This section of the portal is for supporting the Disciplined Agile Value Stream Consultant Workshop (DAVSC), currently under development. Discussions on the pages here will take place on the Disciplined Agile LinkedIn group.

 

The Disciplined Agile Value Stream Consultant and DA FLEX Playbook for SAFe are intense, information filled workshops that cover more topics in depth and breadth than many others. Even though both require a considerable Agile background, it is not possible to cover everything that is useful. Nor is it necessary. Much learning can take place on one’s own part. This page serves as a starting point for readings and viewings of materials on topics that will support one’s Agile endeavors. The intention is to provide some of the theory on which DA FLEX is built.  DA FLEX has been created using the scientific process where everything in it is up for question. While creators of all approaches, including DA FLEX’s, have cognitive bias, we have used the scientific process to continuously challenge and refine DA FLEX. The background readings provide much of the theory used in this process.

The articles are organized by general topic as follows:

• The Theory and Principles underneath FLEX
• Being an effective coach
• Creating curriculum
• Managing in a Complex Environment
• Articles Designed to Explain Lean-Agile
• Value Streams and Flow
• SAFe related
• Miscellaneous

Links will be provided as the materials become available. Anything linked to now is ready to be viewed or read. The most important items to read/view are in bold.

The Theory and Principles Underneath DA FLEX

This section is not necessary to read in order to understand DA FLEX. However, many attendees of our workshops have asked for more of the theory underneath DA FLEX. This section provides much of that.

• The DA FLEX Mindset
• How FLEX is different from other Agile approaches
• The Theory Underneath DA FLEX
• If Russ Ackoff Gave a TED Talk  The best short explanation of systems thinking out there. (12 minutes)
• Why DA FLEX Suggests Having Explicit Workflow and Agreements 
• Definition of Ready and Different Ways to Use It

Being an effective coach

The Explore the Team Agility Coach Role page has an enormous amount of information that will help coaches. For the purposes of this workshop, starting with the Team Agility Coach Reading Path is suggested.

How to Improve or Change Your Practices is quite useful, especially at the team level.

Creating Curriculum

• Pickup Sticks Model of Identifying the Ordering of Presenting Ideas
• Trim Tabs are key concepts that make a big difference in work and learning.

Managing in a Complex Environment

Note: This session will have accompanying recorded PowerPoint sessions before long.

• The role of management from a Lean perspective. It’s not enough to tell managers they need to support their people, they need to know how to do this in an Agile environment. This will be in the workshop. A video is being made shortly.
• Understand VUCA (variability, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity), management gaps and systems. 
• Inherent Simplicity and Value Stream Impedance. These provide a simple way of deciding what to do, even in a complex world.
• Implementing Lean management.  The essence of Lean management is for middle management to look up to the front of the value stream and then help those actually doing the work down stream to get their work done.
  • Middle-Up-Down Management is based on Nonaka (1988) (co-author of the New New Product Development Game (1986) on which Scrum is based. While the article is a good read, a shorter presentation is being written.
  • Take a systems thinking perspective.  Watch If Russ Ackoff had Given a TED Talk (12 min)
  • Art of Action: How Leaders Close the Gap Between Plans, Actions and Results, by Stephen Bungay. While the book is highly recommended and a fun read, the short re-cap is a must read.
  • Managing Transitions by William Bridges. One of the best transition books out there – and one of the shortest.
  • What i s leadership? – With David Marquet

Articles Designed to Explain Lean-Agile

This section contains articles that are useful to explain to people why Lean-Agile is a good thing.

Lean-Agile Should Be More Predictable Than Waterfall

Value Streams and Flow

• Value Streams and Why They Are So Important. This is a landing page for value stream related pages.
• The Resource Utilization Trap by Henrik Kniberg. When you watch this, imagine what it’d look like if a line was drawn as the balls move. What would the manager think if he could see these lines? Henrik does a beautiful job of showing how we should look at throughput, but it also gives an indication about what to look at without any metrics. Watch the flow, not how busy people are.

SAFe Related

• The DA FLEX Playbook for SAFe
• Improving SAFe’s WSJF
• Running Effective Planning Events

Miscellaneous Topics

• Visual Controls and Information Radiators
• Using Visual Controls and Pull to Disseminate Information.
• The Business Case for Agility. This is very useful to show people why Agile is a good thing to be doing.
• The Software World Is Not Like the Physical World and What That Means
• Systems Thinking and How It Can Be Applied to Frameworks and Methods
• The Value Stream Impedance Scorecard
• Leadership and Management
• Theory of Constraints 3 Bottle Demo to improve Flow. This is a great video to show how thrashing in work can make a lot of activity but not create value being delivered. One of the best 6 minute videos out there. And fun to watch.
• Waterfall is never the right approach. 2020/07/26