Sooner Safer Happier

Key Takeaways

1. Focus on Better Value Sooner Safer Happier, not just "Agile"

Agile, Lean, and DevOps are not the goal. An organization can score highly on a "How Agile Are We?" test (or worse, "How Much Are We Rigidly Complying to a Specific Agile Framework?" test, or "How Many Scrum Teams Do We Have?" test) without producing better business outcomes.

Shift the focus. Instead of pursuing "Agile" for its own sake, organizations should aim to deliver Better Value Sooner Safer Happier (BVSSH). This means:

• Better: Improve quality and reduce rework
• Value: Deliver what customers actually need
• Sooner: Reduce time to market and enable faster learning
• Safer: Ensure compliance and security
• Happier: Increase satisfaction for customers, employees, and stakeholders

Agile, Lean, and DevOps are tools to achieve these outcomes, not ends in themselves. Avoid the trap of "cargo cult" agile, where teams go through the motions without understanding the underlying principles. Instead, measure success by improvements in actual business outcomes.

2. Achieve big through small: Start with experiments, not transformations

Think Big, Start Small, Learn Fast.

Embrace incremental change. Rather than attempting a massive, organization-wide "Agile Transformation," focus on running small, safe-to-learn experiments. This approach:

• Reduces risk and resistance to change
• Allows for faster learning and adaptation
• Creates "social proof" as successful experiments spread

Start with volunteer teams (innovators and early adopters) and gradually expand. Use an S-curve adoption model, recognizing that change takes time and can't be forced. Celebrate and share early successes to build momentum.

Key steps:

• Identify willing teams for initial experiments
• Provide coaching and support
• Measure outcomes (BVSSH) and share results
• Gradually expand to more teams as you learn what works in your context

3. One size does not fit all: Tailor approaches to your unique context

If the path ahead is clear, you're probably on someone else's.

Customize your approach. Every organization has a unique context, shaped by its history, culture, and specific challenges. Avoid blindly copying methods that worked elsewhere. Instead:

• Assess your organization's current state and goals
• Experiment with different practices and frameworks
• Adapt and combine approaches to fit your needs

Use the VOICE model to guide your efforts:

• Values and principles: Define behavioral guardrails
• Outcomes and purpose: Focus on clear goals
• Intent-based leadership: Empower teams within guardrails
• Coaching and support: Provide guidance, not prescriptions
• Experimentation: Continuously learn and adapt

Remember that different parts of your organization may need different approaches. What works for one team or department might not be suitable for another.

4. Leadership is crucial: Model desired behaviors and foster psychological safety

The consciousness of an organization cannot exceed the consciousness of its leader.

Leaders must go first. Transforming ways of working requires active leadership engagement. Leaders should:

• Model the behaviors they want to see
• Create psychological safety for experimentation and learning
• Communicate a clear and compelling "why" for change

Key leadership behaviors:

• Embrace servant leadership
• Encourage open communication and diversity of thought
• Celebrate learning from failure, not just successes
• Provide clear direction while empowering teams

Psychological safety is critical for innovation and continuous improvement. Create an environment where people feel safe to speak up, challenge ideas, and take calculated risks. This fosters engagement and unlocks the full potential of your teams.

5. Shift from projects to products: Prioritize outcomes over outputs

Due to <this insight> We believe that <this bet> Will result in <this outcome>.

Focus on value, not activity. Move away from traditional project-based thinking towards a product-oriented mindset. This means:

• Organizing around long-lived value streams
• Forming stable, cross-functional teams
• Measuring success by business outcomes, not just delivery of features

Key shifts:

• From fixed project plans to adaptive roadmaps
• From output metrics (e.g., velocity) to outcome metrics (e.g., customer satisfaction, revenue)
• From temporary project teams to long-lived product teams

Use outcome-based planning techniques like OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) to align teams with business goals. Empower teams to experiment and pivot based on fast feedback, rather than rigidly following predetermined plans.

6. Build safety into the process: Integrate risk management throughout

Control Requirement = Control Objective + Context

Make safety continuous. Instead of treating compliance and risk management as separate, end-of-process activities, integrate them throughout the value stream. This enables both speed and control. Key practices include:

• Align safety teams with value streams
• Use "risk stories" to make risks visible and actionable
• Empower teams to right-size controls based on context

Create a "continuous control" environment:

• Safety teams partner with product teams from the start
• Automated compliance checks are built into pipelines
• Regular risk assessments and adaptation

This approach allows for faster delivery while maintaining (or improving) safety and compliance. It shifts the focus from rigid, one-size-fits-all controls to context-appropriate risk management.

7. Continuously improve technical excellence: Balance feature delivery with system health

Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility.

Invest in your technical foundation. Delivering features quickly is important, but not at the expense of code quality and system health. Balancing technical excellence with feature delivery:

• Reduces technical debt
• Improves long-term productivity
• Enhances system reliability and scalability

Key practices:

• Dedicate time for refactoring and improvement (e.g., 20% of capacity)
• Adopt engineering best practices (e.g., test-driven development, continuous integration)
• Align technical architecture with team structures (Conway's Law)

Visualize different types of work (features, bugs, technical improvements) to ensure a healthy balance. Remember that going "slower" in the short term to improve your technical foundation often leads to going faster in the long run.

8. Create a learning ecosystem: Foster experimentation and knowledge sharing

Only having Red and Blue Security Teams is not enough. The people building what must be defended need to be included. Introducing Yellow Team—The Builders . . . need to be included as a part of Information Security.

Build a culture of learning. To thrive in a rapidly changing environment, organizations must become learning ecosystems. This involves:

• Encouraging continuous experimentation
• Creating mechanisms for knowledge sharing
• Breaking down information silos

Key elements of a learning ecosystem:

• Communities of practice to share knowledge across teams
• Regular retrospectives at multiple levels (team, department, organization)
• Investment in coaching and skill development

Embrace approaches like "Game Days" or simulations to test systems and processes in safe environments. Involve diverse perspectives (e.g., developers, operations, security) to foster holistic learning and improvement.

By creating a strong learning culture, organizations can adapt more quickly to change and continuously improve their ways of working.

Last updated: April 6, 2025

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