This document discusses using Kanban principles to manage knowledge work and the balance between discovery and delivery. It introduces different types of knowledge work from exploiting existing knowledge to exploring new knowledge. It then discusses using various "Discovery Kanbans" to visualize and limit work-in-progress for ideas, experiments, decisions, and actions to balance upstream discovery with downstream delivery. Different approaches are needed depending on what is known versus unknown in the work.

1. Discovery Kanban
Patrick Steyaert

3. Knowledge work
3
Exploiting
existing
knowledge
Exploring
new
knowledge
Finding out which problems to solve
and creating solutions for problems
that have not been solved before
Using past experience and
knowledge to create solutions for
known problems and situations
Solving hard problems, including the problem of finding out what
problems to solve (or opportunities to capture)
Delivery Discovery
Balancing Discovery and Delivery - © Patrick Steyaert, 2015

4. Software development is knowledge work
Ref.: Allistair Cockburn
4
Users &
Sponsors
Testers
Business
Analysts
Programmers
UI
Designers
Detailed decisions
about function
and data
Decisions
about program
structure
Detailed
decisions about
external
appearance
Decisions
about function
and style
Decisions
about system
correctness
The knowledge discovery process

5. § Features
§ Change requests
§ Fixes to production defects
§ …
Delivery
5
Balancing Discovery and Delivery - © Patrick Steyaert, 2015

6. Discovery
Agile Business Requirements training - © Patrick Steyaert, 2015
Viability
Desirability
Feasibility
6

7. § In the ideal world, work flows with little
friction
§ In the “messy” real world there are all kinds of
friction: silos, specialists, communication,
resistance to change, …
§ Kanban is a way of dealing with
the present (friction in your current
reality) and connecting with the
future (flow in the ideal)
Kanban helps to deal
with the real world
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Balancing Discovery and Delivery - © Patrick Steyaert, 2015

8. Continuous change and innovation
8
Future
Present
Dealing with the present &
connecting with the future
Digital
Customer value
Networked
Pull
Analog
Shareholder value
Hierarchical
Push
Balancing Discovery and Delivery - © Patrick Steyaert, 2015

9. Shared visual understanding
9
Balancing Discovery and Delivery - © Patrick Steyaert, 2015

10. Kanban principles and practices
10
Ideas Reday
for Dev
Development
Testing
Ready
for UAT Done
ongoing done
5 ∞
Abandoned
5
3
A user
story
A bug
A user
story
A user
story
A user
story
A user
story
A user
story
A user
story
A user
story
A bugA user
story
A user
story
A user
story
A user
story
• Visualize
• Limit WIP
• Manage Flow
• Make Process Policies Explicit
• Implement Feedback Loops
• Improve Collaboratively, Evolve
Experimentally (using models/
scientific method)
• Start with what you do now
• Agree to pursue incremental,
evolutionary change
• Initially, respect current roles,
responsibilities & job titles
Core practicesFoundational principles

11. Ideas Ready
for Dev
Development
Testing
Ready
for UAT Done
ongoing done
5 ∞
Abandoned
5
3
A user
story
A user
story
A user
story
A user
story
A user
story
A user
story
A user
story
A user
story
A user
story
A user
story
A user
story
A user
story
A user
story
A user
story
A user
story
A user
story
A user
story
Delivery kanban - focus on “work”?
11
A user
story
WORK items
Limit WORK in
progress

12. 12
Balancing Discovery and Delivery - © Patrick Steyaert, 2015
Knowledge work (at scale)
information
decisions
options
More than work alone!
How does this affect flow?
Delivery
Discovery

13. ExampleDiscoveryKanban
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Balancing Discovery and Delivery - © Patrick Steyaert, 2015
Idea
(>15)
Concept
(>10)
Specification
(>6)
Fragmented ideas
Upstream (option) Kanban
- discovery precedes delivery -
Coherent
specifications

14. Options, selection and commitment
14
Balancing Discovery and Delivery - © Patrick Steyaert, 2015
Options Selection Commitment
Convergent process

15. Morethanjustvisualization
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Balancing Discovery and Delivery - © Patrick Steyaert, 2015
Idea
(>15)
Concept
(>10)
Specification
(>6)
Minimum limits to
ensure sufficient
options to
downstream process
Upstream (option) Kanban
- discovery precedes delivery -
FLOW

16. Managerial approach
Given
goal
Availablemeans
M1
M2
M3
M4
M5
Selecting between given means to achieve a
pre-determined goal
Balancing Discovery and Delivery - © Patrick Steyaert, 2015
16
WHAT HOW WHY

17. 17
Balancing Discovery and Delivery - © Patrick Steyaert, 2015
“Why”, “What” and “How”
can be known upfront
Discovery precedes delivery
Post-Hypothesis (known known)

18. Not all knowledge work is alike
18
Balancing Discovery and Delivery - © Patrick Steyaert, 2015
Post-Hypothesis
Known known
“Why”, “What”,
“How” can be known
upfront
Discovery precedes
delivery
Hypothesis
Known unknown
“Why” is defined
“how” is discovered
Discovery and
delivery alternate
Pre-hypothesis
Unknown unknown
“What” is known;
“why” and “how” are
discovered
Delivery precedes
discovery
Hidden assumptions
Unknown known
Observation as a basis

19. Balancing Discovery and Delivery - © Patrick Steyaert, 2015
19
“why” is defined
“how” is discovered
Discovery and delivery alternate
Hypothesis (known unknown)

20. Idealistic approach
VisionNow
Next
target
“How” is discovered
“Why” is defined
In the idealistic approach, the leaders of a project set out an
ideal future state that they wish to achieve, identify the gap between
the ideal and perception of the present, and seek to close it.
Dave Snowden
20
Balancing Discovery and Delivery - © Patrick Steyaert, 2015

21. Applying the scientific method
Design and run
experiment
(DO)
Create
hypothesis
(PLAN)
Study results
(CHECK)
Evolve model
(ADJUST)
Agile Business Requirements training - © Patrick Steyaert, 2015
21

22. ExampleDiscoveryKanban
22
Balancing Discovery and Delivery - © Patrick Steyaert, 2015
Backlog Plan Do Adjust
3
2
3
Experiment Kanban (1)
- Discovery and delivery alternate -
Check
2
FLOW
Hypotheses
Limit experiments
in progress
Explicit feedback
loop (internal or
external)

23. Validated learning
23
Balancing Discovery and Delivery - © Patrick Steyaert, 2015
Ideas
Build
Product
Measure
Data
Learn

24. Hypothesis
24
We believe that
<Building this feature>
<for these people>
Will achieve <this outcome>
We will know we are successful when
we see
<this signal or measurable result>
Balancing Discovery and Delivery - © Patrick Steyaert, 2015

25. ExampleDiscoveryKanban
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Balancing Discovery and Delivery - © Patrick Steyaert, 2015
Backlog Build Measure Learn
4
3
2
3
Hypothesis to be
validated
Experiment Kanban (2)
- Discovery and delivery alternate -
Options that can
be exercised
Limit the number
of un-validated
assumptions

26. Creating options
26
Balancing Discovery and Delivery - © Patrick Steyaert, 2015
Exercised
Option
Hypothesis Option
creation exercising
Down paymentHouse price will go up House
MVP (option to
pivot or persevere)
User need Full product
development
Divergent process

27. Balancing Discovery and Delivery - © Patrick Steyaert, 2015
27
“what” is known
“why” and “how” are discovered
Delivery precedes discovery
Pre-Hypothesis (unknown unknown)

28. Entrepreneurial approach
28
Balancing Discovery and Delivery - © Patrick Steyaert, 2015
Given means
Imagine possible new ends given available
means
E1
E2
E3
E4
Imagined ends
M1
M2
M3
M4
M5
WHAT HOW WHY

29. § Focus on what you can do and do it, without
worrying much about what you ought to do
§ Begin with who you are, what you know, whom
you know
§ Immediately start taking action and interaction
with other people
§ Goals and network concurrently converge
§ People you interact with self-select into the
process
§ Each commitment results in new means and
goals
§ As resources accumulate in the growing network,
constraints begin to accrete that reduce possible
changes in future goals and restrict who may
further join the network
Effectuation
29
Balancing Discovery and Delivery - © Patrick Steyaert, 2015

30. ExampleDiscoveryKanban
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Balancing Discovery and Delivery - © Patrick Steyaert, 2015
Backlog Plan Do Adjust
4
3
2
3
Actions
Action Kanban
- Delivery precedes discovery -
Check
2
Limit the number
of actions in
progress
Not really a
feedback loop,
just verification
It looks like PDCA, but it is not really PDCA!

31. Balancing Discovery and Delivery - © Patrick Steyaert, 2015
31
Observations as a basis for discovery
Hidden assumptions (unknown known)

32. Path dependence
The set of decisions one faces for any given circumstance is limited by the
decisions one has made in the past, even though past circumstances may
no longer be relevant.
32
Balancing Discovery and Delivery - © Patrick Steyaert, 2015
Options
Emerging path
Lock in
Varietyofoptions
(managerialflexibility)
Critical juncture
Definition from Praeger, Dave. Our Love Of
Sewers: A Lesson in Path Dependence
Pre-hypothesis Hypothesis Post-hypothesis

33. Weak signals – ugly babies & invisible gorillas
33
Every movie the company makes starts
out "ugly”; Ill-defined ideas need
protection the most, lest they die too
young.
- Pixar president Ed Catmull
Our minds don't work the way we think
they do. We think we see ourselves and
the world as they really are, but we're
actually missing a whole lot.
- Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons
Balancing Discovery and Delivery - © Patrick Steyaert, 2015

34. Observe-Orient-Decide-Act
Boyd’s strategic decision making loop
Observe
Orient
Decide
Act

35. ExampleDiscoveryKanban
35
Balancing Discovery and Delivery - © Patrick Steyaert, 2015
Backlog Observe Orient Act
4
3
2
3
Orientation Kanban
- Observation as a basis for discovery -
Decide
2
Strategic decision cycle:
Observe-Orient-Decide-Act
FLOW
Limit the number
of decisions in
progress
Observations
(decisions to be
made)

36. All together now – the discovery cycle
36
Balancing Discovery and Delivery - © Patrick Steyaert, 2015
Upstream
(option)
kanban
Experiment
kanban
Experiment
Vision
Known unknown
Constraints
Trigger
Unknown unknown
Orientation
kanban
Action
kanban
Model
Options
Known known
Commitment
Weak
signal
Unknown known
Orientation

37. All together now – Program Management
Kanban
Visualize “actions” and
“experiments”
Visualize
“decisions to
be made”
Balancing Discovery and Delivery - © Patrick Steyaert, 2015
37

38. >4 5 4
>4 5 4
Visualize
“commitments”
Visualize
“options”
All together now – Product Management
Kanban
Balancing Discovery and Delivery - © Patrick Steyaert, 2015
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39. Visualizing knowledge work
39
Balancing Discovery and Delivery - © Patrick Steyaert, 2015
*oobeya = project room
Options Commitments
Observations
Actions
Experiments

40. Not all Kanban is alike
Delivery Kanban
Discovery Kanban
Visualize work
Limit work in progress
Manage flow of work
Organize feedback loops
Evolve experimentally
Visualize decisions and options
Limit unvalidated assumptions and
decisions in progress
Manage flow of decisions and options
Explicit feedback loops, customer
feedback loops
Mixed change

41. Not all Kanban is alike
Delivery kanban
Discovery kanban
Improving fitness for
purpose of service delivery
Improving the fitness for
purpose of organizations in
a continuously changing
landscape
Demand is established and there is
more demand than capability
Not just delivery against established
demand but also dealing with
uncertain demand

42. @PatrickSteyaert
patrick.steyaert@okaloa.com

43. References
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Balancing Discovery and Delivery - © Patrick Steyaert, 2015