Learning From The Essence Of Agile Methods Success Principles Of Leadership And Management In A Complex World Customer Day xxx Global IT Online October 27, 2021

1. © Prof. Dr. Ayelt Komus
Learning From The Essence Of Agile Methods
Success Principles Of Leadership And Management
In A Complex World
Customer Day
xxx Global IT
Online - October 27, 2021
Prof. Dr. Ayelt Komus
komus@hs-koblenz.de
linkedin.com/in/komus
xing.com/profile/Ayelt_Komus
www.komus.de
www.process-and-project.net
www.heupel-consultants.com

2. © Prof. Dr. Ayelt Komus 2
www.komus.de
www.process-and-project.net www.heupel-consultants.com
▪ Professor of Organizational Design and Information Systems
▪ Co-Initiator of „Modellfabrik Koblenz“ (Model factory Koblenz)
▪ Scientific advisory board Heupel Consultants
▪ Thought Leader for Management in Complex Contexts and Agile
Methods
▪ Studies / Surveys like „Status Quo (Scaled) Agile“, „agile PMO“
(2012, 2014, 2016, 2020), „Status Quo PEP – lean and agile“,
„CIO Today - Driving or driven?“
▪ 80+ publications,
150+ keynotes/ lectures,
150+ interviews/ media reports
You can find me on:
Further information, latest publications, keynotes… visit www.komus.de
Prof. Dr. Ayelt Komus

3. © Prof. Dr. Ayelt Komus 3
www.komus.de
www.process-and-project.net www.heupel-consultants.com
Agile – What‘s All The Excitement About?
Agile
Burndown Charts Design Thinking
DevOps
User Stories
SAFe
Scrum
LeSS
Sprints
Kanban
VUCA
Spotify
Effectutation
Extreme Programming
Spotify
Agile Manifesto
Agile Project Management
Flat Hierachies
Product Owner
Holocracy
Transformational Leadership
Lean Management
Design Thinking
Retrospectives
Stand-up-Meetings Flexibility
Nexus

4. © Prof. Dr. Ayelt Komus 4
www.komus.de
www.process-and-project.net www.heupel-consultants.com
Short Crisis…
Black Thursday
Where Corona is already causing
supply problems
Germany orders entry bans because of Corona

5. © Prof. Dr. Ayelt Komus 5
www.komus.de
www.process-and-project.net www.heupel-consultants.com
… Or Structural Change Of Times?
TV duel against Biden - disaster in sections
Charli d'Amelio masters
the supreme disciplines of TikTok
An indictment of leadership –
this is how bad Daimler’s
crisis management is
German companies fall well behind

6. © Prof. Dr. Ayelt Komus 7
www.komus.de
www.process-and-project.net www.heupel-consultants.com
Management-Contexts - Classification
Simple
Complicated
Complex
Chaos
Interrelations and
systems behavior are….
Intuitive,
simple
Not simple,
but predictable and
manageable (with
effort and know-
how)
Not predictable
or manageable
Only limited
manageablity,
Planning is only
possible to a very
limited extent

7. © Prof. Dr. Ayelt Komus 8
www.komus.de
www.process-and-project.net www.heupel-consultants.com
Management-Contexts – Principles Of Action
Simple
Complicated
Complex
Chaos
Intuitive,
simple
Not simple,
but predictable and
manageable (with
effort and know-
how)
Not predictable
or manageable
Only limited
manageablity,
Planning is only
possible to a very
limited extent
Not in
focus
Analysis, Model,
Detailed Planning,
Command & Control
Do it !,
Observe,
Try to understand
Become better
Hypotheses,
Experiments,
Learning
“Step by Step”
Successful Management
is based on…

8. © Prof. Dr. Ayelt Komus 9
www.komus.de
www.process-and-project.net www.heupel-consultants.com
Management-Contexts – Principles Of Action
Simple
Complicated
Complex
Chaos
Intuitive,
simple
Not simple,
but predictable and
manageable (with
effort and know-
how)
Not predictable
or manageable
Only limited
manageablity,
Planning is only
possible to a very
limited extent
Not in
focus
Analysis, Model,
Detailed Planning,
Command & Control
Do it !,
Observe,
Try to understand
Become better
Hypotheses,
Experiments,
Learning
“Step by Step”
Plan driven
Management
(“BDUF”)
Agile methods
(Scrum…)

9. © Prof. Dr. Ayelt Komus 10
www.komus.de
www.process-and-project.net www.heupel-consultants.com
9 Principles Of Success
For Leadership And Management In A Complex World
1. Learning beats knowing
2. Smart Planning
3. Decision-making on the right level
4. Planning is everything – the plan is nothing
5. From “Command and Control” to leadership
6. Manage simple!
7. Focus!
8. Understand the context
9. Be humble and positive ☺

10. © Prof. Dr. Ayelt Komus 11
www.komus.de
www.process-and-project.net www.heupel-consultants.com
Learning Beats Knowing

11. © Prof. Dr. Ayelt Komus 12
www.komus.de
www.process-and-project.net www.heupel-consultants.com
1. Learning beats knowing!
Fail early
Fail often
Fail cheap

12. © Prof. Dr. Ayelt Komus 13
www.komus.de
www.process-and-project.net www.heupel-consultants.com
Scrum – It‘s All About Continuous Learning and Adjusting
Product Backlog Sprint Backlog Sprint
Potentially deliverable
Product
30 days
(max)
24 h
Daily Scrum

13. © Prof. Dr. Ayelt Komus 14
www.komus.de
www.process-and-project.net www.heupel-consultants.com
Scrum – It‘s All About Continuous Learning and Adjusting
Product Backlog Sprint Backlog Sprint
Potentially deliverable
Product
30 days
(max)
24 h
Daily Scrum
Continuous
Backlog
Management
Sprint Planning
Adjustments
Impediments
Sprint Review
Sprint Retrospective

14. © Prof. Dr. Ayelt Komus 15
www.komus.de
www.process-and-project.net www.heupel-consultants.com
Smart Planning

15. © Prof. Dr. Ayelt Komus 16
www.komus.de
www.process-and-project.net www.heupel-consultants.com
Smart Planning
Increasing uncertainty
Over planning
reasonable plannable
Level of
detail
Planning
Knowledge/
Prediction
Uncertainty
Today Future

16. © Prof. Dr. Ayelt Komus 17
www.komus.de
www.process-and-project.net www.heupel-consultants.com
Decision-making on the right level

17. © Prof. Dr. Ayelt Komus 18
www.komus.de
www.process-and-project.net www.heupel-consultants.com
Example - Planning And Flight Levels
Portfolio-
planung
Portfolio-
planung
Big Room
Planning
sprint planning
(bi-weeky cycle
sprint plannings for squad)
program planning
(bi-monthly cycle
Big Room Plannings)
portfolio planning
(yearly and after 6 months)
Big Room
Planning
Big Room
Planning
Big Room
Planning
Big Room
Planning
Big Room
Planning
Courtesy Heupel Consultants

18. © Prof. Dr. Ayelt Komus 19
www.komus.de
www.process-and-project.net www.heupel-consultants.com
Planning is everything
The plan is nothing

19. © Prof. Dr. Ayelt Komus 20
www.komus.de
www.process-and-project.net www.heupel-consultants.com
Planning Is Everything – The Plan Is Nothing
„Plans are worthless,
but planning is everything.“
- Dwight D. Eisenhauer
Planning is everything
- the plan is nothing

20. © Prof. Dr. Ayelt Komus 21
www.komus.de
www.process-and-project.net www.heupel-consultants.com
Big Room Planning –
Developing Common Vision, Understanding And Motivation
Testen & Lösung
weiterentwickeln
Ideen / Lösungen
entwickeln
Standpunkt/ Problem-
stellung definieren
Bedürfnisse / Problem
verstehen
Alle
Bilder:
Heupel
Consultants

21. © Prof. Dr. Ayelt Komus 22
www.komus.de
www.process-and-project.net www.heupel-consultants.com
From Command and Control to Leadership

22. © Prof. Dr. Ayelt Komus 23
www.komus.de
www.process-and-project.net www.heupel-consultants.com
From “Command And Control” To Leadership
Source: https://hbr.org/2013/12/how-google-sold-its-engineers-on-management
https://rework.withgoogle.com/blog/the-evolution-of-project-oxygen/
https://rework.withgoogle.com/print/guides/5721312655835136/
Is a good coach
Empowers team and does not
micromanage
Creates an inclusive team
environment. showing concern
for success and well-beeing
Is productive and
result oriented
Is a good communicator –
listens and shares communication
Supports carreer development
and discusses performance
Has a clear vision/strategy
for the team
Has key technical skills
To help advise the team
Lives the cross company
collaboration in daily work routine
Is a strong decision maker
10
6
8
7
1
9
2
3
4
5

23. © Prof. Dr. Ayelt Komus 24
www.komus.de
www.process-and-project.net www.heupel-consultants.com
What Does “Leadership ” Mean?
(Servant) Leadership
▪ Provide Vision
▪ Guidance and Support
▪ Shield the team from disturbancies
▪ Empower and Inspire Trust
▪ Purpose, Autonomy, Mastery

24. © Prof. Dr. Ayelt Komus 25
www.komus.de
www.process-and-project.net www.heupel-consultants.com
Learning and Understanding My New Role

25. © Prof. Dr. Ayelt Komus 26
www.komus.de
www.process-and-project.net www.heupel-consultants.com
Manage simple!

26. © Prof. Dr. Ayelt Komus 27
www.komus.de
www.process-and-project.net www.heupel-consultants.com
Manage Effectively – Not Impressively (And Not To CYA)

27. © Prof. Dr. Ayelt Komus 28
www.komus.de
www.process-and-project.net www.heupel-consultants.com
Manage visible!
Quelle: Heupel Consultants, April 2016

28. © Prof. Dr. Ayelt Komus 29
www.komus.de
www.process-and-project.net www.heupel-consultants.com
Focus!

29. © Prof. Dr. Ayelt Komus 30
www.komus.de
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Multitasking
I know you know it-
Multitasking just doesn‘t work
Live up to it!
Limit Work in Progress!

30. © Prof. Dr. Ayelt Komus 31
www.komus.de
www.process-and-project.net www.heupel-consultants.com
Powerful And Simple To Limit Work In Progress: Kanban-Board

31. © Prof. Dr. Ayelt Komus 32
www.komus.de
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Flow - Weighted Short Job First
Nach Reinertsen, Don
Flow – The Principles of Product Development Flow
A
B
C
delay cost
Scenario 1
C
delay cost
B
A
Scenario 2
time
time
1 3 6
3 6
1

32. © Prof. Dr. Ayelt Komus 33
www.komus.de
www.process-and-project.net www.heupel-consultants.com
Understand the context

33. © Prof. Dr. Ayelt Komus 34
www.komus.de
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Simple
Minor
Clarity/
Concord
Major
Clarity/
Concord
"Under control" Unclear/
Uncertain
Demands
Technology/
Method
Nach: Ralph D. Stacey: Strategic Management And Organisational Dynamic: The Challenge of Complexity
Complex
Complicated
Complex or just Complicated? – Stacey Matrix

34. © Prof. Dr. Ayelt Komus 35
www.komus.de
www.process-and-project.net www.heupel-consultants.com
Minor
Clarity/
Concord
Major
Clarity/
Concord
"Under control" Unclear/
Uncertain
Demands
Technology/
Method
Complex
Manage According To Context
complex
Classic
area
Nach: Ralph D. Stacey: Strategic Management And Organisational Dynamic: The Challenge of Complexity

35. © Prof. Dr. Ayelt Komus 36
www.komus.de
www.process-and-project.net www.heupel-consultants.com
Let The Complex-Versus-Complicated-Thinking
Become A Part Of Your Daily Routine
Vgl: Komus, Schmidt (2018): www.projektmagazin.de/artikel/mit-der-stacey-matrix-zur-richtigen-pm-methode_1128468

36. © Prof. Dr. Ayelt Komus 37
www.komus.de
www.process-and-project.net www.heupel-consultants.com
Be humble and positive

37. © Prof. Dr. Ayelt Komus 38
www.komus.de
www.process-and-project.net www.heupel-consultants.com
Wertorientiertes Vorgehen – kein „Agil als Monstranz“
Break the rules
that don‘t exist!

38. © Prof. Dr. Ayelt Komus 39
www.komus.de
www.process-and-project.net www.heupel-consultants.com
Let‘s Connect!
Xing: www.xing.com/profile/Ayelt_Komus
LinkedIn: http://de.linkedin.com/in/komus
Twitter: @Ayelt Komus
www.komus.de
www.process-and-project.net
www.heupel-consultants.com
www.praxisforum.net