The AOS: Right to Left

This analysis is inspired by Mike Burrows Right to Left thinking, which I found pertinent to apply it to the Agile Operating System (AOS) as the model is lean in nature and it focuses on the value outcome to the client.

Left to Right : the sequence of value delivery through the work flow – we deliver what we think is right (after a first round of understanding of customer needs) The understanding of customer needs is represented by a series of business initiatives that are examined and approved for funding at the Portfolio Management level. The portfolio team work output are the business epics, which represent what ist he right thing to do (minimum business increments).These business epics are then broken down at the Product management level by a product team responsible for the solution design and its ROI. The work outcome of the team is the Product backlog (PBL), a prioritized collection of features and user stories aimed at facilitating the delivery process. A portion of the PBL is refined in order to be workable by the Delivery team. Items are chunked down into small functionality batches, with sufficient clearness to be worked on by the delivery team during during the next iteration. The right thing is done right.

Right to Left : the sequence of understanding of needs through feedback loops – we deliver what we know is right (after a series of iterations understanding customer needs) The client needs are well understood by the Delivery team through the delivery of incremental functionality and corresponding feedback to the team which aligns and organizes itself for continuous delivery of value. The team chunks its work down into small functionality batches that are provided to them in the form of a well prioritized ready to work Product Backlog (PBL).The PBL is created by the Product Management team foreseeing the delivery team needs and is responsible for facilitating their value outcome. The PBL is a collection of features and user stories that compose the design of business epics. These epics constitute the Enterprise backlog (EBL) that has been accepted funding by the Portfolio Management team, the EBL contains the business initiatives that are the right thing to do in line with the understanding of the client needs.         

 

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Author: Mario Aiello

Hi, I’m Mario – retired agility warrior from a major Swiss bank, beyond agile explorer, lean thinker, former rugby player, and wishful golfer. I’ve been in the agile space since 2008. I began consulting in 2012 with a Scrum adoption in a digital identity unit — and that path eventually led me to design an Agile Operating System at organisational scale. What pushed me further was frustration: poor adoption, illusionary scaling, and “agile” that looks busy but doesn’t improve business outcomes. That’s why I developed the Adaptive Fitness System (AFS) — an approach that treats agility as fitness for change: fit for purpose, fit for context, fit for execution, and fit for continuous improvement. Today, I use AFS to help organisations sense what’s real, learn fast, and adapt with intent.