The document discusses scaling software innovation in large enterprises. It outlines two journeys: from the core to the edge, involving renovating legacy systems; and from the edge to the core, establishing innovation teams. A hybrid approach is needed to evolve an innovation capability while connecting teams to the IT core through practices like lean startup, agile development, and DevOps. The document provides examples of innovation projects and outlines challenges in bridging the edge and core.
1. SCALING THE LEAN START UP
IN THE ENTERPRISE
SOFTWARE INNOVATION
February 11, 2016
Agenda
1. Vision: Software Innovation at Scale (Digital Enterprise)
2. Journey One: Core to Edge (Renovating the Core)
3. Journey Two: Edge to the Core (Lean Startup)
4. Bridging the Gap: Connecting the Edge and Core
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2. INTRODUCTION FEATURED PRESENTERS
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Dru joined NVISIA as a senior consultant in
1996 and has been involved in developing
software innovation teams for both NVISIA
and our clients. Dru's experience spans 20
years of software innovation, delivering
breakthrough software platforms for large
enterprises using C++/CORBA, Enterprise
Java, NoSQL and Single Page Apps with
Microservice Architectures, including
several cloud based deployments.
Dru Henke
Managing Director
Josh Birenbaum
Director
Josh serves as the capability lead for the
Application Architecture and Development
team at NVISIA. Josh has more than 18
years of experience in bringing software
innovation to global leaders in health care
technology, health care insurance and
government services. His expertise
includes application architecture, solution
design, business analysis and the agile
delivery of business applications.
3. INTRODUCTION SOFTWARE INNOVATION
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A digital enterprise is an
organization that uses
technology as a
competitive advantage in
its internal and external
operations. As information
technology (IT) has
reshaped the infrastructure
and operations of
enterprises, digital
enterprise has taken on
different meanings.
- Techtarget.com
SOFTWARE INNOVATION
Discovering, evaluating and executing on opportunities that are
created by emerging software technology and usually focused on
increasing engagement with customers and front-line employees.
SOFTWARE INNOVATION IN AN ENTERPRISE Discovering,
evaluating and executing on opportunities that are created by
emerging software technology and usually focused on increasing
engagement with customers and front-line employees. Executing in an
enterprise further requires connecting innovation teams with core IT
through lean startup disciplines, visionary leadership, lean analysis,
agile architecture, agile development, lean data management and
DevOps.
There is a significant difference!
4. INTRODUCTION SOFTWARE INNOVATION IN AN ENTERPRISE
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Gartner® predicts 75%
of IT organizations will
have a Bimodal IT
capability by 2017.
“…half will make a
mess.”
- Simon Mingay, VP Research at Gartner
Bimodal IT: How to Have It All Without Making a Mess
SOFTWARE
INNOVATION
Lean Startup
- Eric Ries
Table Stakes in
the Digital
Enterprise
SOFTWARE
INNOVATION
IN AN
INTEGRATED
ENTERPRISE
Lean
Enterprise
…innovation
at scale
Bimodal IT
Connect
Innovation with
Core IT
5. ENTERPRISE SOFTWARE INNOVATION CHALLENGES
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IT’S DIFFERENT
Change breaks the status quo and requires exceptions to
established process
MOVE FROM COMMAND AND CONTROL
Building a software innovation capability in an enterprise setting
requires a shift from central and siloed control of software
development disciplines to autonomous, collaborative approach
with multidisciplinary, self-directed teams
EMPHASIS ON LEARNING
Focus on validation of assumptions, using real
users and then have the courage to pivot
when necessary.
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6. ENTERPRISE SOFTWARE INNOVATION HOW WILL COMPANIES MESS IT UP?
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HOW THEY MESS IT UP?
Not dealing with Bimodal - assuming innovation (Mode2) teams are just Agile
Not aligning traditional IT teams with innovation focused teams
Leaving integration as an afterthought
Starting without a “blueprint” (a strategy and high-level plan) for innovation efforts
EXTREME STRATEGIES
1. Just do it by kicking off isolated innovation efforts >> chaos!
2. Renovate the core first, then innovation is easy >> Unable to
innovate until 2020
PRACTICAL STRATEGIES - HYBRID APPROACH
GOAL: Evolve a software innovation capability that scales
• Focus the edge software on the business of customer engagement
• Connect the edge software to IT core by design
• Map out an informed path to renovating the IT core
7. ENTERPRISE SOFTWARE INNOVATION EDGE AND CORE
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FROM THE CORE
Exposing common services and expose
business entities and services with a
domain driven model. Look for
opportunities to be come more agile in
the core with shorter release cycles.
FROM THE EDGE
Isolate, focus and lead learning
organizations in a lean startup model. Be
mindful of aligning teams with core
technology and tools where possible.
Always considering long-term support
resource balance between edge and core
resources.
8. JOURNEY ONE FROM THE CORE TO THE EDGE
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What is the core?
• Legacy systems that your business
is built around
• Often have evolved over time
Why change the core?
• Modernization
• Quicker turnarounds
• Shift in business needs
• Competitive advantage though
improving customer engagement
How to change the core?
• Determine roadmap
• Innovation with borders
• Look at people and processes, not just
technologies
• Consider reuse of existing resources
• Focus on areas of need and
differentiation
• Balance the new with the old
• Show progress
9. JOURNEY ONE FROM THE CORE TO THE EDGE
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What?
Primary customer facing web application that
gathers tests results from membership for
scoring purposes
Why?
Modernization: Legacy app dependent on
Adobe PDF plugin that limited browser
compatibility and provided less than ideal
customer experience
How?
2 week HTML5/Javascript prototype
Limited scope of initial release
Target small subset of forms to limit impact and
gather feedback
Full migration plan
Run a micro service architecture proof of concept
in parallel
Leverage SMEs
Form Entry System
10. JOURNEY ONE FROM THE CORE TO THE EDGE
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What?
Health insurance portal
Why?
Keeping up with competition and shift in
business need: Industry was moving more
toward mobile devices, competition provided
features that could only be performed on their
desktop app, and with the demographic of health
care exchange more members had access to cell
phones, but not desktops
How?
Reused existing EJB service layer
Carved out MVP with subset of features most
needed
Added mobile specific differentiators
Worked within waterfall environment in agile
ways
Collaborated with marketing on content driven
campaigns
Mobile Membership Portal
11. JOURNEY ONE FROM THE CORE TO THE EDGE
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What?
Monthly payment system for state retirees. Paper
and COBOL program based solution.
Why?
Modernization and quicker turnarounds: Cost
savings to move away from carbon paper
enrollments, many of the COBOL developers
were nearing retirement, needed to support
increasing scale. As retirement laws and rules
changed, needed to be able to incorporate
updates more efficiently.
How?
More of a ‘big bang’ approach
Had to overcome previous failed attempts
Resistance to change
Heavy parallel testing efforts
Leveraged business, technical and support
SMEs
Data migration challenges
Inconsistent business rules
Annuity Payment System
12. JOURNEY TWO FROM THE EDGE TO THE CORE
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WHAT IS THE EDGE?
In the parlance of Bimodal IT the “Edge” is where Innovation Teams live. Innovation Teams strive to
leverage the creative power of startups within an established enterprise.
BUT ESTABLISHED ENTERPRISES AREN’T STARTUPS
Of course, there are key differences between a “true” startup and an Innovation Team
SOME STARTUP ADVANTAGES
• No entrenched culture
• No ”Curse of Knowledge”
• Allows free brainstorming without ideas getting shot down for being "impossible”
• Technological freedom
• Can lead to extremely fast cycle times for testing new features and product ideas
SOME INNOVATION TEAM ADVANTAGES
• Financial security (not looking for outside funding)
• Can leverage recruiting, HR, and other "shared services”
• Deep subject matter expertise (needs to be balanced against the "Curse of Knowledge")
• When product is ready, there is often a significant structure already in place to sell and support it
13. JOURNEY TWO FROM THE EDGE TO THE CORE
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HOW CAN I GET THE ADVANTAGES OF A STARTUP?
Break your entrenched culture…
• Create an "island" for the Innovation Team
• Ideally in a physically separate office space
• Mix people from across the enterprise
Break the "Curse of Knowledge"
• Requires careful selection of team members, the majority of which need to be new to the field
Grant technical freedom
• Minimal architectural/technical governance
• Determine the minimum number of "rules” – just enough to enable the product to be supported in
the future
14. JOURNEY TWO FROM THE EDGE TO THE CORE
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WHAT ELSE DO I NEED TO DO?
Charge the team with a mission
Innovation teams need to be established around a mission. On successful innovation teams, the
members need to be able to connect to the “why?”
“Whys” that can drive an innovation team:
…to accelerate benefits to the aged, blind, and disabled
…to stop drug traffickers from laundering money
…to improve outcomes for students
Apply pressure
Participation on an innovation team should feel like a privilege.
Talk to customers
Customer feedback is a primary mechanism for proceed or pivot.
Reward success
If you’ve created a true innovation team, they worked very hard to succeed.
15. BLUEPRINT PROCESS MICROSERVICE IMPLEMENTATION
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• Establish key
goals for initial
demonstration
of benefits from
micro services
• Determine
initial scope of
micro services
effort
Sponsor
All Teams
In Scope
Sponsor, Leads
& SMEs
Team
Representatives
Project
Team(s)
Establish
Expectations
Gather
Information
Share Findings
& Discuss Goals
Execute
Blueprint
Collaborative
Solution
Design
Team Leads
& SMEs
Demonstrate
Sponsor,
Leads & SMEs
Agree to
Launch
SUMMITLISTEN LEARN ALIGN ARCHITECT VALIDATE LAUNCH
• Meet with key
stakeholders to
identify needs and
drivers for
Microservices
solution
• Perform technical
and business
surveys for
understanding of
existing
environment and
related pain points
• Establish baseline
understanding of
micro services
solution
• Develop
consensus on
value and
implementation
approach for micro
services solution
• Identify candidate
1st project for
implementation
• Show the changes
in the development
process for the
chosen project
• Identify key artifacts
and timelines
• Establish new
domain role/
responsibilities, as
applied to the
project
• Chose target tech
stack for the proof of
concept
• Vet changes to
people,
development
process and
artifacts alignment
with stakeholder
goals
• Prototype micro
service architecture
to prove out tech
stack and
demonstrate key
benefits
• Communicate
micro service
implementation
strategy
• Reach consensus
micro services
implementation
steps
• Use proof of
concept as a
template and adjust
as needed for initial
effort