Beyond Functional Silos
With Communities of
Practice
Brian Bozzuto
&
Dennis Stevens
Our Journey
What We’re Going to Talk
About…
!   What is a Community of Practice?
!   Why Would You Use A Community of Practice?
!   How Would you Go About Starting a Community of
Practice?
Two Early Examples
Chrysler
!   1988, Chrysler re-
organized from a
functional hierarchy to
one structured around
product lines
!   “Tech clubs” were
originally informal groups
of engineers around a
given domain (i.e. brakes)
Xerox
!   Initially started as
informal gatherings
among field technicians
!   Eventually grew to an
online database and
forum of experiences,
knowledge, and problem
resolutions
Definition of a Community of Practice
Domain
Practice
Community
• A common purpose
and experience
• People actively working
in the domain looking
to share and get
support
• A social network of
people
Comparing Organizational
Structures
Functional
Silo
Center of
Excellence
Community
of Practice
Formal Hierarchy
Structured
Department
Informal Peer
Groups
People working in
Domain
Abstract knowledge
on topic
People working in
Domain
Goal is Business
Outcomes
Goal is technical
mastery
Goal is knowledge
acquisition
People join based
on title / position
People join based
on a job or expertise
Members self-select
Differing Levels of Participation
Coordinator
Core Group
Active
Peripheral
Community Infrastructure
Virtual
!   Discussion boards & Email
!   Wikis & Activity Feeds
!   Webinars
!   Coordination Meetings
Face to Face
!   Brown bag lunches
!   Off site meetings
!   Regularly scheduled forums
!   Community Vision and
Planning
You most likely want a blend of different mediums to
compliment the diversity of people in your community
Formality of Communities
!
Unrecognized – tacit community, members not even
aware
!
Bootlegged – small community operating
unbeknownst to most in the organization
!
Legitimized – officially recognized by the organization
!
Supported – supported materially by the organization
!
Institutionalized – built into the processes of the
organization
The Uses of Communities of
Practice
Some Case Studies
Project Management Institute
“Deliver Value Now”
Domain: Helping project
managers thrive using agile
techniques
Community: 16,000 PMI
members who have joined the
community world wide
Practice:
•
•
•
•
Experience reports
Internal agile projects
Online content
Presence at conferences
Various Organizations Implementing Agile
“Establish a Shared Vision & Make Meaning”
Domain: Helping Scrum Masters
figure out their role and how to
be effective
Community: ScrumMasters and
other interested members of
Agile teams
Practice:
•
•
•
•
•
Joint problem solving
Research projects
Experience sharing
Peer coaching
Traveling facilitation
Transformation Teams
“Be Open to Evolution Over Time”
Domain: Management learning their
role as facilitators of change and
mentors
Community: Functional Managers,
Subject Matter Experts, and interested
members from teams
Practice:
•
•
•
•
Assess impediments
Provide coordinated
coaching and support
Share change strategies,
success and failures
Explore interdependencies
between functional silos
Starting a Community of
Practice
Some Case Studies
Path to Convening a Community
!   Engage potential members
!   Establish a shared vision
!   Recruit a core group of active members and establish
the supporting infrastructure
!   Find a fast path to deliver value
!   Design the community to adapt to emerging needs
Community Canvas Example
Key Partnerships: Key Activities:
•
What people or
groups are
external to the
community but of
paramount value?
•
•
How will the
community
interact?
What will they
do?
Value Prop.:
Relationships:
•
•
•
WIFM? (May vary
by member)
What can this
offer, that other
avenues can’t?
•
•
How are people
related?
Formal /
Informal?
Boss, Peer, Other?
Key Resources:
Channels:
•
•
What resources
are available to be
brought to bear?
Revenue (Value) Streams:
•
•
•
•
•
PMI Members
looking to learn
more about Agile
How will people
interact?
Cost Structure:
What is the cost of this community both financial and
non-financial?
How much does a community member pay (in time,
frustration, distraction, etc.) in order to be a part of this
community?
Member
Segments:
What value are people getting out of being part of this
community?
What value does the organization get by supporting this
community?
Community Canvas Example
Key Partnerships: Key Activities:
•
What people or
groups are
external to the
community but of
paramount value?
•
•
How will the
community
interact?
What will they
do?
Value Prop.:
Relationships:
•
•
•
WIFM? (May vary
by member)
What can this
offer, that other
avenues can’t?
•
•
How are people
related?
Formal /
Informal?
Boss, Peer, Other?
Key Resources:
Channels:
•
•
What resources
are available to be
brought to bear?
Domain
Revenue (Value) Streams:
•
•
•
•
•
PMI Members
looking to learn
more about Agile
How will people
interact?
Cost Structure:
What is the cost of this community both financial and
non-financial?
How much does a community member pay (in time,
frustration, distraction, etc.) in order to be a part of this
community?
Member
Segments:
What value are people getting out of being part of this
community?
What value does the organization get by supporting this
community?
Community Canvas Example
Key Partnerships: Key Activities:
•
What people or
groups are
external to the
community but of
paramount value?
Practice
•
•
How will the
community
interact?
What will they
do?
Value Prop.:
Relationships:
•
•
•
WIFM? (May vary
by member)
What can this
offer, that other
avenues can’t?
•
•
How are people
related?
Formal /
Informal?
Boss, Peer, Other?
Key Resources:
Channels:
•
•
What resources
are available to be
brought to bear?
Revenue (Value) Streams:
•
•
•
•
•
PMI Members
looking to learn
more about Agile
How will people
interact?
Cost Structure:
What is the cost of this community both financial and
non-financial?
How much does a community member pay (in time,
frustration, distraction, etc.) in order to be a part of this
community?
Member
Segments:
What value are people getting out of being part of this
community?
What value does the organization get by supporting this
community?
Community Canvas Example
Key Partnerships: Key Activities:
•
What people or
groups are
external to the
community but of
paramount value?
•
•
How will the
community
interact?
What will they
do?
Value Prop.:
Relationships:
•
•
•
WIFM? (May vary
by member)
What can this
offer, that other
avenues can’t?
•
•
How are people
related?
Formal /
Informal?
Boss, Peer, Other?
Key Resources:
Channels:
•
•
What resources
are available to be
brought to bear?
How will people
interact?
Cost Structure:
Revenue (Value) Streams:
•
•
•
What is the cost of this community both financial and
non-financial?
How much does a community member pay (in time,
frustration, distraction, etc.) in order to be a part of this
community?
•
Member
Segments:
•
PMI Members
looking to learn
more about Agile
Community
What value are people getting out of being part of this
community?
What value does the organization get by supporting this
community?
Community Canvas Example - PMI
Key Partnerships: Key Activities:
•
•
•
•
Agile Alliance
Scrum Alliance
Sponsors
PMI-ACP Group
•
•
•
Regular webinars
Manage PMI
relationship
Volunteer teams
pursuing new
initiatives
Key Resources:
•
•
•
New volunteers
(burn out)
Web Platform
Webinar Platform
Value Prop.:
Relationships:
•
•
•
•
Experts –
opportunity to
show their skills
& get business
Practitioners –
build network, get
experience
New to Agile – get
support and
trusted
information
•
Group of
committed
volunteers
Most members
don’t have
established
relationships
Channels:
•
•
•
•
Revenue (Value) Streams:
•
•
•
•
Domain – PMI
members looking to
apply Agile practice in
their work
•  Experts
•  Practitioners
•  New to Agile
Webinars
Online Site
Emails
Conferences
Cost Structure:
Cost of web presence
Travel to conferences
Member
Segments:
Increased retention of PMI Members (difficult to
measure)
Sponsorship revenue
Key Questions to Jumpstart
Your Community
!   What makes this a clear community?
!   How can the community deliver value now?
!   Who can help you build and sustain this?
Thank You!
Brian Bozzuto
bbozzuto@bigvisible.com
BigVisible
Dennis Stevens
dennis@leadingagile.com
Leading Agile
Additional Resources
!
http://www.ewenger.com
!
http://wenger-trayner.com