Improvisational Theatre Techniques Can Improve Your Discovery Skills
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Improv + Discovery = Satisfied Customers How improvistational theatre techniques can improve your discovery skills T.K. Horeis, salesforce.com, Cloud and Industry Architect @TKHoreis Steve Bobrowski, salesforce.com, @sbob909
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Have you ever had a project where you received some nasty surprises towards the end or after a deployment? Do your users or stakeholders complain that the solution isn't meeting their needs after it's delivered? Join us as we explore how the skills learned in improvisation can benefit the discovery that shapes your system's requirements and architecture. T.K. Horeis, a long-time veteran of the Chicago Improv community and Cloud / Industry Architect at Salesforce, along with Steve Bobrowski of Customer-Centric Engineering will guide you through tips to better listening, questioning, and observation that will help you catch those gotchas earlier in your project lifecycle. This session will be coupled with a fun workshop to help you put these new skills into action.
Transcript of Improvisational Theatre Techniques Can Improve Your Discovery Skills
Improv + Discovery = Satisfied CustomersImprov + Discovery = Satisfied CustomersHow improvistational theatre techniques can improve your discovery skills
T.K. Horeis, salesforce.com, Cloud and Industry Architect
@TKHoreis
Steve Bobrowski, salesforce.com,
@sbob909
Safe harborSafe harbor statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This presentation may contain forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties, and assumptions. If any such uncertainties materialize or if any of the assumptions proves incorrect, the results of salesforce.com, inc. could differ materially from the results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements we make. All statements other than statements of historical fact could be deemed forward-looking, including any projections of product or service availability, subscriber growth, earnings, revenues, or other financial items and any statements regarding strategies or plans of management for future operations, statements of belief, any statements concerning new, planned, or upgraded services or technology developments and customer contracts or use of our services. The risks and uncertainties referred to above include – but are not limited to – risks associated with developing and delivering new functionality for our service, new products and services, our new business model, our past operating losses, possible fluctuations in our operating results and rate of growth, interruptions or delays in our Web hosting, breach of our security measures, the outcome of any litigation, risks associated with completed and any possible mergers and acquisitions, the immature market in which we operate, our relatively limited operating history, our ability to expand, retain, and motivate our employees and manage our growth, new releases of our service and successful customer deployment, our limited history reselling non-salesforce.com products, and utilization and selling to larger enterprise customers. Further information on potential factors that could affect the financial results of salesforce.com, inc. is included in our annual report on Form 10-K for the most recent fiscal year and in our quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the most recent fiscal quarter. These documents and others containing important disclosures are available on the SEC Filings section of the Investor Information section of our Web site. Any unreleased services or features referenced in this or other presentations, press releases or public statements are not currently available and may not be delivered on time or at all. Customers who purchase our services should make the purchase decisions based upon features that are currently available. Salesforce.com, inc. assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements.
• Understand the basics of improv
• Learn how to apply improv during discovery
• Practice improv make some new friends
• Relax, laugh, and have fun!
In the next 44 minutes we want you to …
Steve BobrowskiSteve BobrowskiPrincipal Member Technical Staff
Customer Centric Engineering,
Technical Enablement
@sbob909
Principal Member Technical Staff
Customer Centric Engineering,
Technical Enablement
@sbob909
T.K. HoreisT.K. Horeis
Cloud and Industry Architect
@TKHoreis
Cloud and Industry Architect
@TKHoreis
Definition: Improv
… improvisation, unscripted theatreNo script
No plan
No safety net!!!
How does it work? Create World
Audience
suggesti
on
Shared
Understanding
Create
Characters
Austin Powers / Dr. Evil Image Credit: ©2002 New Line Cinema - All Rights Reserved
7733
5522
%%
What
Where
When
WhoHow
Why
Party QuirksParty Quirks
An example of improv in actionAn example of improv in action
Quirks for TK to discover
• Steve:
• Guest 2:
• Guest 3:
Clap louder & louder as TK gets closer to
discovering our quirks
So, what’s the trick?
Rules Practice
“Chance favors the prepared mind.“ - Louis Pasteur
What is Discovery?
Requirements
Domain
Understanding
UserPersonas
Vision
Believe it or not, the original concept came from the legal profession.
Success
Determining what’s relevant is key to deep insight in IT Project Discovery as well.
Game-changing results are about more than just requirements.
Why discovery is so important …
Good discovery = success
Bad discovery = problems
Good discovery
• Aligns vision & functionality
• Reduces risk
• Provides deeper insight
• Defines success clearly
• Identifies key factors
Poor discovery
• Yields low adoption
• Creates cost/schedule overruns
• Increases extensibility problems
• Raises credibility concerns
Who
What
Where
When
Why
How
The Basics
Something
Some information
Somebody
So how are improv & discovery related?
Team Efforts
So how are improv & discovery related?
.
Exercises in incomplete information
So how are improv & discovery related?
Creativity
So how are improv & discovery related?
Agent Jones, Credit: The Matrix, 1999 Warner Bros.
Agility & quick adjustments
Improv techniques to improve your discovery skills
You’re there to support
You’re there to support
The
power of
questions
The
power of
questions
Paraphrase to validate
Paraphrase to validate
Yes,
andYes,
andBe specific
Be specific
Suspend JudgmentSuspend Judgment
Be in the moment
Be in the moment
ObserveObserve
Power of
SilencePower of
SilenceSooner is better
Sooner is better
Use more
than wordsUse more
than words
Listen to understand, not respond
Listen to understand, not respond
Make it
personalMake it
personal
Check your agenda at the door
Check your agenda at the door
Yes, andYes, and
A demonstration of the techniqueA demonstration of the technique
“Yes, and” … the MOST important rule of improv
Accept what’s given to you (the Yes)
Don’t deny reality
More about “Yes, and…”
“Our current system works pretty well, so why
are we changing it?”
“Our current system works pretty well, so why
are we changing it?”
• Every contribution is a gift!• Respect those gifts (YES)• Add your own contribution
(AND) using follow-up questions
• No judging allowed--DISCOVER!
“No …”, the opposite of “yes, and …”
•Shuts down dialogue
•User’s don’t feel heard
•Forget feasibility for now
No, I agree…
No, I agree…Yes,
but, …Yes,
but, …
Yes, andYes, and
An exercise for youAn exercise for you
The power of questionsThe power of questions
A demonstration of the conceptA demonstration of the concept
The power of questions, the right questions You have to put them in the right frame of mind to extract the
information you need. Ask the RIGHT questions.Yeah, why do I require an
approval for…
Yeah, why do I require an
approval for…
Shift
Mindset
Tips for good questions
Do your homework
Tips for good questions
Learn their lingo, don’t use yours
The number of database buffer gets is
extraordinarily high because the query can’t
use the composite indexes or skinny tables in place.
The number of database buffer gets is
extraordinarily high because the query can’t
use the composite indexes or skinny tables in place.
Tips for good questions
Ask
high-stakes questions
Tips for good questions
Ask open-ended
questions
Thoughtful
responses
Avoid too many Yes/No questions
Tips for good questions
Build deeper insight,
using follow-ups
Tips for good questions
Look for non-verbal cues
What kinds of questions should you avoid?
Don’t include
your opinion as
part of the
question
What kinds of questions should you avoid?
Don’t lead the witness
What kinds of questions should you avoid?
Avoid long or complex questions
Listening to understand, not respondListening to understand, not respond
A demonstration of the techniqueA demonstration of the technique
Listening to understand, not respond
Listening is not about waiting for your chance to talk or contribute.
Listening to understand, not respond
Listening is not about waiting for your chance to talk or contribute.
I can’t wait to tell my best friend that I got a hole in 1.
Listening to understand, not respond
Listening is not about waiting for your chance to talk or contribute.
Here comes Steve
Listening to understand, not respond
Listening is not about waiting for your chance to talk or contribute.
I really need to tell him about my new promotion!
REALLY! REALLY! Does he not get this is my first hole in one!
Listening to understand, not respond
Listening is not about waiting for your chance to talk or contribute.
Remove distractions
External
Internal
We could solve this with a workflow
We could solve this with a workflow
Did I remember to …?Did I remember to …?
Keep your focus
Always ask yourself these 3 simple questions:
Do I need to clarify anything that they’ve said?
Do I need to clarify anything that they’ve said?
What was unique about this answer or information?
What was unique about this answer or information?
Do I understand enough to repeat the information back to them?
Do I understand enough to repeat the information back to them?
Listening to understand, not respondListening to understand, not respond
An exercise for everyoneAn exercise for everyone
Paraphrase to validateParaphrase to validate
A demonstration of the techniqueA demonstration of the technique
Paraphrase to validateRepeat their message (as you understand it).
When?• If you find yourself, losing focus.• If you’re not sure if you understand• If you want to improve your listening skills• If you can’t keep up• If you find yourself interrupting, judging, or
arguing
What it does?• Validates• Builds trust
Ah, I think I understand. So, in other words, …
Ah, I think I understand. So, in other words, …
Paraphrase to validateParaphrase to validate
An exercise for everyoneAn exercise for everyone
Be specificBe specific
A demonstration of the techniqueA demonstration of the technique
Be specific
All my life, I always wanted to be somebody. Now I see that I should have been more specific. -- Lily Tomlin
Make sure your questions are:
ClearClear
FocusedFocused
Unambiguous
Unambiguous
Be specific
Do
• Choose powerful words
• Make it quantifiable
• Make it personal
Be specific
Don’t
• Use vague or flowery language
• Don’t overcomplicate
• Don’t ask for speculation
Be specificBe specific
An exercise for everyoneAn exercise for everyone
T.K. HoreisT.K. Horeis
Cloud and Industry Architect,@TKHoreis
Steve BobrowskiSteve Bobrowski
Architect Evangelist,@sbob909
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