Understanding the impact and cost of complexity can have a huge impact in the success of digitization efforts. This presentation makes that point through a history lesson and offers some guidance on how to approach managing complexity and simplification.

1. Trimming in the context
of IT-services
Teemu Toivonen - Teemu.Toivonen@leanex.fi

2. Introduction - Teemu Toivonen
• Founder & Principle Consultant at Leanex
• Co-founder of Triari
• Education: Master of Science (HUT)
• > Over 15 years of work experience in
digitalization. Jack of all trades:
programming, service design, project
management, line management, consultant..
• > 10 years of experience in Agile and Lean
• Current focus: value stream analyses,
portfolio management, large complex
projects, Agile transformations, solving
complex problems

3. Agenda
•A history lesson
•Understanding complexity
•Complexity and IT-services
•Reducing complexity with trimming
•Summary

4. The Roman empire
510 BCE – 550 CE
A magnificent civilization to which we still owe much of our cultural roots.
At it’s height one of the greatest empires in human history.
Image: Wikipedia

5. The Roman empire - achievements
At it’s peak the roman civilization was on a level of it’s own compared to
the other civilizations of it’s time and even a thousand years after it’s
demise.
Aqueducts
Roads
Architecture
Legal system
Military
Cement, sewage
systems, logistics, and
many more…

6. Rome was a highly complex society for its era!

7. … but all things must come to an end!
The city of Rome was sacked at 546 for the third time
– end of an era

8. How could such an empire be defeated?
Many reasons have been suggested:
- Lead poisoning
- Political corruption
- Barbarian knowledge of Roman military tactics
- Natural disasters
- Unemployment of the working classes
- Moral decay
- … and MANY more!
From a complexity viewpoint it was inevitable!

9. Understanding complexity
As the number of different components and their
interconnections increases so does system complexity
Energy
consumption
Energy
consumption
Energy
consumption

10. The amount of silver in Roman coins
Research and image: Joseph Tainter

11. East Rome lasted for a thousands years longer
It’s longevity was based on adapting to changing circumstances and the ability to abandon
what had brought it earlier success when it was no longer viable!

12. So how is this related to IT-services?

13. Chief digital/information officers…
Got their jobs because they are good at achieving targets and pushing
for results!
No their goal is to push digitalization as quickly as possible to out do
the existing competition and market disruptors…

14.  Just do it culture of creating IT-services

15. Until system complexity reaches a point were it is
practically impossible to add functionality, and
operate the service at a adequate level!

16. Making complexity informed decisions
There is three important factors to avoiding the complexity explosion:
1. Designing to minimize complexity
2. Making decisions based on is it worth the complexity
3. The TRIZ way – how can we have the benefit without the complexity

17. OK, that would be nice… BUT what if we already
have too much complexity and it is slowing us
down?

18. TRIZ: Functional modelling and trimming
TRIZ offers a solid method for reducing complexity in traditional systems!
Model the system • Create a functional model
Simplify the system • Use the trimming questions

19. Does the same apply for IT-services?

20. Applying modelling and trimming to IT-services
ASPECT MODELLING TRIMMING
Functionality • First model value (functional world)
• Model features in table of features, benefits
and dependencies Traditional TRIZ trimming question
work well with all of the aspects.
Adding more emphases to time is a
recommended tweak.
“Do we need it yet?”
IT-services can typically be changed
with relatively low costs if they are
done well and not overly complex so
adding the element of time makes it
psychologically more easy to answer
yes to the trimming questions.
User interface • Use picture of UI as bases for model
• Add customer symbol
• Model customer value of elements
• Model supporting value of elements
Processes • Can be done on process or processes level
• Existing: value stream analyses or time
based trimming
• New: model benefits and dependencies of
of process collection as a “table”
Architecture • Use existing architecture models of the
systems – enterprise architecture or system
architecture depending on the abstraction
level

21. Summary
Make complexity aware decisions
• Understand the cost of adding complexity
• Design for minimal solutions
• The TRIZ way – benefit without complexity
If you have an overly complex system
• Systematically work to reduce complexity
• Model and simplify the different aspects
• Use models that work for the context (UI, functions…)
Complexity in IT-services is an interesting space and there is much room for
improvement and both the financial and social impacts for complexity in IT-
services are significant!