The ktatatogrow exercise, originally developed by Mike Rother is a great one to practice in your teams, with managers or boards to develop experimentation and conscious learning. Coupled with some examples of its applicability in a digital context from my last 10 years' of experience as an agile DevOps coach. Read more about our experiments with TOYOTA KATA at leanadvantage.co.uk

1. SCIENTIFIC
THINKING FOR
AGILE TEAMS -
THROUGH PRACTICE
ANDREA DARABOS
2 9 T H M A R C H L O N D O N , AC E - A S O S

2. • What is scientific thinking? What is KATA?
• Why is it relevant?
• Introduction to TOYOTA KATA
• Let’s practice
• Questions
Agenda
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3. WE RUN ON AUTOMATIC HABITS
3
Photo: http://bit.ly/2neUo4H
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4. WE ARE PRONE TO BIAS AND
JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS
4
• Information bias
• Confirmation bias
• Blind spot bias
Article: http://bit.ly/2nf2JoN
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5. SCIENTIFIC THINKING
5
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By Mike Rother

6. 6
Kata are also practice
routines that help you
adopt new ways of acting
and thinking.
KATA ARE PRACTICE ROUTINES
By Mike Rother
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7. CHALLENGES IN
AGILE TEAMS
LACK OF SCIENTIFIC
THINKING LEADS TO

8. FEATURES LIKE THIS…

9. CHALLENGES IN
AGILE TEAMS
WE TEND TO JUMP TO
CONCLUSIONS ON WHAT
FEATURES TO BUILD
RETROS LIKE THIS…

10. Today we'll practice
the pattern of the
It's a scientific routine
for achieving complex
challenges
www.katatogrow.com

11. Conduct
Experiments
to get there
Grasp the
Current
Condition
Establish
your Next
Target
Condition
Get the
Direction or
Challenge
1
2
3
4
THE FOUR STEPS OF
THE IMPROVEMENT KATA
www.katatogrow.com

12. For this exercise we'll build
this 15-piece puzzle
several times, and experiment with ways
to do it faster
www.katatogrow.com
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13. Do the entire
exercise without the
puzzle frame
Go ahead and build
the puzzle one time!
Put the Frame
Aside
• Study the picture.
• Remove the puzzle pieces from the frame.
• Put the frame aside.
• Build the puzzle once, without timing it.
www.katatogrow.com
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14. Choose aTeam Name
Select a Data
Recorder
à Write your team name
on the forms in the kit
Select aTimekeeper
à Each to have a phone timer
THREE THINGS TO DO NEXT:
www.katatogrow.com
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15. GROUND RULES
(1) "START Position" =
- Puzzle pieces shuffled in random order
- Pieces face down in one stack
- Hands flat on the table
- No talking, you're ready to go
(2) All Teams Start Together
a. Instructor calls "START"
b. Build the puzzle (talking allowed)
c. Note the elapsed time on your form
(3) Don't Write on the Puzzle
www.katatogrow.com
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16. LET'S ESTABLISH A
BASELINE TIME FOR YOUR TEAM
Record
your times
here
Use
this
form
www.katatogrow.com
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17. Now let's do
the four steps of
the Improvement Kata
www.katatogrow.com
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18. Conduct
Experiments
to get there
Grasp the
Current
Condition
Establish
your Next
Target
Condition
Get the
Direction or
Challenge
1
Step 1:
UNDERSTAND THE CHALLENGE
10
SECONDS
www.katatogrow.com

19. Key Points About:
UNDERSTANDING THE CHALLENGE
• We often face challenges in
life. No need to worry,
because you don't need to
get all the way there right
away!
• A challenge often even gives
us a useful sense of direction
and alignment.
www.katatogrow.com
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20. Conduct
Experiments
to get there
Grasp the
Current
Condition
Establish
your Next
Target
Condition
Get the
Direction or
Challenge
Step 2:
GRASP THE CURRENT CONDITION
2
What was your
team's last
baseline time?
www.katatogrow.com

21. • It's important to understand
where you currently are, before
you set your next goal.
• Don't pull goals randomly out of
the air. A team should feel like
its goals are meaningful.
Key Points About:
GRASPING THE CURRENT CONDITION
www.katatogrow.com
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22. Conduct
Experiments
to get there
Grasp the
Current
Condition
Establish
your Next
Target
Condition
Get the
Direction or
Challenge
Step 3:
ESTABLISH YOUR NEXT
TARGET CONDITION
3
www.katatogrow.com

23. • Break a big challenge down
into smaller goals.
• Set an easier and closer goal
that's on the way to your
challenge.When you get
there you can set the next
goal.
Key Points About:
ESTABLISHING YOUR NEXT
TARGET CONDITION
www.katatogrow.com
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24. What puzzle build
time does your team
want to reach by the
end of today's class?
Conduct
Experiments
to get there
Grasp the
Current
Condition
Establish
your Next
Target
Condition
Get the
Direction or
Challenge
LET'S DEFINE YOUR TEAM'S
NEXT TARGET CONDITION
www.katatogrow.com
We can do four(4) rounds of experimenting today

25. www.katatogrow.com

26. LET'S ASK EACH TEAM
www.katatogrow.com
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27. D;#)%B:==%E+,%.+F%
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5!
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9#)#%:-%);"%<=#77>++$%?%@#)#)+A>+BC8+$%
DRAW YOUR TARGET CONDITION LINE
ON THE 'EXPERIMENTING' FORM
T
C
www.katatogrow.com
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28. Conduct
Experiments
to get there
Grasp the
Current
Condition
Establish
your Next
Target
Condition
Get the
Direction or
Challenge
Step 4:
CONDUCT EXPERIMENTS
TO GET THERE
4
www.katatogrow.com

29. • We need to test the ideas we
have via experiments.
• To learn from an experiment
you should write down what
you expect and what actually
happens, so you can compare
those two things.
Key Points About:
EXPERIMENTING TO GET THERE
www.katatogrow.com
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30. HOW WE'LL EXPERIMENT
3 Minutes per Round
Instructor calls "START"
Build the puzzle
Note the elapsed time on your form
Based on what happened, discuss what
you plan to do next
Write ideas you want to test onto the form
www.katatogrow.com

31. D;#)%B:==%E+,%.+F%
!"
!"
!"
D;#)%B:==%E+,%.+F%
!"
!"
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D;#)%B:==%E+,%.+F%
!"
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2GH">:$"-)%%I%
!"#$%&#$"'%
(#)"'% 2JK2*4L2&!4&M%%
2GH">:$"-)%%N% 2GH">:$"-)%%O% 2GH">:$"-)%%P% 2GH">:$"-)%%Q% 2GH">:$"-)%%R%
25!
30!
35!
40!
45!
50!
25!
30!
35!
40!
45!
50!
25!
30!
35!
40!
45!
50!
25!
30!
35!
40!
45!
50!
25!
30!
35!
40!
45!
50!
25!
30!
35!
40!
45!
50!
<;#-A"% <;#-A"% <;#-A"% <;#-A"% <;#-A"% <;#-A"%
(Before)
Write down
the next ideas
you want to
test
(After)
Write in how
much the
time changed
compared to
the last round
(After)
Mark the
elapsed
time
THE EXPERIMENTING FORM
What to record in each round
www.katatogrow.com

32. D;#)%B:==%E+,%.+F%
!"
!"
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D;#)%B:==%E+,%.+F%
!"
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D;#)%B:==%E+,%.+F%
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2GH">:$"-)%%N% 2GH">:$"-)%%O% 2GH">:$"-)%%P% 2GH">:$"-)%%Q% 2GH">:$"-)%%R%
40!
45!
50!
40!
45!
50!
40!
45!
50!
40!
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50!
40!
45!
50!
<;#-A"% <;#-A"% <;#-A"% <;#-A"% <;#-A"% <;#-A"%
PLEASE PLAN YOUR FIRST EXPERIMENT
Write the ideas you want to test next
on your 'Experimenting' form
Write
down the
ideas you
want to
test
www.katatogrow.com
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33. www.katatogrow.com

34. AFTER EACH EXPERIMENT
WE'LL REFLECT
After each round we'll ask one team
this set of Reflection Questions
www.katatogrow.com
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35. GET READY
FOR THE NEXT ROUND
3 Minutes per Round
Instructor calls "START"
Build the puzzle
Note the elapsed time on your form
Discuss what you plan to do next
Write ideas you want to test onto the form
----------
Time's up...
We will ask the Reflection Questions
Get into START Position (timekeeper raise hand)
www.katatogrow.com
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36. www.katatogrow.com

37. What are the four steps
of the Improvement Kata
approach?
Where else can we use
the four-step pattern of
the Improvement Kata?
www.katatogrow.com

38. andrea@leanadvantage.co.uk
Resources
Mike Rother: TOYOTA KATA
Katatogrow game: http://bit.ly/2nJFW8s
Advanced lean and kata training - email us at
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