Project Overview
Summary: Iberacademy‘s In Crescendo program aims to foster musical growth, community engagement, and build bridges with partner music programs in 52 municipalities in Antioquia, Colombia. I was called by the program to design and lead a reflective and practical seven-week action session using agile methodologies and design thinking principles to review and reflect on ways to improve their artistic and educational strategies for the In Crescendo por Antioquia program.
Project Title: Agile and Design Thinking Application in Music Education Strategies.
Role: Project Manager, Advisor.
Year: 2024
Industries: Project Management, Music Education, Music for Social Change, Music for Social Impact, Social Music Programs.
Competencies: Project Management, Agile Methodologies, Design Thinking, Strategy and Process Design, Community Engagement, Educational Expertise, Communication, Mentorship, Process Improvement, Training.
Deliverables:
✓ Sessions planning and coordination: Careful planning and coordination of a seven-week consulting and coaching series to ensure a structured and effective approach to the program’s improvement.
✓ Coaching and reflection sessions: Facilitation of coaching and reflection sessions tailored to program leaders, cultivating a mindset shift and strategic refinement.
✓ Feedback and evaluation reports: Comprehensive report that provides valuable insights to refine current strategies and guide future initiatives, including recommendations for improvement.
✓ Materials and resources: Compilation and provision of materials and tools used during the sessions to facilitate continued learning and implementation of strategies beyond the consulting period.
Context
Client/Organization: Iberacademy
Objective: My goal as a project manager and advisor was to help the In Crescendo por Antioquia team evaluate and improve their community engagement strategies. I used Agile and Design Thinking to help them strengthen current strategies and develop new ideas that would help the program have a bigger impact on participants.
Challenges: The In Crescendo por Antioquia program faced significant challenges that led them to seek external expertise and guidance. These challenges included:
✦ Aligning Community Engagement Strategies with Organizational Goals: The team needed to ensure that their community engagement efforts were effectively aligned with the overall mission and goals of the In Crescendo program through a structured and reflective process to evaluate and refine their strategies.
✦ Improve current strategies: The existing strategies, Mi Escenario and Audiencias had shown some success but needed to be reviewed and improved. The team aimed to understand the effectiveness of these strategies and make adjustments to maximize their impact.
✦ Cultural Sensitivity and Adaptability: The team wanted a methodology that would allow their strategies to be sensitive to and adaptable to diverse communities, ensuring that engagement efforts were effective and respectful of local contexts and dynamics.
Background: Iberacademy (The Iberoamerican Philharmonic Academy) is a program focused on developing human potential through musical excellence, with a special commitment to providing opportunities for young talent from Latin America. It aims to create experiences that motivate, inspire, and nurture individuals to become influential leaders in society through orchestral practice, pedagogy, and creative entrepreneurship.
The program was funded more than ten years ago, and it is based in Medellín, Colombia. It has a broad reach, impacting 35 municipalities in Antioquia and five countries in Latin America.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Iberacademy launched the “In Crescendo por Antioquia” initiative, turning the crisis into an opportunity to expand its mission. This initiative introduced a model of music education integrated with values development, cooperation, and community building. Using the arts as a tool for emotional support and life skills, the initiative benefited students, Iberacademy mentors, and teachers in the communities of Antioquia.
Approach
To address the challenges faced by the In Crescendo por Antioquia team, a series of sessions were conducted using agile methodologies and design thinking principles to ensure a thorough assessment and refinement of the program’s community engagement strategies. The key steps in the approach included:
1. Initial contextual analysis: The process began with an in-depth contextual analysis involving key team members. This phase included a detailed review of the current state of Iberacademy and the In Crescendo program’s strategies, goals, and existing community engagement strategies (Mi Escenario and Audiencias).
2. Introduction to Agile Mindset: The concept of Agile was introduced to the team, focusing on its core principles and how they could be adapted to a music education and community engagement context. These sessions were conducted to familiarize the team with agile practices, such as iterative planning, continuous feedback, and adaptive learning.
3. Review and adaptation of the Agile principles and manifesto: The Agile Principles were reviewed with the team to understand their core values and principles. These principles, typically used in technology and software development, were then customized to meet the specific needs and goals of the In Crescendo program. The team worked together to create their own principles and manifesto, focusing on the importance of community engagement, collaboration, flexibility, and continuous improvement. This customized manifesto served as a guiding framework for all subsequent activities and strategies.
4. Application of Design Thinking: Design thinking principles were introduced to encourage creative problem-solving and human-centered approaches. The team engaged in brainstorming sessions, prototyping exercises, and audience journey exercises to explore creative solutions to the identified challenges. This ensured that the strategies developed were practical and innovative.
5. Stakeholder analysis: A stakeholder mapping exercise was conducted to identify and categorize key stakeholders based on their influence and interest in the program. This analysis helped the team understand the diverse perspectives and expectations, allowing for tailored communication and engagement strategies. This exercise ensured that all relevant parties were considered in all strategy phases.
6. Defining success criteria: Clear success criteria were established for each community engagement strategy, considering stakeholders’ perspectives. This step involved setting SMART goals and indicators (KPIs) to track progress and evaluate the effectiveness of the strategies.
7. Improvement of existing strategies: The Mi Escenario and Audiencias strategies were examined and refined based on the insights gained during the initial analysis and stakeholder engagement phases. This included reviewing the administrative, logistical, artistic, and pedagogical aspects of each strategy to ensure alignment with the program’s mission and principles.
8. Prototyping ideas: The team tested and refined their ideas through prototyping. This allowed them to test and refine concepts in a tangible way, ensuring that the proposed strategies were feasible in the real world. This iterative process helped identify potential problems early and allowed for adjustments before full implementation, resulting in more effective community engagement strategies.
9. Final report and recommendations: The final phase involved creating a report detailing the process, findings, and recommendations. This report provided actionable suggestions for further improvement. The recommendations emphasized the importance of continuous reflection, stakeholder engagement, and adaptive strategies to maintain the program’s impact.
Tools:
✦ Microsoft Teams: This platform allowed the team to meet for coaching sessions, share updates, and collaborate on project tasks in real time.
✦ Canva: We used Canva as a digital blackboard for ideation and conceptualization. Canva’s features, such as virtual sticky notes, let the team engage in dynamic brainstorming sessions, capturing ideas and insights in a visually appealing and interactive format.
✦ Readings and podcasts: A selection of readings and podcasts provided additional resources for the team. By incorporating diverse perspectives into the coaching program, the team was encouraged to explore new ideas and concepts, enriching their learning experience.
“Working with Claudia was a very pleasant experience, not only because of her seriousness and professionalism but also because the sessions provided opportunities to analyze ways of thinking and working; spaces for reflection that provided me with new tools and perspectives for my daily life. I am left with a lot of information that I can apply to the tasks in my institution, but that also extends to my personal projects.”
Juan José Muñoz – In Crescendo Team Member
Learnings and Reflections
✦ Organization’s core principles: The journey with the In Crescendo team highlighted the importance of having a common ground and understanding of the organization’s core principles. One of the key principles the team adopted from the Agile Manifesto was “communities and people over processes.” This principle helped keep the team aligned and focused on its primary mission. This approach reinforced the need to keep the community at the center of all decisions and fostered a more inclusive and impactful music education strategy.
✦ Design thinking for continuous improvement: Implementing design thinking principles in these strategies highlighted the importance of empathy and a human-centered approach. This approach ensures that the processes and solutions developed are relevant and effective for the communities they seek to serve.
✦ Prototyping, testing, and refining: A prototype mindset removes the pressure to do things perfectly the first time. This iterative approach allowed the team to adapt and evolve their strategies based on real-world feedback, ultimately leading to more effective and impactful results.
✦ Team collaboration: The use of Agile and Design Thinking methodologies has highlighted the importance of fostering a truly team-based, collaborative environment within arts and cultural organizations. It is recommended to analyze the current hierarchical model and move towards a collective approach where all team members work towards a common goal of successfully implementing strategies and initiatives.
✦ Stakeholder engagement: Designing clear communication channels that address stakeholder interests and power dynamics is critical to the success of community engagement strategies. Establishing success criteria in different areas, such as accounting or marketing, and communicating regularly about progress, needs, successes, risks, and challenges ensures smooth progress and avoids information silos.
✦ Continuous assessment and adaptation: Adopting constant reflection and evaluation is essential to adapting to changing needs and maximizing resources. Regular feedback from stakeholders and program beneficiaries should inform adjustments and improvements to strategies, optimizing outcomes and resource allocation.
✦ Consideration of the triple constraint: Arts and culture organizations should take into account the triple constraint theory, which acknowledges the connection between scope, time, cost, and quality. Changes in one area can have an impact on others, especially the well-being of human resources. By prioritizing quality and considering all constraints, organizations can ensure sustainable and meaningful initiatives.
✦ Simplify administrative procedures: A key takeaway from this experience was the importance of simplifying administrative procedures to more effectively allocate resources and allow the artistic and educational team to focus on their primary mission. This simplification allows organizations to prioritize their core mission while maintaining effective operations.
Conclusion
The application of Agile methodologies and Design Thinking principles in the In Crescendo por Antioquia program demonstrated the potential of these approaches in arts and cultural organizations. By promoting a collaborative, adaptable, and human-centered approach, the program successfully improved its community engagement strategies. The iterative process of prototyping and continuous feedback ensured the relevance and effectiveness of the strategies, ultimately leading to a more substantial impact on the communities served. Looking ahead, arts and cultural organizations should continue embracing these methodologies, prioritize community and stakeholder engagement, and maintain a focus on continuous improvement to achieve lasting and meaningful results.