Cart is empty A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of meeting with a global agile expert, he spends his days talking to and implementing agile transformations in organisations. It was great to meet him and one thing he said has resonated with me…Far too often, in my experience, when a scrum master or agile coach is expected to work with a team and implement Scrum or Kanban – stakeholders believe that all of the issues previously faced by the team will now be solved.
However, this global expert commented that when looking at where work gets “stuck” in organisations and what slows down the delivery of value to customers it is most often systemic organisational issues that sit outside of the team, fixing those issues can bring huge value.
Dysfunction Mapping is a potent tool developed by Michael Lloyd, that empowers Agile Coaches and Scrum Masters to delve into systemic issues within their organizations, aligning them with Agile and Scrum principles. Solving these systemic issues can allow brilliant agile teams to thrive!
Essentially, Dysfunction Mapping is a visual tool that exposes anti-patterns within your organization. It facilitates hypothesis formation and action planning anchored to specific, observable changes or metrics.
Hypothesis-Driven Coaching Plans that track progress and outcomes
A Dysfunction Map generates hypothesis-driven coaching plans to address the array of challenges within your system. It connects lagging problems with their root dysfunctions, offering potential improvement solutions. The power of this is remarkable, as finding solutions at a systemic and team level is the best way to improve the flow of value in teams and organisations.
Dysfunction Mapping not only uncovers the full scope of issues but also allows you to track progress and evaluate whether the implemented solutions yield desired results.
The strength of this approach lies in focusing on the purpose behind practices and rules rather than prescribing specific methodologies. It encourages finding alternative solutions aligned with your unique context, bypassing rigid adherence to predefined rules.
Organizational-Level Insight
The true potential of Dysfunction Mapping is realized when applied at the higher levels within the organisation. Problems transcend Agile or Scrum boundaries and team confines. Conducting a Dysfunction Mapping workshop at the organizational level provides a holistic view, revealing the complete narrative of challenges and opportunities.
The practise need not be confined to Agile or Scrum; it can be employed agnostically. Viewing the organization without the constraints of a specific framework expands its utility. What are the barriers to value creation or delivery in our organisation is the question we are tackling?
So whilst teams and scrum masters continue to improve ways or work at the coal face, remember to gain comprehensive insights, consider conducting a Dysfunction Mapping workshop at a higher level. It’s essential to understand the entire narrative, not just what’s visible at the team level.
Here is a link to template on Miro that can help you and your teams give it a try:
