Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/18157
processes and assess what works and what doesn’t serve our interests. The good news for those in the legal profession, who also deal with unpredictable matters and projects, is that change management techniques aren’t software industry-specific. One such tool is Agile Project Management’s “Retrospective,” a.k.a. the “Start, Stop and Continue” meeting, which law firms can embrace to improve processes over time. BASICS OF THE START, STOP AND CONTINUE MEETING The first thing to keep in mind when incorporating a new process meeting is that it’s not supposed to be a burden. Meetings should be short. A good Start, Stop and Continue meeting should be limited to 30 minutes. Teams in the software business hold Retrospectives at the end of every work cycle, or “Sprint.” Typically, a Sprint is anywhere from one week to one month in duration. In addition to being short meetings, Retrospectives should be held regularly. Assemble a team that has a broad range of knowledge and responsibilities. This allows you to get multiple perspectives and will improve the support received from your organization because everyone has had a voice in the process. A team lead conducts the meeting and records notes. Keeping track of what’s said is important because if you don’t capture the brainstorm, there’s little chance of the organization implementing any generated nuggets of wisdom, and the meetings quickly become pointless. In a Retrospective, the team answers three questions: • What should we start doing? • What should we stop doing? • What should we continue doing? The person running the meeting must pull the team up to a 10,000 foot view and survey the business from a good vista. What you want to focus on in a Start, Stop and Continue meeting is your business processes. You want to avoid including minutiae or specific to-do items. For example, a good suggestion might be “Start posting more regularly on the firm’s blog.” or “Stop using two different forms for client intake.” These are items that refer to processes that can be used to streamline efficiency of the firm. Nonproductive items for a Retrospective meeting are at street-level view: “Start writing that blog post on the recent court decision.” or “Stop calling Mr. Laeddis about the overdraft.” A good first item to put in the “Continue” column might be “Continue conducting regular Start, Stop and Continue meetings.” It’s important to take notes and conduct regular meetings so you can look at what you added to the “Start” column and decide whether those initiatives worked or didn’t work. If your new initiatives worked, put them in the “Continue” fold. If not, send them to the trash heap known as the “Stop” category. Keep “Continues” on your list until the next meeting and then remove them. WHAT WORKS AND WHAT WON’T Gregg Shavitz of Shavitz Law Group, P.A., a wage and overtime employee rights practice in south Florida, (http://www.shavitzlaw.com) has www.iltanet.org Project Management 35