Tues Aug 11th - Chris McDermott: It's Systems, All the Way Down! and Tom Birch: Building a Four Digital Hub

Chris McDermott: It's Systems, All the Way Down! Deming is known for stating that ""95% of the performance of an organisation is attributable to the system (processes, technology, work design, regulations, etc) and 5% are attributable to the individual"". But Deming was just talking about the manufacturing industry right? In the creative industries that we work in does the system play such a key role? Surely we need creative individuals, rock star developers and the like to be successful.  This talk will introduce the audience to systems and systems thinking while dipping into the mirky world of complex adaptive systems. We'll explore the difference between the closed predictable systems where Deming spent much of his time and the open probabilistic systems that we in the creative industries work in. We'll also look at some of the techniques advocated by the lean and agile communities and see how they help us develop more effective systems. Bio: Chris is a agile coach, developer and conference organiser who is currently working as a consultant with Xedo Software in Glasgow. In his 14 year career he has worked with various different organisations, from the police through to a global investment bank, a media giant and a handful of others along the way. Since reading Kent Becks eXtreme Programming Explained in 2003 he has been passionate about Agile development. After discovering Kanban, and subsequently Systems Thinking, he has became increasingly fascinated with organisational systems and how to make them more effective and more humane. Chris is the organiser of Lean Agile Scotland and the co-organiser of the Lean Agile Glasgow meet up group. Tom Birch: Building a Four Digital Hub The Department of Work and Pensions has embarked on a major transformation programme that embraces collaboration, agile working methods, user centred design and in-sourced service development. Central to the strategy is the creation of advanced, major Digital/Agile Transformation hubs in Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle and London. Tom Birch talks about the role they play and the journey DWP are going through. Bio: Tom Birch has successfully led the delivery and operation of major digital services over the last eighteen years.  As Director of Digital Technology for EE, he led much of the creation of the ee.co.uk website. He has also led the build of the Orange World mobile site, Orange UK website, Teamtalk.com sports site and digital store card solutions for Debenhams and Burtons. Today Tom works freelance and, as Head of Digital Delivery, is supporting the Department of Work Pensions in building advanced agile/user-centred digital hubs in Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle and London.