Summary
- The PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Adjust) cycle is a framework for continuous improvement that can help organizations and teams solve problems and manage change.
- Well-designed surveys can be an effective tool for data collection in support of continuous improvement.
- Surveys can help identify opportunities for improvement for organizations and agile delivery teams.
Surveys can be a useful tool for continuous improvement by enabling team members to share ideas and suggestions for improving work processes, problem-solving, and innovation. This can help organizations adapt to change more quickly and effectively, and can lead to a more engaged workforce.
Well-designed surveys can be an effective way to collect the data needed for data-driven improvement.
The PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) Cycle (or Deming Cycle) is an effective model for continuous improvement. The Check step in the cycle is where we perform the collection and analysis of data including the gathering end-user or team feedback. This data-driven approach enables informed improvement actions to be taken based on objective information and insights. PDCA is a continuous improvement framework that helps teams and organizations improve the effectiveness of their operations. The acronym stands for the four steps of the process: Plan, Do, Check and Adjust:
- Plan: The planning step involves setting goals and objectives. For example: Repeatably deliver 90% of all planned User Stories in every sprint.
- Do: The Do step is where the planned activities are executed. This is where the strategies and actions defined in the planning step are performed.
- Check: Determine if the implemented actions have achieved the desired outcomes. Analyze the collected data and survey feedback and comparing the outcome against pre-established objectives. For example, we delivered < 50% planned stories. Identify the root causes of variances to the plan.
- Adjust: Make improvements to the process to further converge on goals.
It is important to understand that the cycle needs to be repeated until objectives are achieved. At which point the improved process often becomes the new baseline (aka raising the bar), and the overall process may be restarted with a return to the Plan phase.
Using surveys for continuous improvement
Well-designed surveys can be a useful tool for continuous improvement. Here are some recommendations for adopting this approach:
- Define your objectives. Before you start designing your survey, think about what you want to learn from it. For example, you might want to know about a team’s experience with maintaining a sustainable work pace.
- Keep the survey short and focused. Shorter surveys are more likely to get higher response rates and better completion rates. Focus on key areas that align with your objectives and keep the number of questions manageable.
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Collect feedback from multiple sources. This means everyone on the team, including the loudest and the quietest. Make sure you get a balanced view of opinions, preferences, and pain points.
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Use the feedback to improve. Use the information gathered to drive improvement towards your objectives. For example, you could use employee engagement survey results to make changes to training programs.
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Communicate the results. Keep the individual responses anonymous to preserve trust. However it is important to share the findings with relevant parties, such as key stakeholders whose help may be needed for any changes needed to help teams achieve their goals.
Agile Team Effectiveness Survey
Here we present a survey tool specifically customized to evaluate an organization’s capabilities in 3 fundamental areas. What we are surveying:
- Backlog Creation: have we established the ability to create product backlog items that represent incremental value?
- Team Formation: do teams have all the skills and structure to deliver the backlog items without bottlenecks in their workflows?
- Product Delivery: Is the output of every sprint a working valuable increment of the product meeting a Definition of Done?
| Category | Question |
| Team | The team understands how their work aligns to the strategy. |
| Team | Team members are dedicated to a single team |
| Team | The team is sized to enable agility (7 +/- 2 people) |
| Team | The team has all the skills to create working product increments |
| Team | Team members feel they are operating at a sustainable pace |
| Team | The team is empowered to make decisions on how best to do the work |
| Team | Team members value collective success more than individual achievement. |
| Team | Team members are committed to agreed-upon goals and decisions. |
| Team | The team consistently achieves its objectives. |
| Backlog | A Vision or Product Goal has been defined for the product |
| Backlog | The Product Backlog is the single source of work for the team |
| Backlog | The Product Backlog is owned and managed by a single Product Owner |
| Backlog | There is a Definition of Ready for Backlog Items |
| Backlog | Backlog items meet INVEST criteria |
| Backlog | Product Owner collaborates with team to refine Backlog Items |
| Increment | Each Sprint/Iteration has a clear goal |
| Increment | Completed backlog items meet Acceptance Criteria |
| Increment | Completed backlog items meet a Definition of Done |
| Increment | Majority of Backlog Items can be brought to Done in 1-3 days |
| Increment | The team delivers working tested product increments each Iteration |
Each question can be presented in a Likert-style formulation, for example:
Survey Results can be reviewed and actions determined to address areas in most need of attention.
Data Aggregation: Surveys allow for the collection and analysis of quantitative data, making it easier to identify trends and patterns over time. Survey results can be sampled say quarterly, and progress towards goals measured.
In this example, the team has made progress on all fronts, however backlog management seems to have stalled based on the most recent survey. This is worth exploring further to identify what is impeding progress and appropriate actions identified.