If you are a Netflix subscriber and a food lover, you may have seen “The Great British Baking Show;” if you have not, it’s about a group of amateur bakers who are challenged to create breads, cakes, and pastries that will delight the judges and earn them the title of Star Baker. And after binge-watching the series, we noticed three common “ingredients” the best bakers tend to have: focus, practice, and mindset.
A baker loses focus while carrying her cake and watches it fall apart
So, why are we talking about a baking show? Well, as new members on the Hard Yards team, we too were “challenged” with our first task, which was to gauge the progress of an organization in their agile transformation effort. We tackled our challenge by focusing our efforts and started gathering insights of how the transformation was going within the organization. It was important to stay focused, because that meant we were getting things done. If we lacked focus, (like the poor baker on the left), we could’ve become overwhelmed by the whole effort.
Our experience was certainly a unique one. Normally, Hard Yards conducts discovery interviews in the beginning of an agile transformation; however, the organization we were interviewing had already progressed several months into the transition. So, after receiving the results of the initial survey, we were able to review their feedback on the agile transformation with lots of context. From there, we crafted a tailored set of interview questions to help us dig deep to identify the root cause of each pain point within the organization
Next was the discovery interview. For us, this was the best part, because we were able to practice active listening to empathize about their progress and challenges they were still facing. We listened to what each person had to say, documented their feedback, and then analyzed each input. We mapped their observations and experiences into ‘affinity groups’ to capture common themes we heard, and then identified sub-categories within each affinity group that targeted specific areas for improvement (as seen in the attached diagram). Finally, we took this qualitative data and filtered it down into actionable next steps for the organization.
User interview data points grouped into common themes
On Your Mark…Get Set…Bake!
Like the Star Bakers, we had focus, and practice. Which brings us to the last “ingredient:'' mindset. It’s safe to say that the bakers on GBBS face a ton of pressure as they race against the clock to bake jaw-dropping creations. During the show, the bakers that have an agile mindset to push through setbacks are the ones that find success in the challenges. We had to have that same mindset: an approach that was both flexible and adaptive as we progressed through the exercise. Although the process was daunting at times, it was worthwhile because each iteration helped us refine our approach and uncover valuable insights for both Hard Yards and the organization.
So, whether you’re participating in a baking competition or going through the agile journey, remember that agility is not learned overnight. Growing pains are normal (and expected) when trying something new. A baker doesn’t bake the perfect cake without learning from their mistakes and working hard to get better. What matters the most are staying focused, practicing to get better, and having an agile mindset. When you have those three “ingredients", you’ve got a recipe for success.
Soyoung Min is an Agile Coach at Hard Yards. After working as an educator for six years, Soyoung joined Hard Yards to support organizations in agile transformation.
Rob Williams is a DoD Skillbridge Intern at Hard Yards. After serving four years in the U.S. Air Force, Rob is transitioning to a civilian career in Project Management.