Kanban and the End of Methodology

Transcription

1 Kanban and the End of Methodology Presenter: David J. Anderson SEPG North America Pittsburgh October 2013 Release 1.0 Lessons we can learn from Bruce Lee s journey in martial arts

2 The End of Methodology

3 Is Kanban heralding in a new era? It s the end of methodology!* Reflective Improvement Frameworks** are the future! Alistair Cockburn Kanban is such a Reflective Improvement Framework * ** Cockburn s suggested name for this new class of methods

4 A methodology defines behavior A software engineering methodology is a description of techniques what to do how to do it When to do it - sequences or workflows Who does what - definition of roles and responsibilities Ideally, a methodology should tell us why and give us a context to define its appropriateness

5 Many styles of software engineering emerged over several decades Some just personal preferences in style (e.g. PSP versus XP), but others for specific contexts or risk profiles (e.g. the many risk profiles captured in a 2- dimensional grid in Cockburn's Crystal methods). Some styles came in schools or movements - such as the Agile movement While others came as large frameworks such as Rational Unified Process designed to be tailored to a context* *CMMI ML3 includes specific practices for process definition & tailoring

6 The Kanban Method was born out of frustration with these many styles In 2002, I was questioning whether the specific methodology really made that much difference The question wasn't whether a methodology worked or not, or whether appropriateness of context had been assessed correctly or not, the problem was organizations were being seduced into pursuing changes that were too large and too ambitious. These change initiatives were beyond their capability and maturity to manage them

7 CMMI has a bl nd sp t! While CMMI is all about improvement - there is no process area(s) for change management IMO a flaw in the model that inhibits success

8 Change to mature or mature to change? It's chicken and egg - a causality dilemma! In order to improve capability and maturity, you have to be able to manage change. In order to manage change, you have to first improve capability and maturity

9 Managing change has greater leverage than picking the right methodology I came to the conclusion (circa 2002) that the important issue in creative knowledge work wasn't the selection of the right methodology Instead the bigger challenge with the greater leverage on outcome was learning to manage change in the organization

10 Traditional Change is an A to B process Designed Current Process transition Defined Future Process A is where you are now. B is a destination. B is either defined (from a methodology definition) or designed (by tailoring a framework) To get from A to B, a change agency* will guide a transition initiative to install destination B into the organization *either an internal SEPG or external consultants

11 Change initiatives fail (even) more often than projects Change initiatives often fail (aborted) or produce lack luster results They fail to institutionalize resulting in regression back to old behavior (and lower maturity levels)

12 How we process change I logically evaluate change using System 2 I feel change emotionally using System 1 Silicon-based life form Daniel Kahneman Carbon-based life form

13 Methodologies challenge people psychology & sociologically New roles (defined in a methodology) attack their identity New responsibilities using new techniques & practices threaten their self-esteem and put their social status at risk Most people resist most change because individually they have more to lose than to gain It is safer to be conservative and stick to current practices and avoid shaking up the current social hierarchy Only the brave, the reckless or the desperate will pursue grand changes

14 The Kanban Method Rejects the traditional approach to change Believes, it is better to avoid resistance than to push harder against it Don t install a new methodology Is designed for carbonbased life forms - Evolutionary change that is humane

15 The Kanban Method Catalyzes improvement through use of kanban systems and visual boards* Takes its name from the use of kanban but it is just a name Anyone who thinks Kanban is just about kanban (boards & systems) is truly mistaken *also known as "kanban" in Chinese and in Japanese when written with Chinese characters

16 The Kanban Method is a new approach to improvement Kanban is a method without methodology

17 Bruce Lee s Journey in Martial Arts

18 Bruce Lee rejected traditional teaching and styles of Chinese martial arts There are some parallels in the story of Bruce Lee and the emergence of his approach to Kung Fu Lee rejected the idea of following a particular style of Chinese Martial Arts

19 Kung Fu Panda simplified the art to only four styles Mantis Python Tiger Monkey

20 There are in fact very many styles

21 Dry land swimming provides a false sense of capability The only way to learn is to train with a live opponent Lee rejected the many styles of martial arts for various reasons, mainly that they gave the practitioners a false sense of capability, putting them at risk in real combat situations He was against Kata (learning patterns without an opponent) and described them in derogatory terms such as "dry land swimming.

22 Lee wanted to start from first principles and core concepts Four ranges of combat Kicking Punching Trapping Grappling Five* Ways of Attack*** Single Direct Attack (SDA) Attack By Combination (ABC) Progressive Indirect Attack (PIA) (Hand) Immobilization Attack (HIA) Attack by Drawing (ABD) Single Angle Attack (SAA) *Apparently still called the Five Ways, there are actually now six **with the later inclusion of SAA **The fact that The Five Ways has six elements is evidence of evolution in action ***Incorporated core ideas such as "center line" and single fluid motion from Wing Chun and parrying from Epee Fencing**** ****Not a Chinese Martial Art and hence evidence of "no limitation as limitation"

23 Lee s approach still needed a name He named his approach Jeet Kune Do - the way of the intercepting fist - after one of the principles taught in his method. He was quick to point out that it was just a name, a way of communicating a set of ideas. He was passionate that practitioners shouldn't get hung up on the name or the inclusion of any one move or action.

24 Jeet Kune Do Having no limitation as limitation Using no way as way

25 Jeet Kune Do encourages development of a uniquely personal style "absorb that which is useful discard the remainder a framework from which to pick & develop a personal style an evolutionary approach where adoption of maneuvers is learned & reinforced by training with an opponent Nothing was sacred

26 Training with an opponent provides the core feedback loop to drive adaptation Lee pursued ever more elaborate approaches to protected real combat training to enable the closed loop learning that was core to the evolutionary nature of JKD

27 Kata are not adaptive In comparison with JKD, patterned styles of martial arts taught with "kata" were open loop and not adaptive. There is no learning from practicing kata

28 Water flows around the rock be like water the rock represents resistance

29 The Kanban Method

30 Kanban should be like water* In change management, resistance is from the people involved and it is always emotional To flow around the rock, we must learn how to avoid emotional resistance *

31 Start with what you do now The Kanban Method evolved with the principle that it should be like water - enable change while avoiding sources of resistance With Kanban you start with what you do now, and "kanbanize" it, catalyzing the evolutionary process into action. Changes to processes in use will occur Evaluating whether a change is truly an improvement is done using fitness criteria that evaluate an external outcome

32 Fitness criteria are metrics that measure observable external outcomes Fitness criteria are metrics that measure things customers or other external stakeholders value delivery time Quality Predictability conformance to regulatory requirements or metrics that value actual outcomes such as customer satisfaction employee satisfaction

33 Institutionalize feedback systems to enable evolutionary change Operations Review System Capability Review manager to subordinate(s) (both 1-1 and 1-team) Standup Meeting

34 Adaptive capability enables sustainable competitiveness Kanban installs an adaptive capability in the organization the style of working - the methodology - emerges and evolves, adapting gracefully to changes in business conditions, risks and uncertainties Such an adaptive capability makes the organization robust and resilient and enables the possibility of continued sustainable long term competitiveness

35 Kanban s Core Enabling Concepts Kanban is based on some simple concepts for managing work service-orientation service delivery involves workflow and work flows through a series of information discovery activities Kanban would be less applicable if a serviceorientated view of work were difficult to conceive or the work was without a definable workflow

36 6 Practices Enable Process Evolution The Kanban Method Visualize Limit Work-in-progress Manage Flow Make Policies Explicit Implement Feedback Loops Improve Collaboratively, Evolve Experimentally (using models & the scientific method)

37 So, are we at the end of methodology?

38 So does the arrival of Kanban represent the end of methodologies? No! We still need methodologies Alistair Cockburn * ** Cockburn s suggested name for this new class of methods There is still a need to know what to do, how to do it, when to do it and who should perform specific activities.

39 Perhaps methodologies should be dead? Do we need to define roles and force people to fit their definitions? Is it better to let an individual's identity evolve and emerge in the context of a given organization? Transitioning methodologies is not compatible with humans I don t want to change. I do want to grow

40 Give Permission for personal & organizational styles to emerge Give permission for personal and organizational styles of software engineering to emerge naturally rather than promoting methodology and adoption of defined methods Promote known good practices coupled with fast feedback mechanisms to encourage learning & adaptation Modern approaches to software architecture, design, programming and deployment all encourage fast feedback and short cycle times to encourage learning. Trends with communities of technical practice seem to indicate growing disillusionment with methodologies

41 The future of creative knowledge work should be inspired by Bruce Lee & JKD Our opponents are uncertainty & risk. Engage directly. Validate speculation quickly Teach beginners to set up safeto-fail, learning environments at the individual, team and project level Validate assumptions early and quickly, deploy fake, prototype or real No code kata to gain knowledge of what works and what doesn't Use modern technical practices inside an evolutionary framework Train with live opponents No "dry land swimming

42 To get beyond Agile we must embrace the end of methodology Perhaps now it is finally time to let go of methodology and embrace a whole new way of teaching and performing software engineering? The Agile Software Development movement has taken us some way down this path already. It encouraged the use of feedback loops and emergence of modern technical practices. Now we must complete the job and let go of Agile methodologies altogether!

43 Implications for CMMI

44 What does this mean for the CMMI? CMMI is methodology agnostic. A CMMI appraisal could be performed on an organization with a uniquely evolved software engineering method, utilizing evolutionary frameworks such as Lean Startup & Kanban There are implications for the CMMI model, though

45 CMMI Model requires a defined process Do we still expect a defined process? If so why? Is this just bureaucratic overhead? Bruce Lee would have viewed a defined process as a patterned style - dead, without learning or evolutionary capability Would it be better to modify the model to look for safe-to-fail learning environments within the organization rather than defined processes?

46 The end of methodology may represent a punctuation point in the evolution of management Evolution progresses through a series of punctuated equilibriums The end of methodology is an opportunity for an explosion of new management thinking in creative knowledge worker industries And an opportunity to give the CMMI new relevance!

47 Will the "end of methodology" trigger a new wave of innovation in the CMMI? Will the model evolve to reflect recent understanding in complexity science and the need for reflective, adaptive organizations that are robust & resilient in the presence of uncertain, changing external conditions?

48 Thank you!

49 About David Anderson is a thought leader in managing effective software teams. He leads a consulting, training, publishing and event planning business dedicated to developing, promoting and implementing sustainable evolutionary approaches for management of knowledge workers. He has 30 years experience in the high technology industry starting with computer games in the early 1980 s. He has led software teams delivering superior productivity and quality using innovative methods at large companies such as Sprint and Motorola. David was a co-author of the SEI Technical Note, Agile & CMMI: Why not embrace both! He is the pioneer of the Kanban Method an evolutionary approach to change and improved business agility. His latest book is, Lessons in Agile Management On the Road to Kanban. David is a founder of the Lean Kanban University, a trade association dedicated to assuring quality of Kanban training through a network for member companies throughout the world.

50 Acknowledgements Joe Cooper first blogged about the similarity in philosophy between the Kanban Method and the teachings of Bruce Lee. He coined the phrase Kanban should be like water. Safe-to-fail Experiment is a term used by Dave Snowden in his Cynefin framework for comprehending complexity and managing in complex domain problems. This presentation was inspired by Alistair Cockburn s blog post The End of Methodology and a quote from Peter Senge, People do not resist change, they resist being changed!

51