Podcast | Implementing Agile L&D with Patrick Mullarkey

Agile L&D, you’ve probably heard of it, but what the hell does it actually mean? In this episode Patrick Mullarkey, Learning and Development Lead at Snyk, shares his first hand experiences of implementing Agile learning, explains why it’s worth doing and how to manage the change in your organisation, as well as how exactly to measure the impact of Agile L&D on your business.

Patrick explains to us how Agile L&D can encourage companies to waste less time on unsuccessful projects by speeding up the ‘failing fast’ process, and how important it is to engage with stakeholders using the right language in order to gain the trust necessary to start working in this way. Whether you have no experience of implementing Agile L&D or you consider yourself an expert – listen in as we demystify the buzzword of the moment and bring some real meaning to Agile L&D.

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Running Order

1:39: What the hell is Agile L&D?

4:32: Why we look to Agile L&D in the first place

8:40: What do you gain from moving to a more Agile way of working?

11:00: Failing fast

12:06: Using the right language to get stakeholders on board

17:53: I want to go Agile – where do I start?

21:35: How to measure if it’s working

25:36: Quickfire round

Key learning

I want to implement Agile L&D – where do I start?

Patrick highlights the importance of finding a mentor or a point of contact that you can trust to support you through this process. On a practical level, begin by sketching out what you think are the most valuable things that you can realistically get done in the next 5 or 10 working days. Once you have this down, work out the resources that you’ll need to make this happen (who, what, when) and gradually plan from there. Experiment with things like daily standups to find what works for you and your team, and keep stakeholders informed throughout the process. Manage expectations and be clear about the deliverables you are working towards throughout the project. Patrick also recommends reading Scrum by Jeff Sutherland for some inspiration and background on the methodology.

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Running Order

1:39: What the hell is Agile L&D?4:32: Why we look to Agile L&D in the first place8:40: What do you gain from moving to a more Agile way of working?11:00: Failing fast12:06: Using the right language to get stakeholders on board17:53: I want to go Agile - where do I start?21:35: How to measure if it’s working25:36: Quickfire round

Key learning

I want to implement Agile L&D - where do I start?

Patrick highlights the importance of finding a mentor or a point of contact that you can trust to support you through this process. On a practical level, begin by sketching out what you think are the most valuable things that you can realistically get done in the next 5 or 10 working days. Once you have this down, work out the resources that you’ll need to make this happen (who, what, when) and gradually plan from there. Experiment with things like daily standups to find what works for you and your team, and keep stakeholders informed throughout the process. Manage expectations and be clear about the deliverables you are working towards throughout the project. Patrick also recommends reading Scrum by Jeff Sutherland for some inspiration and background on the methodology.