agility at scale –�a meeting of mindsets

Anna Urbaniak

Daniel Terhorst-North

@tastapod

part 1

a tale of two mindsets

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the digital product mindset vs the industrial mindset

higher uncertainty,�need for learning

low uncertainty, �well understood

results measured�by customer impact

results measured�by output

organised by product,�rewards generalists

organised by function,�rewards specialists

maximise discovery�through experimentation

minimise variance

through strict controls

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digital product mindset introduces new habits

https://bit.ly/gds-governance

automate all along the value stream

delivery, discovery, kaizen

specialists embedded in the team

“hire smart people and get out of their way”

“you build it, you run it” - teams support their own apps

know that we don’t know, defer decisions

team members interact directly with customers

“shift left” on testing, infosec, compliance

leadership defines boundaries, team makes decisions

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industrial habits clash with digital product mindset

https://bit.ly/gds-governance

release coordination: CAB as gatekeeper

following the process “because that is what we do”

specialist development happens outside of the team

introduce more process when things go wrong

separation of make and operate functions

up-front technical and visual design, work breakdown

separation of business and delivery teams

formal integration and test stages

priorities and design mandated from above

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agility at scale requires both mindsets

product teams build and run

their own products

tech ops teams build and run runtime-as-a-product

empower teams to adapt to local conditions

harvest and amplify components for reuse

teams track and report on their own progress

leadership defines overall expectations

Isambard Kingdom Brunel

Martha Lane Fox

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part 2

autonomy with alignment

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alignment (n): in line with or in agreement with others

alignment of

direction

• through product strategy

practice

• through connecting people

focus

• through cascaded OKRs

execution

strategy

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autonomy (n): independent of other organisms or parts

• an objective
• constraints
• accountability

- capability

- resources

- authority

supply side

demand side

autonomy requires

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autonomy liquidity

each element is an asset

• objective, constraints, accountability, capability, resources, authority

each asset has liquidity

• how easy is it to obtain or change?

use liquidity to guide strategy

• remember, liquidity changes with time!

is it easy to obtain?

• go and get some!

​

is it harder to obtain?

• try to “borrow” some

​

is it impossible to obtain (for now)?

• find another way (for now)

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we need both autonomy and alignment

alignment without autonomy�is autocracy

​

autonomy without alignment�is anarchy

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getting started

1. how aligned is your organisation?
• do you know its purpose?
• do you have OKRs cascading down and rolling up?
• how can teams more effectively share methods, tools, and experience?

​

• how autonomous is your team, or the teams in your organisation?
• assess yourself against each element of autonomy

​

​

​

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assess your alignment

direction

practice

focus

assess your autonomy 

an objective

capability

resources

authority

constraints

accountability

which of these is your biggest impediment? how can you address this?

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agility at scale – a meeting of mindsets

you don’t “scale agile”; you can’t scale agile

​

you can enable agility at scale, through autonomy with alignment

• this requires both industrial and digital product thinking

​

alignment comes through direction, practice, focus

autonomy comes through managing liquidity

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thank you, any questions?

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https://annaurbaniak.com

anna@annaurbaniak.com

​

https://dannorth.net

daniel@dannorth.net

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