Target Operating Model
Why change an operating model?
Creating target interventions works well for a mature setup. In many cases, organisations have significant weaknesses across many disciplines. For example the strategy layer not being in place, endless shaping of features or the measurement of results is not integrated into day-to-day learning. In these cases it can be better to reset how everyone is working rather than patch.
Custom framework design
There are many options when creating a delivery model, but all should start with your goals. Understanding the “why” ensures you get the results you expect. There can be many reasons for changing, below are a few examples:
Better integrate your User Research and UX teams into your strategy to get more value from them
Improve on Design Thinking to make sure what is produced can actually be built
Reduce the amount of failed features
Combine the tests and learn practices of Agile with better estimation and planning
Avoid the almost endless shaping of features
Innosee’s own framework
The Commercial Agile Framework is a ready-to-go transformation tool. It has been designed to be best in class across many disciplines. It can be customised to suit your needs or deployed in full if it makes sense. As an adaptive framework you can add to it or change it, for example if you need scaled delivery practices.
Back to old ways of working
Have you ever observed this common pattern of failure?
Although training people and letting them run may seem sensible, this does not work well. The skills needed to be successful are never as simple to gain as you think. When the changes are hard to master and don’t immediately result in the desired outcomes, the temptation is to return to old working methods. This may begin with people cutting corners, resulting in the creation of poor quality outputs and processes being skipped.
In addition, when things aren’t going well, it is easy for people to blame the process. The concept of “failing fast” can be devastating to an operating model change. As failure occurs, this cements the mindset that the change has been a bad thing. Therefore, it is important to offer ongoing support to ensure long-term success.
The impact of culture
Every organisation has a culture. Understanding and navigating this culture is key to any successful transformation.
The problem
The disconnect between the views of teams and leadership is a significant barrier to success.
In 17th annual State of Agile report by Digital.AI shows a strong disconnect between teams and business leadership. In larger companies these were the findings:
36% Leadership not understanding and putting roadblocks up, either knowingly or unknowingly
33% Teams not empowered to be self-organized and/or self-sufficient
29% Business teams not understanding what agile does and/or can do
These are the very real cultural tensions that exist within organisations as shown below:
In some cases Agile specialists have pushed for change with a “magic bullet” mentality. Organisations are sold in a dream of improved value and efficiency. When deadlines are missed and strategy not achieved the temptation is to go back to how things were done.
How CAF solves these issues
Like people speaking different languages, you can find a spectrum of beliefs within an organisation. It is these unspoken beliefs that underpin conflict. Asking for a Gantt chart is based on a belief that this style of work breakdown and close management of timelines works well.
Innosee’s framework can provide the right balance. It is at the extremes where much conflict arises. Let’s say you have a control culture with a top-down setup and are asked to switch to innovation with empowered teams, you will find this extremely difficult.
The Commercial Agile Framework provides the following solutions:
Strategy layer - This allows you to structure and agree on a strategy with a team (they may drive this themselves) before the work starts. This separates the day-to-day delivery from the big picture. It bridges the gap between leadership and team level.
Objectives - At the strategy level, we are aligned on our objectives and track success toward them. This stops discussions from focussing on functionality before defining success.
Identify and remove assumptions - At the work item level, we look for the principal risks upfront and tackle them in the discovery phase. After this, we can estimate. This allows a control culture to see a plan coupled with the benefits of experimentation.
Work items are as small as possible to create value for the organisation and customer. This approach means we can get value out faster and create simpler plans. This avoids a bloated scope where more and more tracking is required to monitor delivery costs
The overall mistake people make is not understanding there is a middle ground.
Bridging the communication gap
Working at all levels is critical to success. It is not enough to focus solely on the teams or the senior management; you need both. A push for self-organising teams has led to the temptation to demonise management as getting in the way of success. Creating an atmosphere of "them and us" is a fast way to fail.
Innosee can work across all levels to help ensure a smooth transition to new ways of working.
Transformation process
Below is the process that shows how a new framework will be deployed. At each stage, readiness to move to the next will be discussed. This gives the opportunity to change direction based on what has been learned.
The 5. Scale stage is only applicable to larger organisations that need multiple areas transforming.
Typical timescales
The Pilot stage typically takes 3 to 6 months for one department or smaller organisation. This stabilises the set-up with hands-on support to help embed the framework. After this, the organisation can be ready to improve practices further. Deploying too much change in one go can overwhelm teams and cause failure. In this case, improvements would be phased over time.
Transformation team
Deploying change of this size is a complex activity. A transformation team, which will include members of your organisation, can help to smooth the journey.
Tooling set up
Tooling deployment and set-up, such as JIRA, is not covered by Innosee and would be done working with your people. Workflow design is covered and there are ready-to-go Kanban boards available as a starting point.
Deploy a new operating model
If you would like to know more please reach out for a free initial discussion
FAQ
Q. How long does a typical engagement run for?
This will usually be a 3, 6 or 12 month engagement with specific objectives.
Q. What locations do you cover?
The central London area. Please get in touch if you are in another part of the country or world.
Q. Who is involved?
This is a partnership in which senior leadership drives the messaging and day-to-day work, with expert support and guidance. This helps embed success, as people tend to push back if they find new ways of working difficult.