Origin of this CSG Topic
Virginia Tech’s exceptional presentation at the winter CSG meeting The extraordinary work accomplished by the web
team Clearly not sustainable…
… but what lessons can we learn? Can we apply some pieces to “normal working
conditions”? e.g.: spread out information and the authority to make
decisions to the edges? What pieces of the bureaucracy can we lose? Lessons to be learned from local IT shops?
May 15, 2008Common Solutions Group - University of Michigan
PART I
What does agile mean? Why does it matter?
May 15, 2008Common Solutions Group - University of Michigan
What We’re Not Talking About
This presentation is not about agile software development Which is - in and of itself - a VERY interesting topic…
for another day
It’s about agile organizations i.e.: “Agile Product/Service Delivery Strategies”
OK… I will say a word or two about agile software development To help me segue into another inspiration for this
topic: PM as CYA methodology
May 15, 2008Common Solutions Group - University of Michigan
Agile Enterprise
Most research on agile organizations (“the agile enterprise”) focuses on the corporate world (surprise!) “Marketplace Agility” “Agility the key to survival in the 21st century…” Etc.
A fascinating, full-semester course at Cornell (35 hours) covers it
But this presentation won’t focus much on this research, because higher ed is different
May 15, 2008Common Solutions Group - University of Michigan
Higher Ed is Different
Central IT’s organizational agility probably won’t be the key to our respective institutions’ “survival”…
…but agility is a critical component towards building trust in the university community
May 15, 2008Common Solutions Group - University of Michigan
But Some of that Marketplace Stuff Applies
Does this sound familiar?
I’m agile.I’m bureaucratic.
May 15, 2008Common Solutions Group - University of Michigan
BureaucraticBureaucratic AgileAgile
StableHierarchicalBureaucratic (duh!)PredictableRely on stable
customers/clients
Adaptive/creativeFlat organizational
structureFewer “rules”Innovative
Characteristics of Agile vs. Bureaucratic Organizations
May 15, 2008Common Solutions Group - University of Michigan
BureaucraticBureaucratic AgileAgile
Strict divisions between departments
Power concentrated at the top (those at the top are most knowledgeable and the only ones who can make decisions)
No strict divisions between functions
Power, information, knowledge spread out
A sense of urgency
Characteristics of Agile vs. Bureaucratic Organizations (2)
May 15, 2008Common Solutions Group - University of Michigan
More Ingredients
InformalityComing together for a mutual purposeCommon personal values; believing in the
work
Importance of under-the-radar activities
May 15, 2008Common Solutions Group - University of Michigan
This Rest of This Morning’s Agenda
OverviewSurvey ResultsWhy Aren’t We Nimble?Sometimes We Do Get it RightCase Study: IT, Innovation, and the State
SystemDiscussion/Wrap Up
May 15, 2008Common Solutions Group - University of Michigan
It’s Hard to be Big and Agile
Ooyala's 28 employees are building a system that runs videos for independent Web sites, and eventually they plan to sell video ads in the same way Google hawks text ads for other web publishers. The startup has raised $10 million in venture capital, which doesn't even come close to matching Google's resources. But the Ooyala founders say what they lack in institutional backing they make up for in speed and the ability to communicate with one another by turning around in their chairs and talking. Google was like that too, about eight years and 18,000 employees ago
My emphasis. http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/09/technology/where_does_google_go.fortune/
May 15, 2008Common Solutions Group - University of Michigan
Local IT And Agility
By virtue of its size, local IT can be more flexible, agile, innovative, and responsive than central IT. And it almost always is
Central IT can respond in one of two ways*
*Sometimes we respond in both ways!
May 15, 2008Common Solutions Group - University of Michigan
Two Ways to Respond
• The local IT folks are nice people, but they’re not real IT professionals.– They don’t have to support mission-critical applications– They deliver products and services to a limited
audience, so things don’t have to work all the time- OR -
• How can we take advantage of local IT agility?– E.g.: WebFinancials, Faculty Reporting, etc. at Cornell– Still a long way to go
• Can local IT write applications to make it easier to support them centrally?
May 15, 2008Common Solutions Group - University of Michigan
Customer Service and Agility
Brad Bird: Our goal is different because if you say you’re making a movie for “them,” that automatically puts you on an unsteady footing. The implication is, you’re making it for a group that you are not a member of—and there is something very insincere in that...So my goal is to make a movie I want to see. If I do it sincerely enough and well enough—if I’m hard on myself and not completely off base, not completely different from the rest of humanity—other people will also get engaged and find the film entertaining.
Customer Service and Agility
Steve Jobs: It sounds logical to ask customers what they want and then give it to them. But they rarely wind up getting what they really want that way...
Customer Service and Agility
Satoru Iwata: If you are simply listening to requests from the customer, you can satisfy their needs, but you can never surprise them.simply listening to requests from the customer, you can satisfy their needs, but you can never surprise them.
Customer Service and Agility
One of Google’s strengths is the speed at which they can roll out products. Every time you look something new is cooking — that’s what makes Google such an interesting company to watch. In order for them to operate at these speeds, basic functionality in their products is included — but they don’t try and guess what bells and whistles people want. Each product or service they launch has an associated discussion group the community actively participates in. The suggestions made there are in large part what ultimately decides what additional features get included in the product.
Governance and Agility
We need to manage our resources but…Control over “skunkworks” can impede
agilityDo we need a parallel group that does
innovation?...again?
May 15, 2008Common Solutions Group - University of Michigan
Project Management and Agility
“Our PM methodology saved us millions of dollars and helped us get the project done
ahead of schedule”- vs. -
“We expected more of our projects to get done.”
“The process sometimes took longer than the work itself.”
“It seemed like a heavyweight methodology for small projects.”
May 15, 2008Common Solutions Group - University of Michigan
Billing models, etc. and impact on agility
May 15, 2008Common Solutions Group - University of Michigan
InternalInternal ExternalExternal
BoardsLawyersRisk managementFinancial controlsProcurement
process
Government regulation
Sources of funding & budget processes
Procurement oversight
Project controlsPublic relations
Other Obstacles
May 15, 2008Common Solutions Group @ University of Michigan
When Things Go Right
Cornell’s PS 8.9 Upgrade
Lisa StenslandManager, CIT Project Management Office
May 15, 2008Common Solutions Group - University of Michigan
Communications Org Context
Culture of networking and voiceSeries of managers, always separate entitiesClassic voice technologyCampus and hospitals requirements
Looking for an opportunity
Two cases – one reactive, the other plannedAvaya - decision to replace an EACD solution
that simply wouldn’t workCisco Call Manager – richer feature set to the
hospitals in order not to lose business
In both cases, an incumbent technology had to be challenged and deployed in 90 calendar days.
How to get them to drink…
a vision that makes sense to all internal service owners and that they can see themselves in
Use prototype demonstrations to show possibilities
Getting on the boat, because it’s leaving?
Differentiators in Agility
Not surprisingly, it takes a leadership with a clue about technology trends
Taking stock of the staffAggressive timelines and “emergencies” can
be your friendSmall victoriesPrototype to demonstrate and motivateGet (or take) a mandate for action, then act!
Organization Agility
Moderate consensus with autocracyMake technology choices that foster agilityDon’t use FY as a timescaleSmall successes: fail fast and recover
PART V
Case study: IT, Innovation and the state system
May 15, 2008Common Solutions Group - University of Michigan