This document discusses scaling lean principles within organizations. It begins by outlining challenges with scaling lean at the project, program, and portfolio levels, such as optimizing velocity, cross-team coordination, and managing business units. It then presents several principles for scaling lean successfully, including focusing on customer value, valuing learning over delivery, radical transparency, and humility. Tactics for implementing these principles include managing by objectives and key results, evidence-based planning, experimentation, transparency rituals, and modernizing technology stacks. The document emphasizes that scaling lean is as much a cultural and leadership effort as a process effort, requiring a focus on continuous learning and admitting what is not known.
13. GOTHELF.CO / @JBOOGIE
WHY DOES LEAN SEEM TO
BREAK AT SCALE?Established corporations are too concerned about tarnishing their brand with an MVP
— David Baldie (@DavidBaldie)
Process. Everything has a process and 85 approvals and a mysterious “they” blocking anything that’s not the old way.
— Emily Tate (@thedailyem)
"Good enough" doesn't get respected as viable option to SHIP IT!
— Jeremy Caverly (@JeremyCee)
Silo'ed managers unwilling to release team members
— Dan Weingrod (@dweingrod)
Valuing business need over user need (not realizing they are the same thing)
— Simeon Poulin (@simeon_P)
"To approve that we need to see a detailed plan and cost benefit analysis, and you must commit to specific deadlines and targets."
— John Waterworth (@jwaterworth)
"We already know what we need to do. Why do we need to waste time 'learning'?"
— John Waterworth (@jwaterworth)
16. GOTHELF.CO / @JBOOGIE
SEVERAL WAYS TO THINK ABOUT
SCALING
PROJECT
How do we
incorporate more
learning into each
initiative?
17. GOTHELF.CO / @JBOOGIE
SEVERAL WAYS TO THINK ABOUT
SCALING
PROJECT
How do we
incorporate more
learning into each
initiative?
PROGRAM
How do we coordinate
multiple discovery/delivery
efforts focused on the same
goal?
18. GOTHELF.CO / @JBOOGIE
SEVERAL WAYS TO THINK ABOUT
SCALING
PROJECT
How do we
incorporate more
learning into each
initiative?
PROGRAM
How do we coordinate
multiple discovery/delivery
efforts focused on the same
goal?
PORTFOLIO
How do we coordinate
multiple programs, enforce
governance and meet
shareholder expectations?
21. GOTHELF.CO / @JBOOGIESCALING CHALLENGES AT EACH LEVEL
PROJECT
•Optimizing for throughput
(velocity)
•Parallel path discovery &
delivery
•No autonomy to make
decisions
•Incremental, not iterative
•Perceived risk to brand/
current customers
PROGRAM PORTFOLIO
22. GOTHELF.CO / @JBOOGIESCALING CHALLENGES AT EACH LEVEL
PROJECT
•Optimizing for throughput
(velocity)
•Parallel path discovery &
delivery
•No autonomy to make
decisions
•Incremental, not iterative
•Perceived risk to brand/
current customers
PROGRAM PORTFOLIO
•Cross-team coordination
•Knowledge management
•Legacy systems
•Offshoring
•Distributed teams
23. GOTHELF.CO / @JBOOGIESCALING CHALLENGES AT EACH LEVEL
PROJECT
•Optimizing for throughput
(velocity)
•Parallel path discovery &
delivery
•No autonomy to make
decisions
•Incremental, not iterative
•Perceived risk to brand/
current customers
PROGRAM PORTFOLIO
•Cross-team coordination
•Knowledge management
•Legacy systems
•Offshoring
•Distributed teams
•Discipline & business unit
silos
•IT as a service provider
•Business value > customer
value
•Annual planning
•Incentive structure
•Governance
•Conway’s Law but in reverse
32. GOTHELF.CO / @JBOOGIE
TACTIC:
MANAGE TO OKR’S
OBJECTIVE
•Qualitative
•Inspirational
•Time bound
•Actionable by the team independently
(particularly relevant in the enterprise)
KEY RESULTS
@CWODTKE
33. GOTHELF.CO / @JBOOGIE
TACTIC:
MANAGE TO OKR’S
OBJECTIVE
•Qualitative
•Inspirational
•Time bound
•Actionable by the team independently
(particularly relevant in the enterprise)
KEY RESULTS
•Quantifiable
•How will we know we’ve met our objective?
•Difficult, not impossible
•Cascade down
•Rhythmic
@CWODTKE
35. GOTHELF.CO / @JBOOGIE
TACTIC:
MANAGE TO OKR’S @CWODTKE
EXAMPLE OF OBJECTIVE: BE THE DOMINANT PLATFORM FOR CAR DEALER INVENTORY MANAGEMENT BY Q4 2016
EXAMPLE OF KEY RESULT: 50% OF ALL INDEPENDENT DEALERS ARE OUR USERS
EXAMPLE OF KEY RESULT: 6 OF THE TOP 10 CARMAKERS MANDATE OUR PLATFORM FOR THEIR DEALERSHIPS
EXAMPLE OF KEY RESULT: 40% OF AUTO AUCTION HOUSES USING OUR INVENTORY API
43. GOTHELF.CO / @JBOOGIE
TACTIC:
HORIZON PLANNING
Source: McKinsey, Intuit, et al
THREE TIME HORIZONS TO MEASURE PROGRESS
• Customer-related questions to answer: Is there a need? Can we find a solution that meets that need?
HORIZON 3: SHORT TERM
44. GOTHELF.CO / @JBOOGIE
TACTIC:
HORIZON PLANNING
Source: McKinsey, Intuit, et al
THREE TIME HORIZONS TO MEASURE PROGRESS
• Customer-related questions to answer: Is there a need? Can we find a solution that meets that need?
HORIZON 3: SHORT TERM
HORIZON 2: MID TERM
45. GOTHELF.CO / @JBOOGIE
TACTIC:
HORIZON PLANNING
Source: McKinsey, Intuit, et al
THREE TIME HORIZONS TO MEASURE PROGRESS
• Customer-related questions to answer: Is there a need? Can we find a solution that meets that need?
HORIZON 3: SHORT TERM
• Sustainability-related questions to answer: Is the market large enough/sustainable? Can we support growth?
HORIZON 2: MID TERM
46. GOTHELF.CO / @JBOOGIE
TACTIC:
HORIZON PLANNING
Source: McKinsey, Intuit, et al
THREE TIME HORIZONS TO MEASURE PROGRESS
• Customer-related questions to answer: Is there a need? Can we find a solution that meets that need?
HORIZON 3: SHORT TERM
• Sustainability-related questions to answer: Is the market large enough/sustainable? Can we support growth?
HORIZON 2: MID TERM
HORIZON 1: LONG TERM
47. GOTHELF.CO / @JBOOGIE
TACTIC:
HORIZON PLANNING
Source: McKinsey, Intuit, et al
THREE TIME HORIZONS TO MEASURE PROGRESS
• Customer-related questions to answer: Is there a need? Can we find a solution that meets that need?
HORIZON 3: SHORT TERM
• Sustainability-related questions to answer: Is the market large enough/sustainable? Can we support growth?
HORIZON 2: MID TERM
• Growth-related questions to answer: How do we scale? How do we continuously improve? How do we stay competitive?
HORIZON 1: LONG TERM
79. GOTHELF.CO / @JBOOGIE
TACTIC:
MODERNIZE TECH STACK
DevOps is a culture, movement or practice that emphasizes the collaboration and communication of both software developers and
other information-technology (IT) professionals while automating the process of software delivery and infrastructure changes. It
aims at establishing a culture and environment where building, testing, and releasing software, can happen rapidly, frequently, and
more reliably.
- Wikipedia
83. GOTHELF.CO / @JBOOGIE
THIS IS A TOP-DOWN EFFORT
“Successful leaders embrace the reality that their models may be
wrong or incomplete. Only when we admit what we don’t know
can we ever hope to learn it.”
- Ed Catmull, CEO, Pixar
88. GOTHELF.CO / @JBOOGIE
LEAN PRINCIPLES THAT WORK AT
ANY SCALE
PRINCIPLE #1: CUSTOMER VALUE = BUSINESS VALUE
PRINCIPLE #2: VALUE LEARNING OVER DELIVERY
PRINCIPLE #3: RADICAL TRANSPARENCY
PRINCIPLE #4: HUMILITY IN ALL THINGS