[OSList] Open Space with Agile: Failure patterns

[Lisa Heft]

Harold - you teach me so much - in every way you see, reflect upon and thoughtfully articulate your observation and experiences.

Tool, process, way of live, value system.
Open Space Technology, which also means not 'technology' in the commonly used sense of that word but instead a way of being (both existing in us and when invited by us and our clients). Which was always there, which maybe some people have not experienced or felt (yet), which maybe some people have to breathe into and experience to remember how they, their organization, their issue, individuals, the whole, is a living system.

Dan I know that a single 'intervention' or experience does not in itself usually change organizational or individual behavior. Nor does a single acupuncture treatment immediately shift-forever-suddenly-well a health situation. In your community as in others, I know that Agile folks will benefit from ongoing, regular 'body work'. So in one of your earlier messages about maintaining 'wellness' (my work) afterwards - to me, it is all about the before (pre-work, relationships, thoughtful preparation), the during (a lovely and productive Open Space), and the afterwards (continuing interconnections, continuing relationships, highlighting information, ideas and relationships that were generated at the event - and doing so between events, Open Space and otherwise).

A living system that is benefiting so much from all you Agile / Open Space 'body workers'….

Lisa

On Sep 23, 2013, at 7:53 AM, Harold Shinsato <harold at shinsato.com> wrote:

> Harrison,
> 
> About your statement "Open Space is a terrible way to introduce some new process, and especially to assure 'buy in'".
> 
> You're clearing going directly against the heart of what Dan is trying to promote. Maybe I invite disaster for myself by speaking an alternative view from what you are saying given your founding status of this community - but perhaps given my 12+ years working in the Agile space - I have something worthwhile to say.
> 
> Harrison, you've been opposed to calling "Open Space" a tool. And I hear Lisa Heft (the best Open Space trainer) talking about it being a tool all the time.
> 
> I agree with both of you. Open Space is most emphatically *not* a tool at it's heart. It's a set of values and principles. But it is also definitely a tool. Or as Dan says, a 'game'. A beautifully designed game.
> 
> Agile is most DEFINITELY not a process. It's a set of values and principles. You can see this in the Agile Manifesto - especially the first item, we value Individuals and Interactions *over* Processes and Tools. Yes, the Agile community applies many very specific tools and processes. And very heated debates happen around the application (or misapplication) of those tools and processes, such as Scrum.
> 
> But oddly - even Scrum isn't *Really* a tool or a process. At the heart of Scrum is also a set of principles and values. If you want to get a sense of this - go to the end of the first book on Scrum, by Schwaber & Beedle "Agile Software Development with Scrum" - where it lists the 5 values of Scrum - Commitment, Focus, Openness, Respect & Courage. Or read Tobias Meyer's "The People's Scrum". Very powerful assertion and meditation on the core values and how to apply the processes to get 
> 
> Open Space has already been used with great success to introduce, promote and sustain Agile in the world through many uses of Open Space in conferences such as the AgileOpen, Coaching Camps, and Open Agile Adoption such as what Dan Mezick is explaining. From my vantage point, Open Space is critical for helping the values and principles to be successfully absorbed.
> 
> From my vantage point - Open Space Technology's values and principles are eternal and aren't going away. The Universe won't suddenly stop self-organizing. If anything, we'll only get better at understanding and dancing with Order and Chaos. This dance, with the help of Open Space Technology the Game (or Tool) has changed my life and infused it with spirit. I'm eternally grateful to you, Harrison, to Lisa Heft, and to and this community. And maybe Open Space Technology the game or tool will pass away. The same goes for Agile values and principles. They're eternal. They're not going away. The Process will never be more important than the Individuals. The People are always more important than the Game.
> 
> BUT - there are powerful forces behind trying to adopt agile as merely a tool or a process, because it's easier to understand. And that invites failure - and it's the exact kind of failure you're writing about, Harrison, about how our creations are "inevitably clunky." To succeed, any implementation of Agile or Scrum needs to be able to self-organize - "Inspect and Adapt" is one of the anthems of the agile and scrum communities. I hope that the Open Space community will step up and help the Agile community to do that.
> 
>     Thanks,
>     Harold
> 
 
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