Agile Performance Improvement: The New Synergy of Agile and Human Performance Technology

"1+1=3. That is the equation that summarizes the theme of this book. The book’s message is to integrate the developmental principles of Agile with the result-focused approaches integral to performance consulting. Your outcomes in shaping human performance will be significant--and greater than if you only used one of these models. This is a book for anyone who seeks to work collaboratively with leaders to bring about continuously improving and sustainable organizational change." --Dana Gaines Robinson, coauthor of Performance Consulting

Agile Performance Improvement demonstrates the mutual benefits that accrue to the worlds of performance consulting and agile software development when the values and principles of both are blended synergistically under the guidance of practitioners skilled in both. The agile performance improvement model blends the principles of human performance technology with the frameworks and practices of Agile. The result is an approach that maximizes the value of interactions among the consultant, the work team, and the customer. Unlike traditional end-to-end waterfall processes, agile performance improvement delivers value continuously and in small increments, relentlessly focusing on outcomes of value to the customer. Building on structures of Agile that are used in software development, such as Scrum, the agile performance improvement model considers the human component of holistic solutions in establishing a continuous stream of value.

Bob Winter, a performance consultant, was the product owner for the corporate education scrum supporting an agile transition initiative for hundreds of engineering teams. From this cross-disciplinary experience, he discovered that the two cultures, two languages, and two methodologies of performance consulting and agile software development are—far from being incongruent, incompatible, or irrelevant to each other—in fact ideally suited to complement and support each other. Being agile improves the effectiveness of the performance consultant, and applying the lessons of human performance technology improves the effectiveness of software development teams.

In Agile Performance Improvement, Winter teaches performance consultants how to apply agile principles, values, and methods usefully to the tasks of optimizing human performance in areas of practice not only adjoining but also well beyond the realm of software and IT engineering, such as corporate learning solutions, human resources systems, and non-software products. Conversely, he shows engineering teams immersed in an agile environment how to boost their performance using the principles and techniques taught and cultivated by performance consultants. The author, who has worked extensively on both sides of the traditional divide, recounts entertainingly but informatively how both sparks and fur can fly when geeks encounter people people.

「1+1=3」這個方程式概括了本書的主題。本書的訊息是將敏捷開發的發展原則與專注於結果的表現諮詢方法相結合。如果僅使用其中一種模型，您在塑造人類表現方面的成果將會顯著，且超過預期。這本書適合任何希望與領導者合作，實現持續改進和可持續組織變革的人。-- Dana Gaines Robinson，《表現諮詢》共同作者

《敏捷表現改進》展示了當表現諮詢和敏捷軟體開發的價值觀和原則在熟練的從業人員的指導下相互融合時，兩者所獲得的互惠效益。敏捷表現改進模型將人類表現技術的原則與敏捷的框架和實踐相結合。其結果是一種方法，最大程度地發揮顧問、工作團隊和客戶之間的互動價值。與傳統的瀑布式流程不同，敏捷表現改進持續且以小增量交付價值，不斷關注對客戶有價值的結果。在軟體開發中使用的敏捷結構（如Scrum）為基礎，敏捷表現改進模型在建立持續價值流的過程中考慮到了整體解決方案的人類組成部分。

Bob Winter是一位表現諮詢師，曾擔任數百個工程團隊敏捷轉型計劃的企業教育Scrum的產品負責人。通過這種跨學科的經驗，他發現表現諮詢和敏捷軟體開發的兩種文化、兩種語言和兩種方法融合在一起，並非不協調、不相容或無關。實際上，它們非常適合相互補充和支持。敏捷使表現諮詢師的效能提高，而應用人類表現技術的教訓則提高了軟體開發團隊的效能。

在《敏捷表現改進》中，Winter教導表現諮詢師如何將敏捷的原則、價值觀和方法有用地應用於優化人類表現的任務，不僅限於軟體和IT工程領域，還包括企業學習解決方案、人力資源系統和非軟體產品等廣泛領域。相反，他向身處敏捷環境中的工程團隊展示了如何利用表現諮詢師所教授和培養的原則和技巧來提升他們的表現。作為在傳統分野的兩側都有豐富經驗的作者，生動而富有信息性地講述了當技術人員遇到人類相處時，火花和爭執如何產生。