Agile Culture Capability Model - Impedance Mismatch und Einfluss von Kulturstandards in agilen Projekten mit On-/Near- und Offshore Teams Off-shore, Near-shore, Outsourcing? „Nein, das will ich nicht“, sagen viele, „nicht schon wieder“. Und nicht ohne Grund. Viele Organisationen haben bereits klassische (z.B. mit komponentenbasierten Teams und Wasserfall) Near-/Offshore Projekte gemacht, leider sehr oft ohne Erfolg. Bei diesen projekten hättte man sagen können, dass die management methodik falsch war. Einfach. Agilität gab uns neune Hoffnung, die Nearshore-/Offshore Projekte „richtig“ machen und erfolgreich abschließen zu können. Agile, das ist die Heilung. Leider ählich wie bei den klassischen Methoden, viele von diesen Agilen Near-/Offshore Projekten waren sogar weniger erfolgreich als wenn man diese mit den klasisichen methoden durchgeführt hätte. Wenn das Problem nicht in den Methoden lag, dann wo? Vielleicht waren es doch die Kulturstandards die die Akzeptanz von der agilen Werten und Prinzipien erschweren oder sogar unmöglich machen? Vielleicht ist die Agilität etwas Westliches? Kann man Übehaupt „agile Fähigkeiten“ messen? In diesem Talk wird der Autor das Thema Einfluß von den kulturelen Standards auf genauer angehen. Im Zentrum das Talks steht ACCM im Fokus. Das Model basiert auf zwei Matrizen: die erste beschreibt die korrelation zwischen den kulturelenstandards (wie z.B. eine starke hierarchische struktur) und den agilen und im jedem Projekt erforderlichen soft-skills (wie self-organisation aka decision making and commitments). Ein weigthsystem gibt die Information wie stark ist die Auswirkung der Kunlturenstandards auf diese soft-skills

1. AGILE CULTURE CAPABILITY MODEL
Adam Boczek | 18.10.2012 | Manage Agile 2012 | Berlin
codecentric AG Agile Culture Capability Model | Adam Boczek | 18.10.2012 | Manage Agile 2012 | Berlin

2. ADAM BOCZEK
Management Consultant @ codecentric AG
Agilist since 2007, Architect and Project Manager
IT-Houses: GFT Solutions GmbH, CS Consulting
AG, LogicaCMG GmbH, Cirquent GmbH
Customers: Shell AG, Deutsche Bank, 1und1, SAP, NTT
Data, Union Investments and more…
Core Topics: Agile Software Factory, Agile Software
Engineering, Innovative Software Development
Methods, Nearshore and Offshore Project
Coordination, Enterprise Architecture for Business Process
Intelligence.
xing.com/profile/Adam_Boczek
blog.codecentric.de
codecentric AG Agile Culture Capability Model | Adam Boczek | 18.10.2012 | Manage Agile 2012 | Berlin

3. ADAM BOCZEK & AGILE & CULTURE
codecentric AG Agile Culture Capability Model | Adam Boczek | 18.10.2012 | Manage Agile 2012 | Berlin

4. WHY DO WE NEED AGILE CULTURE CAPABILITY
MODEL?
Agile Software Development got matured and is Project Types by Ralph Stacey
widely used in many projects.
However agile software development has still some
acceptance problems in big organizations.
Big organizations consist of multiple teams that
have to work together. It makes the adaption of
agile more difficult, comparing to the classic
software development.
Big organizations often consist of multiple near-
shore and off-shore teams, their coordination is
highly complex and expensive.
Many big organizations have already tried to run
agile projects within their international
environment. However without success. The
delivered business value was even smaller as in
case of similar, failed, classic software projects.
codecentric AG Agile Culture Capability Model | Adam Boczek | 18.10.2012 | Manage Agile 2012 | Berlin

5. CULTURE & AGILE
The word culture is often misunderstood as its wide semantic field.[1]
Culture includes but is not limited to language, arts &
sciences, thought, spirituality, social activity, interaction.[1]
Culture is a universal orientation system typical for a society, organization of group.[2]
This orientation system is created from specific symbols relevant to the society or group in
question and are handed down from generation to generation.[2]
It influences the way in which its members perceive, think, value and act, and thus
defines their membership within the society.[2]
Every culture has to adapt to new demands.[3]
Cultures are not static, but constantly undergoing change.[3]
so… Culture
Situation
Person
(Project)
[1] Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute 2011, Definition of Culture
[2] Thomas 1996, Psychologie interkulturellen Handels,
[3] Schroll-Machl 2011, Doinig Business with Germans
codecentric AG Agile Culture Capability Model | Adam Boczek | 18.10.2012 | Manage Agile 2012 | Berlin

6. CULTURE STANDARDS
Culture can be seen as a specific orientation system, comprising individual elements
which are related to each other in a systematic, structured way.[1]
These elements have resulted from the interaction of individuals with each other and
with their environment.[1]
They have been passed on in more or less the same form over the generations and have a
clear influence on all areas of life.[1]
These cultural elements have the effect of simplifying complexities and of offering
behavioral guidance.[1]
They make the actions and behavior of individuals
within the culture predictable and thus provide
a basis from which expectations can be formed.[1]
These cultural elements are termed “culture standards”.[1]
Culture standards are
the central characteristics that define a culture.[2]
[1] Schroll-Machl 2011, Doinig Business with Germans, [2] Thomas 1999, Kultur als Orientierungssystem und Kulturstandards als Bauteile
codecentric AG Agile Culture Capability Model | Adam Boczek | 18.10.2012 | Manage Agile 2012 | Berlin

7. CULTURE IS A SYSTEM OF SYSTEMS
Culture Agile Culture
Standards System
Culture
Culture
Standards Culture A
A
Agile Culture
Interaction
Culture
Culture A Systems’
System Interaction
Culture B
Culture B Culture
System
System of
Systems
codecentric AG Agile Culture Capability Model | Adam Boczek | 18.10.2012 | Manage Agile 2012 | Berlin

8. TONS OF QUESTIONS
Is it possible to be successful with agile knowing how complex the culture system is?
What are the challenges of agile near-shore, off-shore projects?
What are the culture standards that have influence on agile culture?
What are the soft-skills every team member should have?
How to support the team to grow, to be an agile team?
And so on…
codecentric AG Agile Culture Capability Model | Adam Boczek | 18.10.2012 | Manage Agile 2012 | Berlin

9. PRIMARY CULTURE STANDARDS
WITH INFLUENCE ON AGILE CULTURE
Authority/hierarchy orientation
Conflict prevention
Emotionality
Individualism
Objectivism
Plan orientation
Pragmatism
Rules and regulations orientation
Self-confidence volatility
Status orientation
codecentric AG Agile Culture Capability Model | Adam Boczek | 18.10.2012 | Manage Agile 2012 | Berlin

10. PRIMARY AGILE SOFT-SKILLS
WITH INFLUENCE ON AGILE CULTURE
Communication/collaboration
Conflict management/handling stress
Dealing with change/flexibility
Decision making/commitment
Goal oriented/value driven
Leadership/diplomacy/facilitation
Teamwork/teambuilding
Thinking/learning/problem solving
Time management/planning
codecentric AG Agile Culture Capability Model | Adam Boczek | 18.10.2012 | Manage Agile 2012 | Berlin

11. INFLUENCE OF CULTURE STANDARDS ON
AGILE SOFT-SKILLS, THUS AGILE CULTURE
CAPABILITY
Culture Standards Agile Soft-Skills Agile Culture Capability
• Authority/hierarchy • Communication/ • Germany
orientation collaboration • Poland
• Conflict prevention • Conflict management/ • India
• Emotionality handling stress • Japan
• Individualism • Dealing with • Romania
• Objectivism change/flexibility
•…
• Plan orientation • Decision making/
• Pragmatism commitment
• Rules and • Goal oriented/
regulations value driven
orientation • Leadership/
• Self-confidence diplomacy/facilitation
volatility • Teamwork/
• Status orientation teambuilding
• Thinking/learning/
problem solving
• Time management/
planning
codecentric AG Agile Culture Capability Model | Adam Boczek | 18.10.2012 | Manage Agile 2012 | Berlin

12. AGILE CULTURE CAPABILITY
Determines the ability of a certain nation to execute projects using agile values and
principles.
Empirical & relative value (absolute value has no meaning).
Calculated based on the influence of culture standards on agile soft-skills with the
incorporated weights describing the importance of each agile soft-skill for the agile
culture capability.
Used for the determination of agile culture capability for a chosen nation based on strength
of occurrence of a certain culture standard in this nation.
The formula (pseudo-math)
Influence (ICS) of a culture standard (cs) on an agile soft-skill (as)
Importance (IAS) of an agile soft-skill (as) for agile culture capability (ACC)
Strength of occurrence (SO) of a certain culture standard (cs) in a nation (n)
Agile Culture Capability (ACC) for a nation (n):
codecentric AG Agile Culture Capability Model | Adam Boczek | 18.10.2012 | Manage Agile 2012 | Berlin

13. AGILE CULTURE CAPABILITY MODEL – 4 STEPS
Influence
influence of culture standards on agile soft-skills strength of occurrence of a certain culture standard
Germany
Romania
Thinking/Learning/Problem Solving
strong
Leadership/Diplomacy/Facilitation
Poland
Japan
negative -2
India
Conflict Management/Handling
Dealing with Change/Flexibility
Decision making/Commitment
Communication/Collaboration
negative -1
Time Management/Planning
Goal oriented/Value driven
neutral 0 Authority/hierarchy orientation
Teamwork/Teambuilding
positive 1 Conflict prevention
strong positive 2 Emotionality 3
Individualism
Objectivism
Plan orientation
Pragmatism
stress
Rules and regulations orientation
Strength
Self-confidence volatility
Authority/hierarchy orientation lowest 1
Status orientation
Conflict prevention low 2
Emotionality 2 normal 3
Agile Culture Capability
Individualism high 4
Objectivism highest 5
Plan orientation
Pragmatism
Rules and regulations orientation
Self-confidence volatility
Status orientation
4
Importance for Agile Culture
Capability Weights
importance of each agile soft-skill for the 1 light
normal
1
2
agile culture capability heavy 3
codecentric AG Agile Culture Capability Model | Adam Boczek | 18.10.2012 | Manage Agile 2012 | Berlin

14. ACCM IN ACTION
codecentric AG Agile Culture Capability Model | Adam Boczek | 18.10.2012 | Manage Agile 2012 | Berlin 12.01.2013 14

15. PRIMARY AGILE SOFT-SKILLS
WITH INFLUENCE ON AGILE CULTURE BY BOCZEK
Soft-skills that are required for the successful execution of agile projects:
Communication/collaboration
Conflict management/handling stress
Dealing with change/flexibility
Decision making/commitment
Goal oriented/value driven
Leadership/diplomacy/facilitation
Teamwork/teambuilding
Thinking/learning/problem solving
Time management/planning
Weights
light 1
normal 2
heavy 3
codecentric AG Agile Culture Capability Model | Adam Boczek | 18.10.2012 | Manage Agile 2012 | Berlin

16. INFLUENCE OF CULTURE STANDARDS
ON AGILE SOFT-SKILLS (CORE MATRIX) BY BOCZEK
Thinking/Learning/Problem Solving
Leadership/Diplomacy/Facilitation
Conflict Management/Handling
Dealing with Change/Flexibility
Decision making/Commitment
Communication/Collaboration
Influence
Time Management/Planning
Cultural Standard Influence
Goal oriented/Value driven
strong
Teamwork/Teambuilding
negative -2
negative -1
neutral 0
positive 1
strong positive 2
stress
Authority/hierarchy orientation -2 -2 -2 -2 2 2 -1 -2 0 -21
Conflict prevention -2 -2 0 1 0 2 1 0 0 -1
Emotionality 2 -2 0 -1 -1 -2 1 2 0 7
Individualism -1 -2 0 2 2 -2 -2 0 -1 -7
Objectivism 2 2 0 1 1 2 2 0 -1 18
Plan orientation 0 0 -1 2 2 1 0 0 2 10
Pragmatism 1 2 2 0 2 -1 0 2 -2 16
Rules and regulations orientation -1 0 -1 0 -1 0 0 -1 1 -9
Self-confidence volatility 0 -2 0 -2 -2 0 0 0 -2 -14
Status orientation 0 0 0 -1 0 -2 -1 0 -1 -9
Importance for Agile Culture
Capability 3 1 3 2 2 1 3 3 2
codecentric AG Agile Culture Capability Model | Adam Boczek | 18.10.2012 | Manage Agile 2012 | Berlin

17. STRENGTH OF OCCURRENCE
OF CULTURE STANDARDS FOR A NATION BY BOCZEK
Germany
Romania
Poland
Japan
India
Authority/hierarchy orientation 1 3 5 5 4
Conflict prevention 1 3 5 5 4
Emotionality 2 4 5 1 5
Individualism 3 2 1 1 2
Objectivism 5 2 1 1 2
Plan orientation 5 1 2 4 2
Pragmatism 2 5 1 1 5
Rules and regulations orientation 5 2 4 5 1
Self-confidence volatility 1 4 5 4 5
Status orientation 2 4 5 5 5
Strength
lowest 1
low 2
normal 3
high 4
highest 5
codecentric AG Agile Culture Capability Model | Adam Boczek | 18.10.2012 | Manage Agile 2012 | Berlin

18. AGILE CULTURE CAPABILITY FOR A NATION BY
BOCZEK
Germany
Germany
Romania
Romania
Poland
Poland
Japan
Japan
India
India
Authority/hierarchy orientation 1 3 5 5 4 -21 -63 -105 -105 -84
Conflict prevention 1 3 5 5 4 -1 -3 -5 -5 -4
Emotionality 2 4 5 1 5 14 28 35 7 35
Individualism 3 2 1 1 2 -21 -14 -7 -7 -14
Objectivism 5 2 1 1 2 90 36 18 18 36
Plan orientation 5 1 2 4 2 50 10 20 40 20
Pragmatism 2 5 1 1 5 32 80 16 16 80
Rules and regulations orientation 5 2 4 5 1 -45 -18 -36 -45 -9
Self-confidence volatility 1 4 5 4 5 -14 -56 -70 -56 -70
Status orientation 2 4 5 5 5 -18 -36 -45 -45 -45
- -
Agile Culture Capability 66 -36 179 182 -55
Results review (examples)
German teams are best suited for agile.
Polish and Romanian teams need more attention
comparing to German teams.
Japan and India teams require significant investments
in agile trainings and coaching.
codecentric AG Agile Culture Capability Model | Adam Boczek | 18.10.2012 | Manage Agile 2012 | Berlin

19. CONCLUSION - AGILE CULTURE CAPABILITY MODEL
ACCM focuses on the Agile Teams that have to deliver effectively and efficiently a business
value according to the defined goal using agile values and principles as defined in the Agile
Manifesto [1].
ACCM delivers a quantified information about agile capability of a nation or team.
ACCM makes transparent the project risks bound to the cultural challenges.
ACCM reveals project characteristics that might be overseen otherwise.
ACCM can be used for on-shore agile projects, broken down for each team involved.
ACCM can be used for a single team agile project, broken down for each team member.
ACCM should not be used in the dogmatic way; we are all humans.
Because cultures change the ACCM changes too.
ACCM supports empirical agile frameworks (like Scrum, Kanban) delivering transparency
and allowing inspection. However the next step called adaption is still an open point (we
know what, but we still don’t now how).
Running agile projects using distributed teams within an intercultural environment is a very
complex topic  hire an expert if needed.
codecentric AG Agile Culture Capability Model | Adam Boczek | 18.10.2012 | Manage Agile 2012 | Berlin

20. QUESTIONS?
Adam Boczek
Management Consultant
codecentric AG
An der Welle 4
60322 Frankfurt a.M.
tel +49 (0) 172.6606706
adam.boczek@codecentric.de
www.codecentric.de
www.mbg-online.de
blog.codecentric.de
www.meettheexperts.de
codecentric AG Agile Culture Capability Model | Adam Boczek | 18.10.2012 | Manage Agile 2012 | Berlin 1/12/2013 20