Transparency as a “Leveling Force”
It started as it always did. My boss came into my office --
Bill: Bob, we need you to deliver this new set of functionality in 6 weeks. Our sales are down and we've determined that this release will really make a difference and provide pop on the sales front.
Me: But, Bill. We haven't got a clue yet as to exactly what is required nor how long it will take to deliver it. It will take some time to sort things out and put a thoughtful, accurate plan together.
Bill: Bob, that's why you're here. To work through the tough problems. I need you on board with this and the business is really counting on you. We simply have to do it! And I really mean in 6 weeks, so delivered on April 1.
Me: Alright. I trust your assessment of the business climate. The team and I will do our best and meet this challenge. You can count on us.
I've shortened the exchange, but you get the point. Once Bill gets me to commit, his job is done -- at least from his perspective. Bill was an ex-IBM'er with about 35 years of experience who'd grown up in the early years of computing. He felt that software team schedules and estimates were things that were always drastically padded -- mostly because software teams lacked confidence and the ability to accurately and aggressively estimate work.
One of his primary jobs was to challenge the team to sign up and commit to aggressive schedule and scope targets that would meet the customer needs. His behavior was very much aligned with a contract negotiation stance. Get them (the team and me) to commit to a goal (the contract) then come back at the end for the prize (delivery). The middle game was simply wrapped around the details and not of much interest to him.
Bill would have a set of terms that he would use to support his stance and push the team into submission. Perhaps you've heard some of them: Stretch goal, Commitment, Buy-in, Aggressiveness, a "Can-do" and positive attitude.
Bill is what I'd call a traditional executive who views software development projects as things to be bullied, pushed, and shoved into submission. His was a dysfunctional style that didn't align well with terms like trade-off and compromise, teamwork and true buy-in, sustained business value, and technical feasibility.
Do you think his approach was effective? In other words, were the strong-armed projects delivered on time, with high customer value and satisfaction? Rarely, but that was despite Bill's approach and not because of it. It also meant that Bill would only learn of his success or more often disappointment at the last minute, when it was really too late to do anything other than yell, look for blame and truly disappoint our customers.
The Agile Methods have brought forth a methodology and approach that is directly counter to Bill's style. Instead of hiding project details and allowing a demanding executive to try and make it so, they look to create a transparent and inclusive relationship with business stakeholders and customers. Imagine that? Among other things they make project data totally visible within the team and across all stakeholders. Every feature that is completed, every estimate, every issue, risk or impediment is surfaced for team review and resolution. They require business stakeholders to be connected to their project and act as engaged team members.
Initially, Bill would be sort of lost in this model because it would cause him to become an engaged participant, not at the project end-points, but during the entire lifecycle. He couldn't simply demand any longer and then expect things to magically sort themselves out. No, he�d have to make hard decisions on priority and costs. He'd have to be involved in some really hard decisions surrounding business value, cost and making feature trade-offs. He'd also be expected to serve as a voice of the customer and determine when functionality was sufficiently "done."
In retrospect, I think he would have liked this role. Transparency is a very powerful notion as is the reality of real-time feedback from the team on progress.
Previous Post:
EPAM Systems Selects 6th Sense Analytics
Next Post:
Transparency as an “Inclusive Force”
