Agile is more than just an approach to training development. It’s a philosophy on how the learning organization operates. Without this philosophy or culture in place, Agile as a development approach is unsustainable. You might get some initial gains, but before you know it you’ll be right back where you started.
If you want Agile to be successful in the long term, then its team members must constantly be reminded of the learning group’s organizational philosophy. Training leadership must therefore ensure that the organizational mission vision and approach are over communicated. One tool that can be helpful in the over communication process is what I call the “house chart.”
The House Chart
The house chart gets its name because the graphic itself is in the shape of a house. The roof is comprised of the organization’s vision and mission. This section of the chart informs anyone viewing it why the training organization exists and where it’s going. The right pillar of the house is the “customer” section. This component of the chart clearly details who receives the products and services that the training organization provides. To the left of the customer pillar are the “customer relationship” and “channel” sections. The “customer relationship” box defines how the training team expects its employees to interact with customers. The “channel” section identifies the modes used for this interaction.
The next box in the “house chart” is the “value provided” section. This is where the organization clearly states what value customers receive from the services that the learning organization provides. This box is extremely important. If you can’t articulate the value that your training team is providing to customers, you probably have a big problem.
The next two boxes in the chart are the “key activities” and “key resources” sections. Here is where the team communicates the major activities that they must engage in, in order to provide their learning services as well as what resources (both human and physical) are required to get the job done.
To the left of the activities and resources boxes is the partner section. This is where the team communicates who they need to work with to get the job done. This section would typically list the vendors or internal groups that the learning organization must work with in order for the training to be delivered.
The base of the house is the financial section. This is where the organization articulates the costs that are associated with running the training organization and any revenue (if any) that the learning team brings in.
Harder Than You Think
The structure of the house chart is easy. Accurately completing the information that goes into each of the sections is likely be a little more challenging. You might be surprised at the divergent answers that you get from your own leadership team when you ask them the question “what value do we provide?”
Completing the chart however provides the entire organization with an “at a glance” view of every aspect of the training organization. One team that I worked with actually used the house chart during sprint retrospectives so that they could assess if the performance of the team (during that sprint) lived up to organizational expectations.
Feel free to send me any questions that you might have about how to use or how to construct a house chart at kaliym@thetrainingpro.net.
