Everything I Know About Agile I Learned at the Playground

Sometimes kids are our best teachers. The way they work instinctively is all about learning to do things better.

I recently was at the playground with my 2 year old son. Watching him, I realized that a lot of Product Delivery teams could learn a lot from him.

If you want to learn something, do something

There was a small plastic slide he wanted to go down. He walked over to it, walked around it and looked at it from every angle (took him about 30 seconds), then he started climbing the ladder.

He did “just enough” research to know what he needed to do and then got started. He had watched other kids doing it too, so he had his market research in mind too.

I’ve seen so many Product teams get stuck here. We’ve all heard of “analysis paralysis” and for good reason. It’s a real thing and it’s common. When you start trying to learn everything before getting started building a product then you are starting to work in a Waterfall fashion, not Agile.

And I’m not downplaying the importance of research. It’s very important to learn some things before you start. And to continue learning as you build. In Product teams you can do both at the same time. It’s commonly known as “Dual Track” development.

Know when to ask for help

When my kiddo got to the top of the ladder he got stuck. One foot got trapped under his bottom while the other was on the slide. He shifted a couple of times, but he realized he was stuck. He didn’t just sit there and cry or continue to struggle. He immediately turned around and looked at me and said, “need help”. I came over, showed him that he needed to lean forward a little to take his weight off his foot so he could free it.

He slid down and immediately ran back around to try again. He didn’t get it right on the second try either. And again, he asked for help when he got stuck. It took him about 4-5 tries, shifting a little differently each time until he figured it out.

So many Product teams term to refuse to ask for help when they are stuck. The reasons can differ…

• ?Lack of psychological safety
• An environment that doesn’t welcome learning from failure
• Pride - not wanting to admit you don’t know something
• Possibly having had a bad experience previously if they asked for help

Those a just a few examples I’ve seen. But when you create an environment that welcomes learning quickly from small failures it can prevent huge failures later as well as leading to quicker successes.

Just because it works doesn’t mean you’re done learning

Even after my boy had a successful trip up the ladder and transitioning onto the slide he kept trying new ways to do it. He made subtle changes until it became smooth and second nature. I loved seeing that he kept working at it.

This is also a great lesson for our Product teams. For not only what we build, but how we build it, there are always opportunities to improve. So don’t get complacent just because you reach a level of success.

I will also add the caution here that I am not promoting the practice of “gold plating” your product. There does come a point of diminishing returns. So be aware of that as well.

Being autonomous doesn’t mean working in a bubble

At the playground I gave my son the space to explore and figure things out on his own. But it doesn’t mean I wasn’t paying attention. When he asked for help I gave it. I also did a little teaching and then stepped back and gave him space to try for himself. He had the autonomy to learn and try things while having the safety of knowing I was there if he needed me.

A good Agile manager can model this for a Product team. Giving them the space to figure out things, but also creating psychological safety to know they can ask for help when they need it. Also, balancing just enough teaching or mentoring without micromanaging.

Building capacity creates courage

After he successfully climbed and went down the slide successfully several times my little guy was ready for the next challenge. He had learned a new skill and was up for more. He ran over to the rock wall I was sitting on and tried to climb it. When his foot slipped off and he couldn’t get off the ground he simply looked up at me with his precious little grin and simply said “help”…and we began a new cycle of learning. As I showed him how to place his foot on a ledge I even was able to reference our experience with the slide and ensured him that this was a bigger challenge and might take a little longer to learn. He smiled, nodded and then focused back on the task at hand.

When Product teams experience success in launching a new product or feature we need to celebrate the success and build off of it. Retrospectives are one tool we can use to understand what led to our successes and help us to replicate it or do even better. The combination of success and reflection is powerful for momentum.

Leverage these opportunities and apply these lessons and your team just might soon be running the Product Playground!