Temperature Reading

• Presenters: Marko van der Puil & Jan Bakker
• Type: Tutorial
• Duration: 90 minutes
• Audience: Managers, Coaches, Customers and Developers looking to improve team communication

Abstract

A Temperature Reading is an easy to adopt tool. It was created by Virginia Satir; A family therapist whose work is finding its way into software development and management. It offers a surprisingly strong and solid way to receive and respond to information about a teams' functioning. Temperature Reading can help a team create a positive and safe atmosphere that is a joy to work in and has unprecedented levels of efficiency and production.

Introduction

Have you ever undone some team members work? Have you ever had a team where people worked at cross-purposes? Have you had team members "sending signals" and then quitting in disgust because nobody picked them up? Have you ever wondered who or what you were building this system for? Have you ever wondered about the amount of rumors in your company? We have and that is why we have embraced Temperature Reading as an effective team communication technique. Temperature Readings can improve these issues, and most importanty address respect. The newest and latest XP value. As seen in the second edition of eXtreme Programming Explained.

Structure

A Temperature Reading is a regularly held team meeting that is made up of five clearly defined parts. Each part has its own set of rules or protocol to follow and serves as a stage to the participants to express themselves on. This helps participants focus on positive and constructive feedback. Boosting each others energy, not draining it.

This is the structure of a temperature reading, that we will follow in this tutorial also:

1. Specific Appreciations

Appreciations help you strengthen valuable behaviour of individual team members. Appreciations allow you to give positive feedback in a sincere manner, without risk of falling into cliches or misinterpretation. Appreciations will help your team feel valuable and appreciated.

New information enables you to structurally share information around the team that is vital, valuable or interresting. This inspires new ideas and new lines of thought. Acting on the shared information will make team members feel they are being listened to and that they truly contribute to the team or the company.

Puzzles allow you to stop rumors and reduce fear. Puzzles also make it possible to clear up misunderstandings or mistaken assumptions. Finally, puzzels stimulate the team to think and ask questions, which will lead you to more valuable answers.

Complaints with Recommandations give the team the ability to address problems and quickly find viable solutions for them. It allows for addressing the negative and turning it straight into the postive.

Goals, Hopes and Wishes will focus the teams positive energy in the shared direction and launch the team into the next iteration with eagerness.

A facilitator can guide the group through the Temperature Reading, ensuring that adequate time is allowed for each part. Any member of the group can serve as facilitator. If you want, different team members can be facilitators each time so that each can gain experience at it. Later you won't need a facilitator anymore.

Benefits of attending

Learn about a tool that can help you create a more communicative and secure environment for your team.

What will the organisers learn

Organisers hope to learn of other people's views and interrests in Temperature Reading. Organisers hope to improve their Temperature Reading skills. Organisers hope to learn more about introducing Temperature Reading in teams and organisations.

Session Outline

Each detailed study consists of a short introduction to each aspect of the temperature reading say 3 to 5 minutes. We give people some pointers or a protocol they can follow. Then we can choose to do some role playing (voluntary) to have participants experience this aspect themselves. Some simulations are run in groups. Others are run centrally, giving out some sketches of a situations' outline and end with feedback.

• 00 - 10 Introduction and welcome
• 10 - 20 Detailed study: Specific Appreciations
• 20 - 30 Detailed study: New information
• 40 - 50 Detailed study: Puzzles
• 50 - 60 Short break
• 60 - 70 Detailed study: Complaints with recommendations
• 70 - 80 Detailed study: Goals, Hopes and wishes
• 80 - 90 Discussion and wrap up.

Outputs

Session output will be shared on-line at the conference wiki.

History

We, the presenters, have been running Temperature Readings in our company on a weekly basis. It has added significant value to our team. It has made our company a warmer and safer place to work. Temperature readings have given each and every employee the stage to voice their opinions and ideas. We have greater respect and understanding of each induviduals' needs, wants and drives. We have build a shared vision of the future of our company. We deal with problems and challenges more efficiently without hurting each others feelings.