My presentation from IBM's INDEX Conference in Feb 2018. Discusses Distributed Cognition in Kanban systems and also in the U.S. Navy's Combat Information Center (CIC) in 1942.
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Trent Hone
• Agile Coach with Excella
• 20+ years development
experience
• Award-Winning Historian
• Complexity Theorist
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Kanban Systems
Create an Environment of
Distributed Cognition that Accelerates
Effective Decision-Making
Our Theme
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A management method for:
1. Directly improving service delivery
2. Catalyzing Improvements
3. Evolving a business to be
“fit for purpose”
The Kanban Method
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The Historical
Problem
The U.S. Navy’s Difficulty of
Making Sense of Complex and
Challenging Environments
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History Informs the Present
• Effective decision-
making in uncertain
conditions
• Prussian General Staff
• Stephen Bungay
• Marine Corps Doctrine
• Don Reinertsen
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The Problem
Captains lose track of the situation
Task forces break down
Coordination proves impossible
But… the information is there
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Combat Information Center
• Made the Invisible Visible
• New Roles Distributed Cognitive Load
• Allowed Rapid Sense-Making through
Visualization and Clear Symbols
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System with cognitive capabilities
greater than the collection of
individuals that operate in the system
Distributed Cognition
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Distributed Cognition
• Human Systems are Cultural Systems
• Rules are implicit until we make them
explicit
• Rules and Symbols are the tools for
creating distributed cognition
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Benefits
• Make sense of the current situation
• Lower individual cognitive burden
• Enable self-organization
• Foster decentralized decision-making
Act
Observe
Orient
Decide
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A management method for:
1. Directly improving service delivery
2. Catalyzing Improvements
3. Evolving a business to be
“fit for purpose”
The Kanban Method
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The ability to quickly and
consistently make the best
choice for the current situation
Distributed Cognition with Kanban
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Creating a Pull System
• Visualization & WIP Limits
• Creates a Pull System
• Clear Signals
• What action to take
• When to take it
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Classes of Service
• Explicit policies around the
handling of work
• Treating work differently based on:
• Urgency
• Risk
• Source of Request
• Etc…
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Options Ready Define Implement Validate Done
3 5 34
Classes of Service
Doing Done Doing Done
= Standard
= Intangible
= Fixed Date
= Expedite
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Capacity Allocation
• Explicit policies governing the
handling of risk
• Often tied to Classes of Service
• Becomes a Decision
Framework
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Options Ready Define Implement Validate Done
3 5 34
Classes of Service with Capacity Allocation
Doing Done Doing Done
= Standard
= Intangible
= Fixed Date
= Expedite
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