scrum gathering minneapolis · state of us tech, using agile to drive positive disruption and...

Scrum Gathering Minneapolis

Online TechnologyGovernmentManagement Consulting

April 16, 2018

Michael de la [email protected]@hearthealthyscr

[email protected] | Hearthealthyhuman.com | @hearthealthyscr

Why is this so exciting?

All three topics based on personal experience

Online technology will disrupt agile

coaching and training

The US Government will be a large

source of demand for agile

The entry of management

consultants into the agile space

threatens to destroy the world


Online technology will disrupt agile coaching and training


Online agile user groups make it easy to share knowledge

• Access to monthly agile user groups is possible only in geographic areas with high ‘agile density’

• F2F agile groups wrestle with many problems –food, space, cost

Structure is almost identical to a face-to-face group.

Problem1 2 3

Online agile user group Benefits

• Significant aggregation of interest

• Access to very high-quality speakers

• Great for certain personality types

Online Agile User Group: Attendees increased from 4 to 20 in 6 monthsWork done by

Alexander Frumkin,

a San Francisco

area agile coachMore information:

https://www.eventbrite.com/

e/agile-practitioners-online-

special-interest-group-

tickets-36077353335


A 360 degree camera supports self-observation and learning at a billion dollar company

• Self-observation is difficult.

• Asking for help is rare.

360 degree camera (Nikon KeyMission 360) with software.

Problem1 2 3

Solution Benefits

• 360 degree review of people’s responses during Scrum Retrospective

• Increased coaching requests

Work done by Elena Vassilieva, the Agile Creative CoachMore information:https://www.infoq.com/articles/virtual-reality-disrupt-coaching


Personalized adaptive learning will provide customized training for all

Sources: https://www.td.org/magazines/td-magazine/personalizing-adaptive-learninghttp://www.alosilabs.org/

• System adapts content for each learner.

• For certain types of content performance matches 1-1 tutoring at a much lower cost.

• Instructors receive feedback on which content chunks work and which are needed.

https://www.td.org/magazines/td-magazine/personalizing-adaptive-learning

http://www.alosilabs.org/


AI will provide a ‘coach in a box’

An AI married with a ‘system of work’ tool will be able to give smart, real time, context sensitive advice.

Initial systems will be rolled out within two years

When your user stories take more than two days to

complete they usually have serious defects.


Online technology predictions

PredictionJune 30, 2019

Thousands of people will have participated in agile activities in virtual reality (e.g., story mapping or an online conference).

End of 2019

Scrum Alliance will run a Virtual Gathering

End of 2019

Thousands of people will have taken an online agile course which they consider to be excellent.

End of 2020

At least one large, credible agile /Scrum certification organization will be running agile/Scrum certification courses in virtual reality.


What you can do

Spend an hour in virtual reality

Attend an online agile user group

Start an online agile user group

Record a conversation with a 360 degree camera

Create a company-centric online training course by documenting what you are doing

Do

Experience


Online technology pair and share activity

How will online technology impact your agile life? (30 seconds)

Find a partner and share(60 seconds)


The US Government will be a large source of demand for agile


The failure of Healthcare.gov spurs interest in agile

• Healthcare.gov fails, President Obama apologizes for a non-functioning website for the first time ever.

• Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is fired, the first known cabinet Secretary to be fired over a failed IT project

• About ten people, several from Google, parachuted in and saved it


Agile coach Nicola Dourambeis speaks with President Obama at the White House

• In August 2014 agile coach Nicola Dourambeis traveled to the White House with other software experts to discuss ‘the state of US tech, using agile to drive positive disruption and innovation’

• Obama joined them for 30 minutes and discussed agile with Nicola

Federal government then created two programs:• 18F• U.S. Digital

Service

18F partners with federal agencies to improve the user experience of government.


States have followed the federal government’s lead

“California Department of Technology officials have treated the project as a means of pilot-testing agile methods”

Source: https://cwds.ca.gov/posts/california-conducting-national-search-for-agile-development-chiefhttp://www.govtech.com/biz/ Californias-Agile-Child-Welfare-Project-Awards-Bid-to-CivicActions.html)

https://cwds.ca.gov/posts/california-conducting-national-search-for-agile-development-chief

http://www.govtech.com/biz/Californias-Agile-Child-Welfare-Project-Awards-Bid-to-CivicActions.html


Cost and skill evaluation are significant challenges

Standard contracts (fixed cost, time & materials) are a huge blocker

GSA schedules with roles above $1500/day are rare, making top end agile coaching and training unaffordable.

Legacy government contractors have large advantage.

Government contract managers and IT managers struggle to select based on skill –significant preference for lowest cost bidder.

‘I felt exactly how you would feel if you were getting ready to launch and knew you were sitting on top of 2 million parts — all built by the lowest bidder on a government contract.’ – John Glenn


What you can do

Show up to an agile meetup where there are likely to be government employees

Talk to a state employee about they develop software

Talk to your city council representative or mayor about agile

Participate in an government agile RFP


How will the government’s interest in agile impact your agile life?(30 seconds)


Government pair and share activity


The entry of management consultants into the agile space threatens to destroy the world


Agile is split into two camps: Corporate agile and Anarcho-agile

Right side• Gandhi• MLK• Oneida

Timothy Leary Blockchain

• Focus on business results (profit, revenue)• Pro-status quo• Traditional management consultants• Reinforces existing economic, social, political (ESP)

structure• Optimization (reducing costs, operational efficiency)• Change the system, not the goals

Anarcho-agile

Blockchain Timothy Leary

Martin Luther King Jr.

Gandhi

Corporate agile• Focus on freedom, emancipation• Anti-status quo• Continuation of human rights movement• Seeks to fundamentally change existing ESP• Transformation• Change the goals


A

McKinsey partners have behaved in a criminal and illegal

manner over the past ten years

McKinsey illustrates the problems with a management consulting approach to agile

B

McKinsey’s understanding of agile

is poor

C

McKinsey is unlikely to be able to improve


South Africa scandal: Banned by Barclays, Standard Chartered, Coca Cola SA

McKinsey partners have behaved in criminal and illegal ways

McKinsey bilks State Farm

Managing partner Rajat Gupta went to jail for insider trading

2014 2016 2017

A

1 2 3


2014: McKinsey Managing Partner Rajat Gupta goes to jail for insider trading

The bad thing Mr Gupta did was pass confidential information, disclosed only to the board of Goldman Sachs, to Raj Rajaratnam, a hedge-fund manager.

Source: https://www.economist.com/blogs/schumpeter/2012/10/rajat-gupta

1


2016: McKinsey bilks State Farm

Source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-mckinsey-indictment-0106-biz-20160105-story.html

It's a question many businesspeople have quietly asked themselves: Just what do consultants do for their money?

According to a federal indictment unsealed Monday, the answer for one former partner at McKinsey & Company's Chicago office and his colleague at State Farm was "not much."

2


2017: McKinsey’s South Africa scandal causes Coca Cola, Barclays to cut ties

3


McKinsey’s understanding of agile is poor

Misapplies Spotify model

Misunderstands Scrum

Recommends waterfall

B

1

2

3


McKinsey recommends waterfall to Healthcare.gov in 2013

1

Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/apps/g/page/ politics/mckinsey-report-on-problems-with-healthcaregov/601/


"The practical thing is literally taking two to three layers out of an organisation, that is where there can be consequences for middle management," Mr Barton told The Australian Financial Review in an interview.

Barton quote: http://www.afr.com/business/accounting/expect-an-earthquake-every-three-years-mckinsey-ceo-dominic-barton-20180205-h0u5alSlide: https://www.slideshare.net/McKinseyCompany/winning-competition-through-organizational-agility

2

http://www.afr.com/business/accounting/expect-an-earthquake-every-three-years-mckinsey-ceo-dominic-barton-20180205-h0u5al


3


McKinsey’s understanding of agile is unlikely to improveC

Agile is all you need

1 2 3

Management consultants prefer

intelligent design to evolutionary change

Implementing ‘best practices’ in a

‘winner takes all’ world does not work


Management consultants prefer ‘intelligent design’

Works for simple systems (predictable)Who does this?• Project managers• Process methodologists• Management consultants

Fitness Low High Medium MediumAnalyze Design Implement

Evolutionary change

Works for complex systems (not predictable) Who does this?• Agilists• Evolution• Toyota• Bridgewater

Intelligent design

1


Management consulting ‘best practices’ do not work in a ‘winner takes all’ world

MBA/Operations & finance vs. product & technology“MBA education today is basically an education in finance, not business..MBA programs don’t churn out innovators well prepared to cope with a fast-changing world…they churn out followers who know how to run firms by the numbers.” –Rana Foroohar, https://evonomics.com/want-to-kill-your-economy-have-mba-programs/

Missed digital“MBAs had almost nothing to do with the two major developments in the American business landscape over the last forty years: the Japanese-style quality revolution in manufacturing and the digital revolution.” – Rana Foroohar

“Best practices” vs. practices suited to context

Target state change vs. evolutionary change

2


Agile is all you need

Agile stock portfolio:

+27.83%

Underlying index:

+22.46%

3


Hi Michael,Great book on AgileSo far I read your interview with Robert and then your section where you comment about the Spotify model unfortunately that what exactly we are doing. McKinsey (the management consulting firm) suggested that we implement Spotify model and we are doing it.

Anyhow I would love to discuss this with you if you have time but I wanted to say thanks and your knowledge and experience on this spot on.

Agile Coach (full time employee) working at a company that hired McKinsey to lead agile transformation


Technology threatens to destroy humans, democracy, and everything else you care about

Artificial Intelligence Genetic Engineering

Robotics


“Billionaires will remake the world in their own image” – Ryan Holiday, bestselling author

“Because I’m a billionaire, I’m going to have access to better healthcare so… I’m going to be like 160 and I’m going to be part of this, like, class of immortal overlords.” – Sean Parker

“I think that what we are doing with biohacking is the beginning of humanity’s split into separate species. Enhanced posthumans who will make all the decisions.” – Serge Fraguet

Sources: http://time.com/money/5016960/sean-parker-healthcare-immortal-overlords/https://hackernoon.com/biohack-your-intelligence-now-or-become-obsolete-97cdd15e395f

http://time.com/money/5016960/sean-parker-healthcare-immortal-overlords/


Agile is split into two camps: Corporate agile and Anarcho-agile

Right side• Gandhi• MLK• Oneida

Timothy Leary Blockchain

• Focus on business results (profit, revenue)• Pro-status quo• Traditional management consultants• Reinforces existing economic, social, political (ESP)

structure• Optimization (reducing costs, operational efficiency)• Change the system, not the goals

Anarcho-agile

Blockchain Timothy Leary

Martin Luther King Jr.

Gandhi

Corporate agile• Focus on freedom, emancipation• Anti-status quo• Continuation of human rights movement• Seeks to fundamentally change existing ESP• Transformation• Change the goals


What you can do

Do• Explore local changes to ESP (e.g., talk to the

minimum wage contractors cleaning the offices and offer to pay for their groceries)

• Record your experience

Think about how you will behave in a variety of situations• Inside of a management consulting led agile

transformation• When speaking to a management consultant

at an agile conference


How will management consulting impact your life?(30 seconds)


Management consulting pair and share activity


Why is this so exciting?

All three topics based on personal experience

Online technology will disrupt agile

coaching and training

The US Government will be a large

source of demand for agile

The entry of management

consultants into the agile space

threatens to destroy the world


The deck is available onlinehttp://bit.ly/EpicAgile


Additional slides


Selma March (March 21, 1965)

John Lewis; unidentified nun; Ralph Abernathy; Martin Luther King Jr.; Ralph Bunche; Abraham Joshua Heschel; Fred Shuttlesworth


Spoken to journalist William Shirer in New Delhi, India, after signing the Gandhi-Irwin Pact on March 5, 1931

“Freedom is not worth having if it does not connote freedom to err and even to sin.”


Spoken to journalist William Shirer in New Delhi, India, after signing the Gandhi-Irwin Pact on March 5, 1931

“If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”

– Martin Luther King


The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid

Can you raed this? I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aullacty uesdnatnrdwaht I was rdeanig. Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno’t mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are. The olnyiproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a total mses and you can still raed it whotuit a pboerim. Tihs is bcasuae the human mind deos not raed ervy lteterby istief, but the wrod as a pttearn. Azanmig huh? Yaeh and I awlyasthguhot slpeling was impmorantt!


Source; https://www.slideshare.net/McKinseyCompany/winning-competition-through-organizational-agility


McKinsey has selection criteria which are at odds with agile values

“A former partner, who requested anonymity, said: ‘It’s another white, middle-aged dude. Sneader is a victory for the traditionalists in the firm. It is a safe but dull choice — he is not the guy to inspire a new generation.”

Sources: https://www.ft.com/content/a874cbc8-1a4a-11e8-aaca-4574d7dabfb6

“its model of white Protestant males in dark suits counseling other white Protest males in dark suits was out of sync with the times…Holland became the firm’s black principal in 1974” – Duff McDonald


McKinsey bills consultants at $5K-$7K per day

Source: https://www.gsaadvantage.gov/ref_text/GS10F0118S/0R5IB1.3GN2F5_GS-10F-0118S_MCKINSEYGS10F0118SJANUARY2017.PDF

Summary: 5-6 FTEs at $137K/week $5K per person per day


McKinsey’s prestige is declining as scandals mount

Sources: https://www.law360.com/articles/1007675/mckinsey-didn-t-earn-5-7m-it-billed-for-sai-global-sayshttps://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2017-09-28-mckinsey-graft-charge-threat-grows-with-whistle-blowers-claims/https://www.economist.com/news/business/21730191-consulting-firm-worked-trillian-capital-owned-gupta-family-associate-why-mckinseyhttps://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/companies/financial-services/2017-10-17-mckinsey-admits-to-lapse-of-judgment-in-eskom-deal/https://www.businesslive.co.za/ft/companies/industrials/2018-01-11-coke-pulls-work-from-mckinsey-after-gupta-scandal/

https://www.law360.com/articles/1007675/mckinsey-didn-t-earn-5-7m-it-billed-for-sai-global-says

https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2017-09-28-mckinsey-graft-charge-threat-grows-with-whistle-blowers-claims/

https://www.economist.com/news/business/21730191-consulting-firm-worked-trillian-capital-owned-gupta-family-associate-why-mckinsey

https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/companies/financial-services/2017-10-17-mckinsey-admits-to-lapse-of-judgment-in-eskom-deal/


Management consulting is a fundamentally incorrect approach to the Digital Age

“The more complex the world becomes, the more the role of macro-deciders “empty suits” with disproportionate impact should be reduced: we should decentralize (so actions are taken locally and visibly), not centralize as we have been doing.” – Nassim Taleb

"The common problem at the start of any engagement is the lack of appreciation that change is a change in management thinking. The change must enable steps through to a change in assumptions. There is no substitute for learning by doing." – John Seddon

“Management consultants are “parasites”.” – David Snowden

“The strategy consultants come in...document the new strategy in a PowerPoint presentation and a weighty report...employees are told to change their behavior...then nothing happens." – Freek Vermeulen, HBR


Simplifying the organization so that it can be managed results in loss of revenue for management consultants

Management levels

The relation between human capabilities and the task demands of management jobs

(source: Theo Dawson, Lectica)

People

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