Why should I care about sociotechnical systems? @ DDD SoCal

The craft of software design, architecture and engineering are in constant change. Technology evolves, and our skills and practices evolve as well. How about the teams we are part of? And the organisations? The evolution at the team and organisation level is slower but more disruptive. Our brain likes routine, and it is hardwired that way. However, everything around us evolves.

How do all of those dimensions play together? How can we thrive in our craft? As a software designer, architect or engineer, we should also be aware of the implications of technology changes in the teams and the organisation. We work in sociotechnical systems, and we create sociotechnical systems. It sounds like the movie Inception, doesn't it?

Join me in this talk, where I will share my insights on the skills needed to design sociotechnical systems and how we, as a community, can learn from each other.

Transcript

1. Why should I care about sociotechnical systems? 15 of December 2022 DDD SoCal meetup
2. Agreements for today Everyone is right, no one has the monopoly of the truth Take care of yourself Right to pass 1. 2. 3. Photo by Aziz Acharki on Unsplash
3. Check-​ in and expectations 1. Name 2. Role 3. What do you want to learn today 1. João Rosa 2. Independent Consultant 3. Learn about your experiences with sociotechnical systems Simon Chaveneau Dev Listening to you while i cook with-​ for my kids 1. Trond 2. Architect 3.Learn more about João's take on sociotechnical 1. Maksym Gendin 2. Tech Lead 3. Really no specific expectations, just fascinated about sociotechnical systems :) 1. Philip 2. Architect 3. Anything Aaron Industrial automation learn more about socialtech Marc in Scotland: Learning how you explain Socio-​ Technical (interest in how others explain this) David in Los Angeles Architect/Full Stack Transition to Product Owner role 1. David G 2. Architect 3. Learn
4. What is your knowledge about sociotechnical systems? What is a sociotechnical system? Nothing I'm in Tavistock Institute ... People building a technical system Any system with social and technical aspects A system in which technology mediates social interactions A triangle relationship between social (people), tech and systems thinking People, social, technical work systems organization A system by and for people, of people and machines
5. Photo by Pedro Henrique Santos on Unsplash
6. Do you recognise the patterns? Long wall Short wall DevOps Continuous Delivery
7. From Trond Hjorteland
8. Do you recognise the influence of the STS parts? ...
9. Photo by Helena Lopes on Unsplash
10. Photo by Mark König on Unsplash
11. Restocking domain - value stream List all the products in the product category Open a product and extract the current stock level Open the file with the 14-​ day forecast Search for the product 14-​ day forecast Calculate if the product will need restocking in the next 5 days Product category team Operational value stream owners The team has several people fulfilling different roles: Team lead Marketeer Pricing Buyer If the product needs restocking, add the product to the supplier restocking list Iterate over the remaining products Send the restocking order for each supplier This is an example! What do you recognise in the value stream? ... Data-​ centric steps. No exceptional branches Not clear what role does which step Linear view of things
12. Support Processes Back of Stage Interactions Front of Stage Interactions Buyer Actions Step 8 Step 7 Step 6 Step 5 Step 4 Step 3 Step 2 Step 1 Physical Evidence List all the products in a product category Legacy ERP Fetch all the products based on the buyers product group Opens a product Extracts current stock level Paper or excel document Opens the 14-​ day forecast Excel document in a shared drive Verify buyer authorisation for the shared drive 14-​ day product forecast Finds the product 14-​ day forecast Calculates if a product needs restocking in the next 5-​ days Paper or excel document If the product needs restocking, add it to the supplier restocking list Excel document Verify buyer authorisation for the shared drive Go back to step 2, until all products have been verified Send the restocking order to the supplier Supplier portal Buyer authentication and authorisation Register buyer in the supplier portal Restocking domain - service blueprint
13. Restocking domain - Team Topologies Flow of change Product category team A Data science team Product category team B Product category team Z ERP team Network team DBA team Xaas Xaas Collaboration Collaboration Collaboration Collaboration What do you recognise in the Team Topologies? More teams and interactions were omitted. Lot's of collaboration!
14. What would you improve? ... Why there are so many interactions between teams? What are the needs for the communication? Why we don't have stable interfaces? Map the interactions across team boundaries (e.g. collaboration practices, handoffs, transactions)
15. Support Processes Back of Stage Interactions Front of Stage Interactions Buyer Actions Step 5 Step 4 Step 3 Step 2 Step 1 Physical Evidence Process products for restocking Reviews product marked for restocking Approves product for restock Restocking web app Reviews supplier restocking list Process product for restocking per supplier 14-​ day product forecast Approves supplier restocking list Go back to step 2, until all products have been verified Simplistic view. It is a bit more complicated... There are more actions... Keep it simple Restocking web app EDI with supplier system Product category team Review the products for restocking Confirm the supplier restocking list Restocking domain - service blueprint Operational value stream owners What patterns do you recognise? ... If there are lots of manual steps that are algorithmic, they can be turned into back stage interactions Computer is keeping track of To-​ Dos, can prioritize
16. Restocking domain - Team Topologies Flow of change Product category team A Data science team Product category team B Product category team Z ERP team Network team DBA team Xaas Collaboration Collaboration What patterns do you recognise? Restocking team Xaas Xaas Xaas Supplier EDI Xaas ...
17. Restocking domain - Team Topologies Flow of change Product category team A Data science team Product category team B Product category team Z ERP team Network team DBA team Xaas Collaboration Collaboration What other evolution opportunities do you spot? Restocking team Xaas Xaas Xaas Supplier EDI Xaas ... Opportunities to improvement Create separated apps Omnichannel environment requires adaption Density of skills on the technical side Looking the next person to de-​ value in this environment Role compression to the perception of legacy Companies get stuck in their roles, where a data-​ centric process, where people don't take a step back, and challenge their own kingdom
18. What are the effects on the work practices?
19. If your company evolves, how are the STS decisions made? ...
20. Photo by Daniel Peters on Unsplash
21. WOW What about? ... ... Wow moment was understanding there are communities that wrestle with the same issues that I am being 'pinned' by. And maybe cross-​ fertilization of ideas, practices and experiences can lead to better outcomes than working in isolation. There are still systems that make users do what machines are so good at Thank you very much for very interesting discussions Digital Straightjacket!! Simple solutions are overlooked because they don't fit the organization structure The value proposition for the company is often overlooked if it is known at all by the individual actors (I've been there and I hope I am not there again) Cutting to bare-​ bones staff removes the 'slack time' that enables improvement efforts
22. João Rosa Independent consultant @joaoasrosa www.joaorosa.io Book a call @joaorosa@mastodon.social https://www.linkedin.com/in/joaoasrosa/