Seeking improvement and receiving feedback

In XPv2, Kent Beck identifies improvement as a principle. He says "there is no perfect process, there is no perfect design, there are no perfect stories. You can, however, perfect your process, your design, and your stories". You can also perfect yourself.

It's important to learn and improve. I want to continually improve as a team member, as a scrum master, as a coach, and as a person.

Feedback is a value of XP that provides a mechanism which facilitates improvement. Don't be afraid to ask someone for feedback. However, recognise that it takes courage to provide feedback, so make it easy for that person to give you feedback. If it's general feedback you want, try explaining what motivates you and demotivates you. If you have your own ideas on areas in which you could improve volunteer that information.

When receiving feedback, listen actively and receive it genuinely without being defensive. Seek explanations and specific examples and show your appreciation by following at least some of the advice. You should endeavour to make visible improvements based on the feedback.


Tags: agile

posted by Simon Baker @ permalink
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