CREATING GREAT STANDS: A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO CREATING A TEAM’S MOST VALUABLE TOOL DFA Coaches DoLE Team

Agile Project Management Approach to managing a project that is completed in iterations, which are then critiqued by the project team and its stakeholders. The insights gained through critique then give the project direction for the next phase. This method allows for fast, deliverable iterations that provide value to the client.

What are Stands? Stands are a simple and quick agile project management method that improves communication, accountability, and facilitates project progress through setting concise, measurable, and attainable goals for your design team

Why Stands??

Common Team Problems Accountability Efficient communication Operating within project scope Identifying problems or potential problems Reaching out for help

Common Studio Problems Tracking DFA Teams: Are they making progress? Are they working within scope? Do they need guidance? Critiquing Incorporating Stands, ideally via LOFT, will allow Studio Leads to track the progress of their DFA Teams, which makes for a more effective mechanism to critique and helps to mitigate stagnant projects

Why Should I Care? Design teams often overlook the process, and focus more on the product, which leads to long-term problems. By communicating project progress early and often, through Stands, your design team will be able to set attainable goals and not overstep the scope of each week. Stands will also help to surface success, and allow those who accomplish their goals to be gratified.

What do “good goals” look like? Good goals are specific, measurable, and attainable. Examples are provided below: Bad Example: “In the next week we will research design teams and meet with our client, as well as potential interviewees” Good Example: “In the next week, we will spend 2 hours (max) doing observations on DFA design teams in order to see if there are existing solutions to the problem. We will meet with our client to find out what their biggest pain, or need, is. Interview 5 Studio Leads [of DFA design teams] to establish an expert model of facilitation among DFA design teams”

Crafting the Stand The Stand will consist of four main questions that will be answered at team meetings (Stands at each meeting will provide the best results) Team Level Question: facilitator will help the group answer this question 1. What are your current goals, and are you on track to achieve those goals? Individual Questions: each team member will answer the following 1. What specific progress have you made towards your goal since last Stand? 2. What will you accomplish between now, and the next Stand? 3. What are the major obstacles stopping you from achieving your goal before the next meeting?

Crafting the Stand Make sure to designate a team member to record the answers to each question. This will ensure that progress is tracked, and if any issues arise that need additional attention, they receive that attention. On that note, it is important to review Stands and their implications. The Stands can be used to track personal progress, as well as team progress, so don’t let them go to waste.

Crafting the Stand Step 1: Stand Up (but not yet, go ahead and familiarize yourself with the process, and then start here when you’re done) Yes, that’s where the name comes from, and, yes, that sounds elementary, but the reason behind the “standing meeting” is to keep it short and sweet. Once you get used to the process, answers will become more precise due to this simple mechanism. The Stand should be a maximum of 15 minutes long.

Crafting the Stand Step 2: Team Level Question Q1: What are your current goals, and are you on track to achieve those goals? Checklist: 1. Make sure everyone is on the same page with the goal at hand (it possible for this to change since the last meeting) 2. Is the team on track? a. Yes or No b. If no, revise your method of achieving the goal, or simply revise the goal so that it becomes attainable (this is not a bad solution) 3. Does your goal provide value to the user? a. What is that value, and what does it look like?

Example Q1 Answer For superficial, initial user research, the sprint goal might look something this for Question 1: Through interviews (2 per team member), assess the current organizational structure of DFA Teams, and find the pains and gains of being in their specific structure. (i.e. what type of leadership style works best within teams and their studios)

Crafting the Stand Step 3: Individual Question 1 Q2: What specific progress have you made towards your goal since last Stand? Checklist: 1. Be specific: provide details about the progress you have made 2. Was this what you intended to achieve? a. Yes or No b. Briefly explain what worked and what didn’t

Example Q2 Answer I have effectively ed two DFA team members, X from NU and Y from U of C. X has responded and approved of an in person interview on Wed. at noon, at their respective studio, and Y has yet to respond to my . I am sending a follow up with Y today.

Crafting the Stand Step 4: Individual Question 2 Q3: What will you accomplish between now, and the next Stand? Checklist: 1. Good goals are specific, measurable, and attainable (it’s okay to make goals smaller, in order to accomplish them by next meeting) 2. Explain how you will accomplish this task, not simply what the task is (being specific not only allows you to have a more refined vision, but it also helps to provide boundaries)

Example Q3 Answer I will have interviewed X from NU at their respective DFA Studio, and have a list of their pains and gains. Along with a list of their pains and gains, I will know how their Studio is organized and their leadership style within.

Crafting the Stand Step 5: Individual Question 3 Q4: What are the major obstacles stopping you from achieving your goal before the next meeting? Checklist: 1. Clearly identify the obstacle and why it exists 2. Brainstorm solutions to the problem 3. Explain how you will approach the obstacle 4. Identify if you need external help a. If you need help, figure out whom you need help from and reach out. Include this information in your Stand report.

LOFT

Leadership Studio Implementation 1. Rob will give short presentation of deliverable (~10min) At each step, Rob will have a small dialog with the studio 2. Studio Teams work on crafting their own Stands Via the LOFT, students will enter their Stands Rob will be able critique Stands via LOFT 3. Studio Teams will then write a critique of another team This step will be important in implementing Stands 4. Studio Leads will be able to take what they have learned back to their respective studio

Why Leadership Studio? Makes deliverable scalable Studio Leads are excited to “do design” Integrated into current studio training

The Benefits of Incorporating Stands Increased accountability & communication Surfaces problems early and often Allows for flexibility in the project scope Transferable across all DFA platforms Studio Leads can track and critique more effectively DFA Teams know when to ask for help Embedded into existing project training