Marco Consolaro - Systems thinking - the culture for Agile success

http://www.agileday.it/mini/2018/trento/talks.html#MarcoConsolaro

Driving change via a feedback mechanism is a common pattern in nature and in every self organised system: any alive being uses the same principles to adapt to its environment.

These principles are formalised in General Systems Theory and inspired many in thinking in terms of systems. In this presentation I go through the main concepts with real life examples, showing why they should be the primary cultural reference for organisations wishing to implement Agile successfully.

Transcript

1. SYSTEMS THINKING Marco Consolaro @consolondon “The whole is something besides the parts: there is a cause of unity.” Aristotle (Metaphysics , Book 8) THE CULTURE FOR AGILE SUCCESS consolaro
2. Marco Consolaro Sandro Mancuso
3. A tale of Ordinary Madness
4. In hindsight, I lacked the mental models for understanding the nature of the challenge So I start exploring the world of Systems Thinking Until one day I realized WHAT REALLY HAPPENED THERE
5. WE WERE FIGHTING A BATTLE WE COULDN’T POSSIBLY WIN A SYSTEMIC CLASH Today I’m here to share what I’ve learned Hoping you may find it useful too!
6. 1- Introduction and basics 2- Core properties 3- Systems Thinking applied SYSTEMS THINKING THE CULTURE FOR AGILE SUCCESS
7. SYSTEMS THINKING THE CULTURE FOR AGILE SUCCESS 1- Introduction and basics
8. “..it seems legitimate to ask for a theory, not of systems of a more or less special kind, but of universal principles applying to systems in general.” General Systems Theory Ludwig Von Bertalanffy 1968
9. System Thinkers “The basic laws of the universe are simple, but because our senses are limited, we can’t grasp them. There is a definitely a pattern in creation.” A. Einstein
10. System Thinkers C. Shannon E. Deming J. Von Neumann Taiichi Ohno Aristotle C. Perrone A. Brandolini A. Turing
11. Can we find what they all have in common?
12. They are all SYSTEMS What is a “SYSTEM” ?
13. ➢ has a goal, a purpose or a function ➢ composed of related parts interacting inside a logical boundary ➢ exchange information outside its boundary receiving input and releasing output ➢ has processes transforming input into output ➢ is autonomous in fulfilling its purpose SYSTEM
14. •Composed by many sub- systems working in coordination •Shows a deterministic behaviour •Mostly human-made systems, components of complex systems •Composed by interactive but independent sub-systems •Behavior is non-deterministic and strongly related to the environment (adaptability) •Mostly systems composed by natural actors Complicated ≠ Complex
15. Complicated Complex
16. Why is it important? Because 95% of the worker’s performance is governed by the system Because a team with just a spread of talent can produce world-class result with the right process, good discipline and leadership
17. 2- Core properties SYSTEMS THINKING THE CULTURE FOR AGILE SUCCESS
18. Hierarchical Nature of Systems Universe Milky Way Solar system Earth Italy Trento Yourself Human cell
19. Every System is always contained into another System of higher hierarchy. Hierarchical Nature of Systems As a consequence, systems’ aggregation is fractal in nature and always contains levels of abstraction.
20. Given a set of parts When organized as a system Then collaboration among the parts enables the added value toward the achievement of a goal Fundamental property of Systems
21. Given the parts are dynamically interrelated but independent, The value provided by them cannot be understood if considered in isolation from the whole.
22. Collaboration is achievable via communication When the output of a process in a System is used as the input for another, usually generating a circuit or a loop Feedback loop
23. System Entropy ➢The energy dispersal rate ➢The degree of disorder in a system ➢A combinatory function of all possible states of the system
24. System Entropy 2nd Law of Thermodynamics ➢Total entropy of an isolated system can never decrease ➢In a natural process entropy tends to maximize itself
25. Life and entropy “If we look at living systems from the point of view of entropy, they don’t maximize it. They appear instead to increase internal organization hence minimize entropy, using the external environment as the source of energy.” Schrödinger (“What is life?” -1944)
26. 3- Systems Thinking applied SYSTEMS THINKING THE CULTURE FOR AGILE SUCCESS
27. Fighting Entropy in complex systems If we see Entropy as the energy dispersal rate we could: ➢ Adopt Lean principles about reducing waste (same as reducing system Entropy) ➢ Eliminate or reduce the friction of any non-core non- value-adding procedure ➢ Let the teams to self-organize internally ➢ Simplify, optimize and minimize the latency of feedback loops to avoid bounded rationality
28. Humans make quite reasonable decisions, but based only on the information they have. Bounded rationality & feedback loops A good System gives to every sub-system enough information for making the best decisions (and possibly not more).
29. Feedback loops in nature: Fibonacci F(1) = 1 F(2) = 1 F(n) = F(n-1) + F(n-2) Feedback Loop
30. AGILE FEEDBACK LOOPS
31. Development teams as complex systems Automated tests, iterations, product demo, burndown, retrospectives Feedback loops Working software Input Backlog Output Cross-functional teams with Pairs, QAs, BAs, product owner Interactive, Independent, goal-aligned Subsystems Self-organization YES, WE CAN!
32. Example in nature: Flock of birds 1. Stay close but don’t bump into other birds 2. Fly as fast as birds around me 3. Move toward the centre of the group Rules are simple !
33. Systems Thinking The capability to identify and understand Systems, predicting their behaviour and devising modifications to them in order to produce desired effects. Ross D. Arnold*, Jon P. Wade 2015 Conference on Systems Engineering Research Understand STRUCTURE Understand BEHAVIOUR Predict BEHAVIOUR Devise CHANGE NEW BEHAVIOUR
34. Systems Thinking Understand STRUCTURE Understand BEHAVIOUR Predict BEHAVIOUR Event Storming “Software development is a learning process, working code is just its side effect” Alberto Brandolini Software is just a set of Deterministic Systems with the goal of automating the information flow of the Complex Systems of higher hierarchies
35. Systems Thinking Popcorn Flow Devise CHANGE NEW BEHAVIOUR “It's not only what you do but also what you learn by doing it that matters” Claudio Perrone PopcornFlow “probes” an existing system and enables continuous change via ultra- rapid experimentation
36. System Test PURPOSE Is the GOAL clear and shared? Can it be measured? Are all subsystems aligned? ELEMENTS Can all components including sub-systems be identified? Has each a clear distinct GOAL? INTERCONNECTIONS How do elements feed eachother? NO bounded rationality with minimal noise?
37. When problems are symptoms of a systemic failure, an effective resolution can come only acting on the System itself. 5 whys 4 the systemic cause WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY? Ask yourself “why” 5 times for identifying the deep, sysemic cause of problems. Change the system and monitor the results.
38. Self-organization MOTIVATION Mastery Autonomy Purpose Clear goals and shared company/team vision Kaizen, continuous improvement
39. Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need, and trust them to get the job done. The Human component Agile Manifesto (5th Agile Principle)
40. Always make decisions considering what is best for the System
41. It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)
42. @consolondon THANK YOU ! consolaro “The greatest waste of all is failing to use the abilities of people, to learn about their frustrations and about the contributions that they are eager to make.” Edwards Deming