Way of Working Fundamentals

We'll do a quick history lesson to uncover how and why companies are structured the way they are including the underlying assumptions that led to this structure. Then we'll explore how this structure influences the way of working.

We will run through the key assumptions that govern company structures and highlight how they no longer are true for today's world.

Using our assumptions and the current context of modern software development we will create a vision for a new way of working and the corresponding organisational structure.

A quick look at an "ideal" end state for how teams are structured and how they work to achieve the way of working vision. I expect you to say this isn't possible right now - but hopefully at the end of the course you will have changed your opinion.

How the use of OKRs can ensure that stream teams are tackling the right problems.

The continuous discovery habits of stream teams to uncover the unmet needs of customers.

How teams can break down complex problems to identify the most important assumptions to validate in order to reduce the risk of development.

Quick testing methods that teams can use to validate assumptions including both non-code and code solutions.

Automation is key for sustainability both in the discovery practices that teams undertake as well as the coding and release practices.

The team is responsible for their way of working. This means that they control how they work and any changes that they want to take on. There is no need for centralised sign-off.

Governance is critical to ensure that a company is investing their limited resources in the most appropriate areas and that they are getting a return on their investment.

How and why governance focuses more on process execution today than on value delivery. We'll uncover why enforcing time, cost and scope constraints limits innovation and hurts the sustainability of products.

Overly restrictive constraints damage products. But lack of constraints risks a lack of coordinated focus. The challenge is implementing the right constraints at the right level. We will touch on the 6 key areas where constraints are required.

While companies no longer approve business cases for every initiative there is still a need to run a business-case-like process for the initial setup, or growth, of a team. We'll review how teams should go about pitching a new team and the key elements to review.

While most costs are fixed there are still variable costs associated with teams, in particular cloud computing costs. FinOps is a technique for gaining insight into cloud costs and avoiding costs spiralling.

Creating and validating metrics still requires centralised oversight. Ultimately you want the best performing products for your customers. We will look at a case study of Haier, where every team is set up as an independent company, including traditional back-office functions like Marketing and People. They even encourage competition and let the market decide which teams thrive and survive.
This module is not intended to be something that you can, or should, adopt straight away but it points more to where continuous improvement may lead your company after you start on the road to empowered product teams.