This is the seventh article in a multi-part series:
Part one | Part two: | Step 1 | Step 2 | Step 3 | Step 4 | Steps 5 & 6 | Step 7
Step five: design the operating rhythm
Operational cadence and synchronisation points, as per Don Reinhertsen, are feedback loops which give us some control over the variability in the system. We design the events that we need to ensure that we:
- understand our goals and how they decompose into work;
- are working in alignment towards our goals;
- have identified and are actively managing risks and dependencies;
- are regularly demonstrating progress to reduce what Stephen Bungay calls the ‘alignment gap’ between intent, plans and action;
- are identifying opportunities for continuous improvement
Step six: consider governance
We explore how we will govern the system:
- How will we make the work, the flow of work, the decisions that we’ve made, the policies that govern the work, and the impediments to flow visible and explicit?
- What parts of the way that we work (language / nomenclature, practices, decomposition models) need to be consistent across teams?
- How will we ensure that there is clarity of leadership intent at team level, that teams are largely autonomous but know when to escalate, that there is clarity of how we make decisions?
- What will we measure to ensure appropriate fiduciary controls and to identify the most valuable parts of the system for intervention?
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