Delivering Quality From Chaos Jeremy Norwood

Project Delivery “is providing a solution on time, on budget and to the required quality that solves the identified problem”

Quality “is the degree of conformance to explicit or implicit requirements and expectations ”

Chaos “is the property of a complex system whose behaviour is so unpredictable as to appear random, owing to great sensitivity to small changes in conditions”

Content 1. Contributors 2. Symptoms 3. Diagnosis 4. Survival 5. Summary/Q&A

CONTRIBUTORS – Industry Sector

CONTRIBUTORS – Product & Technology Sector Context Product Diversity Asset Class Variance Exchange vs OTC Cleared vs Not Client Diversity Institutional to Individual Human to Machine Reg. Diversity Regulated vs Not Regional & Global Differences Software Programming Languages Too Many to Name Development Methodologies Immature & Evolving Multi Dimensional Challenges Complex Logic, Latency, Big Data Hardware Network Global Data Super Highway Servers / Storage Phys vs VM vs Cloud Linux vs Windows Embedded Hardware & O/S Programming Highly Skilled & Niche Testing Testing Coverage Never Enough Scenarios Multi Layer Func & Integration Perf & Capacity Security & DR Test Tools Swiss Army knife required

CONTRIBUTORS – People & Culture Culture & Language & Social Company Culture & Values Team Behaviours & Dynamics Individual Personalities & Needs

SYMPTOMS – Recognising the Signs • Overly Complex and Inflexible Solutions • Low Innovation • High Defect Rates and Poor Quality • Unstable Operations and Costly to Maintain Technology • Long Hours • Poor Collaboration Between Teams • Low Level of Trust • High Staff Turnover People • Missed Deliverables & Milestones • High Levels of Rework • Cost Overruns • Low Levels of Continuous Improvement Project

DIAGNOSIS – How Chaotic are Things? Low Chaos =============================================> Extreme Chaos 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Well Known/Defined Requirements Exploratory/Fluid Low Speed High Flexible/Long Term Deadlines Fixed/Short Term Low Innovation High Low Change & Uncertainty High Low Dependencies & Interdependencies High Dedicated Team Availability Multitasking Available Sponsor Unavailable Available Customer Unavailable Low Technical Complexity High Low Org Complexity & Politics High Co-Located Geographical Diversity Dispersed Low Market Complexity High

SURVIVAL – Be Realistic, Consider Future Obstacles • Expect uncertainty – Little or no relationship between cause and effect – Manage through small iterations, anticipation and adaptation – Have contingency plans ready to go – Challenge assumptions

SURVIVAL – Keep it Simple and Be Agile • Keep it Simple • Be Agile – “Having A Quick, Resourceful And Adaptable Character” – A way of thinking, not a defined process Simple clear purpose and process give rise to complex intelligent behaviours. Complex rules and regulations give rise to simple, stupid behaviours. Dee Hock, Founder Visa Credit Cards

SURVIVAL – Synchronise Activities • Apply Dynamic Planning & Control – Act, Sense, Respond • Use best fit Dev and Test lifecycle – Ensure teams are synchronised • Avoid Domino Effect – Decouple activities and create Buffers – Manage “technical debit” built up over time

SURVIVAL – Understand the Dependencies Functional/ Non Functional Project Deliverables Software/ Hardware

SURVIVAL – Use Data • Consider all sources of data • Analyse and identify patterns – Don’t focus on root cause (no relationship between cause & effect) • Make small and quick decisions, check impact and adjust – Remember chaotic environments are sensitive to small changes

SURVIVAL – Advanced Strategies • Chaos Engineering/Testing – Failure is unavoidable so deliberately introduce (via a Monkey) • Latency monkey, Security Monkey, Janitor Monkey etc – http://principlesofchaos.org/ – http://testingsoftwarehelp.com/what-is-chaos- testing-engineering/ • Extreme Project Management – http://www.dougdecarlo.com/

IN SUMMARY • Recognise and embrace chaos – It’s in the DNA of Finance sector and Technology • Understand your environment – Consider all the influencing factors • Combat complexity with agility – Adopt an agile and flexible mind set – Look ahead and anticipate uncertainty – Use data to inform decision making and check impact