agent of change

Agent of ChangeMatt Frost

@mfrost503http://shortwhitebaldguy.com

Overarching Goal

drive change by mastering tools

drive change by excellent communication

Topics

preparation

presentation

dealing with success

dealing with failure

Why Drive Change?

no organization does everything well

will grow your skills

it’s better than complaining!

What this talk is NOT

not a quick fix

not a one-size fits all solution

Identifying the Problem

A Real Problem...

costs time and money

is a detriment to quality and efficiency

can create friction between team members

Finding a real problem

are there processes that are painful for the team (deployment, bug tracking...)

is subpar code regularly introduced to live environments

do you even know what’s going on?

Find one to solve

pick a problem that will solve an organizational problem (not just yours) - talk to your teammates

research options for solving this problem

decide on a solution and start mastering it

don’t bring it up to your boss yet...we’re being strategic remember

This is hard...

you’re doing this because no one else will

you HAVE to know what you’re talking about

use the time available to you

prove the problem exists and your solution fixes it

“Hey boss, we suck at this”

pointing out problems is scary

do research, back up your findings

Value facts over opinions

If you can’t prove it, you shouldn’t try to change it until you can

“This is a lot of extra work”

change implemented haphazardly is more disastrous

you want to make things better, right?

it’s less work if you’re already an expert (so start there if you can)

becoming in expert beneficial for everyone

“Houston we have our problem”

Good job!

now you have to sell it to your boss

don’t waste your effort with poor presentation

invest the time to present well

The Elevator Pitch

a short pitch on what the problem is and how you intend to fix it

don’t ramble

be professional, show tact

“2nd floor please”

the elevator pitch probably won’t get you permission

a good one shows that you care

the goal is get a “tell me more”

have a training and implementation plan ready to go!

“Tell me more...”

develop a strong visual presentation

you’ll be giving this to technical and non-technical people

use the data you found in research

take feedback and use it to make your plan better

Keep it perspective

you are responsible for bringing value to the company

good ideas are shot down all the time, it’s probably not you

it’s ok to get frustrated, it means you care

:dance:

“Great plan Johnson!”

this is a tough place to get to

having backing will help deal with uncooperative team members

you got permission, don’t be timid

use it as an opportunity to mentor

Don’t let it languish

technology changes quickly

all eyes are on you

encourage your team to go deeper

value has been added, work to keep it there

You Stay Classy San Diego

stay professional

organizational win!

:sadpanda:

Don’t give up yet

feels awful

if you can, find out why

don’t be discouraged

continue learning to make a stronger case

Feels awful

you didn’t waste your time

you proved you care, they’ll remember that

be bummed (just don’t do anything stupid)

stay grounded in reality

What did I do wrong?

Talk to the appropriate person

Build a stronger case if you need to

Get as much info as you can

“chin up kid”

don’t assume the worst

if you can use the process yourself, you should

adversity is a great motivator

Common areas for change

automated testing

test driven development

version control (sadly enough)

continuous integration

continuous deployment

coding standards

It’s your career

some places won’t change

being stuck hurts your skills

you should be able to grow at work

Know your organization

know the chain of command

understand the culture

“you went over my helmet!”