The document discusses aligning organizational and technical boundaries to maximize team autonomy. It notes there is often an alignment crisis seen in lots of meetings, teams being blocked, integration chaos, and a blame culture. This costs organizations in terms of low motivation, agility, and user experience. The document proposes that whole-team continuous organization design may help solve the alignment crisis. It provides several strategies for improving alignment, such as defining autonomy contexts, evolving boundaries based on new insights, and adapting organization design with technical strategy.

1. Aligning Organisational and Technical
Boundaries
…to maximise team autonomy
Nick Tune - @ntcoding

2. @ntcoding
What is organisation design
& who does it?

3. @ntcoding
Frontend
Orchestration
API
Data
PMO
Architects

4. Image: Channel 4, Shameless UK

5. THERE IS AN ALIGNMENT CRISIS
Image: Christer Sandahl (cpdm.com), Complex Product Development Model

6. THERE IS AN ALIGNMENT CRISIS
Image: Christer Sandahl (cpdm.com), Complex Product Development Model
Signs
• Lots of meetings
• Teams blocked
• Integration chaos
• Blame culture
Costs
• Low motivation
• Low Agility
• Bad UX

7. @ntcoding
How can we solve the
alignment crisis and enable
business agility?

8. @ntcoding
“Every organization choice rules out some
design choices.
Mel Conway
@conways_law

9. @ntcoding
“Organizational architecture is as
important as software architecture, they
are symbiotic.
Alan Kelly
@allankellynet

10. @ntcoding
Will whole-team continuous
organisation design solve
the alignment crisis?

11. Can Strategic DDD Help?
#1

12. @ntcoding
Current State Context Map
Resubmit
Case
Management
Ratepayers Caseworkers
= Digital IT frontend team
= Enterprise IT team
Review
Renegotiate
Rules Engine/
Orchestration

13. @ntcoding
Bounded Context Clues
• contextual language
• data: flow, ownership, uniqueness
• domain expert boundaries
• existing organisation boundaries
• business strategy / core pieces
• business process steps

14. @ntcoding
Future State Context Map
Resubmit
Renegotiate
Review
Ratepayers Case workers
= Full stack team
= Composite application

15. Image: Channel 4, Shameless UK

16. Strategic Design Best
Practices
#2

17. @ntcoding
How Can we Fix This?
Search
Web Store
Catalogue
Payments
Media
Streaming
API
Platform

18. THERE ARE NO BEST PRACTICES
Image: Channel 4, Shameless UK

19. @ntcoding
“Finding service boundaries is really damn
hard... There is no flowchart!
Udi Dahan
@udidahan

20. @ntcoding
Finding Service Boundaries: The One Rule
that Matters…
Maximise your ability to frequently deliver
value and get feedback
ntcoding.co.uk/blog/2017/01/finding-service-boundaries-one-rule

21. Design Boundaries That
Improve Flow
#3

22. @ntcoding
Minimise the Bottlenecks
Resubmit
Case
Management
Ratepayers Caseworkers
Review
Renegotiate
Rules Engine/
Orchestration
= Bottleneck

23. @ntcoding
No Bottlenecks - Nothing Wrong Here
Search
Web Store
Music
Lovers
Catalogue
Payments
Media
Streaming
API
Platform

24. @ntcoding
“We had 10 teams… we analyzed the
bottlenecks… we ended up with 3 cross-
functional teams… lead times improved
massively
Anna Dick, Coop Digital
@Dixi_chick

25. @ntcoding
“The point of microservices is to unblock
independent queues of work. Both in
the system of services, and the system
of people.
Andrew Clay Shafer
@littleidea

26. @ntcoding
Think ‘autonomy contexts’.
Product and tech things that change
together for business reasons, owned
by a single team.

27. @ntcoding
Autonomy Contexts
UI
MS
UI
MS
UI
MS
MS

28. @ntcoding
DDD = model hypothesis
ToC = model validation

29. Coevolution of
Boundaries &
Relationships
#4

30. @ntcoding
Boundaries must evolve.
New business, domain, and technical
insights challenge existing
assumptions

31. @ntcoding
Which Team(s) Builds the MVP?
Management
Context
Optimisation
ContextMVP

32. @ntcoding
“[goal] Alignment enables autonomy.
Henrik Kniberg
@henrikkniberg

33. @ntcoding
“Trade off collaboration costs [between
teams] with innovation speed based on
current organisational needs
Matthew Skelton
@matthewpskelton

34. @ntcoding

35. @ntcoding
Discovery Team & Highly-Aligned ‘Tribe’
Management
Context
Optimisation
Context
MVP
Campaigns
Tribe

36. GAMING CREATES MEGA ALIGNMENT

37. @ntcoding
How to Improve Alignment
• Show and tells
• Cross-team pairing
• Cross-functional pairing
• Event storming / value stream mapping

38. How About Bimodal IT?
#5

39. @ntcoding
“…provide stable, secure, high
performance services and to deliver,
innovative, technology-intensive services
quickly. Bimodal IT provides a way to
address both
www.gartner.com/it-glossary/bimodal

40. @ntcoding
Digital
IT
Customers

41. @ntcoding
“Bi-modal is founded on the the idea that
quality is something you trade-off for
speed. It's a common notion, but a false
one.
Martin Fowler
@martinfowler

42. You Have to Adapt…
#6

43. @ntcoding
To be a good technical
architect, you must be a
good organisation architect
and vice-versa.

44. @ntcoding
The Tech Strategy Pyramid
Business Vision
Business Strategy
Product Strategy
Organisation Design
Technical
Strategy

45. @ntcoding
Good Luck
- ntcoding.co.uk/blog/labels/DDD
- Alignment at Scale - Henrik Kniberg
- scs-architecture.org
- Finding Service Boundaries - Udi Dahan
- ntcoding.co.uk/workshops
@ntcoding ntcoding

46. Encore…
#7

47. @ntcoding
Bonus Topics
• Cultural aspects
• Your scenarios
• DDD - bounded/autonomy contexts
• Understanding business context
• Autonomy & alignment at scale