1. Designing in Teams
Dr. Alistair Cockburn

2. People ... Communicating Inventing Creating a solution
Solving a problem
Expressing ideas in languages
Deciding
… they don’t understand
which keeps changing
… they don’t understand
which keep changing
… they don’t understand
which keeps changing
To an interpreter unforgiving of error
Making decisions
every decision has economic consequences
and resources are limited.

3. Knowledge acquisition Personalities (Self-Awareness)
Craft
Cooperative Games
Design in Teams
Knowledge acquisition
Lean Processes
Personalities (Self-Awareness)

4. Craft: lifelong deepening of skills in a medium.
Skill grows in stages
1: ( Shu ) Learn a technique
2: ( Ha ) Collect techniques
3: ( Ri ) Invent / Blend techniques

5. Cooperative Games Career Management Infinite Organization Survival
Craft
Cooperative Games
Cooperative Games
Infinite
Competitive
Cooperative
Open-ended
Endpoint-directed
Career Management
Organization Survival
Product Lines
King-of-the-hill
wrestling
Poker
Jazz music
Rock-Climbing
Theater
Engineering
Journalism
Business initiatives
Software Development
Tennis
Chess
Swamp Game - Imagine a competition in which each team must build something somewhere in a swamp. They don’t know exactly what they have to build, they don’t know where they have to build it, and they don’t have a map of the swamp, but they are in a race to build it. They will create subteams. Some will scavenge for building materials, others will explore the swamp, and so on. Note that this corresponds to people finding different specialties in software development.
If they have to play only one round of the game, they will find it optimal to build the weakest, sloppiest bridges and to draw the most careless maps possible to get to the end of the game. However, if they know another team will be coming in after them, they may choose to make better maps, better bridges, better paths. This difference between strategies corresponds to a software project team updating their system documentation and training their junior people.

6. Games have positions, moves, strategies
Craft
Cooperative Games
Games have positions, moves, strategies
There are only three types of moves ...
Communicate
Invent
Decide

7. Strategies: Adapt to situations.
Craft
Cooperative Games
Strategies: Adapt to situations.
Comfort
Essential
moneys
Life
Discretionary
Criticality C6
C20
C40
C100 D6
D20
D40
D100 E6
E20
E40
E100 L6
L20
L40
L100 X X
Number of people coordinated
1 - 6
- 20
- 40
- 100

8. Communication: Face-to-face is still best.
Craft
Cooperative Games
Communication: Face-to-face is still best.
2 people at
whiteboard
2 people
on phone
(Courtesy of Thoughtworks, inc.)
Communication Effectiveness
2 people
on chat
Videotape
(Question-&-Answer)
Paper
(No Question-&-Answer)
Communication channels in play

9. Craft
Cooperative Games
Lean Processes
Design is like manufacturing, but decisions are the internal inventory.
Design has loops backward in flow!
Every line of code is a decision
I wish they’d decide what style they want!
I wish they’d decide what functions they want!
I wish they’d think a bit more carefully before coding!
I wish they’d decide on the UI design already!
Users & Sponsors
UI Designers
Programmers
Testers
Business Analysts
A decision

10. Learn from lean manufacturing:
Craft
Cooperative Games
Lean Processes
Learn from lean manufacturing:
Learn from lean manufacturing:
Reduce decisions in motion & balance the flow.
Users & Sponsors
UI Designers
Programmers
Testers
Business Analysts
Convert jams
Users & Sponsors
UI Designers
Programmers
Testers
Business Analysts
Convert jams to continuous flow.

11. Business Risk (are we building the right thing?)
Cooperative Games
Craft
Design as knowledge acquisition: "Solving a problem they don't yet understand … "
Knowledge acquisition
Lean Processes
Solidify business value
Knowledge
time
knowledge
cost
Grow knowledge
(shrink risk)
Typical learning path
Business Risk (are we building the right thing?)
Social Risk (can these people build this thing?)
Technical Risk (will our equipment work?)
Surprise!
We can pay to learn early!

12. Design as knowledge acquisition:
Cooperative Games
Craft
Design as knowledge acquisition:
Knowledge acquisition
Lean Processes
Solidify business value
time
knowledge
cost
Grow knowledge
(shrink risk)
Grow business value
time

13. Trim the tail to deliver by date or value.
Cooperative Games
Craft
Trim the tail to deliver by date or value.
Knowledge acquisition
Lean Processes
Trim & deliver sooner
Delay & improve
time
“Trim the tail”

14. What you use depends on you yourself(selves).
Craft
Cooperative Games
Personalities
Knowledge acquisition
Lean Processes
What you use depends on you yourself(selves).
Self-Awareness
Values
Priorities
Personalities Reflection
Theory
Cooperative Game
Lean Processes
Knowledge acquisition
Techniques & Strategies
Shu-Ha-Ri

15. Craft Professions skills in a medium
Cooperative Game communication, teamwork, strategies
Designing in Teams
Knowledge Acquisition pay-to-learn, trim-the-tail
Lean Processes Unvalidated decisions as inventory
Personalities (Self-Awareness) the strategies and techniques actually used