The Five Facets of an Agile Organization

AT1 Session 6/6/2013 10:15 AM

"The Five Facets of an Agile Organization:

Holistic Change for the Serious"

Presented by:

George Schlitz BigVisible Solutions

Brought to you by:

340 Corporate Way, Suite 300, Orange Park, FL 32073 888‐268‐8770 ∙ 904‐278‐0524 ∙ [email protected] ∙ www.sqe.com

George Schlitz BigVisible Solutions

Co-founder of BigVisible Solutions, George Schlitz is an experienced change agent. Initially introducing agile and lean to large companies and recognizing the benefits of change, George has shifted his passion to coaching organizations through difficult changes by applying systems thinking, agile, lean, and the theory of constraints. By bringing an awareness of complexity to leaders and teams, he believes that large-scale change is not only achievable but should be part of our every day. BigVisible Solutions is the largest coaching company focused on organizational transformation via introduction of new paradigms such as agile and lean. George is a Certified Scrum Coach and a Project Management Professional.

Five Facets of the Agile Organization:Holistic Change for the Serious

George Schlitz

Copyright © 2013 BigVisible Solutions

George SchlitzFounder, Principal Consultant

1. Appreciate that agile transition is by its very nature, a holistic endeavor

Our (Somewhat-Aggressive) Goals

2. Have a simple model to help you assess the level of agility across your organization

3. Understand the role of leadership as orienting shared vision and designing environments to help grow your capacity for

Copyright © 2013 BigVisible Solutions 2

p g y p yagility

4. Bring a simple change strategy approach back to your organizations

But first…

The Tale ofThe Tale ofJorj the Pig!

(based on a true story)


It’s the oldest story in the book


[disclaimer]

The characters and events in this story are based on true events though the names have been

changed to protect the innocent. Any similarities to persons living or

dead is purely intentional


This is Jorj


(he’s a pig)

This is Jorj

CSM


He is also a ScrumMaster

Jorj is Happy

CSM


He’s got a great team

Jorj is Happy

CSM


He’s got beautiful burndowns

Jorj is Happy

CSM


The team is delivering value every sprint

Jorj is Happy

CSM


The chickens are happy too

The Product is Successfully Released

CSM


Jorj is Extatic!

CSM


2 weeks later


This is Jorg


but why? what happened?


To be continued…

Most Agile adoptions focus on the delivery capacity of teams or

aggregates of teams.


A Common Pattern of Agile Teams Over Time...

rformance


Time

Pe


rformance


Time

Pe


rformance


Time

Pe

Organizational Constraints

Existing processes,


g p ,structures, and rules slow things down…

Staff Caught Between Conflicting Goals

DepartmentGoals

Product or TeamGoals


Managers that Managers that haven’t changed to enable self-organization still attempt to control

d di t


and coordinate

23

“How we’ve always done it”“How we’ve always done it”Decades of:Decades of:


The CrAgilist

(crappy + agilist)


In other words, your teams have hit an institutional ceiling.

rformance

Institutional Ceiling


Time

Pe

Merely trying to resolve these Merely trying to resolve these challenges tactically is not sustainable.There are simply too many holes to plug


holes to plug.

27

In the end, we need to think about agility holistically.


This will require two things:This will require two things:1. A fuller, multi-perspective

view of your organization2. A shift in how how you

manage and lead


manage and lead

29

First, a fuller, multi-perspective view of your

We need…Part I

, , p p yorganization….


Organization: A Multi-Perspective View

• Leadership and management styles and beliefs about what constitutes effective leadership and management

• Orienting Vision & Environment Design

• Structures, processes and systems by which work gets done and is organized

• Continuous Improvement• Collective beliefs, perspectives and habits by

which people make sense of things• Product Management & Strategy• Lean, continuous planning (portfolio->program)• Innovation – Lean Startup, Business Model Gen.

• Product Development & Delivery• Kanban & Lean• Scrum• Multiple Team/Programs and Scaling (e g SAFe)


• Skills, practices for individuals and teams• Automated Testing, TDD, CI• Stories

• Multiple Team/Programs and Scaling (e.g. SAFe)

A Multi-Perspective View Can Help Leaders Iteratively Raise Organizational Capability

Broader Organization Capability

ormance

Copyright © 2013 BigVisible Solutions 32Time

Perfo

1. Execution: Tales of Woe

“From Start-Up to Mid-Sized: F ili b S ”Failing by Success”

Pattern: “Low Hanging Fruit” (I i T h i l


(Ignoring Technical Debt/Tough Problems)

We’re Growing!

1. The company experiences experiences more demand for its products

2. The company decides to develop more product in


develop more product in response to demand.

Technical Debt Pain is Felt Later

4. These problems decrease the ability to develop more stuff, after some time/delay

3 Developing more stuff


3. Developing more stuff without greater development capabilities results in problems over time – defects, poor design, etc.

Results Are Delayed…

5- The solution to this is to be more aware of the need for capacity and capability, and to take action to ensure that we are always improving capacity and capability as neededneeded.


6- Investment in capacity and capability decreases the negative effects described earlier, preventing the decrease in ability to do more stuff. This effect takes place after some time/delay, however.

1. Execution: Tactics of Hope

Expose “Growth and Underinvestment” in your Underinvestment” in your

Organization

Ensure Change Strategy


Includes Systemic Improvements

as well as Quick Wins

2. Delivery: Tale of Woe

“Great Idea…Now Let us Get B k t W k”Back to Work”

P tt “O l i M B k


Pattern: “Only in My Back Yard” (Improving Locally)

- making decisions based on old assumptions

PMO/PPM

- on time/budget

- % complete

- green/yellow/red


- productivity

- unable to move budget

Traditional Dev and QA

Test Plan Test Cases

Requirement

Design Development

Test Plan Test Cases

QA


•Two paths converge at the end of the lifecycle

Why the high defect count?

Requirements Elaboration

QA the Agile Way

Story

Test Cases

Design

Development

Acceptance


•Single Process Flow

Validate

• Not serialized – activities happen in parallel, continuously• Do not need to finish one activity before beginning another

2. Delivery: Tactics of Hope

Establish Holistic Goals:• Outcome-based Measures

versus Activity-based Measures

• Business Model Linkage


Lean/Agile Delivery and Scaled Lean/Agile Delivery

3. Product: Tales of Woe

“Project Success, Product Failure”

“Hyper Productivity”“The Least Productive Project

Success”

i i


Pattern: “Activity Versus Outcome” (Valuing/Measuring

Actions not Outcomes)

Product Strategy - Are you steering your products to achieve

business success…


…or are you just taking orders?


Continuous Planning –Lean/Agile PPM


Business Model Generation (and Innovation)

Key Partners Key Activities Value Propositions Relationships Customers

Key Resources Channels

Copyright © 2013 BigVisible Solutions 47Cost Structure Revenue Streams

Iteration [1/y] by [–ABC--] on [2013/3/27]

Product And Delivery


3. Product: Tactic of Hope

“The Viral (Biz Model) Canvas”

Outcome based Measures

The Lean Portfolio & Program


Outcome-based Measures versus Activity-based

Measures

4. Organization: Tales of Woe

“Making Agile ‘Work for “Making Agile ‘Work for Us’”

P tt N t Ch i th


Pattern: Not Changing the Rules (Keeping Structures

that No Longer are Needed)

Existing Methodology


Re-Examine The Value of Consistency & Standards


What were the limitations they were based on?


based on?

And what are our new limitations?

“A mature person is one who is highly conscious of when it’s

What does ‘Maturity’ Mean?

g yappropriate to follow rules and

when to break them.” -Weinberg


A team is a group of people-

How do we approach maturity?

Enterprise Groups and Holistic Concerns


How to we encourage the new behaviors, and stop rewarding

HR…Career Development

p gthe old?

What does career development now look like?

Is HR a center of development, or i k id ?


risk avoidance?

Intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation

Or who hasn’t changed themself!


Someone in charge who stands to loseor is misinformed

Organizational Structures


Employee Reward Systems


4. Organization: Tactics of Hope

ToC Change Questions

1. What limitation does the improvement diminish?

2. What rules existed to help us deal with this limitation in the past?

3. Change these rules!


4. What new limitations do we have?

5. Make new rules!

5. Leadership: Tales of Woe

“Go Forth and Be Agile…as Long as I Don’t Have To”

“Why won’t they ___?”

Long as I Don t Have To

• Be Transparent?• Self Organize?• Share Obstacles?• Want to Improve?• …?


Pattern: Leaders Not Leading (Delegating all the Change)

“agile is about development/software/etc. only”

Leadership Misconceptions

Ask for standards/”best practices” to make it seem the same

“Agile as long as it doesn’t require me to change”


First a fuller multi perspective view of your

We need…Part II

Second, a shift in how you lead and manage

First, a fuller, multi‐perspective view of your organization….


manage…

From Leadingas DIRECTING

# 3: Shifting The Paradigm…

To Leading


To Leadingas CATALYZING

Sources: Leadership Agility, Bill Joiner and Stephen Josephs; Action Inquiry, William Torbert et. al.

Complicated vs. Complex

Complex ComplicatedThe relationship between cause and

effect can only be perceived in retrospect (most organizational situations)

The relationship between cause and effect requires analysis and/or expert knowledge

( t d i )

A shift from seeing organizations as complicated…

(expert domain)

-> Catalytic, experimental methods work best (allow the path forward to reveal itself)

-> Follow emergent practices:1. Probe2. Sense3. Respond

- But watch for command/control, imposing order

-> Follow good practices:1. Sense2. Analyze3. Respond

- But watch for entrained thinking (experts), analysis paralysis

-> So, welcome new thinking, scenarios

Copyright © 2013 BigVisible Solutions65

David J. Snowden and Mary E. Boone, A Leader’s Framework for Decision Making, Harvard Business Review, Nov. 2007

Complicated vs. Complex

Complex ComplicatedThe relationship between cause and

effect can only be perceived in retrospect (most organizational

it ti )

The relationship between cause and effect requires analysis and/or expert knowledge

( t d i )

… To seeing organizations as complex

situations) (expert domain)

-> Catalytic, experimental methods work best (allow the path forward to reveal itself)

-> Follow emergent practices:1. Probe2. Sense3. Respond

- But watch for command/control, imposing order

-> Follow good practices:1. Sense2. Analyze3. Respond

- But watch for entrained thinking (experts), analysis paralysis

-> So, welcome new thinking, scenarios

Copyright © 2013 BigVisible Solutions66

David J. Snowden and Mary E. Boone, A Leader’s Framework for Decision Making, Harvard Business Review, Nov. 2007

“We support self-organization. We think we will be

FROM

think we will be better, faster, cheaper because of it. Please start self organizing as of today.


y

Thank you for your support.”

67

“Together, we create environments that

TO

support healthy emergence of capabilities that are congruent with the growth of high

f i il


performing agile teams.

Please join us.”68

What are the implications for

leaders?


Two Things

What Do Agile Leaders Do?

1. Orienting Shared Vision (For Where You Want to Go)2. Designing Environments (To Help You Get There)


Orienting People Around Shared Vision


Declaring the Vision

Leaders Who are more Directive will Identify, Declare,

and even Champion their vision!


Identify changes,Declare vision,Champion.

CommittedWants it, will make it happen, creating/changing “laws”

Purpose…

.

CompliantSees benefits in general. Does what’s expected, bare minimum

Alignm

ent w

ith Greater P


NoncompliantDoes not see benefits, does not do it

Level of A

Source: “The Fifth Discipline” Senge

When associates are invited to

participate in the participate in the creation of a

vision…


Identify changes,

Champion.

they come to own that vision.

Designing Environments


Environment Design Addresses Three Domains

Organization Structures

Leadership Styles


Organization Culture

A Simple Example:Example:We Reflect On and Improve How we Work through


Retrospectives

77Photo provided under Creative Commons by Improve IT

5. Leadership: Tactic of Hope


Building our Strategy Map – Start with our overall objective

Overall Goal/Vision/Objectiv

e


Building our Strategy Map – Start with our overall objective

We are Awesome


Capability

What are the capabilities we will need in order to achieve our Objective?

Capability

p y

We are Awesome Capability


Capability

2. Deliver product iteratively,

incrementally, and quickly to customers

What are the capabilities we will need in order to achieve our Objective?

5. Leadership that catalyzes change

and designs i t f

1. High Quality, continuously

improving practices of execution

We are Awesome

environments for success


3. Innovative, Adaptive product

strategy and planning

4. The organization continuously evolves to enable success.

Common understanding of Potentially Shippable Product

Enablement team formed

Teams have a sustainable pace and are Teams have a sustainable pace and are continuously improvingcontinuously improving

Automated Acceptance Criteria TestingShared Story Definition of Done across teams

Shared Release Definition of Done across groups

Reach a sustainable paceTeam and PO make tradeoffs as learning takes place. Release plan is updated.

Realistic Commitment

Dedicated Scrum Master without conflicting responsibilities

Dedicated Product Owner giving clear direction

Old- Identify only the minimum actions required

We are Awesome1. High Quality, continuously

improving practices of execution

Teams focusing on delivery customer value together

Empirical Process Control, Iterative & 3. Innovative, Adaptive product


5. Leadership that catalyzes change and designs environments for successTools that enable emerging

processes, not shape them

2. Deliver product iteratively, incrementally, and quickly to customers

Enablement team practices vision orientation and environment design

Introdice concepts of Lean Thinking, 6Sigma, ToC

Basic B-M-L feedback loop for improements

Valuable and inclusive way to work with distributed teams

Automated Acceptance Testing/Criteria

Awareness on possible model to distribute and scale

Introduce Lean Portfolio to Road Map Level

TDD


pIncremental

p pstrategy and planning

Scrum Master can remove impediments quickly

Teams are managing their Active Learning Cycle

building a motivating working environment

Encourage decision making at team level vs. escalation

Awareness on dysfunctions by measuring metrics

Product Management can plan value incrementally

Introduce BMC Level 3-4

Introduce BMC Release Burndown Chart shared across the Product Stack

Introduce Business Model Canvas Level 1-2

Ability to prioritise PBIs across all dependent RVs

Enable transparency across boundariesEnable transparency across boundaries Definition of Ready Shared across the Definition of Ready Shared across the whole Product Stackwhole Product Stack

Identify only the minimum actions required

Enablement team formed

We are Awesome

Teams focusing on delivery customer value together

3. Innovative, Adaptive product


5. Leadership that catalyzes change and designs environments for success

2. Deliver product iteratively, incrementally, and quickly to customers


p pstrategy and planning

Build our backlog from the minimum actions

Team Spend most of their Team Spend most of their time on PBL developmenttime on PBL development

Blah blah blah blah blah blahBlah blah blah blah blah blah

Awareness on possibleAwareness on possible

Backlog/Experiments


Scrum Master can remove Scrum Master can remove impediments quicklyimpediments quickly

Recognise good agile/Scrum Recognise good agile/Scrum behavioursbehaviours

Awareness on possible Awareness on possible model to distribute and scalemodel to distribute and scale

Teams dependencies Teams dependencies aligned with customer valuealigned with customer value

Have a Continuous Improvement Approach


Summary

1.Serious Change is Holistic

2.We need:1.A Holistic View: The Five Levels

2.A Shift in Leadership 1.Orienting Shared Vision


2.Environment Design

3.Simple Change Strategy & CI Approach

References of Possibility

1. Execution1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extreme_programming2. “Collaboration Explained” by Jean Tabaka

2. Delivery2. Delivery• http://scaledagileframework.com• BV Lean/Agile Portfolio Management and Planning

3. Product• http://businessmodelgeneration.com• http://theleanstartup.com• Principles of Product Development Flow, by Reinertsenhttp://www.amazon.com/Principles-

Product-Development-Flow-Generation/dp/19354010094. Organization

• “Beyond the Goal,” by Eli Goldratt• “The Logical Thinking Process,” by William Dettmer• “Fearless Change,” by Linda Rising and Mary Lynn Manns

5 L d hi


5. Leadership• “Leadership Agility,” by Bill Joiner and Stephen Josephs• “Leadership and the New Science,” by Meg Wheatley• http://hbr.org/2007/11/a-leaders-framework-for-decision-making/

6. General• “The Fifth Discipline,” By Peter Senge

This is just a start….MANY more available on request!


George SchlitzFounder, Principal Coach


[ ]: +1 949 244 1212[ ]: [email protected][ ]: www.bigvisible.com[ ]: gschlitz

meUt

The Five Facets of an Agile Organization

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