How Henry Ford is Destroying Software
In 1913, Henry Ford installed the first moving assembly line, reducing the time required to build a car from 12 hours to 2.5 hours.
Ford’s assembly line used a motorized conveyer belt to move products through a set of workstations. Today, it seems like the most logical thing in the world, but it was a radical and difficult change for workers.
How things were built before the assembly line
Before the Industrial Revolution, most manufactured products were made individually by hand. A single craftsman or team of craftsmen would create each part of a product.
They would use their skills and tools such as files and knives to create the individual parts. They would then assemble them into the final product, making cut-and-try changes in the parts until they fit and could work together (craft production). Wikipedia
You might think that workers loved the assembly line. Less walking around, more focus on the task at hand, tools and parts located nearby, and so on.
Maybe some did, but many more hated it.
In fact, the Henry Ford Museum has a an entire collection of letters from workers (and spouses) about the terrible working conditions and the effects of the new moving assembly line. Amanda Ross, and of the Henry Ford Museum, says:
“Each task was timed to determine how long it should take. The assembly line was set to move at that pace. Speed was the key. If a worker had 6 seconds to complete a task, then he had to get it done on time every time. Whether he was ready or not, the next car chassis would be in front of him in 6 seconds.”
“Hours upon hours of performing the same, mindless task was very difficult for the workers to accept. Morale was often low. Also, line work-due to its quick pace and repetitive nature-was dangerous. In 1916, the Ford Highland Park plant recorded almost 200 severed fingers and over 75,000 cuts, burns and puncture wounds.”
Is was the tyrannical motorized assembly line that sparked the unionization movement that accompanied the industrial revolution.
“ Aroused and angered by impossible production-line speeds and work standards, serious safety and health concerns, fears of unemployment, and overly abusive foremen, the United Automobile Workers Union was at the center of the social and economic revolution associated with the rise of industrial unionism.” (link to citation)
The Tyranny of Velocity
A huge change for Ford’s workers was the relentless pace at which they had to work. Remember, before the assembly line they swarmed or mobbed around their work to complete it. This was called craft production.
It was less important how each person performed, and more important how the team performed. Production metrics were simple and valuable for everyone: the number of cars built per day was what mattered.
But now, the assembly line never slowed or paused. Management decided how fast it should go, after they observed and timed workers at each station. Six seconds here, 20 seconds there, 42 seconds at the next station.
Managers decide how work is partitioned and what activities are performed at teach station.
Managers decide where each station is placed and how they are sequenced.
Managers decide what tools and raw materials each station will use.
Managers determine quality standards and metrics for each station.
Finally, managers decide how many seconds each station has to complete the work.
Imagine going through this change.
You’ve spent years assembling cars, learning to assemble many different parts of the car. Sure, you love the interior detail work, but you’re as good at installing engines as anyone.
Working with your team, you’re proud to build a complete car each day. Everyone on the team can take credit for the final product. Your team’s goal is clear: one high-quality car per day.
Then, one day, the plant changes. New equipment is installed and you have the title of “Windshield Installer I”.
You are escorted to your workstation where you are told you have 30 seconds to attach the ten bolts that secure the windshield. You are expected to do five hundred windshields per day.
The work comes at an overwhelming pace from a motor-driven assembly line. Your only concern is attaching five thousand bolts per day.
As an experienced car assembler, you see quality problems zoom by, but no one listens when you point them out. Plus, every second you take pointing them out means you have to work even faster to keep up.
After all, a new windshield arrives every thirty seconds, no matter what.
It’s easy to see why workers were left feeling worthless and unappreciated. And why unions formed and workers demanded better working conditions.
In fact, it appears assembly lines haven’t changed much. This review of $BIG_AMERICAN_AUTO_COMPANY from Indeed.com sounds all too familiar:
Your Agile assembly line
Too many Agile teams feel they’re working on an assembly line, trying to keep up with the pace set by management.
This pace, usually called a team’s “velocity”, may create a virtual assembly line.
This is turning your Software Engineers into Agile Assembly Line Workers, and the negative effects are similar to what Ford’s workers experienced.
Like Ford, you might pay them well, but you’ll create poor working conditions. And like the Assembly Line Workers of the past, they may decide to unionize, revolt, or lash out in other ways.
In fact, my guess is they already are, even if you haven’t noticed.
Your challenge starts now
If you lead software teams, and some of this smells familiar, I dare you to share this story with your team and ask, “Is this happening here? Does it feel like an assembly line?”
This takes tremendous bravery, and it may come at a personal cost, but I encourage you to take the risk.
This challenge might be hard for a number of reasons: a) you’re afraid of the answer, b) you don’t think you can change things even if it’s bad, or c) you’re a clueless boss who’s ego has blinded you to the truth.
Your team knows if you have an Agile Assembly Line. Ask them collectively or in your one-on-ones and start collaborating with them to improve it. (Want better one-on-ones? Grab my free guide.)
