Episode #224: The Science of Lean, DevOps and Building High Performing Organisations with Nicole Forsgren

Today, I am speaking with Nicole Forsgren. Nicole is an IT impacts expert who is best known for her work with tech professionals and as the lead investigator on the largest DevOps studies to date. She is a consultant, expert, and researcher in knowledge management, IT adoption and impacts, and DevOps. In a previous life, she was a professor, sysadmin, and hardware performance analyst. Nicole has been awarded public and private research grants (funders include NASA and the NSF), and her work has been featured in various media outlets, peer-reviewed journals, and conferences. She holds a PhD in management information systems and a master’s degree in accounting. Nicole is CEO and Chief Scientist at DevOps Research and Assessment (DORA).   Her first book, Accelerate: The Science of Lean Software and DevOps explores the topic of Building and Scaling High Performing Technology Organizations.   I had a great time chatting with Nicole and learning about, not only her Swedish ancestry, her favorite ice cream flavour and her love for working out - which might have something to do with the ice cream, but learning more about what makes a high performing team tick.   You will learn lots in this conversation, including: Why traditional performance measurement metrics such as utilisation and lines of code are flawed and what to use instead What characteristics differentiate high performing teams from low performing team and how to start embedding these characteristics into your organisation; and How to effectively drive culture change   This just scratches the surface of what we discussed so please sit back, walk, run or whatever it is you do when you listen to podcasts and enjoy my conversation with Nicole Forsgren.   Topics Discussed: What DevOps is and why it matters Waterfall and stage gate versus agile and DevOps Why speed is fundamental to success The research behind the book What differentiates high performers from low performers How to effectively measure performance Flaws in common measurement approaches Maturity models v capability models Change advisory boards How to do QA in a fast-moving team Breaking down silos The power of cross functional, self organised teams How to drive culture change Continuous delivery How to build a truly engaged organisation How to avoid burnout Simple things companies can do to transition   Show Notes: Get the Book: Pre-order on Amazon at: https://amzn.to/2wtaIW9 Web: Nicolefv.com Twitter: @nicolefv DORA: http://devops-research.com   The Business Case Alternative ebook: http://bit.ly/bizcaseebook/ Nudge (book): https://amzn.to/2Nh9ofX Thinking Fast and Slow (book): https://amzn.to/2LruWVI The Undoing Project: https://amzn.to/2BO8IO9   Join the conversation on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/futuresquared/ where you can discuss episodes, request guests, propose questions for forthcoming guests and access exclusive content and special offers! Listen on iTunes @ goo.gl/sMnEa0  Listen on Stitcher @ www.stitcher.com/podcast/future  Listen on Google Play @  bit.ly/FSGoog  ‍ If you've got any questions on this podcast feel free to send an email to [email protected] or tweet me on Twitter @steveglaveski or @future_squared  Follow me on Instagram: @thesteveglaveski Like us?  ‍ It'd make our day if you took 1 minute to show some love on iTunes, Stitcher or Soundcloud by subscribing, sharing and giving us a 5 star rating.  ‍ To sign up to our mailing list head to www.futuresquared.xyz  For more information on Collective Campus, our innovation hub, school and consultancy based in Australia and Singapore check out www.collectivecampus.io GET COACHED BY LUCAS: https://www.ergogenic.health/product/coaching GET LUCAS TO DESIGN YOUR SUPPLEMENT PROTOCOL: https://www.ergogenic.health/product/custom-stack   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.