This document contains a presentation on organizational structures and decision making. It discusses how traditional hierarchical structures can lead to poor decisions, stress, and wasted potential. It suggests that self-organizing teams with appropriate tools for decision making can help address these issues. The presentation also notes that there are alternative approaches to management, such as Agile, Lean, Holacracy and Sociocracy, that may help create learning organizations better suited to complex work like software development.

1. Pissing against the wind
@ziobrando

2. About me
In the IT field since ZX Spectrum
Strategic IT Consultant ...whatever that means
Trainer (Avanscoperta & Skills Matter)
Technical Writer
Blogger: http://ziobrando.blogspot.com
Twitter: @ziobrando
My e-mail: alberto.brandolini@gmail.com

3. What I do
9%
11%
12%
31%
38%
Agile processes
Domain-Driven Design
Efficiency & Management
Architecture
Funny clown

4. Intelligent persons
taking
stupid decisions

5. But first...

6. Preface

8. Love?

9. Thermodynamic
convenience

10. 15° C

11. 18° C
40° C

12. 35° C
sunny, windy

13. But for us...

14. He’s lovely
He’s lazy
He’s smart
He’s cute
he’s a bastard

15. Friction
and how Scrum and Kanban pretend to face it

16. Scrum Roles
Team Scrum
Master
Product Owner

17. Why Roles?

18. Team
Scrum
Master?
Product
Owner

19. Team Team
Scrum
Master?
Product
Owner

20. Team Team
Scrum
Master?
Product
Owner

21. Team Team
Scrum
Master?
Product
Owner
Team Leader?

22. Team Team
Scrum
Master?
Product
Owner
Team Leader?
Project Manager?

23. Team Team
Scrum
Master?
Product
Owner
Team Leader?
Project Manager?
Consultant?

24. Team Team
Scrum
Master?
class?
Product
Owner
Team Leader?
Project Manager?
Consultant?

25. Team Team
Scrum
Master?
class?
Product
Owner?
Team Leader?
Project Manager?
Consultant?

26. Team Team
Scrum
Master?
class?
Product
Owner?
Team Leader?
Project Manager?
Consultant?
?

27. Product
Owner

28. Product
Owner
Needs to be a person
with the knowledge,
the ability and the
power to make critical
decision for the
product in
development

29. Scrumbut

30. Good as bolognese sauce
made with seitan

31. or..

32. “Scrum doesn’t
work.
Let’s try something
else”

33. Kanban
•lightweight start
•We don’t touch roles

34. Apparently
Dev Team
Organization

35. After fixing things...

36. We discover that...

37. It’s always an IT problem until it’s proved not to
be. I’ve been involved in agile teams where I’ve
seen improvements on the technical side expose
shortcomings and failures on the business side.
When delivery is predictable the bottleneck
shifts into the business. By delivering high
quality software that just works, continuous
feedback from customers and the measurement
of realized benefits often reveals poor decision-
making in other parts of the organization.
http://nobull.energizedwork.com/ Simon Baker

38. They’re not always
happy

39. Resistence

40. Our role

41. right? wrong?

42. right? wrong?
Embarassing
implementations

43. right? wrong?
Embarassing
implementations
Cronically late

44. right? wrong?
Embarassing
implementations
Cronically late
overpromising and
underfulfilling

45. right? wrong?
Embarassing
implementations
Cronically late
overpromising and
underfulfilling
...

46. right? wrong?
Embarassing
implementations
Cronically late
overpromising and
underfulfilling
Constraints, policies, etc.
...

47. right? wrong?
Embarassing
implementations
Cronically late
overpromising and
underfulfilling
Constraints, policies, etc.
...
changing requirements

48. right? wrong?
Embarassing
implementations
Cronically late
overpromising and
underfulfilling
Constraints, policies, etc.
...
changing requirements
companies do not
understand IT

49. right? wrong?
Embarassing
implementations
Cronically late
overpromising and
underfulfilling
Constraints, policies, etc.
...
changing requirements
companies do not
understand IT
Salary policies

50. right? wrong?
Embarassing
implementations
Cronically late
overpromising and
underfulfilling
Constraints, policies, etc.
...
changing requirements
companies do not
understand IT
Only conservative
choices allowed
Salary policies

51. “It’s not all
black or
white”
Pierrot

52. “It’s not all
black or
white”
A. Del Piero

53. By the way... some of
you should have
thought...
“Alex del Pierrot”

54. ...and that would be
the only thing you’ll
remember of this
talk
This is the thing I cannot guarantee here...

55. Like it or not

56. Our brain is a weird
animal

57. Let’s get back to us

58. 0
I’m sincerely impressed by
your progress, guys!

60. Gods are angry

61. Burn the witch!

62. It’s IT’s fault!

63. We always look for a
simple cause &
effect relation

64. ...but in a complex
system, the
explanation can’t be
simple

65. nevertheless..
http://www.wpclipart.com/medical/anatomy/brain/four_lobes_of_the_cerebral_cortex.png.html

66. This is how we are

68. System 1

69. System 1
Quick pattern matching

70. System 1
Quick pattern matching
parallel processing, unaware mode

71. System 1
Quick pattern matching
parallel processing, unaware mode
Low energy consumption

72. System 1
Quick pattern matching
parallel processing, unaware mode
Low energy consumption
System 2

73. System 1
Quick pattern matching
parallel processing, unaware mode
Low energy consumption
System 2
Complex elaboration that need
attention and concentration

74. System 1
Quick pattern matching
parallel processing, unaware mode
Low energy consumption
System 2
No parallelism
Complex elaboration that need
attention and concentration

75. System 1
Quick pattern matching
parallel processing, unaware mode
Low energy consumption
System 2
High energy consumption
No parallelism
Complex elaboration that need
attention and concentration

76. The cat

77. Let’s get back to
Scrum

78. Sel
Self-organizing team

79. Organization chart

80. You know it

81. Divide et impera

82. Divide et impera
System
1
bullshit

83. Decisions
Information

85. 2 problem families:
!
Decisions taken in the
wrong place
!
Decisions taken in the
wrong way

86. “I gave you 2 more
persons... You’ll deliver
earlier!”

87. “I gave you 2 more persons...
You’ll deliver earlier!”

88. “I gave you 2 more persons...
You’ll deliver earlier!”
- Linear outcome (false)

89. “I gave you 2 more persons...
You’ll deliver earlier!”
- Linear outcome (false)
- Linear proportion between cost
and delivered value (false)

90. “I gave you 2 more persons...
You’ll deliver earlier!”
- Linear outcome (false)
- Linear proportion between cost
and delivered value (false)
- Linear starting costs (false)

91. “We couldn’t hire a
senior, so we hired two
juniors”

92. “We couldn’t hire a senior, so we
hired two juniors”

93. “We couldn’t hire a senior, so we
hired two juniors”
- Linear outcome (false)

94. “We couldn’t hire a senior, so we
hired two juniors”
- Linear outcome (false)
- Linear proportion between cost
and delivered value (false)

95. “We couldn’t hire a senior, so we
hired two juniors”
- Linear outcome (false)
- Linear proportion between cost
and delivered value (false)
- Linear starting costs (false)

96. “Proceed with the
other activities in the
meanwhile”

97. “Proceed with the other
activities in the meanwhile”

98. “Proceed with the other
activities in the meanwhile”
- Null context switch cost (false)

99. “Proceed with the other
activities in the meanwhile”
- Null context switch cost (false)
- Suspended activities remain idle
(false)

100. “Proceed with the other
activities in the meanwhile”
- Null context switch cost (false)
- Suspended activities remain idle
(false)
- Doing is always better than not
doing (false)

101. The bullshit
asymmetry
principle

102. The amount of energy
necessary to refute
bullshit is an order of
magnitude bigger
than to produce it

105. Pyramid is
disfunctional

106. Convincing the boss

107. Decisions
Informations

108. Decisions
Informations
I need to convince
my boss to let me do this
thing

109. Decisions
Informations
I need to convince
my boss to let me do this
thing
I have no idea what
he’s talking about

110. Decisions
Informations
I need to convince
my boss to let me do this
thing
I have no idea what
he’s talking about
But I have to say
something

112. Versailles Antipattern

113. Versailles Antipattern
Boss is not in the
right mood today

114. Versailles Antipattern
Boss is not in the
right mood today
Can you help me
convincing him?

115. Versailles Antipattern
Boss is not in the
right mood today
Can you help me
convincing him?
We need a
mutual cover-up
strategy

116. Versailles Antipattern
Boss is not in the
right mood today
Can you help me
convincing him?
We need a
mutual cover-up
strategy I heard that he said
that...

117. Waste

118. Cortisan
born to resolve
language problems
between the king,
aristocracy and people.
Typically evolves into a
filter.
Variable power.

119. Cortisan
born to resolve
language problems
between the king,
aristocracy and people.
Typically evolves into a
filter.
Variable power.

120. Richelieu
Cortisan
born to resolve
language problems
between the king,
aristocracy and people.
Typically evolves into a
filter.
Variable power.

121. Richelieu
Cortisan
born to resolve
language problems
between the king,
aristocracy and people.
Typically evolves into a
filter.
Variable power.

122. Richelieu
Alfano
Cortisan
born to resolve
language problems
between the king,
aristocracy and people.
Typically evolves into a
filter.
Variable power.

123. Waste

124. These are problems
for every organization

125. ...but Agile rides
straight into that

126. Software
development is a
continuous decision
making process

127. Are we good
decision makers?

128. How can I exit the
stalemate?

129. Ideology?

130. Ideology?
NO!

131. Skills
Let’s add a dimension

132. Fine-Grained Delegation
Management 30.com

133. Delegation Matrix
Estimate Design Holiday Budget
Tell
Sell
Consult X
Agree
Advise X
Inquire X
Delegate X

134. Towards nirvana
Skills
responsibility Frustration
Conflicts
Turnover
Anarchy
Losing control

135. Towards nirvana
dream
Skills
responsibility Frustration
Conflicts
Turnover
Anarchy
Losing control

136. Towards nirvana
dream
Management’sview
Skills
responsibility Frustration
Conflicts
Turnover
Anarchy
Losing control

137. Towards nirvana
dream
Management’sview
Team’s view
Skills
responsibility Frustration
Conflicts
Turnover
Anarchy
Losing control

138. (In)competence

139. Learning Organization?

140. How is feedback
managed?

141. How is feedback managed?

142. How is feedback managed?
- Real time feedback right after the
lesson?

143. How is feedback managed?
- Real time feedback right after the
lesson?
- End of course feedback?

144. How is feedback managed?
- Real time feedback right after the
lesson?
- End of course feedback?
- Post-degree feedback?

145. How is feedback managed?
- Real time feedback right after the
lesson?
- End of course feedback?
- Post-degree feedback?
- 5 years after feedback?

146. once passed the gates...

147. Gavetta
(apprenticeship)

148. “I park you
somewhere, doing
something not
really useful,
‘cause I have no
Idea about how to
make you grow”
Gavetta:

149. We need experienced people

150. We need experienced people

151. We need experienced people

152. The pyramid is stable

153. Recruiting
Strategy

155. The hazing
temptation

156. It’s been hard for me,
it has to be hard for
you.

157. Are we good
teachers

158. NO

159. Incompetence
Little
alternatives
Fear
Immobilism

160. Bingo!
Università
produce
incompetenti
basso livello
di competenze
in azienda
Università
non impara
Frustrazione
per chi impara
in fretta
Gavetta
Omologazione
per chi resiste
La piramide
si rinforza
Fuga di
talenti

161. Wasted potential

162. Learning is up to you

163. Decision Making

164. Are we good in
making decisions

165. With the appropriate tools

166. With the appropriate tools

167. Can we take
decisions
as teams?

168. Skills

169. Stress

170. Stress
Psycological reaction
!
To an adverse situation
!
Situation is perceived as
inevitable

171. Brain
can’t learn

172. Is it really resistence?

173. Bingo!
We don't learn
under strsss
Pyramid
generates
stress
Low expertise
levels justify
pyramids
Pyaramid
strengthens

175. Conclusion

177. We have limited
resources:
Better not to take
decisions in given
circumstances

178. Some decisions can
be taken without
taking them
(just letting them
happen)

179. Decisions are a lot
better if taken in the
right place

180. deciding
vs
making it happen

181. 3 moves to change
Rational instruction
Emotional impact
Removing
impediments

182. (Not) an IT problem

183. Pyramid is the problem

184. IT Department

185. mess
IT Department

186. mess
mess
IT Department

187. mess
messmess
IT Department

188. mess
messmess
IT Department
MESS!

189. mess
messmess
IT Department
MESS!MESS!

190. mess
messmess
IT Department
MESS!MESS!MESS!

191. mess
messmess
IT Department
MESS!MESS!MESS!MESS!

192. mess
messmess
IT Department
MESS!MESS!MESS!MESS!MeSS!

193. mess
messmess
IT Department
MESS!MESS!MESS!MESS!MeSS!MESS!

194. Dogfood effect

195. Who moves
first?

196. Who moves
first?
NO!

197. There are alternatives
www.betacodex.org

198. there are alternatives
www.holacracy.org

199. We’re not alone

200. We’re not alone
Agile

201. We’re not alone
Agile
Lean

202. We’re not alone
Agile
Lean
Complexity
Science

203. We’re not alone
Agile
Lean
Complexity
Science

204. We’re not alone
Agile
Lean
Complexity
Science

205. We’re not alone
Agile
Lean
Complexity
Science Management 3.0

206. We’re not alone
Agile
Lean
Complexity
Science Management 3.0
Beyond Budgeting

207. We’re not alone
Agile
Lean
Complexity
Science Management 3.0
Beyond Budgeting
#Stoos

208. We’re not alone
Agile
Lean
Complexity
Science Management 3.0
Beyond Budgeting
#Stoos
Radical Management

209. Questions?

210. Thank you!
@ziobrando
alberto.brandolini@avanscoperta.it
www.avanscoperta.it