conflict resolution diagram tutorial
DESCRIPTION
Tutorial on how to use the Conflict Resolution Diagram. Presented by Portia Tung and Pascal Van Cauwenberghe at the Mini SPA conference, London, September 2010TRANSCRIPT
Resolving Conflicts without Compromisealso known as
“I want to have my cake and eat it!”
Pascal Van Cauwenberghe & Portia Tung
About us
Her Blog: www.selfishprogramming.org His Blog: blog.nayima.be
NAYIMA
We make play work
Consultant.Storyteller.Games Maker. Consultant.
Project Manager. Games Maker.
About this session
1. What do we mean by “Conflict” ?2. Name a conflict you’d like to resolve3. A conflict we prepared earlier4. Patterns of Conflict5. Ideas for resolving your conflict6. Further reading7. Session feedback
1/7WHAT DO WE MEAN BY CONFLICT?
“I want to live in the city...” “... AND in the country”
“I want to eat what I want...” “... AND be fit and healthy”
Manager: “We need to go faster to deliver more features”
Developers: “We need to go slower to increase quality.”
What do we need to resolve conflicts?
1. Willingness to find a solution– Refuse to compromise – Common goal
2. Articulate the conflict3. Explore solutions– Surface assumptions– Challenge assumptions– A dash of creativity
The Shallow Thinking Process
Root Cause Analysis
Why don’t we have what we need?
A problem
Magic Happens
Here
THE SolutionThis is what we needed all along!
Happy Days
The Logical Thinking Process
The Logical Thinking Process
Intermediate Objectives
Map
Current Reality Tree
Conflict Resolution
Diagram
Future Reality Tree
Prerequisite/Transition
TreeWhat is our goal?What are we missing?
Why don’t we have what we need?
What could be done to resolve the underlying fundamental conflict?
Would that work?What could possibly go wrong?
How do we get there?In small steps.
Magic Happens
Here
That’s what this session is
about
The Conflict Resolution Diagram
Objective
Prerequisite 1Requirement 1
Prerequisite 2Requirement 2
3 Types of Conflict
“I want to live in the city...” “... AND I want to live in the country”
Type 1:“I want X and the opposite of X”
That’s not possible, is it?
“I want to eat what I want...” “... AND be fit and healthy”
Type 2:“I want X and Y”
But I have to choose, right?
Manager: “We need to go faster to deliver more features”
Developers: “We need to go slower to increase quality.”
Type 3:“I want X. They want Y. We can’t both be right”
Only one of us can win, at best.
2/7 NAME A CONFLICT YOU’D LIKE TO RESOLVE
Three types of Conflict
1. I want X and the opposite of XThat’s not possible, is it?
2. I want X and Y but I can’t have bothI have to choose, don’t I?
3. I want X. They want Y.Only one of us can win, at best.
3/7 HERE’S ONE WE PREPARED EARLIER
Define products Sales Operations Billing Invoicing
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”
• 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
Step 1: Articulate the conflict
Objective
Prerequisite 1Requirement 1
Prerequisite 2Requirement 2
Step 1: Articulate the conflict
Sales:Customised Products
Operations:StandardisedProducts
Step 2: Find the common objective
Objective
Prerequisite 1Requirement 1
Prerequisite 2Requirement 2
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
Step 2: Find the common objective
Sell more
Be more efficient
Customised Products
StandardisedProducts
SurvivingBusiness
Tip: Strive for clarity first,then for correctness
Precise and crisp definitions to ensure everyone has the same
understanding
Step 2: Find the common objective
Increase salesIncrease margin
Reduce costsDeliver on SLA
Customised Products
StandardisedProducts
Profitability in ashrinking market
Step 3: Review clarity and logic
Increase salesIncrease margin
Reduce costsDeliver on SLA
Customised Products
StandardisedProducts
Profitability in ashrinking market
Step 3: Find the assumptions
Objective
Prerequisite 1Requirement 1
Prerequisite 2Requirement 2
1
2
3
5
4
Tip: Brainstorm assumptions
Go for quantityInclude “obvious” assumptions
Tip: Use “Extreme Assumptions”aka “Throw a tantrum”
X is the ONLY way to have YX is the BEST way to have Y
X guarantees Y
Step 3a: Find the assumptions
1
Increase salesIncrease margin
Reduce costsDeliver on SLA
Customised Products
StandardisedProducts
Profitability in ashrinking market
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
Step 3: Find the assumptions2
Increase salesIncrease margin
Reduce costsDeliver on SLA
Customised Products
StandardisedProducts
Profitability in ashrinking market
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
Step 3: Find the assumptions
3
Increase salesIncrease margin
Reduce costsDeliver on SLA
Customised Products
StandardisedProducts
Profitability in ashrinking market
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
Step 3: Find the assumptions
4 Increase salesIncrease margin
Reduce costsDeliver on SLA
Customised Products
StandardisedProducts
Profitability in ashrinking market
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
Step 3: Find the assumptions
5
Increase salesIncrease margin
Reduce costsDeliver on SLA
Customised Products
StandardisedProducts
Profitability in ashrinking market
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
Step 4: Challenge the assumptions
Objective
Prerequisite 1Requirement 1
Prerequisite 2Requirement 2
1
2
3
5
4
Step 4: Challenge the assumptions
1
2
3
5
4 Increase salesIncrease margin
Reduce costsDeliver on SLA
Customised Products
StandardisedProducts
Profitability in ashrinking market
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
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
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
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
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
The assumption we challenged
Product == Product
Increase salesIncrease margin
Reduce costsDeliver on SLA
Customised Products
StandardisedProducts
Profitability in ashrinking market
What if....
Sales and Operations were talking about different products?
That would explain the confusion
The resolved conflict
Customise Sales
Product
StandardiseOperational
Product
Sales Product != Operational Product
Increase salesIncrease margin
Reduce costsDeliver on SLA
Profitability in ashrinking market
There was another conflict
Operations:Coarse Products
Finance & audit:DetailedProducts
Low input andtrackingoverhead
Detailed auditingCost analysis
Lower costsReduce cycletime
How would you solve this conflict?
The Solution
Finance & Audit“Products”
Operations“Products”
Sales & Marketing“Products”
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
4/7 PATTERNS OF CONFLICT
Three types of Conflict
1. I need X and the opposite of XThat’s not possible, is it?
2. I need X and Y but I can’t have bothI have to choose, don’t I?
3. I want X. They want Y. We can’t both be rightOnly one of us can win, at best.
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”
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
5/7 DID YOU GET ANY IDEAS TO LOOK AT YOUR CONFLICTS DIFFERENTLY?
6/7 FURTHER READING
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
Summary
About this session
1. What do we mean by “Conflict” ?2. Name a conflict you’d like to resolve3. A conflict we prepared earlier4. Patterns of Conflict5. Ideas for resolving your conflict6. Further reading7. Session feedback
Three types of Conflict
1. I need X and the opposite of XThat’s not possible, is it?
2. I need X and Y but I can’t have bothI have to choose, don’t I?
3. I want X. They want Y. We can’t both be rightOnly one of us can win, at best.
What do we need to resolve conflicts?
1. Willingness to find a solution– Refuse to compromise – Common goal
2. Articulate the conflict3. Explore solutions– Surface assumptions– Challenge assumptions– A dash of creativity
The Shallow Thinking Process
Root Cause Analysis
Why don’t we have what we need?
A problem
Magic Happens
Here
THE SolutionThis is what we needed all along!
Happy Days
The Logical Thinking Process
Intermediate Objectives
Map
Current Reality Tree
Conflict Resolution
Diagram
Future Reality Tree
Prerequisite/Transition
TreeWhat is our goal?What are we missing?
Why don’t we have what we need?
What could be done to resolve the underlying fundamental conflict?
Would that work?What could possibly go wrong?
How do we get there?In small steps.
Magic Happens
Here
The Conflict Resolution Diagram
1. Articulate the conflict2. Find the common objective3. Review clarity and logic4. Find the assumptions5. Challenge the assumptions6. Explore potential solutions
Objective
Prerequisite 1Requirement 1
Prerequisite 2Requirement 2
1
2
3
5
4
We can have our cake AND eat it!
7/7 SESSION FEEDBACK
Session Retro
What Went Well (WWW) What Went Wrong (WWW)
Puzzles Lessons Learned
Thank You!for your Gift of Feedback
Thank you!
Introductions
Her Blog: www.selfishprogramming.org His Blog: blog.nayima.be
NAYIMA
We make play work
Consultant.Storyteller.Games Maker. Consultant.
Project Manager. Games Maker.