Agile Governance. Charlie Rudd SollutionsIQ. Copyright 2011 SolutionsIQ. All rights reserved.

Transcription

1 Agile Governance Charlie Rudd SollutionsIQ

2 Speaker Introduction: Charlie Rudd CEO of SolutionsIQ, an Agile company that provides Agile services including consulting, training, software development and recruiting throughout the world

3 Agile governance: what could this mean? 1. Governance is evil and is Agile is good 2. Governance is a necessary evil 3. Agile provides a lighter-weight means to achieve corporate governance aims 4. Agile is a superior governance framework

4 What is this governance thing? Corporate Stewardship Internal Clarity of corporate purpose Viable strategy & plan Necessary resources & environment External Government & industry regulation Legality Shareholder expectations Public relations Risk management

5 Intended outcomes of governance Proper investment decisions are made Investments perform as expected Work is authorized Demonstrable progress is made Quality objectives are achieved

6 Successful portfolio management Do the right work Do the work right Investment decision Investment performance Work competency Quality standards Risk management

7 How is governance applied? Articulate Intentions Policies & practices Verification (or enforcement) External reporting Oversight (Approvals & supervision) Documentation (proof) Audit (inspection)

8 Which part is evil (maybe)? Corporate stewardship? Successful portfolio management? That leaves how its applied Policies and practices Verification procedures A mismatch between the two

9 IT Finance Legal Finance HR Governance by function Government & industry regulation Board Corporate Business unit 3 Business unit 2 Business unit 1

10 IT Finance Legal Finance HR Governance stakeholders Board shareholders Corporate Business unit 3 regulators Business unit 2 Business unit 1

11 IT IT or Local Governance Technology infrastructure Production operations Business solutions Project management Quality Assurance Development practices

12 Lots of diverse stakeholders Shareholders Regulators Corporate functions Business units IT functions

13 Governance success criteria 1. The diverse interests of many stakeholders must be satisfied

14 applicatoin Governance fit + No worries Wrong Integrated governance governance Chaotic No governance Hidden governance - - Intended Outcome +

15 Governance success criteria 1. If the diverse interests of many stakeholders are to be satisfied they must

16 Governance success criteria 1. If the diverse interests of many stakeholders are to be satisfied they must... Be aligned (somehow)

17 Mis-alignment breeds conflict Frustration Anger Fear Discontentment Anxiety

18 Alignment produces harmony Satisfaction Confidence Contentment Happiness

19 applicatoin Good governance requires high alignment + Misalignment High alignment No alignment Misalignment - - Intended Outcome +

20 Forces working against alignment

21 Forces working against alignment Functional diversity Different objectives Different backgrounds

22 Forces working against alignment Operational diversity Different priorities Different time horizons

23 Forces working against alignment Globalization Different time zones Spatial separation Different languages

24 Forces working against alignment Complicated mechanisms Overloaded controls Governance debt Lots of moving parts

25 IT When good governance goes bad Corp functions Technology infrastructure Production operations Business solutions Quality gates Project management Quality Assurance Business units Development practices

26 Forces working against alignment Corporate culture clashes Different management principles Different values and assumptions Different views on people

27 Different management cultures Scope If you believe there is zero sum tradeoff between scope, schedule & resources it may seem counterintuitive that: Schedule Resources By reducing resources you sometimes can speed things up and improve quality

28 Forces working against alignment Dynamic business conditions Rate of technology change Increasing uncertainty Competitive pressures

29 Root causes of misalignment Forces Functional diversity Operational diversity Globalization Complicatedness Corporate culture clash Lack of shared objectives Communication Barriers

30 Increasing rate of alignment decay Forces Functional diversity Operational diversity Globalization Complicatedness Corporate culture clash Lack of shared objectives Communication Barriers Dynamics business conditions

31 Getting aligned Establish shared objectives Lack of shared objectives Break down communication barriers Communication Barriers How do you do that?

32 Where you wont find the answer Governance controls Designed as fixed constraints not to auto-align Technology Institutional governance Operate in different jurisdictions First mission often enforcement

33 IT governance authorities PMO Part of the solution for sure, but also part of the problem Architecture & Standards The trick is knowing how to tell one from the other & get stakeholders to agree!

34 IT Governance frameworks Institutional PMO Architecture & standards Technology Industry CMMI PMI Gartner

35 IT IT Maturity models (my apologies to Gartner) Technology infrastructure Production operations Our focus is business solutions Business solutions Project management Quality Assurance Maturity theme: Business alignment Development practices

36 Low & high IT maturity (apologies to Gartner) Purpose Function Role Solution Maturity Cost center Order taker Contractor Point Solutions LOW Profit center Solution architect Partner Colleague Commercial Product, Integrated architecture HI

37 Forces moving IT to solution partner role Public internet platform Consumer experience sets standard for business apps Mash-ups with 3 rd party commercial products raises expectations Easy to compare competitive offering (low barriers to exit) More high profile IT solutions Release cycle time needs to be fast

38 Different IT roles suggest different governance styles Purpose Function Role Solution Maturity Cost center Order taker Contractor Point Solutions LOW Profit center Solution architect Partner Colleague Commercial Product, Integrated architecture HI

39 Traditional business principles 1 - Centralized evaluation Best Solution 2 Centralized planning Do it right the first time Facts 3 - Production Facts Optimize Algorithmic External constraints

40 Traditional governance 1 - Business case decision Project charter 2 Centralized planning Detailed spec & plan Facts 3 Follow orders Facts Optimize Algorithmic External constraints Big bang release

41 Traditional governance 1 - Business case decision Project charter 2 Centralized planning Detailed spec & plan 3 Follow orders Facts Big bang release

42 When good governance goes bad 1. Identify a potential opportunity 2. Gather facts, make assumptions, run scenarios 3. Stop before business case is proved 4. What s riskier? Doing nothing or something????? I I I I Business case shaky because instability of key variables

43 Questionable governance controls Shaky business case leads to: Incomplete, flawed specification Flawed implementation plan? $6 m $1.5 m $1.5 m $1.5 m $1.5 m??? I? I I.5 years 1 year 1.5 years 2 years

44 Traditional governance makes things worse 1. Spec and plan insufficient as compliance controls 2. No good way to modify spec or plan or respond to emerging conditions 3. No easy way to revise contracts and agreements Yet all the money is spent $0.0 m $1.5 m $1.5 m $1.5 m $1.5 m.5 year 1 year 1.5 years 2 years

45 Why Agilists find governance is evil 1. Out of time and out of money 2. Key features missing 3. Delivered features not desired (waste built in) 4. Desired technical quality not delivered

46 If not the traditional, then what? Purpose Function Role Solution Maturity Cost center Order taker Contractor Point Solutions LOW Profit center Solution architect Partner Colleague Commercial Product, Integrated architecture?

47 IT Governance frameworks Institutional Technology Industry Agile frameworks

48 Why Agile governance frameworks may be superior They have built-in alignment features Establish shared objectives Break down communication barriers They auto re-align

49 Built-in alignment features Iterative progress Feedback-driven adaption Share information Empower knowledge workers Self-organization & collaboration Deliver early and frequently

50 Traditional governance 1 - Business case decision Project charter 2 Centralized planning Detailed spec & plan 3 Follow orders Facts Big bang release

51 Agile governance principles Evaluation planning Production

52 Agile governance principles Solution prototype (vision) feedback Evaluation planning Production Iterative progress Production increment Innovative Heuristic Internal constraints Early & frequent delivery

53 Agile governance style good fit for the partner role Purpose Function Role Solution Maturity Cost center Order taker Contractor Point Solutions LOW Profit center Solution architect Partner Colleague Commercial Product, Integrated architecture HI

54 Agile scope of influence Maturity Objective Strategy Impact on Governance 1 Grass roots Sponsorship Do no harm 2 Co-existence Legitimacy Show value 3 Strategic Full partner Skin in the game none New procedure New goals

55 influence Agile governance maturity Maturity Alignment

56 Strategy to gain influence Treat stakeholders like customers Break down communication barriers: Invite, share success, take initiative to determine needs and requirements Convert to partners Establish shared objective (customer) Repeat

57 Strategy to gain influence Corporate Business unit IT Team

58 Grass roots: Governance is a necessary evil Objective: Formal sponsorship Requirements Ability to work fulltime on a project Agile knowledge Ability to assign work as a team (self-organize) Ability to comply with governance policies Build control Span of shared objective The development team

59 Grass roots: Governance is a necessary evil What you can accomplish Develop agile skills Start to Improve technical quality Begin building a case for broader use What you cant accomplish Change or replace governance policy Exploit agile dynamic scope management What the org expects you don t exist

60 Grassroots: governance is a necessary evil Breaking down communication barriers Make progress visible Do demos (even without a stakeholder), invite people Reach out to PMO, architects, key analysts Confer with project managers Don t over-reach Do simulations

61 Grassroots: governance is a necessary evil The simulated Product Owner

62 Co-existence: Agile provides a lighter weight governance alternative Objective: Full legitimacy Agile established as a recognized alternative to meet governance objectives Requirements Formal sponsorship History of success in terms of delivery & meeting governance requirements Support from multiple stakeholders Span of influence Development organization

63 Co-existence: Agile provides a lighter weight governance alternative What you can do Introduce alternative governance verification mechanisms Establish systemic quality and delivery improvement Sustain persistent teams What you cant do Apply agile portfolio management Change governance policies What the org expects That there is an agile alternative equivalent to traditional practice

64 Co-existence: Agile provides a lighter weight governance alternative Breaking down communication barriers Quantify success and improvement Establish common objectives with IT stakeholders (Architecture, QA, PMO) Establish common objectives with business stakeholders Turn remote stakeholders into new customers

65 Co-existence: Agile provides a lighter weight governance alternative The value stream analysis The proof of code analytics

66 Strategic: Agile is a superior governance framework Objective: New governance objectives Broad collaboration with business including strategy and solution development Highlighted at a Gartner conference Requirements Solid trust basis with key business sponsors as outcome of successful collaboration Full engagement of business in Agile methods IT org wide adoption of agile

67 Strategic: Agile is a superior governance framework Span of influence Business unit via active collaborative partnership What you can do Become profit center Develop strategy Change IT governance policies Influence corporate governance policies What the org expects That IT and rest of business are collaborating partners

68 Strategic: Agile is a superior governance framework The collaborating auditor Courtesy of Dan Greening dan@greening.org

69 DOs Exploit PM knowledge to break the code of hidden governance Worry about side effects Promise what s already in the bag Set the right expectations for yourself and your stakeholders Begin what will be a long conversation Begin building a case (gather evidence, line up supporters) Identify & court allies (business, PMO, architects) Extend invitations (sprint reviews) (don't force what you don t have the authority to enforce) Choose total victory on small, low risk wins rather than partial or doubtful victory on high stakes gambles Simulate new roles (proxy product owner, internal scrum master)

70 Don ts Don t beat up customer with Agile values Don t assume that a governance policy that is no use to you is of no use to anyone Don t invite failure by committing beyond your span of control don t change governance strategy unilaterally Don t provide more information than is asked for (do encourage the request for more information) Don t upset the applecart Don t create more work for governance authority Don t talk about improving until you can demonstrate compliance with status quo Don t assume that executive sponsorship eliminates governance conflicts

71 Questions