Adaptive Transformation: Transitioning from Resource to Flow Efficiency by Wayne Palmer, InfoReady at the Australian CIO Summit 2014

1. Adaptive Transformation
Transitioning from Resource to Flow Efficiency
(and overcoming the fear of the unknown)
Wayne Palmer
InfoReady
CIO Summit
Gold Coast
28th – 29th July 2014

2. Resource Efficiency
attaching work items to people

3. Boss
Executive
Manager
Supervisor Supervisor
Executive
Manager
Supervisor Supervisor
OrderWire
ReceiveWire
StoreWire
GetWire
DrawWire
Straighten
Cut
AddPoint
GrindatTop
1.MakeHead
2.MakeHead
3.MakeHead
JoinHead
WhitenPin
PrepareHolder
PinsintoHolder
PackHolders
ShipPins
1 Craftsman
20 pins per day
10 Resources
48000 pins per day

4. The man whose whole life is spent in performing a few simple
operations…has no occasion to exert his understanding or to
exercise his invention…
…he becomes as stupid and ignorant as it is possible for a
human creature to become…
…the torpor of his mind renders him incapable of relishing or
bearing a part in any rational conversation…
…the uniformity of his life corrupts the courage of his mind, and
makes him regard with abhorrence an irregular, uncertain, and
adventurous life…
…this is the state into which the labouring poor must necessarily
fall, unless government takes some pains to prevent it.
Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations, 1776

5. Flow Efficiency
attaching people to work items

6. process
prəˈsɛs
procedere
LATIN LATIN OLD FRENCH
ENGLISH
processus proces
proceed
process

7. Customers at Every Point

8. Efficient Islands Perfect State
Wasteland Efficient Ocean
Resource Efficiency
Flow Efficiency
Vision
The Efficiency Matrix

9. Shifting Strategies
a mindset is a terrible thing to waste

10. Actual Rocket Science

11. “Waterfall works. It just works. OK?”
“Who has gone on agile training? You do know we are
not going to implement purist agile round here?”
“We have always been waterfall. and we will always be
waterfall. Thats just the way it is.”
“I think I'm just too lazy to learn anything new.”
“We aren't going to stick anything on the walls here. Its a
health and safety issue.”
Resistance is Futile?

13. • How much contradictory evidence is being explained away?
• What comparable cases can we study?
• Who can come in with a fresh perspective?
• Can we manufacture a failure to help degrade the mental
model?
• Can we use analogy and metaphor?
• Can we use a Crystal Ball?
• Can we encourage curiosity?
Unlearning Techniques

14. It’s not how fast you can do it…
Ignition
Deep
Practice
Talent
…it’s how slow you can do it correctly.
Master
Coaching

15. skill
challenge
anxiety
boredom
Learning Thru Struggle

16. Kanban Method
incremental, evolutionary change

17. 1. Visualise Workflow

18. 2. Limit WIP

19. 3. Manage Flow

20. “we always leave project evaluation to the
last minute as we are 100% committed to
other projects”
“we never want the numbers to make us
appear too expensive”
“no one likes doing project evaluation”
“we include a huge number of caveats,
risks and assumptions with each project
evaluation to protect ourselves. No one
ever reads them.”
“when the caveats come true, we create a
load of change requests which go through
the system as another project”
4. Make Process Policies Explicit

21. Toyota Kata
achieve things you do not know how to achieve

22. Efficient Islands Perfect State
Wasteland Efficient Ocean
Resource Efficiency
Flow Efficiency
Vision
The Efficiency Matrix

23. vision
challenge
target condition
current condition
obstacles
P D
S A
P D
S A
The Improvement Kata4. Make Process Policies Explicit

24. go and
see
Plan
Do
Study
Act
The Coaching Kata

25. • What is the target condition?
• What is the actual condition now?
• What obstacles are preventing
• you from reaching the target condition? Which one
are you addressing now?
• What is your next step? What do you expect?
• When can we go and see what we have learned from
that next step?

26. Thank you.
Recipe for Success Methods that Help
• Improve Employee Satisfaction
• Deliver with High Quality
• Improve Lead Time Predictability
• Provide Slack to Enable Improvement
• Simplify Prioritisation
• Provide Transparency on System Design and
Operation
• A Flow AND Resource Efficient Operating Strategy
• The Vanguard Method for Customer Alignment
• The Kanban Method for Evolutionary Improvement
• Toyota Continuous Improvement & Coaching Kata
Wayne Palmer
Principal Lean/Agile Consultant
21st Century Data & Analytics