This document summarizes a presentation about increasing productivity through flow efficiency. It introduces Kanban concepts like limiting work-in-progress, using a pull system where the next task is pulled to the person rather than pushed, and emphasizing finishing work rather than starting new work. It discusses how focusing on flow rather than efficiency and busywork can improve outcomes. Ownership of work through pull systems and interrupting instincts that create delays can help teams achieve higher flow efficiency above the typical 4-6%.

1. Overcoming DelayHow the Best Developers
Increase Productivity
@paulmgower

2. Please don’t reuse these
slides without permission
This presentation is copyrighted.

3. Hi, I’m Paul!
Trainer.
Maker.
Stakeholder.
@paulmgower

4. Maker.
I’ve been writing code since 1994.
@paulmgower

5. Started by fighting with
conventional memory
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6. Stakeholder.
I’ve owned my own business since 2014.
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7. Accidental leader.
I wanted to protect my team from bad leadership.
My leadership style was chaos and the death march
was my methodology.
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8. I needed to find a
better way!
I became a student of Lean and Agile.
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9. Today’s Big Idea
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10. Stakeholders
and
Makers
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11. How does a team typically
respond when asked to
increase efficiency?
They work harder and longer.
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12. Efficiency
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13. —Jon Terry
If you optimize for efficiency,
you’ll get gridlock. If you
optimize for flow, you’ll
get efficiency.
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14. Flow is the active ingredient
of every successful team.
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15. @paulmgower

16. What metric could they use to
guide the discretionary time of
their employees to achieve
growth?
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17. Time in the air.
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18. What metric could be used
similarly for knowledge
work teams?
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19. Flow Efficiency.
The percentage of time spent adding value to the work we do.
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20. What is the average
Flow Efficiency?
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21. 4-6%That can’t possibly be true, I’m always busy!
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22. Teams are either a river
or a flood.
A river has somewhere to go.
A flood has no predictable direction.
One delivers life and the other takes it.
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23. 3 Key Concepts To Help Us
Achieve Flow
Lightning fast introduction to Kanban.
Discuss focus and how to improve it.
Learn about the affects of ownership on your team.
@paulmgower

24. Introduction

25. Kanban is a set of organizing
principles and practices that
clarify how to unhide work
and optimize its flow.
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26. Kanban Card
A fast way to articulate the work that needs to be done.
As an online banking
customer, I want to
create an account
online so that I can
check my balance.
XL
Paul
Gower8/6
@paulmgower

27. Kanban Board
A simple way to communicate progress that everyone understands.
To Do Doing Done
We’ll explore the
disguised sophistication
of Kanban systems.
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28. Mindset.
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29. You don’t have to
stop working to
start Kanban.
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30. Start with what
you do now.
Kanban is a no overhead capstone that fits atop
how you work today.
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31. Kanban favors evolution
over transformation.
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32. Kanban manages
work, not people.
Great organizations lead people and manage work.
Flow is valued over resource utilization.
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33. Favors finishing
over starting.
Focus on finishing.
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34. Focus

35. Busy
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36. @paulmgower

37. Chaos is valuing
activity over
results.
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38. To Do Doing Done
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39. —Greg McKeown
The word priority came into
the English language in the
1400s. It stayed singular
for the next 500 years.
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40. Limiting Work in Progress
Work that flows consistently produces higher output.
23 4
Options Design Develop Test Release
8
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41. Little’s Law
If the team isn’t busy, do more.
If the team is overburdened, do less.
In both cases, the team will increase output.
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42. Ownership

43. TestDevelop DoneBacklog
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44. @paulmgower
DriveThe Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us
by Daniel Pink

45. What are the three factors
employers can use to motivate
employees?
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46. Autonomy.
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47. Mastery.
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48. Purpose.
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49. What is motivating
this developer?
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50. TestDevelop DoneBacklog
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51. All makers have
growth-driven
impulses.

52. Push
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53. TestDevelop DoneOptions
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54. Work can be assigned to
everyone and owned
by no one.
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55. What is the primary function
of an automobile?
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56. —Elon Musk
“Most cars are only in use by
their owners for 5% to
10% of the day.”
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57. You cannot reduce delay
if you are not actively
measuring it!
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58. Traditional thinking
recognizes work in three states.
Unstarted.
In Progress.
Done.
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59. Work actually exists in
four states.
Unstarted.
Underway.
Waiting.
Done.
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60. A common source of delay
is when work is waiting
for the next activity
to occur.
That work is called pullable.
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61. One simple
behavior change.
Insert an interrupter to prevent your impulse
to learn and grow from taking over!
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62. “I’m finished and I’m waiting
for this work to be taken
from me.”
@paulmgower

63. It’s called a
Pull System.
The only way work moves is if someone pulls it.
Team members are always communicating availability.
Cards are never lost because they always have an advocate.
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64. A pull system is an ownership-
driven system.
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65. There’s more!
Before pulling new work, insert a second interrupter.
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66. Look for opportunities to
improve flow.
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67. Self healing.
A healthy Kanban system preserves itself.
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68. Pull System + WIP Limits
Eliminates overburdening!
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69. Outsmart the instincts that
create delay by mastering flow.
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70. Improve the
entire system.
Not just the parts which you are
most frequently involved.
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71. UXRefine WriteOptions Edit Design Approve Develop Test Accept Done
True agility.
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72. Recap.
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73. Instincts.
Spaced repetition yields behavior change.
@paulmgower
‣Efficiency ➜ Flow
‣Busy ➜ Limit WIP
‣Push ➜ Pull
“I’m finished and I’m waiting for this work to be taken
from me.”

74. We teach Kanban.
Paul Gower
@paulmgower
paul@huge.io
http://huge.io/
@hugeio