Adding Buzz Reports

SELF-ORGANIZING TEAMS WHO LEARN TOGETHER, AND GROW TOGETHER. THE TECHNIQUE OF “BUZZ REPORTS” CAN HELP ANY TEAM DRIVE LEARNING, AND CURIOSITY, AND INSPIRE NEW DIRECTIONS FOR INNOVATION.

What are Buzz Reports?

Buzz reports are a collection of information about learnings and changes in the world around the team that are shared on a regular basis amongst team members. They often come from tangential, peripheral, or unexpected sources. The “Buzz,” that goes on around the world is a good source of information for new innovation opportunities.

How to Get Started:

• Allocate regular time to explore the latest in various sources

  • Regularly schedule a time to seek out the buzz from any available source. There is an Extreme Programming practice called “slack” in which every team member creates a task in planning that will be of their own choosing. This could be things like personal development, refactoring, research time, book clubs, etc. Implementing this as a practice on your team, would allow time for exploration of the “Buzz"." The buzz can include anything from websites, TED talks, lectures, blogs, news reports, podcasts, etc.

• Browse through sources of information for the latest Buzz

  • Keep an open mind and browse through different sources of information. It does not have to directly impact the project or product you are currently working on. The most important factor is that it’s something the team members find interesting themselves and are potentially passionate about. This should be organic and not mandated.

• Aggregate and Share Findings

  • Aggregate findings into a set of shared documents (buzz reports) that are easily accessible to all members of the team. A catchy headline and summary should be enough to get going. Similar to a user story, it should be a placeholder for a conversation. Collecting on a team wiki can be a convenient way to keep track of submission dates and prep for the next retro.

• Discuss during Retros (or any other appropriate time)

  • Kicking off the retro with buzz reports is a fun way to share knowledge the team is interested in and can lead to more ideas for your retros. Potential outcomes could be things the team wants to add as a team goal, process or technical improvement item, or even new product ideas. It can also aid in overall team building.

Tips for using Lean Agile Intelligence with Buzz Reports

• Add items discussed that already exist in the platform or as new custom practices in the builder where applicable

  • For example, if there is a new technique that someone on the team read about, the team can create the criteria themselves and add it to their team backlog.

• Add Notes

  • When taking an assessment with LAI, add learnings from buzz reports as notes for any practice that applies. 

• Track Metrics

  • If something comes up in the buzz report that could potentially be a metric, add it as a metric to track for short and long-term goals in the results section of the platform.

In Conclusion:

In conclusion, self-organizing teams that learn and grow together are crucial for innovation and success in today's fast-paced world. Buzz reports are an excellent technique for driving learning, and curiosity, and inspiring new directions for innovation. By allocating regular time to explore various sources, browsing through different information sources, aggregating and sharing findings, and discussing during retros or appropriate times, teams can foster an environment of continuous learning and improvement. Using lean agile intelligence with buzz reports can also help teams add new techniques to their backlog, add notes for any applicable practice, and track potential metrics for short and long-term goals. Overall, buzz reports are a simple yet powerful tool that can help any team stay up-to-date with the latest buzz and drive innovation.