Experience report on agile tools for management teams

Experience Report: Agile tools for management teams

19-Nov-14 Presented by Rob Brown

ENERGIZED WORK / HMS President Victoria Embankment London EC4Y 0HJ / www.energizedwork.com

ExperienceReport

1/ Why management teams?

2/ Foundations are sprinkled

3/ Good development team stuff 4/ Good IT

management team stuff

7/ Pub

5/ Good strategic management stuff

6/ Summary

Agenda 19:00-Pub time

Why agile and management teams?

“Manage-Mend” - a job I sometimes have

Increasingly with “agile” initiatives/programmes/career-saving-last-attempts to improve organisational efficiency and effectiveness (aka productivity)(aka more with same/less), management teams try their best.

Managers talk the talk, butThey struggle to walk the walk:● This authenticity gap blocks the rest of the organisation’s adoption of agile methods● It’s sociology - we imitate our trusted/respected peers, and our leaders/managers

I like challenges and prefer to succeed...so I had to embrace uncertainty and welcome changing requirements:● I took/take agile to management, and we all learned/learn a lot!



Doh, a deer

Some good experiences within development teams

Typical and Familiar Agile Practices● Weekly iterations (52 opportunities to learn together, vs 26, vs 17, vs 12, vs

Waterfall):○ Planning Games○ Iteration Reviews with Customer○ Iteration Reflections

● Standups (and 22 minute meetings) - aim to have even Planning Meetings standing up - strive for and achieve process flow

● Facilitate team Norms and team Charter (and team Vision - high performance right?)● Story Cards, written and accepted by the team members during Planning Game● C/I or C/D Pipeline Radiator● Board Walks for Board+Radiator Reviews (constantly pressure what’s valuable, wall

space - and head space - is a limited and precious “resource”)● Tangible Planning Board, designed by team, for themselves and their stakeholders

○ NEAT!


Some good experiences within development teams

Non-Familiar Practices● 1x Team Lunch Weekly: 1 rule - “no work talk!”● Feedback: 1-to-1’s:

○ Leader with followers○ Preferably peer-to-peer○ 360’s (senior, peer, junior) for all

● Walls to radiate valuable information to all (especially current, transition and future designs and models)

● Experiential training - Show, Don’t Tell○ Current research (“Working with Emotional Intelligence” - Dan Goleman)

■ Lecture-only training is nearly useless, especially for workplace behaviour changes. Negative ROI in fact

■ Create trainings around simulations, role-play, observers-groups● Use a balance of real-time events to “Stop the Line” / pause the team to

facilitate in depth conversations when opportunities arise


Some good experiences within development teams: Board and Basics


Foundations 1: VUCA

Originally military context, now is increasingly being applied to dynamic/chaotic/complex environments

V = Volatility. Nature + dynamics of change, AND nature + speed of change forces and change catalysts.

U = Uncertainty. Lack of predictability, prospects for surprise, sense of awareness and understanding of issues and events.

C = Complexity. Multiplex of forces, confounding of issues and the chaos and confusion that surround an organization.

A = Ambiguity. Haziness of reality, potential for misreads, and the mixed meanings of conditions; cause-and-effect confusion.


VUCA versus Clarity


Foundations 2: Clarity (specifying what is wanted, why, how)

VUCA is countered by clarity.

A way to achieve clarity (Ron Jeffries’ 3C’s included) is via Specification Quality Control (Tom Gilb inspired)

Entry Condition: Document (or Communication Piece) + StandardsExit Condition: Violations Counted

Middle Activity:Comparison of document against basic standards:

- Clear- Concise- Quantified Qualities- No Design!


Foundations 2: Clarity



Doh, another deer

Some good experiences within IT management teams

In any environment, if the people are not engaged or are able to not be held to be accountable for their objectives, HBD (“Here Be Dragons”)! The dragons will overcome any outsider or “lesser powerful person” based on any non-professional behaviour (their own non-accountable or the other’s fully accountable).

The HUGE difference between a management team and development team: managers have people to “program” within their dynamic organisations.

Agile-Familiar Practices● Board designs must be customised to truly reflect the work of this organisation● Understand the time available, and the time actually spent

○ Beware of hiding behind BAU● Scrum is not a good framework to deal with an environment where interrupts are

unavoidable (!!) or non-delayable (!!!) and where there is no Product Owner (!!!!)○ Even a Head of Department or the Pointy Haired Manager is not a good Product

Owner● Eagle-eye-views over time show trends / surface lurking issues

○ Collect real-world, real-time objective data


Some good experiences within IT management teams

Unfamiliar Practices● Fix the (dynamic) system

○ 1 piece at a time○ Maintain/coordinate balanced approach!○ NB!

■ You can’t fix the people■ You can fix your standard(s) and publicise them (eg your values) - thus lead

by example● Specification quality control! (Tom Gilb inspired)● More experiential trainings● Capability model/Skills matrix


Some good experiences within IT management teams: Boards


Summary of 7 retrospectives:● Trends beginning to

show in the data● Repeated hard

questions/realisations eg Not Improving, Not Delivering, Not Attending, Not Supporting

Some good experiences within IT management teams: Eagle-Eye views


Some good experiences within IT management teams: Team-owned Skills


Lo-fidelity works best● High traction● Self-score and team-

self-commit to change

Foundations 3: All organisations are dynamic systemsVUCA is countered by systems thinking, controlled experiments (PDCA) within the organisation (team) and feedback.

“The Fifth Discipline” - Peter Senge● Systems thinking● Cause-effect

“Designing Dynamic Organisations” - Jay Galbraith et al● Star Model


Foundations 3: All organisations are dynamic systems

● Be aware - dynamic process control systems operate with automatic feedback loop○ eg as toilet cistern fills up, the inlet water valve is closed by the rising of the

balloon attached to the valve● We don’t have such closed systems and automated process control/objective

feedback loop mechanisms in organisations○ We strive to achieve similar effect by culture, communication, reports and

management interventions● XP Values are incredibly foresightful (and useful) in achieving the required balance

for successful organisational dynamic system: ○ Communication○ Simplicity○ Feedback○ Courage○ Respect


Foundations 4: Plan-Do-Check-Adjust(-Dbl Loop Learn)

VUCA is countered by Deming’s Continuous Improvement Cycle: PDCABut!Planning theory and practical experience is full of contradictions!

People feel stressed out when they feel they have no control over their life or work.

A plan is just a collection of wants and wishes until actions are performed which turn dreams into realities.

Planning should be done just enough to gain sufficient confidence to proceed with confidence. This level of confidence is based on understanding of time and experience of how long things take, why and what risks exist, and how risk will be managed.

Just-In-Time planning, keeping Real Options open until the Last Responsible Moment to Decide.

Plans provide a possible route from a starting position to a possible end position, that is desirable when route is first formulated.

No plan survives unmodified first contact with reality.

If you don't plan, you plan to fail.

Fail fast. It requires an understanding of the Entry Criteria and the Exit Criteria, before you start. This is how you know you have not failed AND avoid your subconscious trying to make you feel better by shifting the Exit Criteria around so that you "succeed".

The Cone of Uncertainty may be unscientific (to a degree) but humans who bother to learn from their mistakes do make fewer of the same kind of mistake, and/or the mistake has less impact

It should be (significantly) cheaper to plan than to do - a plan helps to derisk the chance of failure by communicating expectations to everyone involved in creating the desired outcome

Peter Drucker: “[part of] a manager's job is to ensure that a particular crisis only happens once”ENERGIZED WORK / HMS President Victoria Embankment London EC4Y 0HJ / www.energizedwork.com

Foundations 4: Single-Loop Learning

Doing Things Right

Single-loop learning is like a thermostat that learns when it's too hot or too cold and turns the heat on or off. The thermostat can perform this task because it can receive information about the temperature of the room and take corrective action.

Single Loop learning as the most common style of learning is just problem solving, i.e. improving the system as it exists. This type of learning solves problems but ignores the question of why the problem arose in the first place.


Foundations 4: Double-Loop Learning

Doing the Right Things

Double loop learning is like a thermostat that asks "why" - Is this a good time to switch

settings? Are there people in here? Are they in bed? Are they dressed for a colder setting?

- thus it orientates itself to the present environment in order to make the wisest decision.

Double-loop learning occurs when an error is detected and corrected in ways that

involve the modification of our underlying norms, policies and objectives. It uses

feedback from past actions to question the underlying assumptions behind techniques,

goals and values.ENERGIZED WORK / HMS President Victoria Embankment London EC4Y 0HJ / www.energizedwork.com

Foundations 4: PDCA + DLL



Doh, yet another deer

Some good experiences within strategic (software industry) management teams

In any environment, if the people are having to learn a heck of a lot of stuff (eg startups) there are going to be a lot of mistakes and the trick is to experiment quickly, fail fast AND fail safely (without death or unrecoverable consequences), amplify the learning, and move forward to the next available space.

Luck == Opportunity Meets Preparation

The HUGE difference between a strategic management team and management team: strategic managers have an entire dynamic organisation to “program” in an epic dance of the extremely dynamic market place - everything to play for, everything to lose. Strategy is hard

Agile-Familiar Practices● Iterations● Facilitator● Story cards● Standups● Timeboxing (strictly)


Unfamiliar Practices● Gimmick free● Wear customers’ shoes by any means (Personas, feedback, role-play, critical thinking)● Error reflections (instead of Retrospectives)● “Test driven management”● Wednesday Quarter-Month-Week review-reflect-planning cycles with different

granularity tools but same “heartbeat”● Granularity and confidences● Friday reflections email● 1 vision / 1 goal / 1 focus per timebox - there really can be only 1 in order to get

anywhere planned at this level of a company



What you do well

What youwant to do

What you canbe paid to do

Learn to say ‘No’

Learn to do thisbetter

Learn to monetise

Want-Do Well- Get Paid


Strategy is hard

VUCA vs IT people doing strategy

High levels of VUCA found in marketplace, organisation, and the strategic management

team

“We have met the enemy, and he is us”: Beware Analysis Paralysis


VUCA Counter Macro Strategy Beware, IT is people

V Reduce number of changes in environment (ex)Programmer bias: prefer single-task-ahead-of-us-until-done work items

U Increase knowledge, experience (ex)Programmer bias: hate/fear non-deterministic outcomes

C Learn, simplify the space, apply knowledge from other context's to this one carefully

(ex)Programmer bias: able to handle a lot of complexity, that many others possibly cannot

A Specify unambiguously, qualities quantified, no design, clear+concise

(ex)Programmer bias: hate/fear creating "non-tested-correct" outcomes

Foundations 5: Standards turn PDCA outcomes into Organs (capabilities,

standards, policies)


Foundation 6: We hate waste, really


Transportation

Motion

Overproduction

Defects

Inventory

Waiting

Over-processing

People abilities under-utilised

Handing stuff over to others

Unused artefacts - KM, processes, checklists

Finding information, chasing people

Waiting around - late start meetings

Unnecessary meetings, artefacts

Extra steps, task switching

Defects not caught be tests

Single role specialists


- BoardsEspecially the “scorecard”

Note absence of

burndowns/burnups


Some good experiences within IT management teams: Planning cycles

Every half-day collaboration,

Every day Standup (“What can you contribute today to move closer to goals?”)

Every Wednesday 10AM Planning Cycle

Every last Wednesday of Month 10AM Planning Cycle

Every last Wednesday of Quarter 10AM Planning Cycle

Last Wednesday of Financial Year 10AM 5Q Planning

Second last Wednesday of Financial Year 10AM 10 Key Performance Indicators selected, baselined and targets set.


Foundations 7: Strategic Governance is a Process


PLANVisualise future state using goals. Prioritise key value

drivers. Define investmentsin a strategic plan

1

4

3

2

ACTAdjust strategic plan and re-prioritise key value drivers

DOInnovation

CHECKStudy and assess gap between actual results

and expectations

5-quarterrolling view / Quarterly

review

Medium-term strategy cycle“steer the investment”

Short-term operating cycle“manage the investment”

Management Information System• Fast actuals versus prior periods• Rolling forecasts• Trends, patterns, and moving averages• Quantified goals

DOManage operations

2

1

4

3

PLANSet monthlygoals and action plans

ACTAdjust operations

2-quarterrolling view

/ Monthly review

CHECKReview measurements against expectations


Foundations 8: Iterate on everything!

MARKET

$$

!?Do not increment!It unbalances the dynamic system and leads to failure


Foundations 8: Seriously, iterate

MARKET

$

$

$

$

Getting paid frequently, and sufficiently/well, is very important

Foundations 9: Strategic Planning with SWOT + PESTLE

You need to know where you are, And where you want to go, Before you can imagine or assess how you get there (strategies)

SWOT:● Strengths and Weaknesses - where you are now● Opportunities and Threats - external events/truthes/soon-to-be-truthes

○ PESTLE - Viewing lenses to help you identify externals:■ Political■ Environment■ Social■ Technology■ Legal■ Economy


Foundations 9: Strategic Planning with SWOT-Strategies Matrix


Analysis and Strategies of:

<TBD>

Strengths

1. <1-6 Strengths>

Weaknesses

1. <1-6 Weaknesses>

Opportunities

1. <1-6 Opportunities>

SO-Strategies

1. <1-3 Strengths-Opportunities Strategies>

2.3.

WO-Strategies

1. <1-3 Weaknesses-Opportunities Strategies>

2. 3.

Threats

1. <1-6 Threats>

ST-Strategies

1. <1-3 Strengths-Threats Counter Strategies>

2.3.

WT-Strategies

1. <1-3 Threats-Opportunities Counter Strategies>

2.3.

Foundations 9: Strategic Planning using SWOT How-To


Quickly brainstorm (free association style) each S-W-O-T quadrant individually, it is

often easier to follow this order:

Top-Down:

1. Start with what you know for sure: team Strengths and Weaknesses2. Try to explore the PESTLE external factors under Opportunities and Threats3. Do a "many-to-many join" where you see new possibilities/ideas/opportunities that

satisfy the condition/make logical sense (yes, Simon Baker is right: everything is a Venn Diagram):

Bottom-Up:

4. Do free association style brainstorming in each of the SO-SW-ST-WT quadrants

5. Then establish "referential integrity" between each of your strategy ideas and the Strengths + Weaknesses (and where applicable Opportunities and Threats)

Repeat cycles of Top-Down and Bottom-Up until you have/had enough!

http://www.energizedwork.com/weblog/author/simon

Foundations 10: Selecting Strategy

VUCA makes this hard! Rationalising the Irrational!Decision Tables on Steroids: Impact Estimation Tables (inspired by Tom Gilb)


Criteria Idea 1 Idea 2 Idea 3

Objective A Impact +90 +10 +50

Uncertainty 10% 20% 50%

Evidence Lots Lots Little

Source Internal Internal External

Credibilty 100% 100% 50%

Cost (K) 1000 1000 1000

Requirement Current Value

Target Value

Objective A 10 100

Objective Z 1000 100

Criteria Idea 1 Idea 2 Idea 3

Objective Z Impact -100 -900 -50

Uncertainty 10% 20% 50%

Evidence Lots Lots Little

Source Internal Internal External

Credibilty 100% 100% 50%

Cost (K) 1000 1000 1000

Foundations 11: Team Dysfunctions


Summary + Thanks!

Thank you!

PUB!


● http://www.energizedwork.com/weblog (especially author = Simon Baker)● VUCA (wikipedia)● Systems Thinking / Cause-Effect Thinking/Modeling: “The Fifth Discipline” - Peter

Senge● Galbraith’s Star Model: “Designing Dynamic Organizations: A Hands-on Guide for

Leaders at All Levels” -Jay Galbraith, Diane Downey, Amy Kates ● Specification Quality Control and Impact Estimation Tables: “Competitive

Engineering: A Handbook For Systems Engineering, Requirements Engineering, and Software Engineering” - Tom Gilb

● “Hard facts, dangerous half-truths and total nonsense” - Jeffrey Pfeffer, Robert I. Sutton

● “How to measure anything” - Douglas W. Hubbard● “Secrets of Great Management: Behind closed doors” - Johanna Rothman, Esther

Derby● “Balancing agility with discipline” - Barry Boehm and Richard Turner● “Scrumban” - Corey Ladas● “Essential Drucker” - Peter Drucker● “Practices of management“ - Peter Drucker● “Homo Imitans” - Leandro Herrero● “Maverick” - Ricardo Semler● “Seven Day Weekend” - Ricardo Semler

References / Recommended Reading


http://www.energizedwork.com/weblog

http://www.energizedwork.com/weblog

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volatility,_uncertainty,_complexity_and_ambiguity

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volatility,_uncertainty,_complexity_and_ambiguity

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001GXQON2/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=B001GXQON2&linkCode=as2&tag=changichalle-21

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001GXQON2/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=B001GXQON2&linkCode=as2&tag=changichalle-21

Experience report on agile tools for management teams

Leadership & Management

Transcript of Experience report on agile tools for management teams