Think back to school. Personally I found the least satisfying lessons were those where the teacher got the class to copy or read a passage from a book. This is what we are doing when we use documentation to convey knowledge.
Once I realised this I then started thinking about the other styles of learning/coaching. These included discussions, worked examples, the teacher explaining at the white board (they were black in my day ;-) ) and homework. Homework was a way for the teacher to get feedback from the class on how well they had understood a subject. Distasteful as it sounds I think homework was where the real learning took place, it was all to easy to stop listening in class.
The Agile Business Coach should use all the coaching techniques available to them rather than focus on the one approach that is most likely to cause boredom and sleep.... documentation.
Posted by chrismatts at December 22, 2003 12:46 PM