20241008 Planview Project to Product: Business Agility With Flight Levels

Connect strategy to execution with flight levels, an exciting new thinking model. Design systems for strategy execution & align long-term company goals with daily operations. Make your strategy happen and free it from PowerPoint slides and wishy-washy chatter. Connect your strategy with delivery and put it into reality.

1. Enabling Business Agility
With Flight Levels
Craeg Strong, CTO, Ariel Partners
New York, NY
09 October 2024
1:05pm CT / 2:05PM ET

2. 2
What Problem are we trying to solve?
Strategy
Execution

3. 3
DAF Strategic Objectives
Modernize In Theater Communications Infrastructure
Deploy OCONUS Cloud Computing Under Enterprise
Construct
Protect Data in the Cloud While Enabling
Information Sharing
Become a Data-Centric Organization that uses data
at speed and scale for operational advantage and
increased efficiency.

4. 4
How Does Operational Level Connect?
Depot Maintenance Accounting & Production System
Scrum Development
Automated Civil Engineer System
ACES
Scrumban
Automated Business Services System
ABSS
Scaled Agile Software Development
Kanban O&M
AFEMS
Air Force Equipment Management System
Stock Control System
Waterfall
DMAPS
Data Center Consolidation
Hybrid

5. 5
Organizational Agility with Flight Levels

6. 6
Flight Level Three: Strategic Level

7. 7
Craeg Strong
Software Development since 1988
Large Commercial & Government Projects
Leadership Coaching & Training
Organizational Agility Coach
DevSecOps Architect
Certified Ethical Hacker
CTO, Ariel Partners
FLC/FLG AKC/AKT/KCP,
CSM/CSP/CSPO,
ITILv3, PMI-ACP, PMP, CLP, SPC, CEH
ICP-ACC, ICP-ATF, PSM-II, PSK
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/cstrong
@ckstrong1
7

8. 8
Nearly all Agile methods recognize the critical role senior organizational leaders play
Lack of an “Engaged Sponsor” is cited as one of the top 10 reasons for failed agile transformation
The Challenge of Leadership

9. 9
Aspects of Great Leaders
•Ability to Inspire Others with a Vision
•Aligning and Catalyzing Efforts
•Driving strategy
•Organizing Efforts; making efficient use of resources and processes
•Resolving Conflict
•Providing for career advice and advancement for direct reports
Management
•Ability to make decisions given imperfect knowledge
•Willingness to commit scarce resources that have alternative uses
•Ability to Inspire Others with a Vision
•Aligning and Catalyzing Efforts
•Driving strategy
Command
Leadership

10. 10
But...What about Agile for Leaders & Executives?
•Ability to Inspire Others with a Vision
•Aligning and Catalyzing Efforts
•Driving strategy
•Ability to Inspire Others with a Vision
•Aligning and Catalyzing Efforts
•Driving strategy
Leadership
OK, so let’s start
with leadership in
general...

11. 11
What is Agile Leadership?
•Ability to Inspire Others with a Vision
•Aligning and Catalyzing Efforts
•Driving strategy
•Ability to Inspire Others with an Agile Vision
•Aligning and Catalyzing Agile Efforts
•Driving strategywith Agility
Leadership
What does this mean?
Why is it difficult? What are the barriers?
What processes and tools can we apply?
What mindsets and behaviors should we adopt?

12. 12
Barriers to Strategy + Execution: Three Critical Gaps
Outcomes
Actions
Plans
The difference between what
we want people to do and
what they actually do
Alignment Gap
The difference between what
we expect our actions to achieve
and what they actually achieve
Effects Gap
The difference between what
we would like to know
and what we actually know
Knowledge Gap

13. 13
Primary Barrier: The Whirlwind
WHIRLWIND
Required to Maintain
The Operation
BREAKTHROUGH
Requiring a Change
In Behavior
NARROW
FOCUS HERE

14. 14
Clarifying Strategy: Identify the Crux
We cannot achieve every goal
simultaneously
Some goals conflict
Understand the key challenges /
barriers
Identify the “crux” or key leverage
point
Solves a big problem
Achievable given time, resources
CRUX

15. 15
Place your focus
where you want to see the improvements
What the business
cares about
What an operational team
can (directly) influence

16. 16
Measuring Success: Outputs Versus Outcomes
Specific, non-binary
Measurable
Achievable
Relevant
Time-Bound
Complete all RMF
documentation for
Snowflake
Import all currently
available data sources into
Denodo
Achieve passing test report
for new cloud-centric data
mesh solution
House All F-xx airframe supply
chain information in single
online EBOM by Q2 2024
Secure five alternative
suppliers for at least 90% of
airframe fuel tanks by 2027
Shared battlespace across OCONUS
has weather, ground cover, and
supply info no more than 5 seconds
old by Q2 2026
Outputs Outcomes

17. 17
Visualizing Strategy With OKRA (1)
Strategy Board
Action
“What do we
need to do to
get there?”
Objective
“Where do we
Need to go?”
Key Result
“How do we know
we are getting
there?”

18. 18
Strategy Board
Strategy Board
Visualizing Strategy With OKRA (2)
Action
“What do we
need to do to
get there?”
Objective
“Where do we
Need to go?”
Key Result
“How do we know
we are getting
there?”
Action
“What do we
need to do to
get there?”
Wildly Important
Goal
“Where do we
Need to go?”
Shorter-Term
Key Result
“How do we know
we are getting
there?”
Longer-Term
Key Result
“How do we know
we are getting
there?”
Medium-Term
Key Result
“How do we know
we are getting
there?”
Q7

19. 20
Summary: Visualizing Strategy
Wildly
Important
Goal
Become the leading
drone supplier in USA
for delivery of
essential goods to
remote areas
Break down the WIG into measurable outcomes at three horizons
Identify specific action(s) that will achieve the short-term outcome
Each outcome acts as an indicator that we are making progress on the WIG
Review and adjust at least weekly
A drone cluster can carry
a payload that is bigger than
what a single drone can carry

20. 21
Lead Measures
Lead Metric Hypothesis:
❑It will remove barriers
that prevent achievement
of outcome
❑It is Influenceable
❑Pivot may be necessary
Time Approval Delays
House All F-xx airframe
supply chain information in
single online EBOM by Q2
2024
Target Outcome
Develop New Cloud-Based
Integrated EBOM Software
Platform
Initiative
Lead Measure?
What historical barriers
exist that we can influence
in the short term?
Number of times approvals
are delayed for supplier
parts registrations

21. 22
Strategy Board
Context and Constraints
Become a Data-Centric
Organization that uses
data at speed and scale
for operational advantage
and increased efficiency
Integrate all medical
bioeffects data sources
into the 711 HPW data
mesh by Q1 2024
Human Performance
Enhancement is able to
optimize response time to
high stress situation by
15% by Q2 2025
CONTEXT: Based on studies
performed in 2019, we
believe that focusing on high
stress situations is best place
to start
CONSTRAINTS:
(1) Not feasible if > $$$
(2) Algorithms cannot train on
PII or PHI
...
WIG Long-term outcome Med-term outcome

22. 23
Agile Interactions Across Silos
Strategic Level Standup
Teams and Value
Streams Send
Delegates

23. 24
Pharma Example
Revenue from Anti
-
Cancer
Doctor Presentations
Week
Become leading
supplier of anti-
cancer drugs in
USA
Long-Term Goals
2023 - 2025
Wildly
Important
Goal
1 Year Outcomes
By 31 Dec 2023
< 3 Months
By 30 June 2023 Next
In
Progress
Measure
Success
New lymphoma
drug
to market
3 lymphoma
drugs in human
trials
5 lymphoma
drugs in animal
testing
Doctors have
40% better
awareness
Doctors prescribe
our drugs over
Competitor 20%
Doctor awareness
equals competition
QRS
Formula
β Mutation
Testing
Social
Media
Campaign
New
absorption
coating
Equipment in repair
Week Quarter

24. 25
Linking Strategy to Value Streams
Wildly
Important
Goal
ReadyHypothesizeRefineExploreValidate
Ready 4
Engineering
In
Progress
Internal
Test
Send
Out
Initiative
Nano
Particle
Selection
Business As
Usual
Initiative
β Mutation
Testing
β Mutation
Testing
Flight Level 3
Strategic
Flight Level 2
Coordination

25. 26
Insurance Example: Corporate Strategy
Wildly
Important
Goal
Become leading mutual
life insurance company
in the US
Outcomes
Achieve $20B in
revenue from life
insurance products
Actions
Invest in an Insuretech that
leverages AI/Machine Learning
to simplify underwriting
approval
Kickoff a major advertising
campaign to raise awareness of
our offerings
Acquire a smaller competitor
that can provide access to new
markets
Consolidate and streamline
older policy admin systems with
new system
Reduce average time
from start of
application to bound
policy from 3 months
to 3 weeks
Increase penetration of
US households from 0.5%
to 1.5%
1.Notice how the actions involve
teams from all across the
organization: sales, IT, legal,
underwriting, marketing
2.Imagine what an iteration
review/demo looks like for all this?
This is where magic happens!
Long-Term
Med-Term
Short-Term

26. 27
Federal Example: Disability Case Processing System
Mid-Term
Outcome
Q4 2025
Short-Term
Outcome
Q1 2024
All legacy
disability
systems in US
(MicroPact,
MIDAS, ACPS,
Cornhusker)
are retired
Build two-way
mainframe
interface for
MicroPact
JSON Financial
API
System Capabilities
Single unified
system can
process all US
disability
claims
Wildly
Important
Goal
Long-Term
Outcomes
2H 2027
All non-SC,
non-expedited
disability cases
for 46
MicroPact
states can be
managed
non-SC, non-
expedited
disability case
can be entered
for one state
Todo Doing Done
Modern
case
manage-
ment UI
Even short-term
outcome requires
delivery to production

27. 28
Leadership Agility with Flight Levels

28. 30
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https://www.arielpartners.com/flight-levels
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