HOW NOT TO SCALE AGILEa via negativa perspective

Tiago Garcez @tcgarcez

Agile Tour Brussels 31 October, 2014

DID YOU SAY FRISBEE?

IMPRESSED?I can do this all day… it’s simple

HOW DOES SHE DO THAT?

FL = 1/2 pv2 ACL Fy = Fg + FL

Vy = (g + (1/2m)pv2ACL)Tx

KEEP

IT

SIMPLE,

STUPID

DID YOU SAY “LION”?

LION? RUN!heuristic keeping gazelles alive since… always

I say, a lion! Let’s see: Lion escape = f(hunger, speed, pack

size, wind, terrain) Expected MaxLionVelocity = 80 km/h

Best course of action: start running NNW and then turn South…

I say, a lion! Let’s see: Lion escape = f(hunger, speed, pack

size, wind, terrain) Expected MaxLionVelocity = 80 km/h

Best course of action: start running NNW and then turn South…

I like you… I shall call you “yummy lunch”

Lion? Run! Gazelle Clever Gazelle

No Photo Available

a proud mother of 6 ! Yummy Lunch

AGILE ORGANIZATIONScatch the frisbee instinctively, before it’s gone

AGILE ORGANIZATIONScatch the frisbee instinctively, before it’s gone

AGILE ORGANIZATIONScatch the frisbee instinctively, before it’s gone

Heuristic: (/hjʊˈrɪstɪk/; Greek: "Εὑρίσκω", "find" or "discover") refers to experience-based techniques for problem solving, learning, and discovery that find a solution which is not guaranteed to be optimal, but good enough for a given set of goals.

source: wikipedia

AGILE MANIFESTOheuristic practices for building complex products

SCALING AGILITYtoo complex a problem to draw a map before the trip

VIA NEGATIVAunderstanding the Divine Good by defining what it is not

Nassim N. Taleb

The entire idea of via negativa is that omission [avoidance of harm,

removal of drugs, corn syrup, cigarettes, gluten, carbs by fasting,

gym instructors, tail risks, etc.] does not have side effects and branching

chains of unintended consequences -hence robust. But

big corporations [evil pharma, pepsi] and consultants cannot

make money from removing; they only benefit from adding.

“Anti-Fragile” (2012)

SCALING AGILEmoving Agile beyond the Team level

SCALING AGILEmoving Agile beyond the Team level

SCALING HEURISTICS VIA NEGATIVA STYLE

SCALING HEURISTICS VIA NEGATIVA STYLE

1. Stop doing projects

PROJECTS ARE FINITE GAMESencourage short-term thinking and competition

PROJECTS BREED POLITICSfocus is no longer on value, but on internal expectations

SCALING HEURISTICS VIA NEGATIVA STYLE

1. Stop doing projects

SCALING HEURISTICS VIA NEGATIVA STYLE

1. Stop doing projects 2. Stop doing resource planning

RESOURCE PLANNINGlike crack to managers who love solving puzzles

GROW TEAMS INSTEADit’s harder, but ultimately more valuable and sustainable

SCALING HEURISTICS VIA NEGATIVA STYLE

1. Stop doing projects 2. Stop doing resource planning

SCALING HEURISTICS VIA NEGATIVA STYLE

1. Stop doing projects 2. Stop doing resource planning 3. Don’t focus on efficiency

EFFECTIVENESS > EFFICIENCYthe objective is getting the baton around the track

SCALING HEURISTICS VIA NEGATIVA STYLE

1. Stop doing projects 2. Stop doing resource planning 3. Don’t focus on efficiency

SCALING HEURISTICS VIA NEGATIVA STYLE

1. Stop doing projects 2. Stop doing resource planning 3. Don’t focus on efficiency 4. Never forget the user

USER > CUSTOMERdelighting users is the only true competitive advantage

SCALING HEURISTICS VIA NEGATIVA STYLE

1. Stop doing projects 2. Stop doing resource planning 3. Don’t focus on efficiency 4. Never forget the user

SCALING HEURISTICS VIA NEGATIVA STYLE

1. Stop doing projects 2. Stop doing resource planning 3. Don’t focus on efficiency 4. Never forget the user 5. Don’t scale technical incompetence

INVEST IN CRAFTSMANSHIPmake sure you can land, before you try to fly

SCALING HEURISTICS VIA NEGATIVA STYLE

1. Stop doing projects 2. Stop doing resource planning 3. Don’t focus on efficiency 4. Never forget the user 5. Don’t scale technical incompetence

SCALING HEURISTICS VIA NEGATIVA STYLE

1. Stop doing projects 2. Stop doing resource planning 3. Don’t focus on efficiency 4. Never forget the user 5. Don’t scale technical incompetence 6. Stop with traditional management career paths

ALIGN CAREERS & CRAFTthe “Peter Principle” will kill agility

SCALING HEURISTICS VIA NEGATIVA STYLE

1. Stop doing projects 2. Stop doing resource planning 3. Don’t focus on efficiency 4. Never forget the user 5. Don’t scale technical incompetence 6. Stop with traditional management career paths

SCALING HEURISTICS VIA NEGATIVA STYLE

1. Stop doing projects 2. Stop doing resource planning 3. Don’t focus on efficiency 4. Never forget the user 5. Don’t scale technical incompetence 6. Stop with traditional management career paths 7. Don’t scale process

CULTURE > PROCESSdon’t focus on processes, scale trust and purpose instead

SCALING HEURISTICS VIA NEGATIVA STYLE

1. Stop doing projects 2. Stop doing resource planning 3. Don’t focus on efficiency 4. Never forget the user 5. Don’t scale technical incompetence 6. Stop with traditional management career paths 7. Don’t scale process

SCALING HEURISTICS VIA NEGATIVA STYLE

1. Stop doing projects 2. Stop doing resource planning 3. Don’t focus on efficiency 4. Never forget the user 5. Don’t scale technical incompetence 6. Stop with traditional management career paths 7. Don’t scale process 8. Don’t scale unless you have to

SCALING IS UNNATURALmaybe there are safer options?

– Bill Gore (Gore & Associates)

“We found again and again that things get clumsy after 150 people”

SCALING HEURISTICS VIA NEGATIVA STYLE

1. Stop doing projects 2. Stop doing resource planning 3. Don’t focus on efficiency 4. Never forget the user 5. Don’t scale technical incompetence 6. Stop with traditional management career paths 7. Don’t scale process 8. Don’t scale unless you have to

SO WHAT DOES AGILITY AT SCALE LOOK LIKE?

(insert your drawing here)

just don’t forget what NOT to do!

(insert your drawing here)

Tiago Garcez @tcgarcez www.slideshare.net/tgarcez

Thank You !

www.agilar.org

REFERENCES• “Joy, Inc.” (Menlo Innovations, CEO Richard Sheridan)

• “Anti-Fragile”, Nassim N. Taleb

• Ken Rubin, “Economically Sensible Scrum” (SGNOLA Keynote) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcePFHD_p70

• “The Dog and the Frisbee”, Andrew G Haldane (speech 31/08/12) http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/Documents/speeches/2012/speech596.pdf