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Expedition agility workshop

Step 1. Grab a pencil, eraser, and download the expedition agility canvas and expedition agility legenda

Step 2. Determine your starting point (A)

  • Pair up and answer the following questions: Where are you now? Why aren’t you agile (enough) yet?
  • Share the answers with the group.
  • Formulate collective answers to these questions and write them on the canvas at point A.

Step 3. Determine your travel destination (B)

  • Individually determine what B looks like. Answer the question: What does our agile organization roughly look like? What will we have achieved by then? Write these down as bullet points on one or more post-its, and optionally visualize them with a drawing.
  • Place the post-its on the canvas and group them together.
  • Formulate a collective destination and note it on the canvas at point B.

Step 4. Determine your route from A to B across the islands in the AMIGOS model

Determine Challenges

  • Brainstorm by having everyone individually write their challenges on post-its. What’s holding you back on the way to B? What are the biggest challenges facing multiple teams?
  • Place the post-its on a wall and group them together.
  • Prioritize the different groups of ideas using dot-voting.
  • Select the challenge(s) you want to address this quarter. What would be a good first step? Where is the core issue? Write this on post-its and place them next to the theme for this quarter (=Q).

Determine Solutions

  • Brainstorm in groups of three about solutions: Which island(s) are needed to help solve the challenge(s) for this quarter? Where is the core issue? Use the legend to identify the relevant island(s).
  • In this trio, decide which treasures and/or ballast from the chosen island(s) are relevant. Use the legend for guidance. Write down the treasures and/or ballast you want to use on post-its and place them on the canvas next to the relevant island in the Q column.
  • In a plenary session, choose which treasures and/or ballast best align with this quarter’s challenge using dot-voting.

Start doing!

  • Decide together whether the message in a bottle attached to the chosen treasure/ballast can work effectively. Alternatively, agree on a different work method/action to implement the treasure/ballast. Describe:
    • The acceptance criteria for this action.
    • How to recognize when the result is achieved and how it will be measured.
    • Who will be involved in the implementation.
    • Who will give and how often feedback is needed, and with whom the results will be reviewed and evaluated.
    • Who will participate in the review/evaluation? When?

Quarters Q+1 and Q+2

  • Repeat the steps for Q+1 and Q+2 (excluding the “Start doing!” step).

Next Steps

  • Agree together on the process for Step 5. When will we evaluate and adjust the Agility Expedition canvas? How often will this be done per quarter? And who should be present at these sessions?

Step 5. Evaluate, learn, and adjust your route
This step is conducted in separate sessions once the quarter is underway. We recommend doing this twice per quarter.

  • Discuss what was learned during the past quarter. Use the questions at the end of the chapters of the islands you visited.
  • Determine together whether new insights require additions or adjustments to point A. Note these adjustments at point A.
  • Repeat the previous step for point B.
  • Ask everyone to raise their hand if they believe the steps outlined for the next quarter (Q+1) are still valid.
  • If multiple hands are not raised, go back to Step 4 to redefine the steps.
  • Repeat the two steps above for Q+2.
  • Determine together the next evaluation moment.
    Is the frequency still appropriate? Do we have the right AMIGOS on board?