Transitioning to Agile: Step 1 | Learn the “Shu - Ha – Ri” Journey

The basis of all Agile Methodologies is the principle of Adptation – the ability to adjust to change. Being Agile is about learning from the experience and improving based on the same. It is a simple and continuous process of learning and improvement. And as that of any Learning Process, transitioning to Agile follows steps of Shu, Ha, Ri.


Dr. Alistair Cockburn explains this very nicely in his video on “I am here to burry Agile”. As he explains it, the learning is a three step process. Human behavior is to resist a change. To break the shackles of the comfort zone and accept new challenge requires a specific mindset (of which I will talk separately in another blog), which in particular is hard to find. And this exactly is the thing that we need to attack when it comes to transitioning to Agile.


The process of learning is rather progressive one than the aggressive. The progressive learning goes through a defined structure of knowledge capturing, improving and excelling. Alistair puts it using the Japanese terms Shu, Ha and Ri.


“Shu” is the state where we learn something new. The mind is open for ideas and we only focus on capturing the knowledge. We learn by books and practice as stated. The boundaries of curiosity are narrow and focused on what we see. It is a state where the mind is accepting the change.


Once the change is set, we move into the “Ha” state, where what we learn is not sufficient. The curiosity kicks in hard and the mind looks for additional sources and ways of information. Everything adds to what we have learnt so far. This is the state where we want to Explore ideas. The success and failure of experiments add to and enriches the knowledge.


Then comes the “Ri” state where the mind questions what we know. It challenges us to excel and put the excellence to test. The knowledge from various sources and the experience from various experiments forces the new definitions of knowledge. We tend to build new stuff using what we know and learn from it. The “Ri” state brings in invention to what we have learnt in “Shu” state and what we had excelled in “Ha” state.


I put this as the 3Es – Experiment, Explore and Excel. “Knowledge of Application” and “Application of Knowledge” is another way to put the same. “Knowledge of Application” is where we learn about the stuff – the Shu and Ha phase, where as “Application of Knowledge” is putting the knowledge to test which is the later of Ha and Ri phase.

Life is strange ... or is it?

Life is strange.... very strange. And human being is stranger. Nothing in life is really sufficient .. ever.... for we humans. No matter how much we get or how much we earn, how much we deserve or how much we really need .... how much we love or how much we are loved .... we always are looking for more ... more today .. more tomorrow ... and more on every opportunity we can wish for.

Life is strange. All we have are 100 years to live ... approx. Every day filled with exact 24 hours ... not an hour less ... neither more ... just 24. Still, not all these days are same. Forget days, no two hours or minutes or even seconds are same. Every moment is like a snow flex ... always differnet than the previous or the next one. And human being is stranger .... knowing that every moment is different, we just hope to live each of it the same way ... happier and happier. Pretty strange, that we never realize it is not meant to be ..... it is meant to be different. That is how Mr God has made it .. but we want it reversed. They say "Man Proposes and God Disposes". But if you really look at it ... God Proposes to live every day, every moment differently and we dispose it to live in same way... told ya ... human's strange.

Life is strange. Though 24 hours in a day, it expects us to act faster ... to get more and more done in limited time ... to utilize every second available ... at times more than 24 hours of the day. .... But human's stranger. We rather relax and enjoy. Waste a little time here and spend a little one there ... and then cry out loud ... from the tip of the mountain ... "I am keeping busy" ... busy doing what .. busy being busy .... busy playing busy .... or just busy. ... pretty strange hmmm.

Life is strange. Full of love on one hand and hell lot of sorrows on the other. ... a bright day with open eyes and a dark scary night with closed ones ... full of hope and energy some day and exhausted and devasted the other ... well ... human's stranger ... don't care for happiness when happy and search for it when in sorrow ... don't work on dreams when its bright, but dream of it in the night ... waste the energy foolishly and feel exhausted wishing relaxation ...

Man this is strange. ... kind of a riddle ... solve it today and will be complex tomorrow ... can you help me ...... please .......!

Is Common sense that common?

"Common Sense", the web definition of this highly abused term says "something that people in common would agree". So as per the definition, it is something quite obvious that any one would be able to guess or perform or react or interpret etc.

However in today’s world of internet (rather shall we say Web2.0) the term common sense seems to be collecting larger space than usual. The world is becoming smaller and smaller, the people of varied cultures and practices around the globe are getting closer and closer and therefore the common-ity of the people is becoming very contextual.

The corporate world calls for global teams to work together, the social networks on internet allow people from n-worlds to get in touch with each other and thus with increasing heads in the group, there hardly is a common thing among the people. And therefore the sense of "common sense" is kind of varying. Rather, the term common sense is becoming more and more perceptional. What I think is common may not be very common for someone, or what you think is common may very be special for you. So the boundaries of common sense are really being defined by what one has experienced, educated or has knowledge about.

In my personal experience, I interact with different teams and I hear it so many times "it is mere a common sense". But the person at the other end is all confused and has no sense of what is so common about it. Take an example. I work with a team of IT professionals. One party expects something and the other doesn’t exactly deliver the expectations. The reason, as you may guess correctly, is the communication gap. The team expects the client to communicate every "small thing" where as client thinks the small thing is a "common sense". What I think? I think the factor that defines the "Common Sense" in this context is not really common. I think the two parties do not have the required common aspect – the experience, the knowledge, the belief, the trust. I think some one need to walk a step down and others need to walk a step up so that the handshake can happen. I think both the parties should communicate and create a common interest so it makes sense to both of them. But you know, who is to tell it to them. Being adults, they should understand it themselves, finally it is just a common sense – reach out and be reachable guys!!

Tomorrow!

Tomorrow is a sepcial day. The rising sun would bring fresh new 24 hours to do lots of stuff that I wished to but could not do today. I wished to relax, take some time out of the busy schedule, play with my 4 year old, enjoy time with family and friends, just go to some beach and watch a beautiful sunrise on a mountain top. Today I wished to get lazy and lie down doing nothing. But you see, you can not just finish everything today. And that when you decide to keep something for tomorrow.

I really never could understand this concept of the investment. Investment is something that you save for tomorrow's hard times. But this kind of investment, where you forget to live today, you forget to smile or enjoy the time, could never reach the internal cells of my small tiny brain. I always love to live in today. But for some years now, I find it difficult to follow that practise of living in today, without thinking of tomorrow. The life has become so much routine from morning to sunset and after that, that there is no time to stop and think how can I change it.

But yes, I am determined, committed and everything that goes along with it, to make sure I change it. I will change it for me, for my family, for my four year old and for everyone I care and who care for me. I will live my life today and do what I wish to do now.

Yes, tomorrow is a very special day, it sure is.