agilelondon mind-over-mechanism-oliverbernard
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Agile - Mind over mechanismTRANSCRIPT
Agile London – May 2014
MIND OVER MECHANISMWhy your ‘agile’ isn’t the same as my ‘agile’ and why that matters.
Agile London - May 2014
Agile London – May 2014
A PROBLEM …
Agile London – May 2014
My Agile isn’t your Agile
• Philosophy• Methodology• Mindset• Framework • It’s scrum • It’s iterative development• It’s the opposite of waterfall• It’s I don’t know what but it’s
“good”• It’s for software development• It means we don’t have to plan
• It’s lightweight• It’s a project management thing• It’s a faster way to develop• It’s a cheaper way to develop• It’s sprints• It’s standups• It’s story points• It’s writing everything on index cards• It’s touchy• It’s feely• It’s…
What is it?
Agile London – May 2014
Agile London – May 2014
My Agile isn’t your Agile
~ Martin Fowler 2006
Semantic Diffusion
“Semantic diffusion occurs when you have a word that is coined by a person or group, often with a pretty good definition, but then gets spread through the wider community in a way that weakens that definition. This weakening risks losing the definition entirely - and with it any usefulness to the term.”
http://martinfowler.com/bliki/SemanticDiffusion.html
Agile London – May 2014
My Agile isn’t your Agile
“In psychiatry, the term neologism is used to describe the use of words that have meaning only to the person who uses them, independent of their common meaning. This tendency is considered normal in children, but in adults it can be a symptom of psychopathy[9] or a thought disorder.”
Semantic Diffusion
Neologism [nee-ol-uh-jiz-uhm]
Agile London – May 2014
Agile London – May 2014
My Agile isn’t your Agile
• We all “Do” “Agile”• “Agile” has become a noun rather than an
adjective• Virtually everything is labelled “Agile”• Virtually everything doesn’t work• “Agile” gets the blame
Why is this a problem?
Agile London – May 2014
My Agile isn’t your Agile
So Why is Agile so commonly misunderstood?
Why has is come to this?
Agile London – May 2014
Mindset
Team, departmental
Agile London – May 2014
My Agile isn’t your Agile
• Scrum• Kanban• Scrum-ban• XP• Crystal• DSDM• SAFe• DAD• ……….
Mechanism over mindset?
Agile London – May 2014
My Agile isn’t your Agile
• It’s for software development
• Software development means nerds.
It’s for programmers
Agile London – May 2014
IT’S ALL IN THE MIND
Agile London – May 2014
Company Culture
Culture is the way that we think, act and interact
Agile London – May 2014
Company Culture
Collaboration Control
Cultivation Competence
The Schneider Model (William E Schneider)Reality Oriented
Possibility Oriented
Company Oriented
People Oriented
We succeed by working together
We succeed by growing people who fulfil our vision
We succeed by getting and keeping control
We succeed by being the best
Agile London – May 2014
Mindset
Ability – static, like heightGoal – look goodChallenge – avoidFailure – defines your identityEffort – for those with no talentReaction to challenge - helplessness
Fixed vs Growth
Ability – can grow, like muscleGoal – to learnChallenge – embraceFailure – provides informationEffort – path to masteryReaction to challenge - resilience
Linda Rising – The Power of an Agile Mindsethttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W47rcJowx7k
Carole Dweck
Agile London – May 2014
Mindset
Ability – static, like heightGoal – look goodChallenge – avoidFailure – defines your identityEffort – for those with no talentReaction to challenge - helplessness
Fixed vs Growth
Ability – can grow, like muscleGoal – to learnChallenge – embraceFailure – provides informationEffort – path to masteryReaction to challenge - resilience
CollaborationControl
Cultivation
Competence
Agile London – May 2014
Mindset
Plan DrivenTop down
Directing Attitude vs Enabling attitude
People orientedBottom up
Martin Fowler - 2004
Agile London – May 2014
Mindset
Plan DrivenTop down
Directing Attitude vs Enabling attitude
People orientedBottom up
Martin Fowler - 2004
CollaborationControl
Cultivation
Competence
Agile London – May 2014
Mindset
Assumes employees are inherently lazy and will avoid work if they can and that they inherently dislike work. Assumes that workers need to be closely supervised and comprehensive systems of controls developed.
A hierarchical structure is needed with narrow span of control at each and every level. According to this theory, employees will show little ambition without an enticing incentive program and will avoid responsibility whenever they can.
Theory X vs Theory Y
Assumes employees may be ambitious and self-motivated and exercise self-control. Assumes that employees enjoy their mental and physical work duties. According to them work is as natural as play. They possess the ability for creative problem solving.
Given the proper conditions, Theory Y managers believe that employees will learn to seek out and accept responsibility and to exercise self-control and self-direction in accomplishing objectives to which they are committed.
Douglas McGregor
Agile London – May 2014
Mindset
Assumes employees are inherently lazy and will avoid work if they can and that they inherently dislike work. Assumes that workers need to be closely supervised and comprehensive systems of controls developed.
A hierarchical structure is needed with narrow span of control at each and every level. According to this theory, employees will show little ambition without an enticing incentive program and will avoid responsibility whenever they can.
Theory X vs Theory Y
Assumes employees may be ambitious and self-motivated and exercise self-control. Assumes that employees enjoy their mental and physical work duties. According to them work is as natural as play. They possess the ability for creative problem solving.
Given the proper conditions, Theory Y managers believe that employees will learn to seek out and accept responsibility and to exercise self-control and self-direction in accomplishing objectives to which they are committed.
Douglas McGregor
CollaborationControl
Cultivation
Competence
Agile London – May 2014
Mindset
Detailed plan up frontFollow plan until completeAdjust your understanding based on what you learned
Traditional vs Agile
Find out where you areTake a small step towards your goalAdjust your understanding based on what you learnedRepeat
Traditional vs Agile
Agile London – May 2014
Mindset
Detailed plan up frontFollow plan until completeAdjust your understanding based on what you learned
Traditional vs Agile
Find out where you areTake a small step towards your goalAdjust your understanding based on what you learnedRepeat
Traditional vs Agile
CollaborationControl
Cultivation
Competence
Agile London – May 2014
Mindset
• Determines goals• Reactions to failure• Belief about effort and strategies• Attitudes towards others’ success• Determines your attitudes towards learning
Agile London – May 2014
The learning Organisation
1. Novice
• Rigid adherence to taught rules or plans – no exercise of discretionary judgement
2. Advanced beginner
• Limited “situational perception” – all aspects of work treated with equal importnace
3. Competent
• Coping with multiple activities – perception of actions in relations to goals
4. Proficient
• Holistic view of the situation – perceives deviations from the normal pattern
5. Expert
• Transcends reliance on rules based on deep tacit understanding – has vision of what is possible.
Dreyfus model of skill acquisition
Agile London – May 2014
The learning Organisation
1. Unconscious incompetence2. Conscious incompetence3. Conscious competence4. Unconcious competence
Maslow?
Agile London – May 2014
The Learning Organisation
Effectiveness = f(mindset)
Bob Marshall - Dreyfus for the organisation
1. Ad-Hoc2. Novice
Analytical3. Competent
Analytical4. Early Synergistic5. Mature
Synergistic6. Early Chaordic7. Proficient
Chaordic
http://flowchainsensei.wordpress.com/rightshifting/the-marshall-model/
Agile London – May 2014
The learning OrganisationShuhari
• Shu – Beginning stage the student follows the teachings of one master precisely. He concentrates on how to do the task, without worrying too much about the underlying theory
• Ha – At this point the student begins to branch out. With the basic practices working he now starts to learn the underlying principles and theory behind the technique. He also starts learning from other masters and integrates that learning into his practice.
• Ri – Now the student isn’t learning from other people, but from his own practice. He creates his own approaches and adapts what he’s learned to his own particular circumstances
Agile London – May 2014
WHAT DOES THIS ALL MEAN?
Agile London – May 2014
Fixed vs Agile Mindset
• “Agile” is misunderstood• The reasons are numerous but mindset and culture are key components in its success• Collaborative and Cultivating cultures support agility• Control and to a certain extent competence cultures are less supportive• The Growth mindset is important in determining attitudes towards learning• Agile is all about learning• Learning theory emphasises the journey from rigid adherence of rules to a more
flexable understanding • Rigid adherance to process, while beneficial will limit growth• A fixed mindset can limit growth at a personal, departmental and organisational level• The prevalent mindset or culture will to a large extent dictate how effectively agile
techniques will deliver lasting value
Agile London – May 2014
References?
The Power of an Agile Mindset - Linda Risinghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W47rcJowx7k
Opening keynote - Dr. Alistair Cockburn "Why Agile Works"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdSiBlLafNY
Semantic Diffusion – Martin Fowlerhttp://martinfowler.com/bliki/SemanticDiffusion.html
Neologism – Martin Fowlerhttp://martinfowler.com/bliki/Neologism.html
David Thomas - Agile Is Dead (Long Live Agility) http://pragdave.me/blog/2014/03/04/time-to-kill-agile/
Right shifting and the Marshal Model http://flowchainsensei.wordpress.com/rightshifting/the-marshall-model
@smrimell [email protected]