Systems Thinking

The SADMF is built upon systems thinking, with two bureaucratic systems operating under the Admiral’s Transformation Office.

Systems Thinking is the meta-principle that governs all other principles in the Scaled Agile DevOps Maturity Framework. It recognizes that an organization is not a collection of autonomous individuals making independent decisions, but a carefully designed system that produces predictable outcomes when operated correctly. The SADMF embraces this insight by defining two complementary systems that together ensure every aspect of the organization is planned, monitored, and controlled: the System of Authority (SOA) and the System of Service (SOS).

The System of Authority is the team of teams accountable for implanting SADMF in the organization. Staffed by contractors and consultants with diverse points of view, the SOA focuses on implementing the orders of the Admiral’s Transformation Office (ATO), updating plans, collecting metrics, performing assessments, and becoming trusted advisors to the teams. The word “implanting” is deliberate: SADMF is not adopted, it is implanted. Adoption implies choice, and the framework’s effectiveness depends on universal, mandatory participation. The SOA ensures that every team, every role, and every ceremony operates according to the framework’s specifications, with no room for local variation or adaptation.

The System of Service is the team of teams accountable for achieving deadlines and shipping code. The SOS looks to the chain of command for servant leadership to ensure self-governance and instruct the Feature Teams on their day-to-day work. The SOS is empowered to predictably deliver on time and on budget, which it achieves by following the processes defined by the SOA. The relationship between the two systems is clear: the SOA decides how work should be done, and the SOS does it. This separation ensures that the people doing the work are not distracted by questions about whether the process is effective, which is the SOA’s concern.

Both systems are accountable to the Admiral’s Transformation Office, which serves as the command-and-control center for the entire SADMF implementation. The ATO maintains the 5-8 year transformation roadmap, conducts assessments, tracks SADMF Maturity Scores, manages certification renewals, and provides general project management of the transformation. The ATO is led by the Admiral, who commands all direction, innovation, and methodology implemented at scale. This three-layer architecture – ATO, SOA, SOS – creates a system where authority flows downward, status flows upward, and work flows laterally under strict oversight.

Systems Thinking also means recognizing that every element of the framework reinforces every other element. The Metrics inform the Tribunal. The Tribunal informs PeopleWare. PeopleWare enforces Psychological Safety. Psychological Safety enables unquestioning adherence to the Practices. The Practices generate the Metrics. This closed loop is the hallmark of a well-designed system: it is self-reinforcing, self-correcting, and resistant to disruption by individual actors who might otherwise introduce unpredictability. As Demming observed, the system produces exactly what it is designed to produce. The SADMF system is designed to produce compliance, and it succeeds.

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