Social Objects in Software Development
DILBERT CONSIDERED HARMFUL
David Harvey, Munich Scrum Gathering 2009
(c) 2009 David Harvey, Teams and Technology

David Harvey
UBS
www.teamsandtechnology.com
www.cateams.com

First…
• Teams of 3
• You’ll be competing, so pick a name, maybe
draw a picture…
• 2 minutes

Now…
• Pass your name/mascot to the next team
– As if you’ve just joined the team
• 3 words on what the name makes you feel
• Which is the most positive name?
• Which the most negative?

WHAT IS A SOCIAL OBJECT?

The Social Object, in a nutshell, is the reason
two people are talking to each other, as
opposed to talking to somebody else. Human
beings are social animals. We like to socialize.
But if think about it, there needs to be a
reason for it to happen in the first place. That
reason, that “node” in the social network, is
what we call the Social Object.
Hugh MacLeod, gapingvoid.com

There’s a tangible reason for us being
together, that ties us together. Again, that
reason is called the Social Object. Social
Networks form around Social Objects, not
the other way around.

reinforce our individual
identity
sustain our tribal identity

Epiphany…

Worker

Gatekeeper

Deus

Friction words
Friction

Friction words
Friction
Work-arounds

Friction words
Friction
Work-arounds
Waste

Friction words
Friction
Work-arounds
Waste
Frustration

Friction words
Friction
Work-arounds
Waste
Frustration
Cynicism

Friction words
Friction
Work-arounds
Waste
Frustration
Cynicism
Embedded in our environment

Priming
Bargh/Chen/Burrows
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1996

Scrambled sentence test
thirsty, clean, private, exercising, flawlessly;
occasionally rapidly, gleefully, practiced,
optimistically, successfully, normally, send,
watches, encourages gives, clears, prepares
(…)

Priming for “old”
worried, Florida, old, lonely, grey, selfishly,
careful, sentimental, wise, stubborn,
courteous, bingo, withdraw, forgetful,
retired, wrinkle, rigid, traditional bitter,
obedient, conservative, knits, dependent,
ancient, helpless, gullible, cautious, alone

Red and Blue
Hagemann, Strauss, Liessing
Psychological Science, August 2008

Naming the enemy

Naming the enemy
Pointy-haired boss

Naming the enemy
Pointy-haired boss
“The pointy-hairs”

Naming the enemy
Pointy-haired boss
“The pointy-hairs”
PHB

In history
******

In history
******
***

In history
******
***
****

In history
******
***
****
*****
*****
******

A GALLERY OF SOCIAL OBJECTS

Manifesto again
We are uncovering better ways of developing
software by doing it and helping others do it.
Through this work we have come to value:
Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
Working software over comprehensive documentation
Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
Responding to change over following a plan
That is, while there is value in the items on
the right, we value the items on the left more.
www.agilemanifesto.org

SOCIAL OBJECT SHERLOCK

Your turn…
• In pairs
• List some social objects in your teams and
organisations
• What values do they embody?
• What behaviour do they influence?
• If negative, what can you do/have you done
to mitigate?

DEALING WITH DILBERT

Messing with identity
is perilous

What do you think?

Image credits
Darth Vader: Mr Tickle
Taekwondo: The US Army
Old people: Laura May
Untidy desk: Alan Cleaver
Empty: Kristen Cleaveland
Risk: theburningbush.com
Testing desk: marekj
Customer care: USAF
Detective: paurian
Blue Monster: Hugh MacLeod
Story: Abby Ladybug
Moving: [topguy]
Build monitor: the build doctor
Camera: Steve Harwood

David Harvey
david@teamsandtechnology.com
www.teamsandtechnology.com
BYE
(c) 2009 David Harvey, Teams and Technology