Looking for the Swedish version? Find it here.
At Pensionsmyndigheten
(Swedish Pensions Agency) we have developed a model to define our understanding
of the words "Development Efficiency". The purpose of the model is to
create a shared picture and a shared language to make it easier to talk about
how we can improve the powers and capabilities of the team/group or whole
organisation together. Or shorter: to create more value for money. This page is
about that model and how you, in different contexts, can work with and use it
to improve performance, i.e. “grow development efficiency”, in your groups,
teams and organisations.
Why talk about
“development efficiency”?
The words “development efficiency” and its close friends more and more often show up in different circumstances. Here are a few examples:
- To increase efficiency is often mentioned in management talks within organisations. Swedish Pensions Agency is no exception.
- “High efficiency must be pursued and good housekeeping observed in the government’s operations” - Translation of 1 chapter 3 § Swedish Budget Law (to be observed by all government agencies)
- Teams tasked with increasing development efficiency within the organisation is becoming more common. At Swedish Pensions Agency we have several such teams, with more or less clear objectives.
For a team/group or
organisation to be able to deliver on these expectations we need a shared
understanding of the meaning of the words “development efficiency”. We need a
common language to use when talking about what changes to make to become more
“efficient” in development of whatever we do. In addition, everyone needs to
understand their role and contribution in growing the development efficiency of
the organisation as a whole.
The Development Efficiency model
Development efficiency
consists of many parts, building on top of each other. The pyramid at the top
shows the most important thing – to build the right thing. If you don’t do
that, the other parts don’t matter. At the same time, it isn’t possible to
build right nor efficiently without a solid foundation made up by a secure
organisation filled by secure individuals. This is represented by the base
foundation supporting the pyramid from falling over.
In this context the words ”build” and ”thing” should be understood at their broadest interpretation. They represent all the things a group/team/organisation does to create a change or a value. It could be a new software service, but just as much a new business process, knowledge gathering, a new template or whatever creating value for the customer/stakeholder.
The Development
Efficiency model is a presentation material meant for individual reading since
there are additional descriptions in the speaker notes.
In the presentation we walk you through the parts of the model. For each part there is a short
sentence or phrase meant to create a basic understanding of the purpose of the
part. There is also listed a set of sub-parts or ”goals” to consider and work
towards. The attached note contains an additional explanation and, in some
cases, references to applicable parts of Lean/Agile/SAFe.
The slides of the
presentation can be downloaded here.
Reason about Development Efficiency
To help you start the discussion about Development Efficiency in your group/team we have created some presentation material for a group exercise called “Reason about Development Efficiency”. The purpose is to jointly
- understand the group’s/team’s contribution to the development efficiency of the organisation as a whole
- understand what the group’s /team’s own development efficiency is dependent on
- find activities to grow the group’s/team’s development efficiency
The exercise takes about 75 minutes and the material can be found here. The material is self-instructing (with a few additional comments in the speaker notes). The exercise is meant to be run without the need for an external facilitator.
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