Rise of a new superhero
Here in the Government Digital Services (GDS), we build great digital product by transforming the way how products are build in the Government.
Here we practice agile, design thinking, DevSecOps and etc in building wide range of products for the Government. Very often, we hear comments in the industry, it is widely known that such change require tremendous support across the entire organisation and you can already imagine how challenging we are looking at, across Whole-Of-Government (WOG).
It is commonly known that the Government culture is diametrical distinct from private sector and especially on the infamous red tapes, we can never blindly follow industry theory and expect a positive outcome. We execute, practice and tailor them to ensure the outcome of transformation are practically fit for the other parts of Government to be replicated with minor variations.
Out of the 12 agile principles, one of them stood out as most important but extremely challenging which is to build a self-organising team. Something that is seemingly easy but super challenging in our context. To understand why we need to walk the history.
Glimpse of a past
According to this article, DBS bank started outsourcing many of their IT / IS back in 2003 and significantly started the IT outsourcing revolution. With consideration on multiple aspects (eg: economic, development and workforce) the Government also jump into the outsourcing bandwagon.
Running outsourcing model for close to 20 years, naturally the expertise acquired are around the needs of outsourcing approach. We became very proficient in telling people what we want in great specific details forming part of the agreement in the form of requirements specification. We also developed the culture on driving based on agreed timelines therefore the need for project plans, frameworks and monitoring processes in attempt to control and minimise any form of project delays. It should be very clear now, the management style needed for this approach.
These are just some of the many challenges and it is almost against the law of physics to make the change happen over a very short span of time. Processes, policies and compliance are established for good reason and the consideration for change cannot be just because one part of the Government wants to do agile. Cultural and management style is a lot harder to shift it is the the of question right fit rather than right management style.
So what is a Superhero?
So, what do we do to create self-organisation teams with all these external factors that is beyond our control? This is the time to introduce our superheroes. The cadence of running large, multiple-agile teams is already eating up precious time from the teams. Therefore we created superheroes to represent the teams in certain cadence and fronting stakeholders engagement. Most importantly, able to bring high level context back to the team with very minimal translation loss. The purpose of doing so is to protect the team’s time. On top of that, they also take up tackling of red tapes and provide high level and aspirational targets for the respective team. They create a buffer in order for the team be separated from the external factors and the space for the team to self-organise.
Now, you may find our Superheroes very similar to a Scrum Master role, however we do not agree. Why? Because after completing more than 100 sprints, we had landed on a maturity state where a Scrum Master role is not needed. Actually, more accurately to say everyone in the team is a Scrum Master.
Our Superheroes wear multiple hats including a Scrum Master’s. Apart from their leadership and ability to create the bubble for the team, the key differences are while they have a very specialised discipline, they are also having a level of understanding into other cross functional disciplines. They also need to be versed about Government compliance and processes to be able to tank the red tapes for the team.
To be honest, this is never the an attractive role. While not anyone may fit, nor (for those eligible) may be aspired to take up it up. It means scarification to be made losing time and opportunities further deepening crafts. Therefore each rising Superhero is a true leader putting others before themselves. Surely rare, we were glad to receive one recently.
How to become one?
Apart from the experience, abilities and knowledge being the foundation, our Superheroes require a certain maturity level of thinking and understanding as they will be exposed to many interesting perspective and working with different people. While not everyone may become one from the onset, we have the right environment to mould our next generations of Superheroes. If you are up for the challenge, do get in touch with me!
