Video and slides synchronized, mp3 and slide download available at http://bit.ly/17HnU6o. Matt Barcomb discusses “amplifying learning”, focusing on setting up learning environments and common organizational pitfalls. Filmed at qconsf.com. Matt Barcomb (@mattbarcomb) is passionate about building collaborative, cross-functional teams. Matt started programming as a wee lad and eventually wound up getting paid for it. It took him nearly 10 years before he realized that the "people problem" was the biggest issue facing most software development. (blog.risingtideharbor.com)

1. Copyright 2012 odbox. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Building a
Learning Organization
(from any level)
...with Matt Barcomb
@mattbarcomb
matt@odbox.co

2. InfoQ.com: News & Community Site
• 750,000 unique visitors/month
• Published in 4 languages (English, Chinese, Japanese and Brazilian
Portuguese)
• Post content from our QCon conferences
• News 15-20 / week
• Articles 3-4 / week
• Presentations (videos) 12-15 / week
• Interviews 2-3 / week
• Books 1 / month
Watch the video with slide
synchronization on InfoQ.com!
http://www.infoq.com/presentations
/amplifying-learning

3. Presented at QCon San Francisco
www.qconsf.com
Purpose of QCon
- to empower software development by facilitating the spread of
knowledge and innovation
Strategy
- practitioner-driven conference designed for YOU: influencers of
change and innovation in your teams
- speakers and topics driving the evolution and innovation
- connecting and catalyzing the influencers and innovators
Highlights
- attended by more than 12,000 delegates since 2007
- held in 9 cities worldwide

4. Copyright 2012 odbox. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Intros
• about me...
• about you?
• my goals...
• your goals?

5. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.Copyright 2012 odbox.
Learning
Organizations

6. Copyright 2012 odbox. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
What Are They?
• Defined: Organizations that
continually develops themselves by
developing their people.
• innovation
• adaptability
• quality
• employee satisfaction (Drive)
• viability?

7. Copyright 2012 odbox. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Who Builds Them?
• Executives
• HR Departments
• Consultants
• ...you?

8. Copyright 2012 odbox. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Model Learning Behavior
• Learning stance
• Admit ignorance
• Allow failure

9. Copyright 2012 odbox. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Things to Consider
• Action vs. Reflection
• Informal vs. Formal
• Input vs. Output
• Learning momentum
• Lots of options
• Creating an environment

10. Copyright 2012 odbox. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Roadblocks & Alignment
• Organization’s culture
• Organization’s goals
• Individual interest

11. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.Copyright 2012 odbox.
Your Roadblocks
& Alignment?

12. Copyright 2012 odbox. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Build it With Free Time
• Key times of day
• Interest groups
• Side projects
• Special events

13. Copyright 2012 odbox. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Build it When You Work
• During development
• emergent code design
• exploratory testing
• iterative uix
• Generalizing specialists
• depth & breadth
• basic ➟ advanced ➟ meta/heuristics

14. Copyright 2012 odbox. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Build it With Your Team
• Retrospection
• data gathering & grouping
• root cause analysis
• multiple countermeasures
• Cross-role team activities
• Design studio method
• Whole team exploratory testing
• Big visual team spaces

15. Copyright 2012 odbox. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Build it Via Product Discovery
• LeanStartup approach
• User Studies
• Go to the gemba
• Product mapping
• Visual domain models
• Product quality strategies

16. Copyright 2012 odbox. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Build it Into Your Org.
• Apprenticeships
• Mentorship programs
• Shadowing programs
• Internal coaching
• Internal conferences

17. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.Copyright 2012 odbox.
Create Action
& Find an
Accountabilibuddy

18. Copyright 2012 odbox. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Wrap Up
• Learning orgs remain viable by
improving their people
• Be the change you wish to see in
the world
• Find alignment and avoid or
remove roadblocks
• Many ways to create learning
opportunities for you and others

19. Copyright 2012 odbox. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Thank You :)
Any questions?
Matt Barcomb
@mattbarcomb
matt@odbox.co