Improv Brings Improvements to WWT Standup Meetings
Wayde Stallmann of WWT shares his tips and strategies for conducting short improv activities during software delivery team standups.
Posted by the SD Times on June 28, 2017:
Companies today are expanding their collaboration efforts beyond workplace chat groups and creating software delivery teams through activities like pair programming, or group hackathons. One longtime software engineer and scrum master thinks that companies can go a step further — creating collaborative groups through improv.
Wayde Stallmann, who currently works for WWT's software arm, has convinced companies that the lessons learned from improv activities can actually go on to create great software delivery teams, and more productive and collaborative meetings.
Most people are familiar with improv troupes, or groups of actors that get together in front of a live audience. Sometimes these groups are complete strangers, and sometimes, like in the recently added Netflix original "Don't Think Twice," they are a band of comedic friends that let the audience set the stage for them, working together to craft a hilarious story.
When you bring the world of improv into a meeting, it promotes the same team player qualities of a troupe performance, according to Stallmann. He identifies these qualities as collaboration, creativity, communication, and trust.
