Less LeSS: An Executive Summary

Overview

First, see http://less.works for a listing of courses, more course descriptions, and a complete introduction to LeSS.

What’s the single most important insight for a senior manager to understand about LeSS, Large-Scale Scrum? That it is not a practice or process. Rather, LeSS is an organizational design, which impacts group structures, hierarchy, site strategy, roles, positions, processes, and basic policies (such as budgeting, career path, and rewards).

Organizational design is the proper remit of executive management, and so it is critical that you actively both learn and lead a successful LeSS adoption. This is not something you can “phone in” your support for, or delegate to mid-level management.

This 1-day executive summary is an introduction to the organizational design implications of LeSS — in both R&D and Product Management — and managing its adoption, from the perspective of what a senior manager needs to know and do.

There will also be an deep-dive clinic with Craig Larman, the co-creator of LeSS, based on his long experience with Large-Scale Scrum adoptions and working with senior management.

In addition to course material, each participant will also receive one of the (the 3 published) books on LeSS: Large-Scale Scrum: More with LeSS.

Outline

Introduction

• Why LeSS: Benefits to Your Company?
• Systems Thinking, Organizational Design, and the Contract Game

Principles & Management Implications

• Whole-Product Focus: Group and Role Impacts
• Customer Centric: Process and Group Impacts

Adoption

• Getting Starting
• Culture Follows Structure
• From Smallish to Huge

LeSS Structure

• Feature Teams & Component Teams
• Role of Managers
• Typical Organizational Structures and Patterns

LeSS Frameworks

• LeSS and LeSS Huge
• Definition of Done and it Organizational and Change Impact

In-Depth Special Topics: A Deep-Dive Q&A Clinic

Although there are some constants in a LeSS adoption, there are many variations, due to myriad contexts. And there are many special-topic questions that participants have, usually variations of “When scaling Scrum, how do we…?” These questions range from “contracts to career path.” Therefore, several hours of this summary session are dedicated to a structured Q&A session that works through a group-prioritized list of burning issues and questions. Craig Larman, drawing on his many years of experience of actual LeSS adoptions working with senior managers, will dialog and explore solutions with the group.

Maximum Participants

30

Environment - Room and Supplies

Read this: Course Environment - Presentation Oriented

Texts and Course Notes

There will be several PDFs of course notes, and supporting student learning aids, that will need to be printed and distributed to students

As mentioned, in addition to course material, each participant will also receive 1 of the 3 books on LeSS:

• Large-Scale Scrum: More with LeSS