The Journey to full autonomy

This is a proposal, still in draft phases of the steps a team must take in order to reach full autonomy. Also which processes, metrics and improvements one should focus in order to ascend to the next phase.

Shu - Tradition

Phase 1 : Ground Control ( transparency )

Way of Working (SCRUM / SCRUMFALL)

• Clear and achievable sprint goals
• Bugs separated from sprint work
• Strong implementation of framework
• Actionable points with due date

Metrics (Time to Market)

• Cycle time
• Lead time
• Repair time

Focus

• Reducing Roll overs
• Backlog exists for at least 3 sprints

Phase 2 : Space Exploration ( inspection )

Way of Working (SCRUM)

• Small increments to deliver
• No roll overs
• Oncall service for Bugs support
• WIP limitations
• Meetings with meeting notes and action points

Metrics (Time to Market)

• Build and integration frequency
• Release Frequency
• Release stabilization period

Metrics (Ability to Innovate)

• Defect Trend
• Technical Debt
• Production Incident Trend

Focus

• Stability of delivery
• Reducing bugs reported

Ha - Detach

Phase 3 : Lower Earth Orbit ( adaptation )

Way of Working (SCRUM / SCRUMBAN / KANBAN)

• Adapt framework to the needs
• Stable story/feature size
• Continuous Deployment
• Legacy refactoring is constant

Metrics (Ability to Innovate)

• Feature Usage Index
• Installed version index
• Active code branches
• Time to merge
• Context switching

Focus

• Continuous automated delivery
• Reduction of tech debt

Ri - Transcend

Phase 4 : Establish a colony ( autonomy )

Way of Working (KANBAN / LEAN)

• Release can happen at any moment
• Changes can arrive at any moment

Metrics (Current Value)

• Product Cost Ratio
• Customer satisfaction
• Customer usage index

Focus

• Autonomy and accountability

Phase 5 : A new age ( governance )

Way of Working (North Star)

• Projects are initiated by the team
• Design sprints / Design thinking
• Team has funding and decides on how to use it
• WHY is clear, WHAT can change and HOW is always up for debate

Metrics (Current Value)

• Revenue per Employee
• Employee Satisfaction

Focus

• On the North Star metric
• Finding new WHATs to match our WHY