Agile

Overcoming the resistance Researching and implementing new tools and the processes should be the prime responsibility and priority of a content marketer or any innovator who want to be agile. The absence of awareness and implementing courage can pay heavily as technology is improving every day. Resistance is inevitable. People are typically resistant to new software solutions and it brings behavioural changes among the users. The reason is simple, new technology challenges them to come out of comfort zone. Still, most of the content managers and documentation managers understand the value of upgrading IT solutions and infrastructures in order to stay competitive.  But this doesn’t make it any easier for users to adopt the newly rolled out software quickly. Implementing a new software that creates a paradigm shift is a difficult task, however, with the right moves, it is possible to make the process quick and harmless for the business that is adopting it.   Monitor Behaviour : When a new software is implemented in an organization, few people start using it instantly and enthusiastically, while others take the time or are not willing to switch from there old methods. It is good to monitor the behaviour of an employee after the implementation of new tools because earlier they were using an outdated software or may be working without it. Did it solve their problem, or is the new implementation easy for them to apply? When you understand where people are at the moment and how they use a software, you will be able to anticipate how they will resist the new implementation. If we know the pattern of working on a certain software, it becomes easy to know how the software is helping them, whether it is giving them trouble or they have lack of training in their approach to using the software properly.   Answering Questions : When an enterprise adopts a new IT solution many questions pop up among the employees. One must be ready to answer all of those questions very quickly and accurately. Explaining users functionalities, features and options that the software gives them are also important so that they learn how to rely on it and make their jobs easier not complicated. Employees can get frustrated when they reach a dead end, where they don’t know how to use a tool to simplify their task. In that case, it is necessary to guide them with the right methodology and answer their queries related to the software.   Creating New Habits : Habits can be more powerful motivator than the stick. Proper motivation can push the employee to take a risk and be more creative. some type of employee incentive programs can help to get people hooked on the new software. It is preferred to use weekly incentives with the employees. Rewards and bonuses for those who adapt to the new tools faster have proven to be a great strategy so far. They make it a habit to use the new software for their everyday tasks. And also start seeing all the benefits, the positive attitude quickly spreads to the rest of the company.   Build trust and relationships : Trust grows when team members feel valued and heard. Every software team believes each other enough to take purposeful risks, communicate effectively on important issues, and feel accountable and reliable. Group conversation should be enriched with every team member’s contribution. Social interactions, ice-breaking exercises, and celebrations of successes can all help cement the framework of team collaboration.   Frequent Communication : Communication is very important when you are constantly communicating with the enterprise. It includes both the management and the employees. They might completely reject the new solutions, and this could create a new spectrum of problems. Frequent communication helps to solve issues at its earliest because the answer comes at the initial stage and this refrains any disaster at the bigger level. It will also help people use the latest software willingly as they don’t have to wait for a solution and they get the issue resolved because of frequent and timely communication.   Create A Forum For Staff To Voice Issues And Frustrations : This incentive is deeply connected to the previous paragraph. One cannot always have the option of talking to everyone within an enterprise, instead, you can provide them with a place where they can all talk to each other about the new tool, share their experiences, the problems they are having with it, their concerns and so on. Generally, when talking to people directly, you can use the feedback that people have given to address their frustrations, issues, and concerns. You create a community forum where everyone can give their input. If you work well, you’ll work together on adopting the software teams.   Keep a check on Leadership, Staff, And Executives : The organisation and the software provider (or an implementation partner) need to work together on making this process adaptable and short. If there is no cooperation on either end, you won’t be able to achieve this and correctly implement the software within any team. This is why you need to check together and create a plan that will outline what needs to be done on both ends in order to achieve the ultimate goal. Make sure that everyone involved tries to complete what is on their checklists. Executives, leaders, and staff can give you vital information that may help you to approach the situation differently, and they will also be able to make certain changes more quickly than you. This is why they need to be involved as well.   Final Thought : These points can help in bringing any team together with the help of a software. It’s important that you are persistent and that you work on all of the things.  A difficult process it may seem that requires instant changes in approach, but it’s all about good communication and coordination. Though it is a fact that this might be a difficult road. It

Agile technical writer Agilism can be described as a concept, a doctrine, a philosophy, based on tenets of Agile Manifesto and Agile principles, as applied to Software Product Development. It is interesting to share that Agile principle when applied to any product development process, enhance the rate of product delivery in general, with simple, working prototypes produced early in the project lifecycle. Early prototypes ensure customer satisfaction and encourage them to actively participate in shaping the product according to need and required functionality. It provides with the opportunity to give directions, create changes according to need and ultimately, help the team to develop a product with value and maximum Return on Investment (ROI). Customer feedback helps the team to iterate, re-iterate the product in a continuous manner and help in fast, simple, and better product delivery. Cross-functional and self-organizing teams work best in this environment. Agile principles can be applied similarly to documentation product delivery, as well. Effective agile documentation is a balancing act, for an Agile document developer. The goal is to write just enough documentation, just in time and just for the right audience. Application of Agile, to product documentation in general, while working on an Agile project enabled me, to align my documentation, with the developing software product. I worked with a truly Agile team, who were fast enough in product delivery, after each iteration. My journey from a Technical Writer to an Agile Technical Writer was really hard and exciting. To catch-up with such a team and simultaneously document the features of working financial product, it was necessary to know their working styles. Application of Shu Ha Ri model – the Japanese Martial art concept of training and learning, came handy to me in Agile documentation journey. Therefore, I began to learn the basics. Enrolled myself in Agile awareness and training program in the organisation and thus started my Agile journey. This model describes stages of learning from beginner to level of mastery, this concept helped me, in learning Agile principles and gaining the skills, required to create, agile documentation and later apply the same principles to my documentation style. According to this age-old Japanese Martial Art concept: Shu– Learn and then perform actions to become the showstopper and role model, for others to follow. Ha– Innovate new styles of product deliveries, improvise, and apply Agile rules. Ri– Transcend finally with your unique style to a different level and establish your own niche. Agility is part of my daily routine now. I find myself somewhere between Shu – Ha stages where I have learned the principles of agility, and strictly and honestly following them in my style of agile documentation, with spikes, as and when required. This enabled me to gain customer confidence and produce faster, simpler, and better documentation with maximum Return on Investment (ROI) value! Following Shu Ha Ri model may also help and envision the newcomers and future aspirants of technical writing field, in gradually setting up the stage for, creating an agile mindset and equally agile working environment. Technical communication community, practitioners, as well as the young aspirants, may gear up, learn and apply the Agile methodologies in their Technical Communication during project and product documentation. They can be encouraged to learn the need of continuous iteration, through feedback and fast document delivery, according to customer requirements. Produce incremental quality documents, with minimum or no defects. This will enable them to write just enough and just required, precise documents, which are light, simple, and easy to refactor. Technical Writers and aspiring writers will get to know the nuances of writing in Agile which they would like to remember, innovate on their own, improvise, and apply to their styles of writing. They can learn to be on edge all the time, catch-up fast with changing the environment, reap the benefits of learning new tools and technologies fast, to mold themselves with emerging technologies, and adjust to the changing requirements frequently. All this could be achieved by being agile enough to pick up new techniques and methodologies and leverage them to enjoy maximum benefit. Shu Ha Ri model can enhance the quest for learning Agile methodologies, create a mindset for faster and simpler documentation and improvise further for the advantage of a technical writing community. This model urges the followers, to take a plunge in the lake of agility, hone the skill and gradually apply it to their document deliveries, while adding a dash of technology and creativity, increase expertise to an extent where they become the trailblazers, on the path of documentation. Such an environment and mindset can be created by self-motivated individuals, who really want to make difference in smoother, faster product delivery and contribute in agile transformation. They should follow Agilism, follow tenets of Agile methodologies while learning through Shu- Ha- Ri model and walk through the path of Agile learning and gain mastery in Agile documentation! If you want to learn and understand the principals of agility in documentation join Information Developers Foundation Certified Agile Technical Communication.   Author Biography Shikha Saxena Shikha Saxena is a Senior Technical Writer in HSBC Technology, Pune, India. She is actively involved in learning and applying Agile methodologies in product and business architectural documentation in financial domain. She is an active blogger on organizational intranet. Managed web content writing, editing, and publication of the same.She was a lecturer, teacher, researcher, and mentor to Science (Biochemistry) and Engineering (Biotechnology) Graduates and Post Graduates of Uttar Pradesh Technical University (UPTU), in NCR, New Delhi, India, before her global career as a Software Engineer/Technical Writer (2009).  She envisions the community in multiple ways and contributes towards making society, vibrating and lively place!