Continuous Learning can have a transformative impact on personal growth, innovation, and organizational success. Here are 9 things you should know about Continuous Learning...
For this conversation, we're joined by Tom Graves, author and world-renowned expert on Enterprise Architecture.
Among the topics covered:
- Why aren't companies learning from mistakes?
- What are some best practices for continuous learning and continuous improvement in a modern, Agile, DevOps environment?
- How can a technology practitioner incorporate these best practices into daily routine?
- What role does executive management have in ensuring quality is a built-in behavior?
9 Takeaways:
- The group discussed the lack of feedback loops and continuous learning in many software development processes today. There is a focus on speed and methodology over learning from mistakes.
- Tom Graves argued that many organizations are good at "doing things right" with processes like DevOps, but not "doing the right things" that actually solve customer problems.
- Continuous learning is key - both as individuals and collectively as teams. Learning from mistakes avoids repeating them.
- After action reviews, borrowed from the military, are a simple but effective tool for teams to quickly share learnings. It involves answering 4 key questions after an activity.
- Alignment of business and IT is critical. When IT is seen as just a cost center rather than integral, continuous learning is harder.
- Quality must be built in upfront, not inspected in later. The end goal should be a "minimally useful product", not a "minimally viable" one.
- Commitment for continuous learning needs to come from all levels of an organization, not just individuals. But individuals can drive change even without top-down mandates.
- Look to other industries like manufacturing that have used practices like Deming's work for decades that apply directly to software delivery.
- Key is focusing on purpose and people, not just process. Learning must become habitual.
Tom Graves’ website, http://www.tetradian.com, is a one-stop location for all things Enterprise Architecture related. His blog at http://weblog.tetradian.com/ is updated constantly with useful tools and insight gleaned from decades of work in the field.
