Tameflow¶

Introduction¶

This document provides a detailed briefing on the core concepts of Flow@Scale and TameFlow. It summarises the historical background, fundamental principles, key methodologies, and practical applications, with a particular focus on their unique approaches to constraints management, organisational dynamics, and economic impact.

1. Foundational Principles and Historical Context¶

Flow@Scale and the TameFlow Approach are rooted in the Steve Tendon's background as a software engineer, management consultant, and methodologist. A significant influence is the Theory of Constraints (TOC), which the author introduced into software engineering and collaborative knowledge-work.

1.1. Influence of Borland International and the Pasteur Project¶

The methodology draws inspiration from the high-performing culture of Borland International in the late 80s and early 90s. The AT&T Bell Labs Pasteur Project analysed Borland's success, influencing Jeff Sutherland's Scrum framework with elements like the daily stand-up, Scrum Master, and Product Owner roles. The Pasteur Project also contributed to organisational patterns theory, which highlighted the "unity of purpose" pattern. The author saw TOC as a catalyst for achieving this unity.

1.2. The Power of Perspective and Simplicity¶

A central theme is the importance of shifting perspectives to understand reality more effectively, moving from complex, often flawed models to simpler, more predictive ones. This is illustrated by:

Art analogies: Such as images that can be perceived in multiple ways. "Reality is subject to multiple perspectives" and "shifting perspectives transforms our understanding."
Scientific paradigm shifts: The historical transition from the geocentric to the heliocentric model of the universe is a prime example. The emphasis is on simplicity, exemplified by Isaac Newton's second law of motion (F=ma), which "could describe everything that was observed, and even predicted the yet unseen."

This pursuit of simplicity is critical, aiming to uncover the inherent simplicity in business rather than creating "artificial and self-inflicted complexity."

1.3. The Four Flows of TameFlow¶

TameFlow explicitly focuses on four interconnected flows to achieve high organisational performance:

Operational Flow: How work is processed and delivered. This includes DBR (Drum-Buffer-Rope) and CCPM (Critical Chain Project Management).
Financial Flow: How wealth is created and measured in financial throughput. This is about "making more money today and in the future" and using Throughput Accounting.
Informational Flow: The network of information exchange within the organisation, aiming for relevant and timely communication.
Psychological Flow: Fostering states of optimal performance and happiness for individuals and teams ("being in the zone"). This is achieved by balancing skills and challenges and activating "flow triggers."

The overarching goal is to align these four flows to create Unity of Purpose and a Community of Trust within the organisation.

2. Constraints Management: The Core of Performance Improvement¶

Constraints Management, derived from TOC, is central to both TameFlow. It involves identifying and exploiting the limiting factor ("Herbie") in a system to maximise overall throughput and profitability.

2.1. The Story of Herbie: An Enduring Metaphor¶

The "Story of Herbie" illustrates the concept of a constraint. Herbie, a charater from the business novel "The Goal", by Eli Goldratt, is the slowest scout in a troop, who dictates the pace of the entire group. By reducing Herbie's load (offloading his backpack), his speed increases, and so does the troop's overall speed, without requiring others to walk faster. This demonstrates that "Herbie is our golden boy, the core of improvement and operational performance."

2.2. Throughput Accounting and Economic Impact¶

Throughput Accounting is the based on the idea of maximising profit by focusing on the scarce factor.

The "magic formula" is:

Economic Throughput = Revenue - Totally Variable Cost
Net Profit = Economic Throughput - Operating Expenses

This approach shifts focus from unit profitability to the rate of profit contribution over time. A practical example demonstrates how this change in perspective can dramatically increase daily profits (up to 3x or 5x in examples) without additional costs or major changes, aligning KPIs and fostering "unity of purpose."

2.3. The Three Types of Constraints and "Clueless Conquest"¶

TameFlow identifies three types of constraints, acknowledging their dynamic nature in knowledge-work:

Work Flow Constraint: Determined by the "shape and form" of incoming workload (statistical distribution). Identified by observing the heaviest queues in front of work processes and teams. Often related to Special Cause Variation.
Work Process Constraint: Determined by "how we do things around here," focusing on the weakest performing activity of a team. Identified by the column with the longest average Flow Time on a TameFlow Board. Often related to Common Cause Variation.
Work Execution Constraint: Determined by "things that happen" during execution (events, variability). Identified by the project or MOVE with the most critical Buffer Burn Rate. This is dynamic and can shift frequently.

A key insight is "Clueless Conquest": significant performance gains can be achieved by reducing Wait Time even without explicitly identifying the constraint (Step 1 of TOC's Five Focusing Steps). This is because reducing multitasking, context switching, and unnecessary activities effectively reclaims Wait Time as productive Touch Time, allowing the constraint to operate closer to its maximum capacity. This is akin to "Exploiting the Constraint" (Step 2) without identifying it.

2.4. Wait Time vs. Touch Time¶

Reducing Wait Time: This is considered a "low hanging fruit" as it "yields tremendous performance gains without incurring costs or risks." It involves "not starting work" and reducing multitasking. This can lead to a 3x profit increase from a 20% reduction in wait time. The increase in throughput is not due to working faster, but to the constraint experiencing fewer interruptions, thus recovering wasted capacity.
Reducing Touch Time: When Wait Time has been sufficiently reduced, improving Touch Time at the Constraint is the only way to achieve further significant ROI. Reducing Touch Time at a non-constraint resource, even if it shortens overall flow time, will likely lead to negligible or negative economic impact. Celebrating such reductions as "Cycle Time reduction" is "celebrating a vanity metric."

2.5. Synchronised Performance¶

Wait Time can also arise from varying performance among workers. The solution is to "slow down the fastest scout so he walks at the same speed of Herbie" (the slowest). Techniques like Sprints, WIP Limits, Work Item Age, CONWIP, sDBR, and DBR aim to achieve synchronised, "parallel" performance. This is equivalent to "Subordinating to the Constraint" (Step 3) without explicit identification.

3. The TameFlow Approach to Organisational Change and Resistance¶

TameFlow provides a structured, logical process for driving organisational change, emphasising consensus, stakeholder engagement, and addressing resistance.

3.1. The Goal Tree¶

The Goal Tree is a fundamental artifact that visually represents an organisation's objectives, from a high-level purpose down to specific actions and necessary conditions. It is extended to include Personal Goal Trees for individuals, acknowledging self-interest ("WIIIFM" - What's In It For Me) as a powerful motivator for or against change.

Purpose: To "Generate Prosperity and Harmony for me, my family, my company, my world." This personal framing aims to resonate with individuals' self-interest and foster engagement.
Critical Success Factors: TameFlow identifies four Critical Success Factors (CSFs) that benefit different groups:
Operational Performance (Customers' Interests)
Economic & Financial Performance (Stakeholders' Interests)
Organizational Performance (Societal/Common Interests)
Human Performance (Employees' Interests) The goal is to "consistently deliver superior performance" across all these.
Visualising Progress: The Goal Tree uses a colour-coding system (Gray-Red-Yellow-Green) to indicate the status of entities, with persistently "Red" entities signalling deeper, unresolved problems.

3.2. Undesirable Effects (UDEs) and Melting Snowflakes¶

Complaints are analysed to identify Undesirable Effects (UDEs) – specific, ongoing, factual problems within one's area of influence that are caused by organisational decisions and actions.

Ignore Irrelevant: Small things that consume attention and resources without adding value.
Melting Snowflake: This metaphor refers to the process of "melting away" conflicts of interest that hide in the deeper levels of the Goal Tree, particularly across silo/budgeting boundaries. These latent conflicts prevent "Harmony of Interests" and "Unity of Purpose."

3.3. Future Reality Tree (FRT) and Negative Branches¶

The Future Reality Tree (FRT) is a logical tool to validate proposed solutions (Injections) by mapping out the causal chain of Intermediate Effects that lead to desired outcomes.

Negative Branches: These are potential "undesirable side-effects" that an Injection might cause. Identifying these proactively allows for modification or extension of Injections (Trimming Injections) to prevent unwanted consequences.

3.4. Overcoming Resistance to Change: Layers of Resistance and the Change Matrix¶

TameFlow offers structured approaches to address resistance, moving beyond simplistic "friends and foes" categorisations.

Layers of Resistance: A framework to categorise dissent based on whether the disagreement is about the Problem, the Solution, or the Implementation. It distinguishes between "Avoidance" (the most critical and often signals hidden "Golden Entities" or self-interest), "Denial," "Incompleteness/Insufficiency," and "Impossibility/Undesirability." For most layers, specific TameFlow tools can be applied (e.g., Current Reality Tree for problem disagreement, Evaporating Cloud for underlying conflict, Negative Branch for negative consequences, Prerequisite Tree for implementation obstacles).
Escalating Resistance and Towers of Disagreement: This public activity visualises collective agreement/disagreement on a problem, solution, or implementation using "Towers" and dot-voting. The objective is to achieve unanimity or a predefined quorum of agreement, fostering shared understanding and "Unity of Purpose." Snapshots of these towers help detect "Resistance Anti-patterns."
Resistance Anti-patterns: Observable patterns in the Towers of Disagreement that reveal underlying social dynamics:
Group Think: Consistent total agreement from the outset (Group Think) is negative, leading to poor decisions. Unanimity achieved after fierce debate is positive.
Factions, Bands, and Tribes: Groupings of dots reveal internal divisions, which require returning to the Goal Tree to resolve conflicts.
Perma-Resistant Herbie: A person consistently in avoidance, who may genuinely be a constraint, have deeper personal issues, or be a "problem-person."
The Change Matrix (CM2): A corrected and enhanced 6-box model (Current Reality, Transition, Future Reality x Positives, Negatives) used to understand individual needs and motivations for change. It prompts consideration of:
Present Positives (Mermaid): Existing desirable effects an individual might lose.
Present Negatives (Alligator): Undesirable effects in the current state.
Transition Positives (Gold Nuggets): Benefits during the change journey.
Transition Negatives (Crutches): Effort and risk during the change process.
Future Positives (Pot of Gold): Desirable effects after the change.
Future Negatives (Rattlesnake): Undesirable effects after the change. This tool helps uncover why a "perma-resistant Herbie" resists change and aids in designing a "Good Change" that is "worth it" for them.
Resistance to "Changing" vs. "Change": This distinguishes resistance to the process of change from resistance to the outcome of change. It involves exploring anxieties and risks during the transition, stressing the negatives of the present and positives of the future, and potentially redesigning the "change experience."

4. Stakeholder and Power Dynamics¶

TameFlow provides tools to map and understand the real power structures and interactions within an organisation, going beyond formal organisational charts.

4.1. Interactions that Matter¶

A "Mental Model" of six crucial interactions helps distinguish important activities from small distractions:

Delegation: Movement of accountability, often down a chain.
Delivery: Outputs and outcomes returned up the chain.
Escalation: Signalling impediments backwards up the chain for decision-making.
Response: Decisions returning down the chain.
Coordination: Lateral interactions between entities.
Collaboration: Joint work between entities.

These interactions are the "basis for many other elements" and reveal where "working agreements" and "Escalate-Response Protocols" are needed.

4.2. Stakeholder Map and Powerholder Map¶

The Stakeholder Map visualises the "network of promises and expectations" within an organisation, showing who expects what from whom, and how trust is built or destroyed. It reveals the true flow of requests and dependencies, often differing from the formal organigram.

The Powerholder Map enhances the Stakeholder Map by annotating individuals with their Power Vector, categorising their influence:

Formal Powers: Legitimate, Resource, Reward, Coercive. These stem from position or role.
Informal Powers: Expert, Referent (charisma), Informational, Political, Social, Cultural/Normative. These are "earned through trust, respect, and influence."

This map helps identify "Powerfulness" and "Powerlessness," assess Power Strength and Reach (even "small" powers like Herbie's Expert Power can have huge reach), and understand Power Distance Factors (accepted inequality in power). The aim is to help everyone become "more Powerful... in support of the Goal."

5. Execution Management in PEST Environments¶

TameFlow and Flow@Scale are designed to thrive in PEST (multiple Projects or Products, Events, Stakeholders, Teams) environments, offering tools for high-performance execution, prioritisation, and operational governance.

5.1. Minimal Outcome-Value Effort (MOVEs)¶

Work is organised into MOVEs (Minimal Outcome-Value Efforts), which are target-scope work packages representing a balance between external forces (growth, customer value) and internal forces (stability, cost minimisation).

Throughput Generators: MOVEs are designed to be "throughput generators," grouping work items in the backlog that have real customer value and that customers would pay for.
Economic Prioritisation: MOVEs are prioritised based on their Financial Throughput Rate (money generated per unit of time on the constraint), which is superior to ROI calculations based on cost accounting.
Target-Scope, Not Fixed-Scope: MOVEs have a defined scope but are flexible; if the understanding of value changes, the scope can be updated. Risk is managed via time adjustments, not scope reduction.
Types of MOVEs: Value, Outcome, Development Precursor, Delivery Precursor, Architectural Element, Exploratory (knowledge generation, treated like venture capital funding), and Failure-Demand (bugs, technical debt).

5.2. Drum-Buffer-Rope (DBR) Scheduling¶

DBR is critical for regulating Work in Process (WIP) and ensuring the constraint is never starved.

Eliminating Column WIP Limits: TameFlow advocates removing conventional Kanban Column WIP Limits, as they "distort the queues and remove the Management Signals" needed to detect the true constraint. DBR provides a more effective way to limit WIP.
DBR Boards: A new board design where the "Waiting for..." semi-column of the Work Process Constraint acts as a buffer to manage the release of workload. This allows for clear identification of the Work Process Constraint.
Buffer Zones and Signals: Buffers are divided into zones (Green, Yellow, Red, Black) to provide "leading and actionable signals" of risk materialisation.
Portfolio Kanban Boards: DBR scheduling extends to portfolio level, managing the flow of MOVEs across multiple teams.

5.3. Execution Management Signals and Operational Governance¶

TameFlow leverages leading indicators for "sharp, crisp, instantaneous and brilliant Visual Execution Management."

Work/Time Diagrams and MOVE Buffers: Each MOVE has a MOVE Buffer (distinct from DBR Buffer) which provides signals (Green, Yellow, Red, Black) regarding early, on-time, challenged, or late delivery. This is based on CCPM principles but adapted for knowledge-work.
Buffer Consumption and Buffer Burn Rate: These metrics, visualised in Fever Charts, track progress and risk for individual MOVEs.
Bubble Fever Chart: An animated, aggregate visualisation of Buffer Burn Rates for multiple MOVEs/teams, allowing real-time identification of the Work Execution Constraint (the MOVE/team experiencing the most difficulties). This enables "Focused Governance" by top management.
Work Item Ageing Signals: At a finer granularity, these signals highlight individual work items that are stuck or aging, prompting teams to "swarm and gather all around the problematic Work Item" for collaborative resolution.
Management by Exception: This core principle aims to "eliminate meetings altogether, or to alternatively decrease their frequency and duration as much as possible." Meetings are called "on demand" when signals from Work Execution indicate a problem, rather than fixed cadences.
Flowbacks: TameFlow discourages flowbacks (sending defective work back to previous work states). Instead, the "corrective work force" (upstream specialists) comes downstream to "swarm" on the problematic work item where the defect was detected, ensuring higher priority and avoiding further delays.

5.4. Flow@Scale vs. SAFe®¶

Flow@Scale is a alternative to SAFe®, with significant differences in business impact across 16 performance domains.

Simplicity and Speed: Flow@Scale is "orders of magnitude simpler, faster and reliable."
Execution Management: Unlike SAFe®'s "lagging" cadenced events (Sprints, retrospectives), Flow@Scale uses "continuous" and "real-time Critical Signals" (like a heart beat) for execution management, only interrupting when necessary.
Estimation and Predictability: Flow@Scale rejects SAFe®'s "Story Points" as having "no scientific foundation" and being "unreliable for managers" and "hated by developers." Instead, it uses probabilistic forecasting with flow metrics.
Constraints Management: SAFe® lacks a true understanding or application of TOC, often misrepresenting constraints as "dominant bottlenecks." Flow@Scale fully embraces TOC, relentlessly pursuing maximisation of profit contribution from the scarcest resource.
Time to Impact and Recurring Costs: SAFe® transformations take "several years" and incur ongoing renewal and upgrade costs. Flow@Scale "Elevation" takes "months," with minimal recurring costs, highlighting the "Cost of Delay" difference.

6. The Human Side and Psychological Flow¶

TameFlow explicitly addresses the socio-psychological elements crucial for success in knowledge-work, integrating them with TOC principles.

6.1. Individual and Collective Flow States¶

TameFlow aims to create conditions for Psychological Flow States – a mental state of full immersion, focus, enjoyment, and creativity. This is achieved by:

Balancing Challenge and Skill: The system is calibrated to keep teams in the "yellow" Buffer Zone of a Fever Chart, signifying "just enough pressure" to be engaged without being overwhelmed.
Flow Triggers: A rich, visual environment with frequent feedback loops from Work Execution Signals (Aging Signals, Buffer Signals) acts as "Psychological Flow triggers," fostering collective intelligence and agile behaviours like swarming.
Ownership of Wait Time: The "Waiting for..." semi-columns on TameFlow Boards encourage team members to "gain ownership and responsibility for the Wait Time" in their process, promoting a throughput accounting mindset where Wait Time is a liability.

6.2. Bootstrapping Tameflow¶

A "softer," Agile-aligned bootstrapping approach is suggested for adopting TameFlow, starting with individual teams and framing initiatives as proofs of concept. This includes:

Flow Metrics, Aging Signals, and Swarming: Instrumenting teams to collect flow metrics, using Aging Signals to identify stuck work items, and fostering immediate "swarming" behaviour.
Escalation/Response Feedback Loops: Establishing explicit protocols for escalating unresolved "red" work items and ensuring management provides timely responses, thereby improving Informational Flow and management confidence.
MOVEs: Introducing Value MOVEs with economic prioritisation to connect work to financial results.
Help Herbie: Applying MOVE Buffers and Buffer Burn Rates to identify and support the Work Execution Constraint ("Herbie Team").
Play Well with Mr. Murphy: Continually monitoring Bubble Fever Charts to detect and address dynamic constraints, refining the system's responsiveness.

Conclusion¶

Flow@Scale and the TameFlow Approach offer a comprehensive, data-driven, and psychologically informed methodology for managing knowledge-work at scale. By integrating the rigorous economic focus of the Theory of Constraints with an understanding of human and informational flows, they provide a powerful framework for achieving "breakthrough organizational performance innovation," fostering "Unity of Purpose" and "Community of Trust," and enabling organisations to "change direction at high speed" in volatile environments. This approach champions inherent simplicity, management by exception, and a constant focus on the constraint to deliver significant and sustainable business impact without incurring unnecessary costs or risks.