How to develop habits in an Agile environment to perform better with less energy Blame in the retro? Threats when work is not finished? Complaints rather than acting? You might have developed some bad habits here. Are stand-ups taking forever? Are team members not updating the story board? Are retrospective actions not followed up upon? You might want to develop some good habits here. Habits are regularly repeated routines, most often done subconsciously. Developing (the right) habits is crucial for individuals and teams to minimize the energy needed to perform at a high level. By developing a habit, more effort can be spent on the actual work rather than on the support functions. Developing habits is not about working harder, but smarter. Habits enable you to: get rid of bad behavior and establish good behavior save time during meetings boost reliability and, ultimately, trust Research and new findings within the last years have shown enormous potential for habit development having a huge impact on personal and business behavior. Applying this to Agile seems very promising.

1. HABIT
Bernd Schiffer
AGILE
30/06/2017 LAST Conference Melbourne 2017
DEVELOPMENT

3. "Magnified: Jerry Gurney" by ThrasherMagazine (10/06/2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUx3s8F5X2Q )

4. PERSONAL PROFESSIONAL

5. What is a Habit?
• “Actions performed routinely in certain contexts and situations
often unconsciously.”
• automated goal-oriented behaviour
Source: ”Force of habit" by Teal Burrell in NewScientist, 16/01/2016

6. Why Habits?
• to anchor behaviour
• to master a skill
• to save energy

7. 40 % of our daily behaviour is habitual.
Source: ”Force of habit" by Teal Burrell in NewScientist, 16/01/2016

8. Source: ”Is it worth the time?” by XKCD, https://xkcd.com/1205

9. Habits do not form
through willpower
EGO
DEPLETION

10. 4 VARIABLES FOR HABIT DEVELOPMENT
Patience Small Steps Schedule Convenience
66

11. Patience
How long will it take to form a habit?
18minimum
66average
254maximum
Source: ”Here's how long it takes to break a habit, according to science" by Signe Dean (24/09/2015, http://www.sciencealert.com/here-s-how-long-it-takes-to-break-a-habit-according-to-science )

12. Small Steps
Brush One
Tooth at a Time
Source: ”Tim Ferriss and Neil Strauss Talk Writing, Creativity on creativeLIVE" by Tim Ferris and Neil Strauss ( 13/07/2013, http://youtu.be/2dTQWQXhSJU )

13. Scheduling
Habits form better
when done regularly
and frequently

14. + +
Scheduling
Tie new habit to something you already do
Source: ”Force of habit" by Teal Burrell in NewScientist, 16/01/2016

15. The Progress Principle
• “Of all the things that can boost emotions, motivation, and
perceptions during a workday, the single most important is
making progress in meaningful work.”
Source: "The Power of Small Wins" by Teresa Amabile and Steven J. Kramer in HBR (05.2011)
Scheduling

16. Scheduling
Start a
Habit Calendar

17. Scheduling
1. Print
empty
calendar
sheet

18. Scheduling
2. Tick
when
done

19. Scheduling
3. Cross
and
streak
when
not done

20. Scheduling
4.
Continue
until habit
formed

21. Scheduling

22. Scheduling

23. ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ❌ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ❌ ❌ ☠ ☠ ☠ ☠ ☠
Scheduling
Slipped just once? No big deal. Your momentum carries you.
Never slip twice. Lost momentum makes it hard to get back up.
Source: ”Force of habit" by Teal Burrell in NewScientist, 16/01/2016

24. Convenience
A key for developing
a habit is making its
execution as
convenient as
possible.
Convenience

25. "A clever tweak to how apples are sold is making everyone eat more of them" by Roberto A. Ferdman in The Washington Post (19.05.2016,
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/05/19/the-apple-industrys-strange-savior/?utm_term=.65ade537d973 )
Sliced Apples
• 60-70% higher
apple consumption
• "…even the
simplest forms of
inconvenience affect
consumption…”
Convenience

26. Effects of Co-location on Meetings
• higher attendance rate
• more punctual
Convenience

27. Convenience
Fist to Five
• “How much value did you get out
of this meeting?”
• Most convenient way for everyone
to get feedback after a meeting

28. Convenience

29. 4 VARIABLES FOR HABIT DEVELOPMENT
Patience Schedule Convenience
66
Small Steps

30. When best to start a new habit?
After vacation, office move, new team/project, etc.

31. We don't rise to the
level of our
expectations, we fall to
the level of our training.
Archilochos

32. THANK YOU!
@berndschiffer
boldmover.com
agiletrail.com
linkedin:berndschiffer
HABIT
Bernd Schiffer
AGILE
30/06/2017 LAST Conference Melbourne 2017
DEVELOPMENT