Designing a full-scale learning programme that truly drives learning transfer is no small feat. It’s far more complex than a single training event. It is this complexity that often stops people from even starting. But there’s a field that thrives on complexity: software development.
Agile software development offers a mindset L&D can borrow wholesale. Its philosophy? Start small, deliver early, adapt fast. The Agile Alliance (www.agilealliance.org) has a short manifesto and 12 principles that can easily be reinterpreted for learning design.
In 2012, Mark Zuckerberg wrote a letter to prospective shareholders in the upcoming Facebook IPO. In it he said, “We have the words ‘Done is better than perfect’ painted on our walls to remind ourselves to always keep shipping”.
That mindset of keep shipping, keep learning, is exactly what agile teams live by. Instead of waiting until your programme is ‘ready’, get a pilot version out there, test it, learn, and iterate.
Perfection is the enemy of progress. The faster you start, the faster you learn what works.
Your challenge this week: Choose a training event and ask, “How would this be different if we took an agile approach?”
