Feedback Cycles
The Metrics and Reporting View looks at the various feedback cycles, metrics and reports in Holistic Software Development.
Feedback Loops
HSD is a balance between pragmatic lean governance, lightweight iterative and continuous processes with proven organizational patterns and is indicative not prescriptive. HSD is a balance between pragmatic lean governance, lightweight iterative and continuous processes with proven organizational patterns and is indicative not prescriptive. HSD is evidence based, using feedback wherever possible to improve quality. For this reason, quality assurance and verification is expected to be built into every activity. We strongly recommend, phased, iterative, agile or continuous delivery models as these approaches build corrective feedback activity into delivery methods.as these approaches build corrective feedback activity into delivery methods.
Simple iterative feedback loops
HSD is not a simple linear development process and the H-Model is iterative at a number of different levels. At the lowest level, team based development processes are iterative providing the smallest (and fastest) feedback cycle. These feedback cycles are good for correcting product development, but cannot directly change strategy by themselves, they must be connected to higher level feedback cycles.
The biggest, and normally slowest, feedback cycle in an organisation is around its strategy. Strategic goals are often measures in years, and so the impact of strategic choices and therefore the opportunity for feedback to change what an organisation is doing may be slow. However, the ability for organisations to change is limited by this strategic feedback cycle and the quality of its situational awareness.
Simple organisation, as typified by the Small Picture of HSD |
Large predictive organisation, as typified by the Big Picture of HSD |
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These various feedback cycles feed each other, both upwards towards strategy, and downwards towards delivery. One-way influence is dysfunctional, and no longer a feedback loop. Such models can be considered top-down design with constantly changing direction, or simply upward reporting stacks. Well intentioned attempts to achieve feedback loops outside of team based iteration often fall back into one of these dysfunctional models undermining iteration at other levels of the business.
A team that is sprinting well but out of alignment with strategic direction is pointless. Changes in strategic direction that don’t affect what delivery teams are doing are equally pointless.
Large predictive organisation iterative cycles