Navigating From Tension to Flow: A Human-Centred Guide to Overcoming Misalignment

Behind every stalled project, missed milestone, or unclear decision is a story of tension between what people want, what’s needed, and what’s possible. But tension isn’t failure. It’s feedback.

This talk explores how to recognize and respond to tension using Team Topologies principles, flow first thinking, and a healthy dose of human insight. We’ll show how organizational patterns, team boundaries, and interaction modes can either amplify or ease misalignment — and how trust, empathy, and bold conversation are just as important as structure, if not more so. Packed with real-world examples, this session blends organizational design with emotional intelligence to help you design for flow — and for people.

Transcript

1. armakuni.com Navigating From Tension to Flow A Human-Centred Guide to Overcoming Misalignment Fast Flow Conf, 15 Oct 2025 Faye Benfield and Rich Allen
2. 2 Faye Benfield Principal Product Consultant Armakuni Rich Allen Fast Flow Facilitator Conjurer Solutions Ltd
4. 4 Wants Needs Feasibility Subjective surface-level hunches Objective emerge via research backed by evidence Constraints trade offs technology & skills The Triangle of Tension
5. 5 Speed Quality Cost UX Tech Business Inevitable tension in product engineering work
6. 6 Sociotechnical system Complex Environment Sociotechnical System Structure (Organisation) Physical System (Hardware, Software, Facilities) People (Cognitive & Social) Task (Work) Social System Technical System 6 Sociotechnical Design Diagram: Rudolph Oosthuizen. Sociotechnical systems (STS) theory, developed by Eric Trist & Fred Emery in 1950s & 60s.
7. 7 Navigation *not an exhaustive list Active listening Adaptability Collaboration Compassion Complex problem solving Conflict resolution Creativity Critical thinking Curiosity Decision making Effective communication Emotional Intelligence Influence Initiative Leadership Organisational awareness Resilience Tenacity
8. 8 Common contributors to tension we see: • Wants: HIPPOs dictating requirements • Needs: Product theatre • Feasibility: Lack of strategic alignment Collaborate to build humane workplaces instead
9. 9 “We are on a mission to make work more humane and more effective for everyone via Team Topologies patterns and principles.” Team Topologies is a set of coherent patterns to encourage emergent behaviors for fast flow
10. 10 Complex Environment Sociotechnical System Structure (Organisation) Physical System (Hardware, Software, Facilities) People (Cognitive & Social) Task (Work) Social System Technical System
11. Flow of value Strategy, Roadmap, Goals 11 Strategy, Roadmap, Goals Idea Assessment Planning Execution Close Value Realisation “The Business” Determine what the business wants PMO Define initiatives Business Analysts Architects Security Tech Leads Assess size, feasibility, architecture PMO Business Analysts Plan and coordinate across teams Angelfish Starfish Squids Monkfish First “team” involvement here “Kick off” Ops Release to production “The Business” Finance Did it work? CAB Coordinate, Synchronise and Collaborate Coupled in time (“Temporal”)
12. 12 How does the Triangle of Tension manifest? Wants Needs Feasibility Scoring High (4-5): Strong evidence, high confidence Low (1-2): No clarity or little confidence Medium (3): Some confidence, with partial / anecdotal insight, to be verified
13. 13 “We already promised it to the client” What you might hear “The CEO really wants this” “We need an AI solution” High Wants, Low Needs, Low Feasibility Wants Needs Feasibility Wants: 5 Needs: 2 Feasibility: 2
14. 14 “We know it matters, but we’re not set up to tackle it right now” What you might hear “Our users desperately need this feature, but our current tech stack can't support it.” “We've identified a critical customer pain point, but we’ve committed to the roadmap” Low Wants, High Needs, Low Feasibility Wants Needs Feasibility Wants: 2 Needs: 5 Feasibility: 2
15. 15 “We’ve already started this, might as well finish...” What you might hear “It’s really cool tech” “AI Agents are going to solve all of our problems” Low Wants, Low Needs, High Feasibility Wants Needs Feasibility Wants: 2 Needs: 2 Feasibility: 5
16. 16 PMO Business Analysts Octopus Business Analysts Architects Security Sizing Starfish Squids Monkfish “The Business” Ops “The Business” Finance PMO Wants Flow of value Feasibility Needs??? Wants Wants Feasibility Feasibility Feasibility Wants Needs??? Wants
17. 17 So how can we navigate the Triangle of Tension? Wants Needs Feasibility N W E S
18. 18 PMO Business Analysts Octopus Business Analysts Architects Security Sizing Starfish Squids Monkfish “The Business” Ops “The Business” Finance PMO Wants Flow of value Feasibility Needs??? Wants Wants Feasibility Feasibility Feasibility Wants Needs??? Wants
19. 19 PMO Business Analysts Octopus Business Analysts Architects Security Sizing Starfish Squids Monkfish “The Business” Ops “The Business” Finance PMO Flow of value Wants Needs Feasibility Wants Needs Feasibility Wants Needs Feasibility Wants Needs Feasibility Wants Needs Feasibility
20. 20 Team Topologies Guiding Principles “Focus on flow of value” “Limit cognitive load” “Orient around value consumers” “Work in stable, not static, teams”
21. 21 Flow of value Value Stream C Value Stream B Value Stream A Wants Needs Feasibility 😀 😀 😀 💡 💡 💡 Platform grouping Platform Value Stream E Platform Value Stream D Wants Needs Feasibility 😀 😀 💡 💡
22. 22 \_(“)_/ So what now?
23. 23 Influence is earned through trust
24. 24 Make the invisible visible: • Wants: The 5 Whys Technique • Needs: User Needs Mapping • Feasibility: Pre-Mortem
25. The 5 Whys Technique 25 Wants Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Clarified Drivers Initial Want
26. Are our teams aligned to deliver value effectively? User Needs Mapping 26 Needs Value chain Visible Invisible User Who are the users? Need What do they need? What capabilities do we use or require to meet that need? Capability X Capability Y Capability Z Capability ZZ Who is stewarding these? Do the capabilities required exceed our team’s cognitive load? Do we have the skills to do this? Scan to order OUT NOW!
27. Pre-mortem workshop 27 Example pre-mortem questions • What could cause us to miss our deadline? • What will keep our project on time? • What does this project need that we don’t have? • What do we already have that this project needs? • What lessons have you learned from past projects? • What are you worried about? • What are you excited about? • What keeps [QA lead] up at night? • What doesn’t [CEO] want to hear? Feasibility
28. 28 By clarifying the drivers behind the wants and consistently aligning around evidence-based needs we empower teams to make effective feasibility decisions - Faye Benfield and Rich Allen -
30. armakuni.com