In software development, continuous learning and skill enhancements are key to staying ahead. At VMware Tanzu Labs (formerly Pivotal Labs), we not only develop exceptional software, but we also prioritize enabling our customers to do the same. With a focus on measurable progress and collaborative learning, our systematic approach to skills enablement ensures that individuals and teams are equipped with the knowledge and expertise to excel in software delivery. In this article, we'll delve into the importance of our approach, explore the challenges faced, and highlight the tools and strategies we employ to track and measure progress.
Enablement through delivery
A core principle of ours is that better software results from enabling and empowering diverse teams with the necessary knowledge, shared context, psychological safety, and decision-making authority to drive accelerated progress.
Fundamentally, we believe that enablement happens through delivery. Having our client teams work alongside us on real-world projects—their context, but in our environment—allows them to experience the intricacies of high-performance software delivery, including collaborating among diverse teams, adapting to evolving requirements, and measuring impact. Our Tanzu Labs consultants guide and support our client practitioners throughout these projects, ensuring they gain invaluable experience and learnings that can help them improve their craft forever. By witnessing the impact of new ways of working, client practitioners experience eureka moments that reinforce their learnings and motivate them to sustain these practices. For example, we worked with a client whose product backlog consisted of around 35 percent bugs; this was really demotivating for the engineers and also made it very difficult for the team to be able to provide reliable delivery estimates on the new features—after all, how long does it take to fix a bug? Within weeks of working with us and maintaining strict discipline when it came to automated testing, the client engineers saw the percentage of bugs fall to zero, and the lead time for new features became much more predictable. From then on, it was always tests before code.
During the early phase of a typical engagement, our Tanzu Labs consultants usually drive most of the work, the conversations, facilitating discussions, and decision-making activities. We call this the I do phase, as we want to give our client team members the opportunity to participate and learn key principles and practices. Gradually, over the course of the engagement, we transition to the We do phase and then, finally, the You do phase so that our client team members also get the opportunity to lead the practices themselves, gaining confidence through repeated experimentation and fast feedback. We also work with stakeholders to begin introducing new team members during the You do phase so that the client practitioners get the opportunity to safely experiment with enabling others and begin scaling the delivery model while the Tanzu Labs consultants provide support to ensure delivery momentum is not lost.
Building a foundation for enablement success
The skills enablement journey begins by setting clear learning goals that provide direction for individuals and create a framework for growth. Aligning individuals and their mentors on these goals is essential for identifying and offering suitable learning opportunities.
But great software is usually built by teams, not just individuals. Therefore, we need to have a holistic view of a team’s learning progress and proficiency. By tracking data on individuals’ progress toward those goals, stakeholders can make more informed decisions around the support the team might need, when and how a team might be reconfigured, or its readiness to impact adjacent teams. As consultants, having this data enables us to advise our clients more effectively.
However, we should acknowledge that each individual and each discipline on a software team will have different goals and learning styles. Overcoming these challenges requires finding a balance between standardization and flexibility. We must also acknowledge that learning is not a linear process and that occasional setbacks are inevitable. Sometimes, taking a step back before moving forward is necessary for more sustainable growth. Finally, learning opportunities may be infrequent, depending on the product context, or they might vary across roles. Recognizing these challenges and adapting our approach accordingly allows us to create an inclusive and effective skills enablement system.
Tracking and measuring progress
To track enablement progress, we employ a range of tools and techniques that provide comprehensive insights into individuals' growth. This would be some form of customized skills matrix, which outlines the core skills to be acquired and defines different levels of competency. This matrix serves as a reference for evaluation purposes. To conduct individual evaluations, our consultants engage in regular one-on-one mentorship conversations with their client counterparts based around the skills matrix. These discussions cover various aspects, such as aligning on goals and priorities, exchanging feedback, and documenting evidence of progress, and serve as a safe space where practitioners can reflect and self-evaluate.
One form of this tool that we often deploy is our discipline-specific enablement Trello boards. These boards list cards related to principles and practices we aim for our clients to adopt throughout the engagement. By prioritizing and moving cards across different columns—learning, doing, and teaching—we can visualize progress over time and provide clients with artifacts they can share with their managers or mentors.
An example of an enablement Trello board for product managers. Tanzu Labs uses similar boards for product designers and software engineers.
In addition to these tracking tools, we might provide learning resources such as books, videos, articles, online tutorials, and our own published playbooks and guides for product management, design, and software engineering anchors. These resources enable clients to continue their learning journey even after our engagement ends. We also practice what we preach by utilizing similar tools to track our own career progression within Tanzu Labs!
Learn more
By fostering a collaborative learning environment and emphasizing the practical application of new skills, we consistently witness the transformational impact on our client practitioners. Our approach recognizes that engagement with us is just a part of an ongoing journey, where continuous improvement is essential. The systematic nature of our skills enablement approach ensures that participants receive a structured and well-rounded learning experience. By covering core concepts, providing hands-on practice, and promoting a culture of continuous improvement, we equip individuals and teams with the necessary skills to excel in software delivery. This approach promotes consistency, scalability, and effectiveness in skills development, ultimately driving success in the ever-changing landscape of software development. Learn more about Tanzu Labs.
