Swarming

SwarmingDhaval panchal

2015 Swarming by Dhaval Panchal is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

throwing bodies at the problem is NOT swarming

swarm

a large number of animate or inanimate things massed together and usually in motion.- merriam-webster.com

swarm intelligenceThe collective behavior that emerges from a group of social insects has been dubbed swarm intelligence

swarm intelligence : HBR [2001]

CharacteristicsFlexibilitycolony can adapt to changing environmentRobustnessgroup can perform its functions even when individuals fails Self-Organizationneither centrally controlled nor locally supervised

swarm intelligence: HBR [2001]

200 million insects for every human on planet

source: Bug Info -smithsonian institution

researchObserve social insect behaviorDevelop a model that explainsUse model as inspiration Create practical experiments to solve similar problems]

Biologists

some applications

What can nature teach us (humans) about organization?How can we apply principles learned from nature to our advantage?Is there a practical way to use these strategies?

DisclaimerResearchereruditetinker

Swarming: People

every one doing different thingsevery one doing same thingSoldiers in Parade(little or no individual autonomy)

People at a mall(high individual autonomy)some kind of coordinated response

conventional notionsswarming is a fire drillswarming means every body works on the same thingswarming means absence of rules or processesswarming is equally useful in all environments

error is architectureIn social inscets errors and randomness are not bugs, they contribute to their success by enabling them to discover and EXPLORE in addition to EXPLOIT. Self Organization feeds itself upon errors.

principal goalSwarming is about exploring for varieties in response and exploiting options that yield good outcomes.

variety is absence of uniformity - Ashby

Ashbys law of requisite variety

response varietydemand variety from environmentRestrictions of variety in outcomes to the subset that is valued as good demands certain variety in response to variety in demand from environmentsurviveVr > VofailVr < Vocomplexity match

exampleScrum Team Awesome is facing a tight deadline with stakeholders (five) demanding increase in scope and cannot find agreement. Stakeholders frequently make direct requests to team membersWhat are some possible outcomes ?missed delivery datemissed delivery scope on datemissed delivery date and scopeTeam Awesome reprimandedStakeholder(s) apologize for confusion ;)product shipped on time, with all scope and poor qualityexpectations are well managed and right product is shipped at the right time with the right quality ( good outcome ) etc..

exampleHow should this scrum team respond ?IdeologicalProduct Owner takes ownership of prioritizing product backlog and responsibility of managing stakeholder politics/expectations to effectively take ownership of date and scope changes.TypicalEvery team member does their own thing. Some work late to meet their favorite/feared stakeholders requirements. Others feel overwhelmed and dig into their module of technical system.

ConvergencedivergenceOutcomeDepends on talent of product ownerOutcomeUnpredictable, Luck dictates!

Trying to get stakeholder(s) to agree will eat away valuable time away from already tight schedule.

Reducing scope will likely upset one or more stakeholders who may stand in way of funding next project or result in a crappy product or both.Example : Variety in challengesTight deadlineMultiple stakeholdersincrease in scopeagreement between stakeholder(s)Stakeholders assigning work to team membersAt least five (5), most likely much higher than 5, when stakeholders perspective is included.

Will NOT workchange one variable at a time Classical Approach

Variety destroys varietyAshbys law

Variety of challenge must be met with variety in responsei.e., Must address all challenges simultaneously not individually

complete action brings intelligenceTheories, ideas, beliefs, dogmas kill originality and create divides. Total action unites.- Jiddu KrishnamurthyStriving for Ideals of being _____ (agile) get in the way of doing.

Swarming Examples (people)Open Space TechnologyWikipediaLarge Scale Agile team formation eventsOpen Source

When a simpler linear* response can be attempted, try that first.

*response in alignment with problem vector is a linear response. Example a technical response to a technical problem

Swarming TriggersTypical linear response did not workFeeling overwhelmedToo many issues at the same timeEnvironment introduced new variety of challengeMismatched anxietyInability to understand pattern in demand variety

Swarming Mindset

action biasExplore and Exploit are action states. Try over think

If a variation works, exploit it further; ask not why it works.

Dynamic ContextDo not assume environment to be unchanging.

Accept that solutions are valid merely to the point they are working

Give up on UnderstandingDo not attempt to fully understand.

Collect information/measurements necessary for job, no more.

Pattern SkepticA recognizable pattern within; never describes the whole.

Knots : Utterly un-uderstandable areas of problem or solution.

swarming tenets

Tenet:Personal AutonomyIndividual in a Swarm can choose to maintain explore or exploit state on their own accord, irrespective of the overall state of swarm.

Tenet : Personal AccountabilityYou are completely and exclusively responsible for your own actions. just doing what Im told - is a cop out.

Tenet : FeedbackAnyone and Everyone impacted by a member behavior provides impact feedback (not judgmental) to member (only) AND Once and only once.

Tenet : ImproviseSupport, follow, help individuals or groups objective by your actions, in your own way.

Tenet : MimicWhen in doubt, copy someone.

Tenet : By ExampleNo one can decide for another. You decide - you act.

Tenet : ExpulsionIf you are on your own, then you have divorced from swarm or expelled by swarm. To participate join others.

Tenet : RecruitingWhen others mimic or act in support of your task, you have recruited.

Tenet : Connected ResponsivenessVulnerability (fragility) is connectivity without responsiveness. Responsiveness enables connectivity to lead to opportunity.- N. Taleb (Antifragility)

Tenet : ObjectionI Know it to be wrong.I thinkI guessexperience

ChallengesSwarming

Management by AbstractionResource = Meat based fungible programming unitKey Performance IndicatorsProxy authorityEmployees expected to do what they are toldLocalized metricsDissected goalsMatrix, Hierarchical, Bunch of boxes and arrowsPerformance appraisalsmore is betterTantrum driven : I want all scope, on time, on budget, I want it, I want it, I want ItRun it by me firstLocal optimizationsProxy measurementsToken MillennialShareholder value optimizationBad profitsUninspiring leadershipReportingChief MotivationAl factor : CYAChain of commanddisengaged employeesNO Investment in developing Employee CompetencyFear of rejectionModel obsessionIgnoring roughness of realityLack of prioritizationWorkers are perceived to be lazy & Management to be dumbThere is no problem that adding another layer of management cannot resolveOperating Mantra

Managing TasksManaging People

BlameDesire to have someone to blame will always impose hierarchical ineffectiveness to cooperation

limiting Organization Intelligence?Managers often live with a problem they do not understand, but cannot accept a solution they do not understand.

- yves morveuxWhen we don't cooperate we need more time, more equipment, more systems, more teams

Manage ContextControl OutcomesAll gardeners live in beautiful places because they make them so- Joseph Joubert

Greater CauseWe are little men serving great causes, but because the cause is great, something of that greatness falls upon us also.- Jawaharlal Nehru, 1946Reshape culture

- CEO Lego group: Jorgen Vig KnudstorpBlame is not for failure. It is for failing to help or ask for help

Connect Action to Consequence

Champion For Moral and Ethical Responsibility

-David MarquetWhen people feel like they matter, they make decisions as if the CEO is behind them or make even better decisions https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqmdLcyES_Q

To be Continued Evolution is a work in progress

InspirationYaneer Bar-Yam : http://new.livestream.com/wikimania/saturday2014/videos/58728433 : Wikimania 2014 LondonYves Morveux : https://www.ted.com/talks/yves_morieux_as_work_gets_more_complex_6_rules_to_simplify#t-7329 : Ted Talks 2013Eric Bonabeau and Christopher Meyer: Swarm IntelligenceSteven Johnson : EmergencePrinciples of self-organizing systems - W.Ross Ashby Requisite variety and its implications for control of complex systems - W. Ross Ashby 1958David Marquet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqmdLcyES_QNassim Nicholas Taleb : Anti-fragility : Things that gain from disorder (Incerto)Dee Hock : Birth of Chaordic age

media creditsfireflies sync: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sROKYelaWbotoo many cooks spoil the broth: neil Moralee: flickrStarling swarm: Gail Johnson : flickrbee colony : us dept of agriculture : 20130522-NRCS-LSC-0180swarm of biting midges on soccer field : woodleywonderworks : flickrsouthwest 737 prepares for early morning departure : angelo DeSantisthe return of the king scene 138 : andy zeigert : flickrquadratures : GRASp lab : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQIMGV5vtd4#t=74 wrong way : robert fornal : flickrrobot business man : Iosphere : http://freedigitalphotos.netIndian alphonso mango - parshotam lal tandon : flickrchocolate box : jason Seb barber : flickrAnts a simulation : Digital frontiers : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kN0M49iqFRcMexican wave 2013 HD : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IfcFwseTdYthe Liverpool Central Library : Terry Kearney : Flickrcoschda : 46/365 : Flickrmind the gap : marco Leo : flickrEarth east : NASAyou have failed me brain : robocol decal : copyright uncertainThanksgiving postcards-095 : artvintage1800s.etsy.com : flickrdye : ikamayama : flickrTHe mirror: Riccardo Cuppini : FlickrMirror mirror : Marko Kivela : flickrRambo : Wikipediablame : Ian : flickrDont blame us : redwolfoz : fickrChildern playing at greenwich park4: visit greenwich : FlickrStop1 : Teunie van hernen : flickrjanmashtami celebrations in mumbai, india : sandeepachetan : flickrcompass study:Calsidyrose : flickrrandom scale free network : simon cockell: flickr crystal castle garden workers : john : flickr

Swarming by Dhaval Panchal is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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