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Conway’s Law in Real Life
Why Organizational Development and Software Engineering
have to go Hand in Hand
DB Systel GmbH | Dr. Martin Strunk | Enterprise DevOps Summit | 20/11/2023
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About me
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DB Systel GmbH | Dr. Martin Strunk | Enterprise DevOps Summit | 20/11/2023
• > 20 years experience in IT-industry
• > 10 years experience in leadership roles
• DevOps enthusiast
• IT-Architect by accident
• Open heart for nerds ❤
My current role: “Agility Master Einheit” (What the …?!)
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About DB Systel
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DB Systel GmbH | Dr. Martin Strunk | Enterprise DevOps Summit | 20/11/2023
https://www.dbsystel.de/dbsystel-en/about-us/profile-3714990
Shaping successful digitalisation at Deutsche Bahn
DB Systel
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DB Systel‘s Specific Organizational Design
DB Systel GmbH | Dr. Martin Strunk | Enterprise DevOps Summit | 20/11/2023 4
> 600 Teams (7 +/- 2)
5 Enterprise-Einheiten
10 Cluster
Geschäftsführung
DB-Partner
“Wir bilden ein lebendiges und anpassungsfähiges Netzwerk dezentral agierender selbstorganisierter Teams”
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Conway‘s Law
or
“How to prevent to
ship your orgchart.”
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DB Systel GmbH | Dr. Martin Strunk | Enterprise DevOps Summit | 20/11/2023
https://bonkersworld.net/organizational-charts
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Conway’s Law – One of the most Universal Principles in our Business!
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DB Systel GmbH | Dr. Martin Strunk | Enterprise DevOps Summit | 20/11/2023
Taken from: https://martinfowler.com/bliki/ConwaysLaw.html
“Any organization that designs a system will produce a design whose
structure is a copy of the organization's communication structure.”
Plausible Simplification:
Communication Structure is highly
defined by Organisational Structure
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Real World Example: Sales Channels of DB (since the 90s!)
DB Systel GmbH | Dr. Martin Strunk | Enterprise DevOps Summit | 20/11/2023 7
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Change Is Tough!
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https://www.bahn.de/info/willkommen
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Org and Arc Are Inevitably Connected
DB Systel GmbH | Dr. Martin Strunk | Enterprise DevOps Summit | 20/11/2023 9
Inverse Conway Maneuver
“Evolve your team and organizational structure
to promote your desired architecture.”
Conway’s Law
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Impediments for Change
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Conway‘s Law
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DB Systel GmbH | Dr. Martin Strunk | Enterprise DevOps Summit | 20/11/2023
“A paradox is not something you can solve,
it’s something you have to manage!”
Organisation Architecture
Foto von Jasmin Egger auf Unsplash
Foto von Ashish Bhandari auf Unsplash
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Start with the Why …
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… and align Org and Arc-Activities to
Maximize Business Outcomes!
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Continue with the How …
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… and you will most likely talk about:
velocity / flow / productivity / costs / risks / happiness …
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It’s all about Alignment and Communication!
DB Systel GmbH | Dr. Martin Strunk | Enterprise DevOps Summit | 20/11/2023 14
Business
Architecture
Org.-
Development
“Biz-Arc-Org-Cycle”
• Build and develop standing
product-oriented teams
• Foster organizational change
• Provide the system’s technical
foundation
• Focus on core elements which
are difficult to change
• Evolve and communicate a motivating
and convincing business strategy and
a sustainable business model
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Communication Needs a Common Language
DB Systel GmbH | Dr. Martin Strunk | Enterprise DevOps Summit | 20/11/2023 15
Helpful!
https://teamtopologies.com
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Visualization Fosters Communication
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Team Types
Interaction Types
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Example from Pioneering Teams at DB Systel
DB Systel GmbH | Dr. Martin Strunk | Enterprise DevOps Summit | 20/11/2023 17
Change driver:
• Scaling
• Cognitive load
• Blocking dependencies
Business
Architecture
Org.-
Development
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Conclusion
DB Systel GmbH | Dr. Martin Strunk | Enterprise DevOps Summit | 20/11/2023 18
1. Awareness: Spread the Knowledge about “Conway‘s Paradox” among
Business Leaders, Architects and Organizational Developers in your
Enterprise
2. Alignment: Good Decision Making must include Perspectives of Business,
Org and Arc. Visualization fosters Communication. Bring the people
together!
3. Design: Both Architecture and Organizational Development need explicit
Design Steps. Don’t fall into the “Emergence Trap”!
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DB Systel GmbH | Dr. Martin Strunk | Enterprise DevOps Summit | 20/11/2023 19
The modular decomposition of a system and the decomposition of the development organization
must be done together. This isn't just at the beginning, evolution of the architecture and
reorganizing the human organization must go hand-in-hand throughout the life of an enterprise.”
Martin Fowler
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Thank you!
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DB Systel GmbH | Dr. Martin Strunk | Enterprise DevOps Summit | 20/11/2023
Get more information and slides:
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Contact
Dr. Martin Strunk
Agility Master
DevOps Evangelist
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-martin-strunk-594387194/
[email protected]
DB Systel GmbH
Jürgen-Ponto-Platz 1 | 60329 Frankfurt am Main
www.dbsystel.com
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