
based industries
Spark Communities
of Learning
Advise management
teams and executives
Mentor agile teams and
their support structures
I help to bring focus on the need
for continuos learning within and
outside practice. For
competence and joyful fulfilment
Mike Sutton
Agile Coach and Improvement Partner
“I help technology organisations become more effective in
meeting their business goals by applying simple and effective
tools - that reduce risk, increase value and create knowledge -
and by nurturing a culture of open and joyful collaboration.
Mike Sutton
Agile Coach and Improvement Partner
“I help technology organisations become more effective in
meeting their business goals by applying simple and effective
tools - that reduce risk, increase value and create knowledge -
and by nurturing a culture of open and joyful collaboration.
Mike Sutton
Agile Coach and Improvement Partner
“I help technology organisations become more effective in
meeting their business goals by applying simple and effective
tools - that reduce risk, increase value and create knowledge -
and by nurturing a culture of open and joyful collaboration.
Mike Sutton
Agile Coach and Improvement Partner
“I help technology organisations become more effective in
meeting their business goals by applying simple and effective
tools - that reduce risk, increase value and create knowledge -
and by nurturing a culture of open and joyful collaboration.
Mike Sutton
Agile Coach and Improvement Partner
“I help technology organisations become more effective in
meeting their business goals by applying simple and effective
tools - that reduce risk, increase value and create knowledge -
and by nurturing a culture of open and joyful collaboration.
Mike Sutton
Agile Coach and Improvement Partner
“I help technology organisations become more effective in
meeting their business goals by applying simple and effective
tools - that reduce risk, increase value and create knowledge -
and by nurturing a culture of open and joyful collaboration.

3. In the next 45 minutes…
Reframe how you
learn - why and
where you learn Show the limitations of work-
driven learning
Discover the hidden
possibilities of internal
communities of practice Get tips for starting and
sustaining your community.

4. The A-B-Cs

5. Source: Merriam-Webster Dictionary

6. Source: Merriam-Webster Dictionary

7. A community of practice (CoP) is
a group of people who share a
craft and/or a profession who
deliberately come together to
advance their practice
organic
informal
active
practitioners
purposeful

8. Situated learning
i s a m a t t e r o f
creating meaning
f r o m t h e r e a l
activities of daily
l i v i n g w h e r e
learning occurs in
a pro-social but
informal setting.

9. “Whatever the Problem,
Community is the
Answer.”
- Margaret ‘Meg’ Wheatley

10. Why does
this matter?

11. You didn’t get this
good by just doing
the work.

12. You’re not going to
get much better by
only doing the work.

13. Community
Team

14. What’s in it for me?
I learn from
others in my
company (context)
I get Peer Support
(to vent, to plot, to drink)
I meet some new people
that I have a lot in common
with
My professional status
increases
My participation is
recognised and
rewarded
I help others learn

15. What’s in it for us?
Our collective
knowledge grows
and is available to
everyone
We are
recognised as a
purposeful group
of professionals
We can get more
support for our growth
- together
(collective bargaining)
We are greater than
the sum of our parts
We advance our
craft

16. Tips
(aka: Things Mike has tried that worked for Mike
and a few others and might work for me too)

17. Have the ‘WIIFM’ conversation first.

18. Core
Active
Passive
Beware the Onion of Engagement
Disengagement

19. Do uncomfortable things in pairs

20. Make it easy for people to help

21. Plan the next one at the end of this one.

22. Experiment on content/format
(do lots, see what works)

23. Bring food.

24. Have fun.

25. Review Adapt Repeat

26. You.

27. You + Community.

28. grazie
@mhsutton
http://mhsutton.me
danke
Thank you감사합니다
dziękuję
obrigado terima kasih
gracias
.‫תודה‬
merci
kiitos