The Enterprise as a Complex Adaptive System

A true Agile enterprise is a complex adaptive system (a special case of complex systems), often defined as a "complex macroscopic collection" of relatively "similar and partially connected micro-structures", formed in order to adapt to the changing environment, and increase its survivability as a macro-structure.

They are complex in that they are a dynamic network of interactions, and their relationships are not aggregations of the individual static entities. They are adaptive, in that the individual and collective behaviour mutate and self-organize corresponding to change-initiating micro-event or a collection of events.

The Cynefin framework  (/kʌnɨvɪn/ Ku-nev-in / Welsh for 'habitat or place') is an emergent "sense making" (as against categorization models taught in B-schools, for example, the 2x2 matrix) decision model that provides for an organizational perspective on complexity. Cynefin framework has five domains. If we start with the three types of systems - Ordered, Complex and Chaotic - and split Ordered systems into Simple and Complicated we get the first four domains:

• Simple, in which the relationship between cause and effect is obvious to all, the approach is to Sense - Categorise - Respond and we can apply best practice.
• Complicated, in which the relationship between cause and effect requires analysis or some other form of investigation and/or the application of expert knowledge, the approach is to Sense - Analyze - Respond and we can apply good practice.
• Complex, in which the relationship between cause and effect can only be perceived in retrospect, but not in advance, the approach is to Probe - Sense - Respond and we can sense emergent practice.
• Chaotic, in which there is no relationship between cause and effect at systems level, the approach is to Act - Sense - Respond and we can discover novel practice.

The fifth domain is Disorder, which is the state of not knowing what type of causality exists, in which state people will revert to their own comfort zone in making a decision. Here is a video on the Cynefin Framework by David Snowden himself.

So what does all this mean to an Agile Transformation program?

Well, in Dave words, when you build a new structure or change an existing structure, you need "scaffolding" - a temporary structure on the outside of a building made of wooden planks and metal poles. Scaffolding is not part of the structure and remains in position only until the work is completed.Thereafter, the scaffolding is taken down.

The term "scaffolding" is also often used in the domain of instructional practice to refer to a variety of instructional techniques used to move students progressively toward stronger understanding and ultimately, greater independence in the learning process. The term itself offers a relevant descriptive metaphor. Like physical scaffolding, the supportive strategies are incrementally removed when they are no longer needed, and the teacher gradually shifts more responsibility over the learning process to the student.

In its simplest form, a scaffold may comprise a simple restriction imposed on the organization to improve efficiencies. Say an organization allows managers and others in leadership roles to call meetings at the drop of a hat at any time of the working day, leading to a situation where people are not getting time to finish their own work. The root cause of such adhocism may be attributed to the lack of coordination events (a structural element).

Now, many will be of the opinion that the imposition of a constraint like "there will be no meetings up until lunch time" will be detrimental to getting work accomplished. On the other hand, such a lockdown would enable people to get their work done in the morning and attend collaborative activities and meetings in the post-lunch session. So, given the pros and cons, is it desirable?

The decision will have to be based on data that needs to be collected prior to imposing such constraints. The data will indicate why such meetings are needed, the time spent in each meeting, the purpose of such meetings and the people who attend.

The transformation objective will be to identify structural elements that need to be introduced. The reasons and range of activities will give pointers to the direction in which the organization needs to move. However, transformation activities will take time. So what purpose will constraints serve at the present?

Note again, the the constraint is for all meetings to be held post-lunch. If the office hours are say nine to five, and people take time-off for lunch around 1pm, it will give everyone 4 hours to accomplish their objectives for the day. That in itself will be an improvement over what was otherwise an unpredictable period.

Will there be points of failure? Probably yes, but then, these get highlighted and we can refer to them as our "boundary conditions" for input to the process of designing the new structural elements. 

More in another post.

Assessment

Krishna sent of the agenda for the team meeting the same afternoon. Dhritarashtra was quick to respond and promised Krishna that, since he was out the whole of the 3rd week of September, he would facilitate the meeting sometime during the 4th week, that he would not commit a date until he returned.

It was the middle of October, by the time Dhritarashtra confirmed the date and time - 1030h at their offices in Sector 142, in Greater Noida. Greater Noida was an extension of the older New Okhla Industrial Development Area, along the new and alternate alignment to National Highway No 2 till Agra on the East bank of the Yamuna river.

Krishna walked into the airy reception area at 1025h sharp. It was a mad hour long commute to Greater Noida from Gurgaon. He made a mental note to check out three or four different routes for time and distance while he sauntered over to the receptionist desk in the corner. Handing over his business card he announced that he was there to meet Dhritarashtra. The receptionist picked up the telephone and dialled a number, then asked Krishna to wait in the lounge while someone came over to receive him.

As Krishna walked over to a sofa next to the main entrance, he pulled out his mobile to scan for messages and emails and it was only then he noticed three missed calls, two from Dhritarashtra and one from an unknown number. He called Dhritarashtra first and was quite surprised to hear that he had to travel out of station on a business emergency and that his "number two", Eklavya would be there to facilitate the meeting with the key members of his team.

"Yeah... no worries. I will handle it and get back to you with the gist of the discussion." Krishna knew that the planned session with the team would be a notch less effective, but there was no choice. And he definitely did not want to schedule it for another day.

Eklavya strode across the lobby with Karna in tow. The handshake was guarded, so probably Dhritarashtra probably only briefed him this morning. Krishna noticed a level of reserve he usually attributes to cold calls.

"Mmm...this is going to need some work before some trust and rapport is established!", Krishna thought to himself as he followed Eklavya and Karna off to the left of the lobby and into a large open plan office.

There was the usual confusion about the meeting room, and by the time that was settled, some of the attendees had drifted off to get coffee. Moreover the network did not allow guest access and the projector was not switching on.

After about 15 minutes, all teething problems had been resolved, but now Krishna faced a new problem. He was expecting to meet 3-4 people including Dhritarashtra. But the small six person meeting was filled with at least 14 people and more were trickling in, coffee cups in hand.

"Just stand against the wall", suggested Krishna, "I will try and make this as painless as possible."

He had thought that he will run a power point presentation, but given the crowd in the room he switched tack and decided to go into a brainstorming session, asking each one there to first introduce themselves, describe their role and nature of work, and then to highlight the top two or three issues they faced each day in doing their work.

Eklavya took the lead to initiate the process, described the nature of the team that had gathered there, the different functions they had and pointed out the leads before passing the baton to Karna, sitting to his left, to start.

Karna's role was to study the web analytics and competitors and recommend actions to management. Yudhistir to Karna's left headed the product group. Rukmi, the test lead monopolized the discussion as her cup of woes spilt over and flowed down to the Yamuna.

Listening to them, Krishna was transported back to a time when he headed a software development centre. "Well, well, what has changed since those days, eh?", he thought to himself.

The discussion lasted almost a full hour, much to Krishna chagrin. He was firmly of the belief that no meeting should be more than 35 minutes with a five minute wrap at the end for path forward assignments. But surprisingly, no one had nodded off to warn him of the schedule overrun. Obviously, it must have been a while since this team had a chance to voice off. Or maybe, as was typical, it was the the result of external facilitation, when people feel safe to voice their concerns and not be judged for it or take the change of having it affect their quarterly or annual appraisals.

Krishna thanked them for their time and said that while he came in with the belief they needed structure, the environment was not suitable for a right structure of a formal methodology. What it needed was something light and adaptable - most definitely agile!

"How many of you have heard of Agile Methodologies?", asked Krishna, more rhetorically than part of the assessment.

Four hands went up, including Karna. Karna stated that he was a certified scrum master (CSM), and Krishna immediately knew that Karna had to be on the program's Core Group. The others had heard of it and done some reading, but never utilized it.

Krishna then asked Eklavya to find out whether there were any more CSMs in the organization who could be spared for the program core group and ended the session by saying, "It was a very fruitful discussion. I can see that a formal structured methodology will not work here. You guys are best suited for a more light weight methodology. I will be putting the outcomes of this discussion in a proposal and I will be recommending implementing an Agile methodology as a pilot. Thank you for your active participation and your time."

Krishna knew that the meeting was a success, as Eklavya, escorting him back to the lobby, appeared to have warmed up tremendously.

"I liked your point about self-organizing teams, and about having a high tolerance for mistakes. I can now see why the process of correcting a mistake is a huge source of innovation and why you say the agile methodologies target culture more significantly than most formal methodologies. I really look forward to working with you on this program."

Krishna smiled as he shook hands with Eklavya and Karna, as he turned and stepped out of the building into the bright sunshine outside.

Pre-sales

In this case, turned out to be surprisingly easy. Or so Krishna thought for the first three weeks. He had bumped into Dhritarashtra at the Max Hospital in Gurgaon. And Krishna remembered seeing him occasionally when he was out with his dogs on his morning walks, so quite obviously he lived somewhere in the same neighbourhood. It was easy to start the conversation.

"All well?", Krishna enquired.

"Just brought my Dad for a routine check-up", he said. Nothing serious, except that he was pushing eighty and was diabetic, so he had to come in at least quarterly for a review. Krishna and Dhritarashtra got chatting while sitting in the OPD waiting area. The crowd was still sparse, so they could converse easily.

"Mr Dhritarashtra, I was wondering whether you could use project management training or services at your company. Are you certified ISO or CMMI?"

"Not certified. As a matter of fact we have deliberately kept the startup culture. But we could use some training on formal project management", said Dhritarashtra.

Now Dhritarashtra was usually a man of a few words, but in this instance he poured his heart out as to how much of a mess things were, that projects were always running over schedule, the right talent was not always available when needed, people were stretched and pulling sixty to seventy hour weeks for months on end and that he was at his wits end, what with all the constant fire-fighting.

He was quick to clarify that the company had grown to two and a half thousand people and yet there was a deliberate attempt to maintain the startup culture. There were pros and cons of course, but of late with revenue dropping in three of the four major product lines, he had begun to wonder whether some level of formalism was essential for the next stage of growth.

Krishna did not want to commit until he had had a chance to take a look first hand, so he ended with saying that he would like to meet the team and have a chat, for about an hour or so, to enable him to assess the situation and prepare a formal proposal.