Lack of Planning not Governance is the Problem

[Ian Weisser]

On Thu Dec 4 21:10:02 UTC 2014, Svetlana Belkin wrote:

> The problem that I'm seeing is that most of the teams (minus Ubuntu 
> GNOME) is that there is a lack of a plan that the teams can run by 
> each cycle.  I noticed that in almost every vUDS/UOS, the almost the 
> same topics are discussed.  Know why?  Because nothing, in the 
> previous cycle, has been done.

> What I think is a good solution to this is using a cycle assessment 

Thanks for raising the topic of the basic management cycle (plan ->
execute -> assess -> plan). It's a handy tool to have in your pocket for
a wide variety of endeavors.

It's a _management_ cycle, not a leadership cycle. The leader role is to
communicate and motivate within that framework: "Hey, we're going to
assess the last quarter's work now."

One of the main goals of UDS/vUDS/UOS is to provide the infrastructure
for open meetings specifically to do the 'assess' and 'plan' functions
of the management cycle.

So my takeaway from your problem statement is that either:
1) Some teams aren't doing the 'assess' and 'plan' functions at all...or
are doing them poorly (spinning their wheels), or
2) Some teams aren't doing the 'assess' and 'plan' functions at UOS (and
thereby missing a valuable opportunity), or
3) UOS is somehow creating a barrier...or is perhaps unhelpful for...the
'plan' and 'assess' functions, or
4) Some teams may not be skilled with the tools of assessing a project,
planning the next stage of a project, or with using the UOS tools to do
so.


So there are a couple corollary suggestions, if some of these are true:

a) Some teams might do two short 'Assess' and 'Plan' UOS sessions
instead of one long 'Update' session. This would emphasize the message,
especially to newcomers, that the two functions are separate, and that
both functions should be addressed.

Personally, I try to separate the two functions with a lunch break - I
find that it improves the output of both.


b) Perhaps we should assess how effective the UOS tools are for these
types of sessions. If some teams are not using blueprints, etherpads,
and UOS hangouts, then why not? How can UOS improve it's tools to make
UOS the preferred place for teams to do this work?

Could this be a mere training issue for some team members? What skills
and roles should teams consider to get the most out of UOS?



Kudos to belkinsa for bringing it up!


Cheers,

Ian