But I’m an Individual! LAST Conference Melbourne How is This Still a Thing? Bernd Schiffer 01/07/2016 Resource Pools
But I’m an Individual!
LAST Conference MelbourneHow is This Still a Thing?
Bernd Schiffer
01/07/2016Resource Pools
Core MessageIf you want to reach your business goals with Agile*, a
resource pool is the root-cause problem to a lot of your Agile journey impediments. Instead, strive for stable teams.
* A mindset to deliver value to customers, to deliver regularly, and to become better at that over time.
Agile with Stable Teams
Agile with Resource Pool
Resource Pool Stable Teams
Resource Pool Stable Teams
1. someone creates strategic goal
2. project manager creates project plan(s)*
3. project manager selects resources
4. project manager assigns work
5. resources deliver output milestone* after milestone
* fixed time, scope, and budget
How’s that working?1. someone creates product
vision2. team signs up for product
vision3. team creates product
backlog4. team delivers increment
iteration* after iteration
* fixed time and budget, flexible scope
Resource Pool Stable Teams
Resources People
• no respect• interchangeability
• respect• individualisation
Individuals and Interactions
Source: https://xkcd.com/1562/
Resource Pool Stable Teams
team member (n %)
project team
1
*
team member (100 %)
team
1
1
component
1
*product
1
*
We don’t do projects!
Resource Pool Stable Teams
Work in Progress (WIP)
• WIP high• transaction costs high• utilisation
• WIP low• flow high• focus
This is all my work. I’m tired!
Please don’t interrupt
me on this!
Resource Pool Stable Teams
People Shaped for Work
Work Shaped for People
I’m a block and I’m gonna be shaped!
Blocks are our work, which
we choose and shape!
• push• order• Theory X
• pull• development• Theory Y
5th Agile Principle
Source: http://agilemanifesto.org/principles.html
Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need,
and trust them to get the job done.
Can we say “products”, please?
!!
Tuckman’s Stages of Group Development
Source: https://xkcd.com/1562/
Forming
Storming
Norming
Performing
By Bruce Tuckman in 1965
• going up: one step at a time• going down: up to three steps at once• from bottom to top: 3-9 months
Resource Pool Stable Teams
Forming
Storming
Norming
Performing3-9 months for that?
Sorry, mate, I have no
time for that.
Okay, it’ll take time, but it’s worth it. Let’s give it a try.
Rare Performance High Performance
members hand- shakes
1 02 13 34 65 106 157 218 289 3610 4511 5512 66 0
17.5
35
52.5
70
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Handshakes in a Team7±2
Resource Pool Stable Teams
Becoming a Team
• constant reconfiguration• what are the odds to find a
good configuration?• if you do, it won’t last for
long
• configure until win• then stabilise
This becomes better and better!Everything
was better in the old days.
No Idea Doable
Resource Pool Stable Teams
Short-term Long-term
• avoiding conflicts• retrospectives are
boring• no contact with
customer
• facing conflicts• engage in
retrospectives• rapport with
customer
Why invest in future? Future of what?
Future investments pay off!
Resource Pool Stable Teams
Component Product
• efficiency/quantity• responsible for part of
value stream• part of technology stack• part of product life cycle
• effectiveness/quality• responsible for complete
value stream• full technology stack• whole product life cycle
Resource Pool Stable Teams
Feature Factory Working Software
I’m part of an assembly line, a cog in a wheel.
I’m a craftsman, honing my skills.
Characteristics of a Team 1/5
has dev team, e.g. Product Development Team
has a team coach, e.g. ScrumMaster
has a business representative, e.g. Product Owner
owns one or more products
team member (100 %)
team
1
1
product
1
*
! is dedicated (each person 100 % in team)
Characteristics of a Team 2/5
7±2 is smallis cross-functional (gets the job done end-to-end)
has rapport with users and customers
Characteristics of a Team 3/5
is aligned with organisation (understands and influences the Why)
HowWhat
+How
Why
has self-organised dev team (owns the How)
is self-managed (owns the What and How)
Characteristics of a Team 4/5
Already Part of Scrum
! 7±2
HowWhat
+How
Why
It’s a good set to start with.
is proactive (grows response-ability [sic])
is stable (membership 12+ months)
is self-selected (members choose their team-mates)
Characteristics of a Team 5/5This is beyond Scrum!
Core MessageIf you want to reach your business goals with Agile*, a
resource pool is the root-cause problem to a lot of your Agile journey impediments. Instead, strive for stable teams.
* A mindset to deliver value to customers, to deliver regularly, and to become better at that over time.
But I’m an Individual!
LAST Conference MelbourneHow is This Still a Thing?
Bernd Schiffer
01/07/2016Resource Pools
Thank you!
‣@berndschiffer‣@bold_mover‣ [email protected]‣ http://slideshare.net/berndschiffer‣ http://berndschiffer.com‣ http://boldmover.com‣ http://agiletrail.com