Tutorial on how to use the Conflict Resolution Diagram. Presented by Portia Tung and Pascal Van Cauwenberghe at the Mini SPA conference, London, September 2010
Falcon Invoice Discounting: Empowering Your Business Growth
Conflict resolution diagram tutorial
1. Resolving Conflicts without Compromisealso known as“I want to have my cake and eat it!” Pascal Van Cauwenberghe & Portia Tung
2. About us Consultant. Storyteller. Games Maker. Consultant. Project Manager. Games Maker. His Blog: blog.nayima.be Her Blog: www.selfishprogramming.org NAYIMA We make play work
3. About this session What do we mean by “Conflict” ? Name a conflict you’d like to resolve A conflict we prepared earlier Patterns of Conflict Ideas for resolving your conflict Further reading Session feedback
5. “I want to live in the city...” “... AND in the country”
6. “I want to eat what I want...” “... AND be fit and healthy”
7. Manager: “We need to go faster to deliver more features” Developers: “We need to go slower to increase quality.”
8. What do we need to resolve conflicts? Willingness to find a solution Refuse to compromise Common goal Articulate the conflict Explore solutions Surface assumptions Challenge assumptions A dash of creativity
9. The Shallow Thinking Process A problem Happy Days Root Cause Analysis THE Solution This is what we needed all along! Why don’t we have what we need? Magic Happens Here
11. The Logical Thinking Process Intermediate Objectives Map Prerequisite/ Transition Tree How do we get there? In small steps. What is our goal? What are we missing? Future Reality Tree Current Reality Tree Would that work? What could possibly go wrong? Why don’t we have what we need? Magic Happens Here That’s what this session is about Conflict Resolution Diagram What could be done to resolve the underlying fundamental conflict?
14. Type 1:“I want X and the opposite of X”That’s not possible, is it? “I want to live in the city...” “... AND I want to live in the country”
15. Type 2:“I want X and Y”But I have to choose, right? “I want to eat what I want...” “... AND be fit and healthy”
16. Type 3: “I want X. They want Y. We can’t both be right” Only one of us can win, at best. Developers: “We need to go slower to increase quality.” Manager: “We need to go faster to deliver more features”
18. Three types of Conflict I want X and the opposite of X That’s not possible, is it? I want X and Y but I can’t have both I have to choose, don’t I? I want X. They want Y. Only one of us can win, at best.
20. Story #1 Consultants audited business unit => FAIL We have to build a system to support the whole value stream Conflicts between sales and operations And between finance/audit and the rest More than a month of “shuttle diplomacy”
21. One of the conflicts is about product definition Lots of confusion about what products mean Ask 5 people, you get 6 different answers 2 previous attempts failed We have a hard deadline because of new EU regulations Story #1
24. Step 2: Find the common objective Prerequisite 1 Requirement 1 Objective Requirement 2 Prerequisite 2
25. Tip: Don’t continue until you agree on a common, concrete and motivating goal If there’s no common goal, there’s no incentive to solve the conflict
26. Step 2: Find the common objective Customised Products Sell more Surviving Business Standardised Products Be more efficient
27. Tip: Strive for clarity first,then for correctness Precise and crisp definitions to ensure everyone has the same understanding
28. Step 2: Find the common objective Increase sales Increase margin Customised Products Profitability in a shrinking market Reduce costs Deliver on SLA Standardised Products
29. Step 3: Review clarity and logic Increase sales Increase margin Customised Products Profitability in a shrinking market Reduce costs Deliver on SLA Standardised Products
32. Tip: Use “Extreme Assumptions”aka “Throw a tantrum” X is the ONLY way to have Y X is the BEST way to have Y X guarantees Y
33. Step 3a: Find the assumptions Increase sales Increase margin Customised Products 1 Profitability in a shrinking market Reduce costs Deliver on SLA Standardised Products
34. 3a. Our assumptions We can’t have both customised and standardised products because Product == Product Standardised != Customised As soon as sales starts to customise we end up with an infinite number of products (again) Sales doesn’t understand delivery Operations doesn’t understand business
35. Step 3: Find the assumptions 2 Increase sales Increase margin Customised Products Profitability in a shrinking market Reduce costs Deliver on SLA Standardised Products
36. 3b. Our assumptions To increase sales and margin we need to customise products because We can only compete by having an offer that’s different from our competitors Customers are becoming more demanding We must react quickly to customer demands We can never compete on price
37. Step 3: Find the assumptions Increase sales Increase margin Customised Products Profitability in a shrinking market Reduce costs Deliver on SLA Standardised Products 3
38. 3c. Our assumptions To reduce costs and deliver on SLA we need to standardise products because Having low variation is the only way to have predictable production schedules Standardised products are the only way to flexibly allocate people according to demand Product variation always costs more (changeover, setups, switches, training, bottlenecks) Lean only works with low variation production
39. Step 3: Find the assumptions 4 Increase sales Increase margin Customised Products Profitability in a shrinking market Reduce costs Deliver on SLA Standardised Products
40. 3d. Our assumptions To be profitable in a shrinking market we need to increase sales and margin because We can’t expand the market The only way to increase profitability is to sell more or increase the margin on each sale
41. Step 3: Find the assumptions Increase sales Increase margin Customised Products Profitability in a shrinking market 5 Reduce costs Deliver on SLA Standardised Products
42. 3e. Our assumptions To be profitable in a shrinking market we need to reduce costs and deliver on SLA because We are penalised for not hitting SLAs Our competitors have lower costs This is a price sensitive market, so the only way to increase profitability is to reduce costs This is a quality-sensitive market, so the only way to increase or keep market share is to increase quality Quality is hitting the SLA
44. Step 4: Challenge the assumptions 2 4 Increase sales Increase margin Customised Products 1 Profitability in a shrinking market 5 Reduce costs Deliver on SLA Standardised Products 3
45. 4a. Challenge our assumptions We can’t have both customised and standardised products because Product == Product Standardised != customised As soon as sales starts to customise we end up with an infinite number of products (again) Sales doesn’t understand delivery Operations doesn’t understand business
46. 4b. Challenge our assumptions To increase sales and margin we need to customise products because We can only compete by having an offer that’s different from our competitors We must react quickly to market demands We can never compete on price
47. 4c. Challenge our assumptions To reduce costs and deliver on SLA we need to standardise products because Having low variation is the only way to have predictable production schedules Standardised products are the only way to flexibly allocate people according to demand Product variation always costs more (changeover, setups, switches, training, bottlenecks) Lean only works with low variation production
48. 4d. Challenge our assumptions To be profitable in a shrinking market we need to increase sales and margin because We can’t expand the market The only way to increase profitability is to sell more or increase the margin on each sale
49. 4e. Challenge our assumptions To be profitable in a shrinking market we need to reduce costs and deliver on SLA because We are penalised for not hitting SLAs Our competitors have lower costs This is a price sensitive market, so the only way to increase profitability is to reduce costs This is a quality-sensitive market, so the only way to increase or keep market share is to increase quality Quality is hitting the SLA
50. The assumption we challenged Increase sales Increase margin Customised Products Profitability in a shrinking market Product == Product Reduce costs Deliver on SLA Standardised Products
51. What if.... Sales and Operations were talking about different products? That would explain the confusion
52. The resolved conflict Customise Sales Product Increase sales Increase margin Profitability in a shrinking market Sales Product != Operational Product Standardise Operational Product Reduce costs Deliver on SLA
53. There was another conflict Operations: Coarse Products Low input and tracking overhead Lower costs Reduce cycle time How would you solve this conflict? Finance & audit: Detailed Products Detailed auditing Cost analysis
55. The Result Built and deployed the system Took two years, including refactoring of product catalog Business unit has been profitable since Market share grows Among top 5 in the world meeting industry SLAs Continuously improving
57. Three types of Conflict I need X and the opposite of X That’s not possible, is it? I need X and Y but I can’t have both I have to choose, don’t I? I want X. They want Y. We can’t both be right Only one of us can win, at best.
58. Using the Conflict Resolution Diagram You can’t solve your own conflict Ask for help The biggest obstacle is willingness to find a solution without compromise Need to believe that a solution exists Use examples to show that solving the problem is possible First look for clarity, then for correctness A clear problem statement often leads to “evaporation” of the problem The CRD is a collaborative tool Don’t use it to “prove” the other party is wrong Sometimes you have to provide “shuttle diplomacy”
59. Typical conflict patterns The false conflict We’re talking about different things Assuming we have no options We always have options Today against tomorrow We can repay debt in small steps Not enough resources There are ways to do more with the same resources Conflating means and ends There’s another way to achieve the goal
60. 5/7 Did you get any ideas to look at your conflicts differently?
62. Recommended Resources Summary from www.agilecoach.net “The Logical Thinking Process” – H.W. Dettmer “It’s not Luck” – E. Goldratt “Thinking in Systems” – D. Meadows
64. About this session What do we mean by “Conflict” ? Name a conflict you’d like to resolve A conflict we prepared earlier Patterns of Conflict Ideas for resolving your conflict Further reading Session feedback
65. Three types of Conflict I need X and the opposite of X That’s not possible, is it? I need X and Y but I can’t have both I have to choose, don’t I? I want X. They want Y. We can’t both be right Only one of us can win, at best.
66. What do we need to resolve conflicts? Willingness to find a solution Refuse to compromise Common goal Articulate the conflict Explore solutions Surface assumptions Challenge assumptions A dash of creativity
67. The Shallow Thinking Process A problem Happy Days Root Cause Analysis THE Solution This is what we needed all along! Why don’t we have what we need? Magic Happens Here
68. The Logical Thinking Process Intermediate Objectives Map Prerequisite/ Transition Tree How do we get there? In small steps. What is our goal? What are we missing? Future Reality Tree Current Reality Tree Would that work? What could possibly go wrong? Why don’t we have what we need? Magic Happens Here Conflict Resolution Diagram What could be done to resolve the underlying fundamental conflict?
69. The Conflict Resolution Diagram Articulate the conflict Find the common objective Review clarity and logic Find the assumptions Challenge the assumptions Explore potential solutions
73. Thank you! Introductions Consultant. Storyteller. Games Maker. Consultant. Project Manager. Games Maker. His Blog: blog.nayima.be Her Blog: www.selfishprogramming.org NAYIMA We make play work
Editor's Notes
Portia and Pascal introduce themselves by sharing a bit about their background.
Pascal: Maybe this is too negative?This is how I used to think: whenever there’s a problem, we’ll do a root cause analysis, some magic happens and we come up with a breakthrough solution that suddenly solves all problems. Applause!Of course, it never worked that way. Except in movies.
But then I learned about a better way of thinking
To do root cause analysis, we use the Current Reality Tree.Before you can analyse what you miss, you must know what you what (isn’t there a song like “You can’t have what you want unless you know what you want” ?). That’s why we use the IO mapAfter the magic happens and we come up with a solution, we use the future reality tree to “test drive” the idea, to see if it works and to see what undesired side effects we might generate.Then we find a way to implement the solution in small steps.The magic happens with the CRD tool. It’s a step by step approach to understand the fundamental conflicts that underlie the root cause and to find the real breakthrough solutions.
TODO: redraw so that titles are correct
TODO: add images
TODO: redraw so that titles are correct
What is the conflict about?Sales says that we should offer more customised products. Ideally, we would have a different product for every customer, perfectly tailored to to their needs- Operations thinks that’s madness. The way forward is to standardise products. Today’s system is a complete mess with lots of little variations in the work. How can you expect
Once we’ve articulated the conflict, we need to find out why we need those two things.We read this diagram as To have objective, we need Requirement 1 and 2. To have Requirement ½ we need prerequisite ½
TODO: redraw so that titles are correct
TODO: redraw so that titles are correct
TODO: redraw so that titles are correct
TODO: redraw so that titles are correct
TODO: redraw so that titles are correct
Maybe over 3 slides (1, 2 and 3, 4 and 5)
TODO: redraw so that titles are correct
Maybe over 3 slides (1, 2 and 3, 4 and 5)
TODO: redraw so that titles are correct
Maybe over 3 slides (1, 2 and 3, 4 and 5)
TODO: redraw so that titles are correct
Maybe over 3 slides (1, 2 and 3, 4 and 5)
TODO: redraw so that titles are correct
Maybe over 3 slides (1, 2 and 3, 4 and 5)
TODO: redraw so that titles are correct
TODO: redraw so that titles are correct
Maybe over 3 slides (1, 2 and 3, 4 and 5)
Maybe over 3 slides (1, 2 and 3, 4 and 5)
Maybe over 3 slides (1, 2 and 3, 4 and 5)
Maybe over 3 slides (1, 2 and 3, 4 and 5)
Maybe over 3 slides (1, 2 and 3, 4 and 5)
TODO: add images
TODO: add images
Pascal: Maybe this is too negative?This is how I used to think: whenever there’s a problem, we’ll do a root cause analysis, some magic happens and we come up with a breakthrough solution that suddenly solves all problems. Applause!Of course, it never worked that way. Except in movies.
To do root cause analysis, we use the Current Reality Tree.Before you can analyse what you miss, you must know what you what (isn’t there a song like “You can’t have what you want unless you know what you want” ?). That’s why we use the IO mapAfter the magic happens and we come up with a solution, we use the future reality tree to “test drive” the idea, to see if it works and to see what undesired side effects we might generate.Then we find a way to implement the solution in small steps.The magic happens with the CRD tool. It’s a step by step approach to understand the fundamental conflicts that underlie the root cause and to find the real breakthrough solutions.
TODO: redraw so that titles are correct
We are constantly striving to improve. Give your Gift of Feedback by completing a session retrospective.Everyone take a sheet of paper. Split it into 4 quadrants.In the top left quadrant, note down all the things that went well.In the top right quadrant, note down all the things that went wrong.In the bottom left quadrant, note down your puzzles such as outstanding questions you have as a result of the attending the session.In the bottom right quadrant, note down your lessons learned.
