Carpe diem

I recently came across the news that India is facing a jobless economic growth (http://tinyurl.com/zj52k4p). This means that the economic growth is capital intensive but not labor intensive. The GDP is at an average of 7%, yet unemployment is growing. We have not been able to create enough jobs for the new workforce which is entering into the market every year. What does this indicate about the development of the nation ? This prompts us to understand the difference between growth and development. Read more: / https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/growth-vs-development-vijaya-devi-s/

Environments bring uncertainty to organizations in various forms – technological changes, changing customer preferences, new competition, regulations, political forces, changing demographics, etc. Do all organizations exist in a similar environment ? What are some of the organization design parameters that will help deal with the environmental uncertainty ? Link:  https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/organization-theories-inform-agile-part-3-vijaya-devi-s/

If there is one aspect in Agile that can ensure project success it is the Agile mindset. What is this so called 'mindset', where to look for if you want to understand what this mindset is and what it takes to create it. Is it applicable only to Agile projects ? Is it not applicable to traditional projects ? Read on to find more : https://www.slideshare.net/VijayaDevi/agile-mindset-through-an-od-lens

What is the relation between Agile and OD ? Are there common practices between Agile and OD ? Are there common philosophies between the two ? How can  OD frameworks help in the success of Agile projects ? Read on to find more : https://www.slideshare.net/secret/GQJonwCXTOPU6Z

The Agile manifesto and the principles have been clearly called out, but many companies focus so much on getting the processes right, that they end up ignoring the people factor. Which means it is the same old story as traditional development (aka, waterfall). Yes, processes and tools are important, but, hey, aren’t people who are more important ? Aren’t people who have to put the processes and tools to good use ? Aren’t people who have to be good at relating to one another and the customer, to build great products and be satisfied at work ? Read more:  https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/agile-techno-structural-od-intervention-vijaya-devi-s/?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_profile_view_base_post_details%3BEkfmoJkUQGqCSe%2FfpWyU9A%3D%3D

I had written a detailed article on how to use several OD frameworks and techniques to a successful Agile adoption. This was published on www.infoq.com.  Below is the summary. To understand Agile adoption from a systemic perspective - redesigning team and work structure, developing individuals and managing change Gain new perspectives on ‘Learning’ – how to redefine learning to enable individual growth and development, to help them adapt to complex and ambiguous environments Understand redesigning organization structures for better performance, through socio-technical systems design, which looks at an optimal design for both technical and social aspects of an organization Acquire knowledge on research-based models and tools for designing self-organized teams Learn new strategies for working with resistance to change which organizations encounter during Agile adoption    Read more: https://www.infoq.com/articles/od-approach-agile

At the beginning of the twentieth century, a science for understanding and managing organizations was being formed. Frederick Taylor, considered as the first ever management consultant, did extensive studies to improve productivity by analysing production tasks and implemented them successfully in several factories. Around the same time, Max Weber developed his theories on ‘Bureaucracy’ and Henry Fayol, his ‘Principles on Administration’. Management Science was thus born and the primary concern remained with goals, structure and efficiency. This science has it’s roots in the idea of a Newtonian clockwork universe – that all systems work according to some predetermined rules that keep them working as well-oiled machines. It was also believed that to understand any system, we have to break it down into its parts, which is nothing but analytical thinking. When organizations are thought of as machines, it has its implications on how we understand organizations and the...

One of the core aspects of Scrum is self-organizing teams that deliver software in small iterations called sprints. For those that try to move from traditional development models to Agile, one of the major challenges is forming self-organizing teams. The sprint teams are truly cross-functional teams that choose the best way to do their work without being directed by others from outside. How does such a team differ from the project teams in the traditional models? Are there any design principles or theoretical frameworks that can help us go about forming such teams? Designing Agile Teams using Socio-technical Systems Theory One of the core aspects of Scrum is self-organizing teams that deliver software in small iterations called sprints. For those that try to move from traditional development models to Agile, one of the major challenges is forming self-organizing teams. The sprint teams are truly cross-functional teams that choose the best way to do their work without ...

The systems development life cycle (SDLC) is a conceptual model used to develop information systems with well-defined phases. The phases are: user requirements definition, system requirements definition, analysis and system design, system development, testing, implementation, and maintenance. Some of the models used are Waterfall, spiral, and rapid prototyping. These models are called plan-driven, lying on one end of the "planning emphasis" continuum. At the other end of the continuum are the Agile methods, which are considered adaptive rather than predictive. This paper presents a systems-theory perspective of both models, including the inherent challenges that need to be addressed when transitioning from traditional to Agile methods. Read more https://www.scrumalliance.org/community/articles/2013/january/traditional-and-agile-methods-an-interpretation