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1.0 Why

2.0 When

3.0 How Facilitation

Tips

References/ Sources

Plus/ Delta

“THERE ARE MANY EXPERTS

ON HOW THINGS HAVE BEEN

DONE UP TO NOW. IF YOU

THINK SOMETHING COULD

USE A LITTLE IMPROVEMENT,

YOU ARE THE EXPERT. ” | Robert Brault |

A collaborative presentation from over a dozen experienced Lean IPD practitioners.

© 2015 Lean Construction Institute

PLUSDELTA | 2

1.0 Why

A primary pillar of a Lean culture is continuous improvement. One very effective way to strive for this is throughRetrospection.Plus/Deltaisaquick,simpleretrospectivetoimprovemeetings,planningsessions,orrepetitiveactivities.ByusingPlus/Delta,teamscancontinuouslyimprovemeetingsoractivitiesandshowrespectforpeoplebydiscussingthevalueoforabilitytoimprovethetimespentonevents.Usingthispracticeappropriatelywillhelpdevelopandsus-taintheLeanculture.Overtime,participantswillideallydeveloparegularpracticeofmakingtimelyassessmentsandadjustments.

Plus/Deltasare typicallydone in last10minutesofameet-ingoractivity.Projectsandorganizations that really look tomaximizetheirlearningfromthepracticealsouseitmid-waythroughalongermeetingorworksession.Itcanbeparticu-larlyhelpfulasacoachingtoolwhenameetingisgoingoff-track–itwillhelprecalibratetheteamaroundthemeeting’sobjectiveandpotentiallyhelpthemidentifyanewobjective.

2.0 When

The Plus/ Delta enables continuous improvement as a regular practice.

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PLUSDELTA | 3

Typically, the facilitatordoesthefollowing.1. Plan10minutesintheagendaforthePlus/Delta.Makesurethetimeslotdoesn’tgetusedupbyanothertopic.

Thisisnotsomethingtoberushedandcompletedforthesakeofcompletion.Attendeesmayatfirstbeunwillingtoappeartocriticizethemeeting.Theymaybeafraidtoparticipate.Thefacilitatorshouldexpectencouragerparticipationuntilthepracticebecomescommonplace.

2. Explaintothegroupeverytimewhataplus/deltais.• Plus:whatbroughtvalueandhowdoestheteamrepeatit?• Delta:whatcantheteamchangeoraddtobringmorevalue?Howcantheteamdobetter?Theteamshould

focusontheprocessofeachparticularmeetingratherthanfocusingonpeople.Thefacilitatorshouldbepreparedtoreturntoemphasizingtheobjectivesofthemeetingandhowtobetterachievetheseobjectives.

3. Drawalinedownthemiddleofaflipchartorwhiteboard,labelthetopwith“Plus”and“Delta”

4. Asktheteamforplusesanddeltas–inactionphraseformat.Theyshouldstarttheircommentbystatingwhetherit is a Plus or a Delta.• Again,allcommentsshouldbediscussedinactionformat.Ifsomeonesays“Therewasgoodconversation”

asaplus,ask“Whatactionoccurredtoallowthattohappen?”Ifsomeonesays“wehadtoomanysidebarconversations,”ask“Whatactioncanwetaketopreventthatnexttime?”Trytogettotherootcausesotheappropriatecountermeasurecanbedetermined.

• Thismaytakesomeprobing.Someteamsgoaroundthetablesothateveryoneprovidesaplusandadelta,othersletthegrouporganicallyrespond.Iftheroomremainsquiet,waitforafewminutes.Youmayeventu-allyneedtocallonsomeparticipantstogettheexercisestarted.

• Encouragebothdeltasandpluses.Theintentistobothimproveandsustainwhatisworkingwell.• Don’tletpeopleoffthehook.Encouragealltospeakup.Validatecommentswiththegrouptoensurevalue

tomostbeforehelpingdefinetheaction.• Askintermsof“Whohasanotherplusordelta?”or“Whatelse?”untilitistimetoclosethesession.Then

shiftthequestionto“Isthereanythingelse?”• Capturetheseactionsontheflipchart.Ifanactionhastoomanywordsorisnoteasytowrite,asktheperson

whosaidittorephraseitinafewwords.“Translating”isnotrecommendedasoftentheintentismissed.• Askforownersofeachaction,alongwithacommitmentdate.Itisokaytodecidenottotakeaction.• Atthebeginningofthenextmeeting,reviewthestatusoftheactionsfromthepriorplus/delta.

3.0 How

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PLUSDELTA | 4

Helpful facilitation points:

• No“junkwords” allowed. If someone says “themeetingwas too long,” ask them todefine “too long”or torephrasethestatementintoarecommendedimprovement.(Forexample:“Weshouldmeetfor45minutes.”)

• Ifaparticipantfoundnothingtobeofvalueinthemeetingandhasnoimprovementstooffer,askthatparticipantifhereallyneededtoattend.Whatactioncanbetakenforthenextmeetingtoensuretherightparticipantsarethereattherighttime?

• Everythingbroughtupisfairgame.Donotdiscountanyone’splusesordeltas.Discountingfeedbackcanpreventothersfromspeakingup.Anythingbroughtupthatiscompletelyoff-topicshouldthenbecapturedina“ParkingLot.”

• Payattentiontothemoodofthegroup.Thegroupmustbeopenandfeelsafetospeakup.• Ensureyourapplicationisappropriatefortheenvironment.Forverylargegroups(likeconferences)atechnical

applicationmaybehelpful.Generally,morevaluecomesfromthegroupdiscussingthesetogether.• Setthegoalofnothavingthesamedeltafromonemeetingtothenext.Havingthesamedeltameanstheaction

wasnotimplementedthefirsttime.• Thisprocesscanbecomestaleandnotaddvalueifnotfacilitatedasdescribedabove.Theremaycomeatime

whentheteamagreesthemeetingsarehighperforminganddonotneedaPlus/Delta.However,ifthemeetingvaluebecomessuspect,beginthepracticeagain,perhapsinamoreintentionalwaytobringthevalueback.

• Meetingstendtobecomehabit,theneedforthemeetingschangewithtime,thelengthofthemeetingmayneedtochange,oranynumberoffactorsmayalterthevalueproposition.ThePlus/Deltaprocesscanhelpthechangeoccurasneeded.

3.0 How

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