The Experimenting Record
The Experimenting Record is a document used by a Kata learner through their time being coached. It is a record of each of their steps from the very first coaching cycle, through to the last.
I think of it as the central beating heart of the practice of Kata.
Using it teaches us the very fundamentals of Scientific Thinking - particularly to be methodical, evidence based, specific, and focused on learning.
Above you can see my version of an Experimenting Record. You can find a printable version on my downloads page here.
This is an important part of the learner’s Storyboard, for both the learner (to slow them down, force them to be methodical and logical, help them see their own thinking) and also for the coach (to enable them to see the learner’s thinking).
But the Experimenting Record is not just for Kata practice!
This is also a really useful tool to use in other spaces. It can be used to record action steps or next steps as part of team meetings and projects. It can also be used by individuals wanting a way to document and focus their work.
This is like a rocket booster for an action list or a to-do list.
(And, it is a brilliant way to start moving towards practising ‘full-on’ Kata - think of this as a ‘taster’ to warm up your Scientific Thinking muscles).
Let’s back up a minute and talk about what it is.
This is a document to guide the user through a simple experiment framework, based on the PDSA cycle.
Hat tip to Mike Rother for the origins of this graphic - see page 157 of the TKPG
The PDSA cycle is an iterative improvement model, originally developed by Walter Shewhart in the 1920’s but is often credited to his friend W. Edwards Deming. Some refer to it as the ‘Deming Cycle’, apparently Deming himself called it the ‘Shewhart Cycle’.
Anyway. Back to the document itself.
The Experimenting Record usually contains 4 key areas for the user to complete:
Column 1 - Date, Obstacle, Next Step
Date - the date we are filling in the step.
Obstacle - this is the specific thing that we are trying to understand or overcome with the next step. If we are in the ‘planning phase’ of the Improvement Kata steps (crafting a challenge statement, grasping the current condition, setting the next Target Condition, or stopping to Pause and Reflect) this area would be blank.
Next Step - this is what we plan to do between now and the next coaching cycle. A coach would be looking for specific and concise details of exactly what the learner wants to do.
Column 2 - What do you Expect?
Here we clarify our hypothesis - exactly what we think will happen when we take the step. The coach can help us add a little more ‘colour’ to our expectation by asking a few deepening questions like:
What do you expect to see?
What do you expect to learn?
What do you expect to feel?
Once we have completed these two first columns, then we go take the step.
Photo by Bruno Nascimento on Unsplash
Then we come back to the document, and continue.
Column 3 - What actually happened?
Here we write out what we did, what the result was. The focus here is on facts and data. This is important to encourage us to be considering actual evidence and true information. A coach's spidey sense will flag if they see or hear ‘I think that X’ or ‘I suppose that Y’.
Column 4 - What did you learn?
Here, we consider what we learned from taking the step. This is the really important part of the framework.
This is the ENTIRE POINT of using it.
This is also the hardest part to fill in. Some people are put off by the word ‘learn’ - it can feel a little loaded to some. A trick is to think - ‘what was a surprise?’. What was different from your expectation?
Sometimes the learning is HUGE, sometimes it is small, both are good. What is important here is the action, not the size.
Getting used to this pattern of thinking…
What am I going to do?
What do I expect will happen?
What actually happened?
What did I learn from this?
…is what is important.
But why is this pattern important?
It is common for people to just 'Do-Do-Do'. Without planning it out or actually studying what happened when they did their thing.
A few folk might 'Plan-Do-Plan-Do', which is a little better, but they are still missing the important reflection and adjustment steps.
Using this document pushes us to follow through the whole PDSA cycle, and helps us learn from the things we do.
It forces us to be more thorough in the 'Plan' step. That rigour helps us be far more methodical, logical, and effective.
My tips:
1️⃣ Keep the steps small
Next Steps (experiments) should be small and ideally accomplished in a short space of time, preferably less than 24 hours, to enable you to have frequent practice. Daily practice is best here, to build the habit. Soon, you start to think more logically and methodically without having to use the form, but using the form regularly keeps that habit strong.
2️⃣ Embrace the pace
Filling in the form might seem a little tedious or overkill, but the act of doing this slows down our thinking and helps us see when we are jumping to a conclusion or being swayed by our own biases and assumptions. Practising this routine forces us to go SLOW, which helps us learn FAST.
3️⃣Try it with a team
When used in a team environment, the form also helps us all be super clear about the next step. When the team shares their expectations, it can help clarify misunderstanding or misinterpretation.
So, my challenge to you is to give it a go!
Perhaps consider printing 5 copies of the Experimenting Record, and use one each day for the next 5 working days. Use each to document two of your action steps or to-do’s for the day. No need to take special steps, just think about two of the things already on your to-do list.
