Great stuff in here; let me please address some of the juicer questions,
responses inline:
On 10/22/13 2:25 PM, Diane Gibeault wrote:
Dan, you confirm that for Agile, the suggested practices (Scrum etc)
are up for discussion during the OST, that invitation should be the
way of doing business at every level, including the implementation stage.
Yes, and we must encourage the people to play.
Yes, and play is a censored term in most orgs, so in OAA we use
'experiment' instead. (the sanitized term for play)
In that case, there are real advantages for Open Agile Adoption (OAA)
to refer to these implementing practices in a more generic way.
On the Agile web site, information on the implementation phase seems
to be presented in a more prescriptive fashion, with specific
structured methods listed. If that's not the case, I may have read it
too fast or it's a presentation issue. Both can be easily fixed.
Can you please provide a link to "the Agile web site", where
"information on the implementation phase seems to be presented in a more
prescriptive fashion?" I do not know which site you mean...
Naming one or even a few structured existing tools gives the
impression there is a limited number of options and that there is no
room for participants to come up with or create their own ways to get
a job done.
This can feel more like control and mandate, an opposite mindset to
the "invitation" approach you favor Dan for Agile, an approach that is
congruent with the spirit of OST which encourages invitation as a way
of working and of managing on an on-going basis, so that organizations
can be more agile.
Yes, and to be clear, a practice is 'agile' if it (at a minimum) does
not offend the Principles of the Agile Manifesto, seen here:
http://agilemanifesto.org/principles.html
....and the values, seen here:
http://agilemanifesto.org/
Ideally, a strong practice will strongly honor the Manifesto principles,
not merely refrain from offending them.
Scrum is a pre-fab set of practices and agreements (almost said the
G-word there...) that do honor the Manifesto.
Hence the popularity of the Scrum form.
<CONFLICT WARNING>
Many 'agile people' will totally disagree with :
"...a practice is 'agile' if it (at a minimum) does not offend
the Principles of the Agile Manifesto"
Disagreement is perfectly OK. Let's suspend disbelief for now, and
proceed...
</CONFLICT WARNING>
And now to my point: they people can dream up any practice that fits
this criteria. If they do it is agile. They need not use Scrum, Kanban
etc. I always encourage them to dream and imagine and invent NEW
practices that fit them and their needs, subject to the Agile Manifesto
criteria. Now, it ain't as easy as it looks....
Sharing tool ideas before and during the OST meeting is not precluded
but how it's presented can make quite a difference on how it's
perceived by participants, i.e., how open and real the invitation is.
Yes, and the way to address this is to put the training AFTER the
initial OST meeting in Open Agile Adoption. Because training before the
OST (instead of after the OST) sends the
"mandate/we-made-an-investment-in" signal. Agree 100% and join you in
this idea.
Before an OS meeting, there is true benefit in reflecting on
implementation with organizers but they should not become attached to
tools or outcome. They must understand that the real discussion on
implementation should take place during the meeting with all
participants, and after with the emergent leadership.
Yes, and this is 100% the intent to Open Agile Adoption, because
ENGAGEMENT is the jet fuel of high performance. (not practices!)
The IT industry tells us that a very large number of IT projects fail
because they don't allow people to discuss and co-create the
implementation; they have no sense of ownership.
Yes, and this is an epidemic train wreck of absolutely epic scope worldwide
Letting the implementation systems emerge, allowing voices to be
really heard, if not making a true choice of a way to implement
whether it's a system or tool or not, all of this can create that
sense of ownership.
Yes, and this is the name of the game 100%. When people are not making
choices, they are clearly not free to engage
Dan you said earlier (Sept 30 OS List) 'I believe that people in the
Agile/IT world (and people in general) tend to "medicate" their
pains/worries/etc with processes. tools. frameworks. certifications.
etc.'
Yes, and here is a blog post on that:
http://newtechusa.net/agile/medication/
Leaving the implementation processes open as you said today, is likely
to help reduce that medication mentality.
Yes, and one benefit is that peace can and will break out
Diane
Diane Gibeault & Associe.es-Associates
Tel 613-744-2638, [email protected]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*From:* Dan Mezick <[email protected]>
*To:* World wide Open Space Technology email list
<[email protected]>
*Cc:* World wide Open Space Technology email list
<[email protected]>
*Sent:* Tuesday, October 22, 2013 11:21:31 AM
*Subject:* Re: [OSList] OST / Gaming
when a group is introduced to a definite process and OST is part
of the equation, the net result is often that the process itself
is treated like anything else in OST -- up for discussion.
Bingo...thats the whole point. Whatever the suggested (formerly
MANDATED) practices are, Scrum or whatever...are now up for
discussion. This is the *entire* reason to use the OAA approach.
Further, this is not manipulation, or its 1st cousin, persuasion.
This is invitation in the truest sense if the word. If OAA is used
for persuasion, this is a 100% corruption of the actual intent and
purpose. OAA does not seek to persuade.
As for spirit...give it time. Things may ripen presently, or not.
I'm watching for signs of an up-trend.
Sent from my iPhone
On Oct 22, 2013, at 10:59 AM, "Harrison Owen" <[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
Dan -- I guess it is time for me to come clean and reveal all my
ulterior motives. Frankly, I could care less if you and others use
OS by way of an introduction to Agile/Scrum. I have some
reservations that, to the extent that SCRUM is a prescribed
process (whether entered voluntarily or not), OST may not be quite
what you want. My experience has been that when a group is
introduced to a definite process and OST is part of the equation,
the net result is often that the process itself is treated like
anything else in OST -- up for discussion. That said, it surely
can't hurt and is probably much better than whatever alternatives.
As an old Swedish friend of mine put it, "OST is the WD-40 of
group work. One shot will loosen up just about anything."
But all that is just the tip of the iceberg. I think the
discussion will really get interesting and fruitful when we begin
to take hard look at what I might call the "Agility Function" of
OST. How does it work and why? How can we amplify the effect? I
suggested that agility is a natural act. True? If so, could it
become an everyday natural act?
On your "favorite question" -- OST as a Spiritual practice... I
did write a paper some years ago for a book that never happened
titled, "Open Space and Spirit shows up."
http://openspaceworld.com/spirt_shows.htm I confess that I share
Linda Stevenson's unease with talking about OS and Spirituality.
But then again...
Harrison
Harrison Owen
7808 River Falls Dr.
Potomac, MD 20854
USA
189 Beaucaire Ave. (summer)
Camden, Maine 04843
Phone 301-365-2093
(summer) 207-763-3261
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www.ho-image.com (Personal Website)
To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives
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*From:*[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>
[mailto:[email protected]] *On Behalf Of
*Daniel Mezick
*Sent:* Tuesday, October 22, 2013 9:41 AM
*To:* [email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>
*Subject:* Re: [OSList] OST / Gaming
Jenifer,
Yes, and if you feel claustrophobic *reading* about Agile, let's
imagine how claustrophobic the people inside these 'agile'
organizations feel...
...when they are told by an entirely well-meaning authority,
that they *must* "do" something, and even "be"
something...entirely /unfamilar/...without their explicit _consent_.
Is this or is this not the definition of a closed space?
And finally, my favorite question: Is OST actually a
group-spiritual practice?
Dan
http://newtechusa.net/agile/spirit/
*/We all want rapid and lasting Agile adoptions./*//The Open Agile
Adoption technique (OAA) can help. The OAA technique is drawing
deeply from the book SPIRIT by Harrison Owen. It's an amazing and
even essential book for any person who is serious about achieving
a rapid and lasting Agile adoption. In a very real sense the book
SPIRIT by Harrison Owen, first published in 1986, is the first
(and perhaps the only) book written on how to achieve a rapid and
lasting Agile adoption.
"...I have written this book for friends and colleagues, known and
unknown, who find themselves in the midst of a transforming world,
and are resolved to look beneath the surface to the underlying
source of change. This source, which has become manifest in the
form and structure of our organizations, I call Spirit." --
Harrison Owen, Prologue, SPIRIT: Development and Transformation in
Organizations. (Circa 1986)
www.OpenAgileAdoption.com <http://www.openagileadoption.com/>
http://www.infoq.com/articles/open-agile-adoption-1
http://www.infoq.com/articles/open-agile-adoption-2
On 10/22/13 8:14 AM, Jenifer Toksvig wrote:
Harrison, you said:
>> ... our conversation always seems to have (must have?)
some frame of reference with certain metaphors and images.
[...] It is not so much about right or wrong but rather
capacity to communicate. <<
It's all about Story, yes, absolutely. I was just saying to
Dan in an email that I had never heard of Agile until this
conversation, so I went to read all about it... and then had
to stop reading about it because, as a story, it makes me feel
claustrophobic. Especially as a story that is being linked to OST.
OST is my guide in so many ways. It's my comparison story: the
thing against which I find myself measuring life stuff.
- because it's not a story. Oddly, I think I made that strong
connection with OST because it seems to me that it is just how
things are, rather than how anyone might want to say things
are. Which is not that odd at all, actually, now I come to
think about it.
Although I am not in any way religious, perhaps those who are
feel the same way: that their belief system is not a story,
but the core truth of the world. It seems strange to me that
they wouldn't challenge it to make sure it isn't a story in
disguise, though. I challenge OST every day.
In fact, maybe that's what I mean by 'comparison'. I don't
measure life against it, so much as measure it against life,
and I am continuously delighted to find that it is simply a
description of how life happens, nothing more and nothing less.
How wonderful, how refreshing to find a true *description* in
a world full of takes and truths.
When I write stories, I think the characters already exist in
the place of potential, and all they do is choose me to be
their conduit onto the page; I'm the right conduit for a
specific few. I am not at all surprised that OST chose you.
Thank you for being open to being chosen, and for staying open
when you recognised it for what it was.
Jen x
*Jenifer Toksvig
*www.acompletelossforwords.com
<http://www.acompletelossforwords.com/>
*The Copenhagen Interpretation
*www.thecopenhageninterpretation.co.uk
<http://www.thecopenhageninterpretation.co.uk/>
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New Technology Solutions Inc.
(203) 915 7248 (cell)
Bio <http://newtechusa.net/dan-mezick/>. Blog
<http://newtechusa.net/blog/>. Twitter <http://twitter.com/#%21/danmezick/>.
Examine my new book:The Culture Game
<http://newtechusa.net/about/the-culture-game-book/>: Tools for the
Agile Manager.
Explore Agile Team Training
<http://newtechusa.net/services/agile-scrum-training/> and Coaching.
<http://newtechusa.net/services/agile-scrum-coaching/>
Explore the Agile Boston <http://newtechusa.net//user-groups/ma/>Community.
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