Taking Flight

From Aspiration to Transformational Action

WHYWHATHOW

Want better results for our business (& us)

Change to get these results

Operationalize & sustain change

Agile Transformation (Transition, Adoption, etc.)

Agile Transformation isstrategic in

nature.

(Transition, Adoption, etc.)

It’s more thaneating

some Agilepractices

2012Ability to Change Org Culture 52%General Resistance to Change 41%Trying to fit Agile into into non-Agile framework 35%Personnel w/Agile Experience 33%Management Support 31%

Top 5 Barriers to Agile Adoption

2011Ability to Change Org Culture 52%Personnel w/Agile Experience 40%General Resistance to Change 39%Management Support 34%Project Complexity 30%

2010Ability to Change Org Culture 51%General Resistance to Change 40%Personnel w/Agile Experience 40%Management Support 34%Project Complexity 31%

Sources: VersionOne State of Agile Surveys 2010-12

Culture

Culture

Top 2 Reasons Agile Projects Failed

Company philosophy/culture at odds w/core agile values

External pressure to follow traditional waterfall processes

“Culture eats Strategy for breakfast.”- Peter Drucker

We’ll start

3 modelswith

Accredited to Michael Sahota & Olaf Lewitz

Collaborative Control

CompetencyCultivation

Schneider Cultural Model

Real

ity O

rient

edPo

ssib

ility

Orie

nted

People Oriented Org Oriented

The Reengineering Alternative, William Schneider

Using the Schneider Model

• Plot organizational characteristics onto its grid– Subjective in nature (acknowledgement)

• Where the largest cluster occurs, this is your dominant culture

• You may have “sub-cultures” that are different• A culture may straddle borders• A new organization may not yet have a dominant

culture• Recommend also plotting where you want your

dominant culture to be…

Adapted from Dr. Ahmed Sidky’sUnlocking the Blackbox of Agile

Culture Habits Decisions

Evolutionary Theory of Economic Change,Richard Nelson & Sidney Winder, 1982

Most organizations don’t make fully rationale decisions those decisions are unknowingly steeped in their habits.

Evil is committed by

the well-meaning

The Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg

Will = Intentions + Actions^ ^What is Said What is Done

f(Keptagreements ) = PerformanceΣ

Decisions Δ Habits Δ Culture

Taking Flight Approach• Set an aspirational target• Examine possible routes• Select the best route and the first waypoint(s)– Consider each leg an experiment– Work details/make decisions operationally – Inspect & Adapt at each waypoint– Make course corrections– Squadron mates

Establish an Aspirational Vision of your future

Aspiration :: (noun)

1. strong desire, longing, or aim; ambition2. a goal or objective desired

End State :: (noun)

1. The set of required conditions that defines achievement of the commander's objectives.

Aspirational vs End State

• Any end state you choose may be wrong (don’t use BUFD for your Org Change)

• Not having a defined end state means you are never done assists mindset change– Revisit aspiration and progress towards it regularly– Use interim states that move towards the aspiration and are

more concrete– Continual experiments/Contained failures– It’s how you apply Product Thinking to your organization

• Aspirations can more easily balance between soft and hard skills needed

In terms of

A vision

AspirationsOrganizational Transformation,

are…

not too complexThe set of characteristics based on this vision

Why is Setting an Aspiration Important?

• Cast what the transformation means to the organization; personalize it

• Determine what the most relevant principles from Agile (or Lean, or Craftsmanship) mean to the organization

• Guides decisions within the organizations; achieves alignment

• Provides guidance for course corrections once we go in-flight

• Avoids top-down directives and moves it to a creative stimulation

Avoids Imposed Agile…

Lots of Approaches to Creating One

Lego for Serious Play

KrisMap

Vision Statements

Cover Story Innovation Game

We want common agreement & understanding…

Participatory Creation > Clear Communication > Proclamation

>> KRIS Map Exercise Here <<

Collaborative Control

CompetencyCultivation

Aspiration on Schneider Cultural Model

Real

ity O

rient

edPo

ssib

ility

Orie

nted

People Oriented Org Oriented

Collaborative

Innovative

Resourceful/Can-DoOptimistic

Pragmatic

Adds Value

Cost ConsciousConsiderate

Organized

Risk Taker

Responsive

Decisive

FlexiblePositive Attitude

Sense of Humor Speedy

Stamina

Motivated

Integrity

Reader

Focused on Business Results

Confident

Empathetic

Reliable

One Voice

“Deliver business value daily.”“Constantly improve doing it,

reducing waste and through new ideas.”

we have a

how do weTarget Aspiration,

Now that

incremental step?determine

the next

the Current State

Understand

Lots of Approaches to This Too…

Process Models

SWOT Analysis

Customer Personas

Business Model Canvas

Select the appropriate mix…

Participatory Creation > Clear Communication > Proclamation

>> Business Canvas Exercise << >> Here <<

AspirationStarting

Point

and

Operational ActionsPrioritize

Determine

toachieve

the Next Statecongruent

Visionwith the

Lots of Approaches to This Too…

Forcefield Analysis

Strategy Maps

Priority vs Energy Exercises

Business Model Canvas

Select the appropriate mix…

Participatory Creation > Clear Communication > Proclamation

>> Follow-Up <<>> Business Canvas Exercise <<

>> Here <<

Goal: Roadmap of Prioritized Δs

Current State

Aspiration

Next State

Process Δs

Org Structure

Δs

NewPractices

Habit Δs

Vision

Adapted from Organizational Transitions,by R. Beckhard & R.T. Harris

Many Things to Change Depending on What’s Next in Priority

• New Strategies• New Org Structures• Find/Establish New Support Networks• New Practices• New/Streamlined Processes• Rewards for Δ in Behaviors• Create/Eliminate Ceremonies• New Habits The Hardest to Do

& the most crucial

Some ofthese will be Experiments

Decisions Δ Habits Δ Culture

Find Key Practices to avoid being eaten…Habits

What Might Be Some of the Habits We Want to Change?

• Ways meetings are conducted• Ways meetings are scheduled• How managers give feedback• Whether agreements are explicit or implicit• How decisions are made and owned• Whether people show vulnerability• How people learn new skills Use as an example

Note: want org habits reinforcing an Agile mindset

Habit Loop

Habit

Trigger RewardCraving

The Power of Habit – Charles Duhigg

OldNew

Training

Need to Know Something New

Recognition

CravingFor

Recognition

Example Org Habit Around Training

Training

Need to Know Something New

Recognition

CravingFor

Recognition

Example Org Habit Around Training

self-study/experimentation=Learning

>> Org Habits to Δ Exercise << >> Here <<

Finding Leverage Points

• The habit to change is formal training to learning

• Step 1: Habit Loop Causality Diagram• The Habit Loop becomes a bit more complex– More Steps– Reinforcing Loop

• Step 2: Look for Limiting Conditions & Side Effect Loops

self-study/experimentation=

Training Request

Need to Know Something New

Recognition

Formal Training

Full Causal Diagram

Fulfill IDP or Certification

Easy to Measure

Statement of Intent

Self-Study

Experiment

Absorb & Share LearningD

elay

Learn the Lingo to “Look Smart”

Get By/Impress

Lack of Failure

ShowsVulnerability

Avoids ShowingVulnerability

Current State

Aspiration

Next State

Process Δs

Org Structure

Δs

NewPractices

Habit Δs

Vision

Manage the Δ

Adapted from Organizational Transitions,by R. Beckhard & R.T. Harris

“No plan survives contact with the enemy.”

- Helmuth von Moltke the Elder

Inspect + Adapt

Status Quo

New Status Quo

disruption amount

disruption time

Satir Change Curve

A detailed depiction of the Satir Change model - http://stevenmsmith.com/ar-satir-change-model/

How can we promote Sustainable Change?

Definitions

Sustainable :: Able to be maintained at a certain rate or level. Synonym: Supportable

Change :: The act or instance of making or becoming different. Synonyms: Alteration, Shift, Mutation

“Change Capacity”

To-Do In Work Done

Organizational Change CapacityWIP Limit =

+

=limit to change

> disruption amount Capacity is the WIP

+

net effect time

tolerance to time-lagdefined by environment

=

+net effect time

balance limit vs lag

AspirationStarting

Point

Promotes

Restricts

Promotion/Restriction based on Limits to Organizational Change

by Herbert Kaufman& Discussions @ #CultureDC

Cross-cutting Teams

Diversity (of thoughts)

Failure ToleranceClear Vision

Employee Orientation

ExperimentationTransparency

New Employees

AspirationStarting

Point

Promotes

Restricts

Low Risk ToleranceGrand Unclear Vision

Hiring to FitInsular Communication

Employee Indoctrination

Successes Only

Promotion/Restriction based on Limits to Organizational Change

by Herbert Kaufman& Discussions @ #CultureDC

Cross-cutting Teams

Diversity (of thoughts)

Failure ToleranceClear Vision

Employee Orientation

ExperimentationTransparency

New Employees

Specialized Silos

Group Think

Current State

Aspiration

Next State

Process Δs

Org Structure

Δs

NewPractices

Habit Δs

Vision

Manage the ΔΔ Kanban

Δ Validation Board

Adapted from Organizational Transitions,by R. Beckhard & R.T. Harris

Next Up In-WorkBacklog Complete

Transformation KanbanReady Measure Done

Next Up In-WorkBacklog Complete

Transformation KanbanReady Measure Done

BasedOn Org

Capacity

BasedOn Org

Capacity

BasedOn

Org &Capacity

To Measure

BasedOn

Org &Capacity

To Measure

BasedOn Org

Capacity

Organizational WIP

Team has• Capacity• Charter• Measures• Expected

Outcomes

Team has• Completed

Actions

Team has• Measured

Results

How do we figure out how much change to pull?

1. Hypothesis use communications paths as a starting point; • capacity = comm paths

N ppl involved• hierarchy comm paths = direct report lines• team comm paths = ∑(1+…+N-1)• can have hybrids

2. Modified by Team Size

3. Multiplied by reinforcing loops

4. Consider like mid-size “story” (in terms of points); every org will be different & large single changes can out-strip capacity and need to be broken down

Team Size

5 9 15 7

“Is Five the Optimal Team Size?”, infoQ, Vikras Hazrati & Jurgen Appelo on http://noop.nl

Scrum teams 7 +/-2

S = ƒ({P},E)where, P = personalities

E = environment

5 Best for deep comm, 15 most for deep trust, 150 most for comm

≥ 1≤1 <1

Change Multiplier

Hire for diversity

Display transparency in decisions

Allow experimentation

Establish clear vision ≥1

Punish failure

Decisions made w/littleno input

Hire yes people <1

Safety

Only concern: people’s performance

on the job

Validation Board

Assumptions

Benefactor

Issue

Solution

P1 P2 P3 P4 P5

Riskiest Assumption

Experiment

Result

Invalidated Validated

Hypothesis

Squadron Mates

• Create a support network• Find like minds and pair– Sounding board for pragmatic decisions

• Better yet, form a triad– Third person holds the commitments of the other

two to each other accountable• Grow network as pairs/triads– Net-Map Technique is a great tool here

Triads come from The Culture Game by Daniel MezickNet-Map Toolkit, Eva Schiffer, http://netmap.wordpress.com

Bewareof

andHidden Assumptions

Biases

A Couple of Typical Biases or Assumptions

• People just don’t want to change– So explain to me why people will take up a new hobby

later in life or move across country? (Hint: it is in their interest – find mutual desire)

• Agile has issues scaling to large programs– Why do you have a program? Could this be solved in a

different manner with sets of smaller applications?(Hint: most “programs” are put together for reasons other than actual size & complexity, such as ability to get budget, the size/complexity is an outcome from these reasons/decisions)

Drawing: Alex Hughes

AgileCultu

re

Satir Δ Cur ev

this wayAgile

Thanks!and

Have aGood Flight!

Paul M. Boospaul.boos@santeon.compmboos@yahoo.com

@paul_boos 703-307-4322 (mobile)

Look for a ‘workbook’ on this in the near future…