Applying Agile to... Communicating With Colleagues Good communication skills are important in any situation, but especially for “big-A” and “little-a” agile work. The following are a few scenarios you may find yourself in where clear, engaging communication is the chief task ahead of you. Choose Your Path: Follow the arrows below to see where you’d wind up on the agile spectrum in these situations. Are you taking the most agile approach?
Scenario 1 Your boss assigns you a last-minute project due in two days. You already have a lot on your plate, and finishing the project on time would likely mean you have to cancel personal obligations. What do you do? Ask your boss about possible extensions? Yes. See if there’s flexibility.
No. It was assigned.
Gauge availability, ability and oppenness of others to help? Yes.
Prioritize projects and communicate realistic expectations?
No. That’s not your role.
Yes. Set expectations.
No. Get as much done as possible.
Most agile
Least agile
Takeaway: Open communication and maximum flexibility lead to the most agile outcome.
Scenario 2 You’re charged with leading a survey to gauge opinions on a new agency policy. How do you design the questions? Does the survey have boxes for open responses? Yes, you want space for answers you may not have considered.
No, you want concrete, statistically significant responses, so it’s multiple choice.
Does your survey have comment space only at the end or after every multiple choice? After multiple choice. You want specificity and to maximize the value of each question
At the end. Why create more work for respondents after every question?
Do you allow respondents to rate responses? (ex. 1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree) Yes. You want more ways to sort info and identify areas of need.
Most agile
No. This data is of little use. You just need to know their answers.
Least agile
Takeaway: Maximize opportunities for audience feedback. Make sure you open the door to ideas you might have missed. A GovLoop Guide 16
