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Jazz as a Metaphor for Agile Management

C
Charlie Berg

The document discusses jazz as a metaphor for agile management by comparing characteristics of jazz bands and jam sessions to principles of complex adaptive systems and collaboration. Key points include that jazz bands are self-organizing, adaptable, and responsive to their environment similar to organizations that emphasize innovation and adaptiveness. Jam sessions involve collaboration through cooperation like rhythmic support and coordination like planning solos. The goal is to apply lessons from high-speed collaboration in jam sessions to product development.

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Jazz A Metaphor for Agile Management Charlie Berg [email_address] August, '09
The New Business Environment... Under conditions of hypercompetition & creative destruction, the best one can hope for is temporary competitive advantages that, with luck, add up to long-term survival. These temporary advantages emanate from organizations that emphasize innovation, dynamism, and adaptiveness, blended with just enough stability & discipline to keep them from spinning out of control. - Lee Dyer/Jeff Ercksen, Cornell Univ. Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies
Why Is Jazz a Useful Metaphor? Jazz Bands are organizations that are: Self-organizing Self-motivated Studied in their domain Adept at change Responsive to environment Perfect development team model! Jazz Bands can be viewed as Complex Adaptive Systems
Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS) Dynamic network of many agents acting in parallel, constantly acting and reacting to what the other agents are doing. Constant interactions among agents amplify into bifurcations where agents forced to make choices. Feedback from these choices create additional bifurcations, additional choices, etc. Subtle interplay of cooperation, competition, creation & adaptation
Characteristics of CAS Self-organizing no one point of control Operate at the edge of chaos System Behavior & Solutions are emergent, not pre-determined Maps to... " organizations that emphasize innovation, dynamism, and adaptiveness, blended with just enough stability & discipline to keep them from spinning out of control.
Jazz Band on the Stand Jam sessions slightly different (freer) than organized gig We'll analyze a session Jam sessions are: Typically leaderless Anybody can call a tune to play Assume prior expertise & knowledge of theory, harmony, tunes, aural traditions Head charts arrangements are done on the fly
Sidebar Aural Tradition A particular musical phrase or snippet that is associated with a particular jazz standard Ex: Standard bebop intro to All the Things You Are Created by Dizzy Gillespie (1944 or 1945) Based on Rachmaninoff Prelude in C sharp minor
Sergei Rachmaninoff 1873 1942 Emigrated to S. California after Russian Revolution Virtuoso pianist Fan of Paul Whiteman (early jazz orchestra)
Dizzy Gillespie 1917 1993 Compositional father of bebop movement Introduced AfroCuban music to jazz
Charlie Bird Parker 1920 - 1955 Considered (w Diz) father of bebop Icon of the Bop movement, Beat Generation & post-war African-American literature
Dick Twardzik 1931 1955 Studied classical piano & theory Madame Chaloff & New England Conservatory May have introduced Schoenberg & Bartok to Bird
Calling a Tune (Step by Step) Somebody (not necessarily the leader) suggests a standard to play Silence or agreement signify acceptance by the group Intro, head, location of solos, outro decided Some member of group Musicians optionally volunteer to solo or solos decided during playing Solo order scoped out
Playing the Tune (Usually) person who called tune counts off Solos pre-determined, or determined by eye contact/hand signals, or stepping to front of band Non-soloing horns might collaborate behind soloist for backing harmony parts/shout chorus
Ending the Tune Hand-signals or shout-out to return to head Hand-signals to end Rhythm section or lead horn will provide aural queues for ending
Charlie Christian One of earliest electric guitarists Member of late 30s Benny Goodman band & sextet Early proponent of bop Died of TB @ 25 This jam session is 1940, waiting for Goodman @ a CBS recording studio Very difficult key
Ella Fitzgerald with... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WgloYX44F4 Open separate browser window to above URL 際際滷share doesn't support video AND audio tracks!!! Roy Eldridge (trumpet) Known as influence of Dizzy, Miles Fierce session competitor Eddie Lockjaw Davis (tenor sax) Hard bopper Basie in the late 40s Tommy Flanagan (piano) Ella's accompanist Well known bop pianist
Collaboration in Jam Sessions Amherst Wilder Foundation's Collaboration Handbook collaboration is... Cooperation Coordination
Cooperation (in Collaboration) Cooperation Support individual learning goals Synchronous & asynchronous in member participation Crowd/organization sourcing to solve individual problem Akin to rhythm section support of solos (including comping & head charts)
Coordination (in Collaboration) Coordination Participants work together as a group to achieve a common goal. Coordination maps to planning in product dev. Akin to group decisions about tune form (start, end, tune selection, etc.)
As Applied to Agile Scrum tool for coordination Not typically used for cooperation, i.e. Group-sourcing design problems How do we encourage more & faster group interactions to solving real problems? Mentoring as one methodology for group-sourcing Akin to buddy-programming Use of collaboration tools/infrastructure Other resources/techniques?
Some Conclusions/Ideas Self-directed teams are solution-enabled More flexible More incentive for creativity Implications on hiring senior is better A Common Semiotics important Support an active, documented oral tradition of semantic short cuts, processes, design tricks, etc.
Some Conclusions/Ideas Common tools for Creativity Self-Management Solution-finding tools Collaboration acceleration is key Coordination is pretty well covered in Agile methodologies what about cooperation to solve design problems?
The Goal... How do we get the rate of collaboration in jam session to product development? Your chorus...fall in!
Allen Eager 1927 2003 Polymath Bebop tenor sax; professional skier, race car driver, and artist; LSD w Timothy Leary L to r:Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Allen Eager, Kai Winding

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Jazz as a Metaphor for Agile Management

  • 1. Jazz A Metaphor for Agile Management Charlie Berg [email_address] August, '09
  • 2. The New Business Environment... Under conditions of hypercompetition & creative destruction, the best one can hope for is temporary competitive advantages that, with luck, add up to long-term survival. These temporary advantages emanate from organizations that emphasize innovation, dynamism, and adaptiveness, blended with just enough stability & discipline to keep them from spinning out of control. - Lee Dyer/Jeff Ercksen, Cornell Univ. Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies
  • 3. Why Is Jazz a Useful Metaphor? Jazz Bands are organizations that are: Self-organizing Self-motivated Studied in their domain Adept at change Responsive to environment Perfect development team model! Jazz Bands can be viewed as Complex Adaptive Systems
  • 4. Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS) Dynamic network of many agents acting in parallel, constantly acting and reacting to what the other agents are doing. Constant interactions among agents amplify into bifurcations where agents forced to make choices. Feedback from these choices create additional bifurcations, additional choices, etc. Subtle interplay of cooperation, competition, creation & adaptation
  • 5. Characteristics of CAS Self-organizing no one point of control Operate at the edge of chaos System Behavior & Solutions are emergent, not pre-determined Maps to... " organizations that emphasize innovation, dynamism, and adaptiveness, blended with just enough stability & discipline to keep them from spinning out of control.
  • 6. Jazz Band on the Stand Jam sessions slightly different (freer) than organized gig We'll analyze a session Jam sessions are: Typically leaderless Anybody can call a tune to play Assume prior expertise & knowledge of theory, harmony, tunes, aural traditions Head charts arrangements are done on the fly
  • 7. Sidebar Aural Tradition A particular musical phrase or snippet that is associated with a particular jazz standard Ex: Standard bebop intro to All the Things You Are Created by Dizzy Gillespie (1944 or 1945) Based on Rachmaninoff Prelude in C sharp minor
  • 8. Sergei Rachmaninoff 1873 1942 Emigrated to S. California after Russian Revolution Virtuoso pianist Fan of Paul Whiteman (early jazz orchestra)
  • 9. Dizzy Gillespie 1917 1993 Compositional father of bebop movement Introduced AfroCuban music to jazz
  • 10. Charlie Bird Parker 1920 - 1955 Considered (w Diz) father of bebop Icon of the Bop movement, Beat Generation & post-war African-American literature
  • 11. Dick Twardzik 1931 1955 Studied classical piano & theory Madame Chaloff & New England Conservatory May have introduced Schoenberg & Bartok to Bird
  • 12. Calling a Tune (Step by Step) Somebody (not necessarily the leader) suggests a standard to play Silence or agreement signify acceptance by the group Intro, head, location of solos, outro decided Some member of group Musicians optionally volunteer to solo or solos decided during playing Solo order scoped out
  • 13. Playing the Tune (Usually) person who called tune counts off Solos pre-determined, or determined by eye contact/hand signals, or stepping to front of band Non-soloing horns might collaborate behind soloist for backing harmony parts/shout chorus
  • 14. Ending the Tune Hand-signals or shout-out to return to head Hand-signals to end Rhythm section or lead horn will provide aural queues for ending
  • 15. Charlie Christian One of earliest electric guitarists Member of late 30s Benny Goodman band & sextet Early proponent of bop Died of TB @ 25 This jam session is 1940, waiting for Goodman @ a CBS recording studio Very difficult key
  • 16. Ella Fitzgerald with... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WgloYX44F4 Open separate browser window to above URL 際際滷share doesn't support video AND audio tracks!!! Roy Eldridge (trumpet) Known as influence of Dizzy, Miles Fierce session competitor Eddie Lockjaw Davis (tenor sax) Hard bopper Basie in the late 40s Tommy Flanagan (piano) Ella's accompanist Well known bop pianist
  • 17. Collaboration in Jam Sessions Amherst Wilder Foundation's Collaboration Handbook collaboration is... Cooperation Coordination
  • 18. Cooperation (in Collaboration) Cooperation Support individual learning goals Synchronous & asynchronous in member participation Crowd/organization sourcing to solve individual problem Akin to rhythm section support of solos (including comping & head charts)
  • 19. Coordination (in Collaboration) Coordination Participants work together as a group to achieve a common goal. Coordination maps to planning in product dev. Akin to group decisions about tune form (start, end, tune selection, etc.)
  • 20. As Applied to Agile Scrum tool for coordination Not typically used for cooperation, i.e. Group-sourcing design problems How do we encourage more & faster group interactions to solving real problems? Mentoring as one methodology for group-sourcing Akin to buddy-programming Use of collaboration tools/infrastructure Other resources/techniques?
  • 21. Some Conclusions/Ideas Self-directed teams are solution-enabled More flexible More incentive for creativity Implications on hiring senior is better A Common Semiotics important Support an active, documented oral tradition of semantic short cuts, processes, design tricks, etc.
  • 22. Some Conclusions/Ideas Common tools for Creativity Self-Management Solution-finding tools Collaboration acceleration is key Coordination is pretty well covered in Agile methodologies what about cooperation to solve design problems?
  • 23. The Goal... How do we get the rate of collaboration in jam session to product development? Your chorus...fall in!
  • 24. Allen Eager 1927 2003 Polymath Bebop tenor sax; professional skier, race car driver, and artist; LSD w Timothy Leary L to r:Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Allen Eager, Kai Winding