Einstein said "We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them" yet many organizations that want to adopt Agile end up using existing organizational structures to make it happen. That is, they create a centralized team to roll Agile out, define metrics, create a dashboard, communication and training plan and finally a Sharepoint site to push the change outwards. The outcome ends up being another failed Agile transformation story because people either resisted change or they failed to change their organizational culture. This isn't an 'Agile' problem, it's a structure problem. The real issue is that organizational structures are designed to serve the internal purposes of the organization, not their customers or the value they create for their customers. In this session we'll explore real organizations that are thriving by structuring in radically different ways. That includes apply the concepts of dual organizational operating systems, de-centralized networks, structuring around value streams, horizon planning and full-on organizational explosion.

1. NAVIGATING
THE
COMPLEXITY
OF
ORGANIZATIONAL
CHANGE
Declan Whelan & Jason Little
@dwhelan @jasonlittle
#agile2015

2. the A-team game

3. LEANINTUIT.COM @jasonlittle
@dwhelan
#agile2015
purpose
We are all part of the A-Team Greeting Card
company.
We are branching out into postcards.
Our target market is agile and lean geeks.
The goal of this game is to make as many postcards
as you can in 10 minutes.
There will be two rounds.

4. B.A.
Architect Developer
TesterProject
Manager

5. LEANINTUIT.COM @jasonlittle
@dwhelan
#agile2015

6. LEANINTUIT.COM @jasonlittle
@dwhelan
#agile2015

7. LEANINTUIT.COM @jasonlittle
@dwhelan
#agile2015
rules
You all have specific roles depending on your table.
Review your role for what you need to do.
Please note the pre-requisites that must be met
before you can start to work.
You score when you successfully deploy a post-card
to the customer.

8. LEANINTUIT.COM @jasonlittle
@dwhelan
#agile2015
round 1
p p
pp
p
project
managers
a a
aa
a
architects
d d
dd
d
developers
t t
t
t
t
testers
b b
bb
b
business
analysts
Note: only the project manager can leave the table.

9. LEANINTUIT.COM @jasonlittle
@dwhelan
#agile2015
round 1
Reminder: only the project manager can leave the table.

10. LEANINTUIT.COM @jasonlittle
@dwhelan
#agile2015
round 2
1
b t
p
a d
2
b t
a d
3
b t
a d
4
b t
a d
5
b t
a d
p p p p
Reminder: self-organize but prerequisites must be maintained

11. LEANINTUIT.COM @jasonlittle
@dwhelan
#agile2015
round 2
Reminder: self-organize but prerequisites must be maintained

12. LEANINTUIT.COM @jasonlittle
@dwhelan
#agile2015
build feature
what customers want
request

13. LEANINTUIT.COM @jasonlittle
@dwhelan
#agile2015
requirementsrequest
feature
analysis design
code test deploy
Handoff Handoff
Handoff Handoff
Handoff
what customers get

14. LEANINTUIT.COM @jasonlittle
@dwhelan
#agile2015
“We
cannot
solve
our
problems
with
the
same
thinking
we
used
when
we
created
them”

15. LEANINTUIT.COM @jasonlittle
@dwhelan
#agile2015
Debrief
At your tables, answer the questions on the debrief sheet

16. LEANINTUIT.COM @jasonlittle
@dwhelan
#agile2015
organizational boundaries
Agile Pilot
Team
“Thou Shalt
Not Pass!!”
1
Year
Scrum,
XP,
Kanban
User
Stories,
BDD,
CI,
CD
Retros,
multiple
projects

17. LEANINTUIT.COM @jasonlittle
@dwhelan
#agile2015
version one ‘barriers’
0
15
30
45
60
2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Failure to Change Culture General Resistance to Change
Lack of Skill Lack of Management Support
9 Year “Barriers to Agile” Trend from Version One “State of Agile” Survey

18. LEANINTUIT.COM @jasonlittle
@dwhelan
#agile2015
70%
of
all
changes
fail

19. LEANINTUIT.COM @jasonlittle
@dwhelan
#agile2015
30% succeed
1995 – Kotter: 30%
1998 – Turner and Crawford: 33%
2005 – Procsi: 29%
2008 – Mckinsey: 30%
2011 – Standish Group: 34%
Hammer and Champy – 1993
Beer and Nohria – 2000
Senturia – 2008
http://www.bcs.org/upload/pdf/markhughes-060910.pdf

20. LEANINTUIT.COM @jasonlittle
@dwhelan
#agile2015
I
want
faster,
better,
cheaper
How
can
I
test
in
an
Agile
way?
How
can
I
write
code
in
an
Agile
way?
How
can
I
gather
requirements
in
an
Agile
way?

21. LEANINTUIT.COM @jasonlittle
@dwhelan
#agile2015
“Misalignment
happens
when
the
organizational
structure
is
not
aligned
with
the
espoused
theory
of
the
organization’s
purpose.”
- Craig Larman, Creator of LeSS

22. LEANINTUIT.COM @jasonlittle
@dwhelan
#agile2015
HR Change AgileAgile
Pilot
Team

23. LEANINTUIT.COM @jasonlittle
@dwhelan
#agile2015
requirementsrequest
feature
analysis design
code test deploy
Handoff Handoff
Handoff Handoff
Handoff
remember this?

24. LEANINTUIT.COM @jasonlittle
@dwhelan
#agile2015
Communication structures are mis-aligned
with cross-functional collaboration

25. LEANINTUIT.COM @jasonlittle
@dwhelan
#agile2015
? ?
!
Managers get ‘removed from the loop’ and blamed
by upper management for losing control

26. LEANINTUIT.COM @jasonlittle
@dwhelan
#agile2015
culture
follows
structure
TRANSFORMATION!

27. LEANINTUIT.COM @jasonlittle
@dwhelan
#agile2015
culture
follows
structure
TRANSFORMATION!
ANDAND

28. LEANINTUIT.COM @jasonlittle
@dwhelan
#agile2015
what
transformation
means
Shared
Values
(culture)
Strategy Structure Systems
Skills Style Staff
McKinsey 7S Change Model

29. LEANINTUIT.COM @jasonlittle
@dwhelan
#agile2015
a
new
‘old
way’
of
organizing
Horizon
1
Horizon
2
Horizon
3
Stability
Experimentation
“Innovation”
The Alchemy of Growth
The Granularity of Growth

30. LEANINTUIT.COM @jasonlittle
@dwhelan
#agile2015
create
a
petri
dish
Horizon
1
Horizon
2
SAFe, Agile pilots,
‘Scrumify’ existing teams,
mandated ‘innovation time’ Horizon
3
Create a new company
inside the existing
company that WILL NOT
conform to any existing
organizational
boundaries!

31. LEANINTUIT.COM @jasonlittle
@dwhelan
#agile2015
500,000+ registered businesses in
the US alone
Maybe 10 examples of non-startup
companies that are organizing
differently
King
Spotify
Intuit (not us, the Quickbooks folks!)
TELUS
Buurtzorg
Zappos

32. LEANINTUIT.COM @jasonlittle
@dwhelan
#agile2015
3
tools
to
navigate
the
complexity
of
organizational
change
1.change canvas
2.perspective mapping
3.blast radius

33. LEANINTUIT.COM @jasonlittle
@dwhelan
#agile2015
1- Change Canvas
http://leanchange.org/canvases/

34. LEANINTUIT.COM @jasonlittle
@dwhelan
#agile2015
EXECUTIVE
MANAGER
TEAMS/
PERSPECTIV
DAT
SUPPORTING
THE
HOLDING
BACK
THEME THEME
2 - perspective mapping
leanchange.org/perspectivemapping

35. LEANINTUIT.COM @jasonlittle
@dwhelan
#agile2015
3 - blast radius
leanchange.org/blastradius
CUSTOMERS
Processes Affected
PRODUCT 1
DEV
QA PROCESS
STATUS
REPORTS
PILOT
TEAM
OPS
DEPENDENT
TEAM(S)
People Affected
Directly Affected
In-Directly Affected
Observers
+ Movers
- Immovables
Moveables
+
+
-
MARKETING
-
! Hard to change
“Easier” to change
!

36. LEANINTUIT.COM @jasonlittle
@dwhelan
#agile2015
simple.
but
not
easy.

37. LEANINTUIT.COM @jasonlittle
@dwhelan
#agile2015
Organizations
are
implicitly
optimized
to
avoid
changing
the
status
quo
middle-­‐
and
first-­‐level
manager
and
“specialist”
positions
&
power
structures.
Larman’s Law:
Your only impediment to transformation.

38. LEANINTUIT.COM @jasonlittle
@dwhelan
#agile2015
inspiration

39. LEANINTUIT.COM @jasonlittle
@dwhelan
#agile2015
references
leanchange.org
leanintuit.com
adecadeofagile.com
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newSTR_91.htm
http://www.craiglarman.com/wiki/index.php?title=Larman
%27s_Laws_of_Organizational_Behavior
aDecadeOfAgile.com