Agent of Change presentation that was delivered to Lake/Kenosha PHP User Group on Mar 19, 2013

1. Agent of Change
Matt Frost
@mfrost503
http://shortwhitebaldguy.com
https://joind.in/talk/view/8097

2. Main Goal
drive change by understanding your organization
drive change by mastering tools
drive change by excellent communication

3. Topics
preparation
presentation
dealing with success
dealing with failure

4. Why Drive Change?
no organization does everything well
will grow your skills
it’s better than complaining!

5. What this talk is NOT
not a quick fix
not a one-size fits all solution

6. Why Change doesn’t
happen
fear
misunderstanding
lack of previous change
frustrated

7. Onward and upward!
planning builds confidence
remove unwarranted fears
change has to happen

8. Identifying the Problem

9. A Real Problem...
costs time and money
is a detriment to quality and efficiency
can create friction between team members

10. 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?

11. 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

12. 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

13. “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

14. “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

15. “Houston we have our
problem”

16. 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

17. 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

18. “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!

19. “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

20. 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

21. :dance:

22. “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

23. 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

24. You Stay Classy San
Diego
stay professional
organizational
win!

25. :sadpanda:

26. Don’t give up yet
feels awful
if you can, find out why
don’t be discouraged
continue learning to make a stronger case

27. 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

28. 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

29. “chin up kid”
don’t assume the worst
if you can use the process yourself, you should
adversity is a great motivator

30. Common areas for
change
automated testing
test driven development
version control (sadly enough)
continuous integration
continuous deployment
coding standards

31. It’s your career
some places won’t change
being stuck hurts your skills
you should be able to grow at work

32. Know your organization
know the chain of
command
understand the culture
“you went over my
helmet!”