Presentation given by Tiago Garcez at Agile Tour Brussels 2014 about what you should NOT do when scaling Agile. Intended to offer a different perspective on the scaling challenge by highlighting some heuristics about Agile organizations. The responsibility is not on coaches to draw up the perfect scaled Agile model, but rather on organizations to understand and internalize Agile principles and practices to then come up with their own vision for Agility at scale.

1. HOW NOT TO SCALE AGILE
a via negativa perspective
Tiago Garcez
@tcgarcez
Agile Tour Brussels
31 October, 2014

3. DID YOU SAY FRISBEE?

5. IMPRESSED?
I can do this all day… it’s simple

6. HOW DOES SHE DO THAT?

8. FL = 1/2 pv2 ACL
Fy = Fg + FL
Vy = (g + (1/2m)pv2ACL)Tx

10. KEEP
IT
SIMPLE,
STUPID

11. DID YOU SAY “LION”?

12. LION? RUN!
heuristic keeping gazelles alive since… always

13. I say, a lion! Let’s see:
Lion escape = f(hunger, speed, pack
size, wind, terrain)
Expected MaxLionVelocity = 80 km/h
Best course of action: start running
NNW and then turn South…

14. I say, a lion! Let’s see:
Lion escape = f(hunger, speed, pack
size, wind, terrain)
Expected MaxLionVelocity = 80 km/h
Best course of action: start running
NNW and then turn South…
I like you… I shall call
you “yummy lunch”

15. Lion? Run! Gazelle Clever Gazelle
No Photo
Available
a proud
mother of 6 ! Yummy Lunch

16. AGILE ORGANIZATIONS
catch the frisbee instinctively, before it’s gone

17. AGILE ORGANIZATIONS
catch the frisbee instinctively, before it’s gone

18. AGILE ORGANIZATIONS
catch the frisbee instinctively, before it’s gone

19. Heuristic: (/hjʊˈrɪstɪk/; Greek: "Εὑρίσκω", "find" or
"discover") refers to experience-based
techniques for problem solving, learning, and
discovery that find a solution which is not
guaranteed to be optimal, but good enough for
a given set of goals.
source: wikipedia

20. AGILE MANIFESTO
heuristic practices for building complex products

21. SCALING AGILITY
too complex a problem to draw a map before the trip

22. VIA NEGATIVA
understanding the Divine Good by defining what it is not

23. Nassim N. Taleb
The entire idea of via negativa is
that omission [avoidance of harm,
removal of drugs, corn syrup,
cigarettes, gluten, carbs by fasting,
gym instructors, tail risks, etc.] does
not have side effects and branching
chains of unintended
consequences -hence robust. But
big corporations [evil pharma,
pepsi] and consultants cannot
make money from removing; they
only benefit from adding.
“Anti-Fragile” (2012)

24. SCALING AGILE
moving Agile beyond the Team level

25. SCALING AGILE
moving Agile beyond the Team level

26. SCALING HEURISTICS
VIA NEGATIVA STYLE

27. SCALING HEURISTICS
VIA NEGATIVA STYLE
1. Stop doing projects

28. PROJECTS ARE FINITE GAMES
encourage short-term thinking and competition

29. PROJECTS BREED POLITICS
focus is no longer on value, but on internal expectations

30. SCALING HEURISTICS
VIA NEGATIVA STYLE
1. Stop doing projects

31. SCALING HEURISTICS
VIA NEGATIVA STYLE
1. Stop doing projects
2. Stop doing resource planning

32. RESOURCE PLANNING
like crack to managers who love solving puzzles

33. GROW TEAMS INSTEAD
it’s harder, but ultimately more valuable and sustainable

34. SCALING HEURISTICS
VIA NEGATIVA STYLE
1. Stop doing projects
2. Stop doing resource planning

35. SCALING HEURISTICS
VIA NEGATIVA STYLE
1. Stop doing projects
2. Stop doing resource planning
3. Don’t focus on efficiency

36. EFFECTIVENESS > EFFICIENCY
the objective is getting the baton around the track

37. SCALING HEURISTICS
VIA NEGATIVA STYLE
1. Stop doing projects
2. Stop doing resource planning
3. Don’t focus on efficiency

38. SCALING HEURISTICS
VIA NEGATIVA STYLE
1. Stop doing projects
2. Stop doing resource planning
3. Don’t focus on efficiency
4. Never forget the user

39. USER > CUSTOMER
delighting users is the only true competitive advantage

40. SCALING HEURISTICS
VIA NEGATIVA STYLE
1. Stop doing projects
2. Stop doing resource planning
3. Don’t focus on efficiency
4. Never forget the user

41. SCALING HEURISTICS
VIA NEGATIVA STYLE
1. Stop doing projects
2. Stop doing resource planning
3. Don’t focus on efficiency
4. Never forget the user
5. Don’t scale technical incompetence

42. INVEST IN CRAFTSMANSHIP
make sure you can land, before you try to fly

43. SCALING HEURISTICS
VIA NEGATIVA STYLE
1. Stop doing projects
2. Stop doing resource planning
3. Don’t focus on efficiency
4. Never forget the user
5. Don’t scale technical incompetence

44. SCALING HEURISTICS
VIA NEGATIVA STYLE
1. Stop doing projects
2. Stop doing resource planning
3. Don’t focus on efficiency
4. Never forget the user
5. Don’t scale technical incompetence
6. Stop with traditional management career paths

45. ALIGN CAREERS & CRAFT
the “Peter Principle” will kill agility

46. SCALING HEURISTICS
VIA NEGATIVA STYLE
1. Stop doing projects
2. Stop doing resource planning
3. Don’t focus on efficiency
4. Never forget the user
5. Don’t scale technical incompetence
6. Stop with traditional management career paths

47. SCALING HEURISTICS
VIA NEGATIVA STYLE
1. Stop doing projects
2. Stop doing resource planning
3. Don’t focus on efficiency
4. Never forget the user
5. Don’t scale technical incompetence
6. Stop with traditional management career paths
7. Don’t scale process

48. CULTURE > PROCESS
don’t focus on processes, scale trust and purpose instead

49. SCALING HEURISTICS
VIA NEGATIVA STYLE
1. Stop doing projects
2. Stop doing resource planning
3. Don’t focus on efficiency
4. Never forget the user
5. Don’t scale technical incompetence
6. Stop with traditional management career paths
7. Don’t scale process

50. SCALING HEURISTICS
VIA NEGATIVA STYLE
1. Stop doing projects
2. Stop doing resource planning
3. Don’t focus on efficiency
4. Never forget the user
5. Don’t scale technical incompetence
6. Stop with traditional management career paths
7. Don’t scale process
8. Don’t scale unless you have to

51. SCALING IS UNNATURAL
maybe there are safer options?

52. “We found again and again that things get clumsy after
150 people”
– Bill Gore (Gore & Associates)

53. SCALING HEURISTICS
VIA NEGATIVA STYLE
1. Stop doing projects
2. Stop doing resource planning
3. Don’t focus on efficiency
4. Never forget the user
5. Don’t scale technical incompetence
6. Stop with traditional management career paths
7. Don’t scale process
8. Don’t scale unless you have to

54. SO WHAT DOES AGILITY AT
SCALE LOOK LIKE?

55. (insert your drawing here)

56. (insert your drawing here)
just don’t forget what NOT to do!

57. Tiago Garcez
@tcgarcez
www.slideshare.net/tgarcez
Thank You !
www.agilar.org

58. REFERENCES
• “Joy, Inc.” (Menlo Innovations, CEO Richard Sheridan)
• “Anti-Fragile”, Nassim N. Taleb
• Ken Rubin, “Economically Sensible Scrum” (SGNOLA Keynote)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcePFHD_p70
• “The Dog and the Frisbee”, Andrew G Haldane (speech 31/08/12)
http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/Documents/speeches/
2012/speech596.pdf