"Cold start" fast flow - using external suppliers to bootstrap a nimble, flow-centric organization

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"Cold start" fast flow - using external suppliers to bootstrap a nimble, flow-centric organization Matthew Skelton Co-author of ‘Team Topologies’ Originator of Adapt Together™ by Conflux matthewskelton.com K301 alphalist CTO Summit 2024, Hamburg | 20 Sept 2024

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Matthew Skelton holistic innovation Originator of Adapt Together™ by Conflux Co-author of Team Topologies matthewskelton.com 2

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Challenge: How to “cold start” an organization with limited digital delivery capability with a hiring freeze?❄ 3

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More generally: how to accelerate the move to fast flow by using “flow-aware” external suppliers 5

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Typical story: the organization has under-invested in its technical capabilities and now needs quicker, more nimble delivery … 6

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Options 7

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Option 1: hire smart people 8

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Option 2: train existing staff 9

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Option 3: hire outsourcers 10

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Option 4: use “flow-aware” suppliers and partners 11

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Option 4: use “flow-aware” suppliers and partners 12

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Background 13

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Team Topologies Organizing business and technology teams for fast flow Matthew Skelton & Manuel Pais IT Revolution Press, September 2019 Over 160k copies sold: EN, DE, JP, CN, KR Order via stores worldwide: teamtopologies.com/book 14

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“Architecture for fast flow resembles an ecosystem of loosely-coupled independently-viable services with clear boundaries and stewardship aligned to the flow of business value.” 16 Matthew Skelton

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17 Multiple, independent flows, fractally Flow of value

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You Build It, You Run It (“YBI,YRI”) 18

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No handovers 19

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Self-service platforms 20

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Small teams (~9) 21

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Ongoing stewardship of services 22

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Limit the extraneous cognitive load on teams 23

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24 “With the explicit platform strategy [based on Team Topologies], we simplified upfront planning … for the whole organization. Defined interaction models between teams streamlined execution with just enough collaboration.” – Maksim Koutun, Director of Engineering @ Flo Health teamtopologies.com/flo

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25 It’s o pli te !

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26 high-impact team-of-teams organizations teamtopologies.com

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Key success factors for cold-start fast flow 27

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“flow-aware” suppliers embody Team Topologies principles 28

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Commercial contract boundaries align to flow (“flow-aware procurement”) 29

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31 Flow of value https://teamtopologies.com/uswitch

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32 Flow of value Fictitious but very ‘real’ example

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YBI,YRI for several years 33

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34 Flow of value Supplier S Internal I

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35 Flow of value Supplier S S S S S Internal I

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No “build vs run” boundary for commercial contracts 37

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38 Flow of value Supplier S S S S S Internal I

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Platform incentives for accelerating innovation in Stream-aligned teams 40

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41 Flow of value Supplier S S S S S Internal I

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Platform product management: UX, onboarding, roadmap, personas, etc. 43

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44 Flow of value Supplier S S S S S Internal I

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45 Flow of value Supplier S S S S S I S Internal I

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Capacity funding, not projects 47

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48 Flow of value Supplier S S S S S I S Internal I

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49 Flow of value Supplier S S S S S S S S Internal I I I

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50 Flow of value Supplier S S S S S S S S Internal I I I I I I I I I

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External “flow-aware” suppliers can help to cold-start and accelerate a fast flow initiative … if procurement boundaries are also “flow-aware”. 53

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But… 54

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If we have clear boundaries for flow, with limited interactions, how do we create alignment? How do we learn from each other at pace? 55

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56 Multiple, independent flows, fractally Flow of value

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57 Multiple, independent flows, fractally Flow of value Active knowledge diffusion

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58 Active diﬀusion of knowledge across team boundaries

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59 Alignment and engagement “High performers favor strategies that create community structures at both low and high levels in the organization...”

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60 internal conferences guilds Communities of Practice lunch & learn public blogs

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61 internaltechconf.com Internal Tech Conferences Victoria Morgan-Smith and Matthew Skelton

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62 “This initiative around internal conferences has been the single most effective thing to align business and technology that I have seen in this organization” – Murray Hennessey, CEO, (UK retail co)

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67 Flow of value Supplier S S S S S S S S Internal I I I I I Active Knowledge Diffusion

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Active knowledge diffusion across organizational boundaries 68

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69 It’s o pli te !

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70 “The way that the Conflux crew used their active knowledge diffusion approach to seek out and champion good practices was a real revelation to us at TELUS and helped to shift thinking around how we innovate and share successes.” — Steven Tannock, Director, Architecture (Platform Technology & Tools) at TELUS Digital (telecoms, Canada)

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71 adapttogether.info Create alignment, trust, and engagement across your organization whilst delivering at pace with fast flow.

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Fast flow operating models need active knowledge diffusion across boundaries for alignment, trust, and engagement. 72

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Challenge: How to “cold start” an organization with limited digital delivery capability with a hiring freeze?❄ 74

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More generally: how to accelerate the move to fast flow by using “flow-aware” external suppliers 75

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“flow-aware” suppliers embody Team Topologies principles 76

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Commercial contract boundaries align to flow (“flow-aware procurement”) 77

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Active knowledge diffusion across organizational boundaries produces alignment and staff engagement 78

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External “flow-aware” suppliers can help to cold-start and accelerate a fast flow initiative … if procurement boundaries are also “flow-aware”. 81

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Fast flow operating models need active knowledge diffusion across boundaries for alignment, trust, and engagement. 82

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86 The Adapt Together™ approach from Conflux creates alignment, trust, and engagement across your organization whilst delivering at pace with fast flow. adapttogether.info Team Topologies is the leading approach to organizing business and technology teams for fast flow, providing a practical, step-by‑step, adaptive model for organizational design and team interaction. teamtopologies.com

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let’s work together 88 matthewskelton.com