Fallacy of Efficiency

So here's the thing, I don't believe in efficiency. It's our obsession with efficiency that has got us into the current technology mess, and which has led almost directly to heavy waterfall processes. Efficiency is how you let the big vendors sell their bloated technologies to the poor CIOs.

Transcript

1. The fallacy of efficiency Dan North ThoughtWorks
2. Dear Michael... “So here's the thing, I don't believe in efficiency. It's our obsession with efficiency that has got us into the current technology mess, and which has led almost directly to heavy waterfall processes. “Efficiency is how you let the big vendors sell their bloated technologies to the poor CIOs.” 2 © Dan North, ThoughtWorks
3. Efficiency (n) 1. The state or quality of being efficient; competency in performance. 2. Accomplishment of or ability to accomplish a job with a minimum expenditure of time and effort. 3. The ratio of the work done or energy development by a machine, engine, etc., to the energy supplied to it, usually expressed as a percentage. 3 © Dan North, ThoughtWorks
4. How do we measure efficiency? Budget/revenue targets Effort targets Time targets Activity targets What does % complete on a Gantt chart tell us? 4 © Dan North, ThoughtWorks
5. A brief history of efficiency Pre-industrial Industrial revolution Rise of capitalism in America Frederick Winslow Taylor Management Science ...You are here... Richard Durnall – the IT Division Refactored 5 © Dan North, ThoughtWorks
6. Meet Mr. Taylor “It is only through enforced standardization of methods, enforced adoption of the best implements and working conditions and enforced cooperation that this faster work can be assured. “And the duty of enforcing the adoption of standards and enforcing this cooperation rests with management alone.” Frederick Winslow Taylor 6 © Dan North, ThoughtWorks
7. Effectiveness (n) 1. Adequate to accomplish a purpose; producing the intended or expected result. 2. Actually in operation or in force; functioning. 3. Producing a deep or vivid impression; striking. 7 © Dan North, ThoughtWorks
8. A brief history of effectiveness Blah blah capitalism in America W. Edwards Deming Lean begat TQM and some other monsters Systems Thinking ...You are here... 8 © Dan North, ThoughtWorks
9. Meet Mr. Deming “All anyone asks for is a chance to work with pride.” “A bad system will beat a good person every time.” W. Edwards Deming 9 © Dan North, ThoughtWorks
10. Systems Thinking – “thinking in circles” Factors influence one another in loops balancing or reinforcing, feeding back or forwards The shower being too hot or too cold The amount I move the dial Being addicted to drugs Committing crime to pay for drugs Being in prison with easy access to drugs 10 © Dan North, ThoughtWorks
11. You get what you measure “Everyone is trying to help” – Virginia Satir 11 © Dan North, ThoughtWorks
12. Let’s game! Exam pass rates in schools? Test pass rates in builds? Prison inspections? Test coverage? 12 © Dan North, ThoughtWorks
13. How can we measure effectiveness? Understand you are working with a system in fact a system of systems, of systems, of turtles Identify the goal of the system which is sometimes just its own survival Step outside the system to observe its effect How well does its goal align with yours? 13 © Dan North, ThoughtWorks
14. How can we measure effectiveness? Throughput accounting investment, operating cost, profit Cycle time for end-to-end customer journey “From concept to cash” Cost of end-to-end process including opportunity costs, factoring in time 14 © Dan North, ThoughtWorks
15. Effectiveness is often inefficient Cross-functional teams Pair programming Promiscuous pairing Parallel spikes Experimentation (aka Innovation) Theory of Constraints Efficiency is the enemy of effectiveness! 15 © Dan North, ThoughtWorks
16. But it gets worse... What influences your organisation? Competitors Markets Technology Staff Customers These are all changing outside your control! 16 © Dan North, ThoughtWorks
17. Change happens Performance Choice x x’ John Roberts – the Modern Firm 17 © Dan North, ThoughtWorks
18. If you focus on efficiency... You get better at being increasingly less effective until one day you notice about 2 years down the line so you have your next corporate overhaul 18 © Dan North, ThoughtWorks
19. Ouch! “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” George Santayana 19 © Dan North, ThoughtWorks
20. Some vendors feed off this Product vendors have tools that hog the spotlight want you to buy bloatware Services vendors want you to outsource, ideally off shore Process vendors want you to buy their rigid methodology 20 © Dan North, ThoughtWorks
21. Some would rather help you Product vendors tools that keep out of your way... and your wallet Services vendors want to co-source, and Share Knowledge™ Process vendors want to sell you self-sufficiency and adaptability 21 © Dan North, ThoughtWorks
22. If you remember one three things... You get what you measure Not all the vendors are bad guys Figure out whether they are helping or hindering Efficiency isn’t effective 22 © Dan North, ThoughtWorks
23. Thank you Any questions? dan.north@thoughtworks.com http://dannorth.net 23 © Dan North, ThoughtWorks
24. Bibliography The Art of Systems Thinking – Joseph O’Connor The Modern Firm – John Roberts 24 © Dan North, ThoughtWorks