Like this example from few weeks ago, I often find it useful to reconcile one model against another. What are the correspondences? Can I explain one in terms of the other? At the very least it’s a completeness check, but often it’s a great opportunity to give one or both models a thorough going-over.

In this instance, the two models are the Agendashift values-based delivery assessment template (the one behind our 2015 survey) and Reverse STATIK, another key component of our 1-day Agendashift workshop in values-based, hypothesis-driven change.

For the uninitiated, Reverse STATIK takes STATIK, the long-taught recipe for implementing Kanban (it’s the second day of your typical 2-day Kanban workshop), and backtracks through it, looking for improvement ideas as we go. Serendipitously, it has a nice presentational structure: it starts with the mechanics of kanban systems (the process assumes you have one to improve), layers on some new concepts, and finishes with a flourish on purpose and fitness.

So how do they reconcile? Pretty well:

1. Kanban systems: This gets 5 of the 8 transparency prompts, plus one from balance (“Our system has a clear commitment point that separates potential work from work in progress”).
2. Classes of service: the “urgency” part of the transparency prompt “We distinguish different work items according to how they’re processed, their source, and their urgency” belongs here. Others have already noted that this prompt could benefit from a little rework! Four flow prompts and one more from balance complete the set.
3. The knowledge discovery process: this takes 5 prompts from customer focus, 2 from collaboration, and 1 from flow.
4. Demand and capability: 5 prompts from balance (no surprise there) and 1 from customer focus.
5. Sources of dissatisfaction: all the prompts that relate to dependencies, other impediments, and organisational structure belong here. 2 from transparency, 1 from balance, 3 from collaboration, and 2 from flow.
6. Purpose and fitness: this takes the whole of the leadership category, plus prompts relating to validation, measurement and safety (2 from flow and 1 each from transparency and customer focus.

No prompts go wasted, but bringing them together from different value categories does reveal some redundancy. I don’t feel too bad about that however – so what if the assessment template for Reverse STATIK will be a little shorter than the original! That said, I’ve no doubt that the completion of this exercise will result in some improvements being fed back.

So watch this space for announcements. I and our beta testers will likely test this privately with clients in workshop and coaching settings before publicising it more widely. I don’t know if it will hit Agendashift’s front page in a “featured” survey but you can be sure that it will in due course be made available to those that can make good use of it.

What if we put agreement on outcomes ahead of solutions?

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