What do Lean, Kanban, Systems Thinking, Complexity Thinking and Beyond Budgeting have to say about external influences on the software development process? Would they encourage us to approach the development system differently? Through a parallel case study experiment we hope to draw some essential lessons from each school of thought.

1. LESS 2011, Stockholm
Beyond the
Development System
Mike Burrows (@asplake)
mike@djandersonassociates.com
http://positiveincline.com
LESS
2011

2. Beyond the development system
My run-up (positiveincline.com):
“Influencer”, or Kanban and
models for change
Kanban in its portfolio context
A new box on top of old boxes
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2011

3. Beyond the development system
Workshop objectives:
To learn (duh!)
To see synthesis in action
To see different practical
approaches to leading change
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2011

4. Beyond the development system
“It is so much easier to add on than
it is to take away. You buy a new a
box and just put it on top of your
other boxes”
Bjarte Bosgnes
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2011

5. “I see dead people”
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What do you see?
2011

6. Beyond the development system
1. Background, aims (done)
2. Introductions
3. Present case study
4. Exercise 1
5. Break
6. Exercise 2
7. Panel
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7. LESS
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8. Case study scenario
Many fixed-date projects
Remaining durations of many months
Low confidence of date compliance
Organisation
Functional, hierarchical, not co-located, part
outsourced
Defined life cycle
Well observed
Specs, signoffs
Cross-functional appetite for improvement,
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2011
resourced

9. Exercise 1
Gut reaction: what do you “see”
As advisors, what next?
Questions to ask
Information to gather
Things for you to explain
Assumptions
Action plan (assuming assumptions are valid)
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2011
Expected outcomes, timescales

10. Exercise 2
Attempt to define (in general) what
most characterises your school’s
approach
From what you have heard, consider
what (in general) you might take
from other approaches
Refine your action plan
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2011

11. Postscript
“Schools” represented in the
workshop (and by whom):
Kanban (Jabe Bloom)
Complexity Thinking (Ari-Pekka Skarp)
Systems Thinking (Henrik Mårtensson)
Rightshifting (Bob Marshall)
Beyond Budgeting (Bjarte Bogsnes)
“Unbranded” (Ari Tikka)
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2011