Changing Software Development: Learning to Become Agile

9.4. Create Feedback Loops

Whether you're working up to a change or starting one off, it pays to build feedback loops. At the most basic level, a feedback loop allows people to see the effects of their actions, thus creating awareness of problems and possible improvements. Without feedback, it can be difficult to know how well you're doing.

Short feedback loops are more effective than long ones, because there's a closer connection between cause and effect. For example, program code may be written today but not tested for a month. It might not be integrated for another month. Consequently, by the time we know the effect of our actions, we've forgotten what we did. Even if we do know the full cause and effect, two months have elapsed, during which time the same faults may have been replicated.

It isn't enough to create feedback loops. We need to speed them up, reducing the gap between cause, effect, observation and further action. Identifying existing feedback loops and creating new ones is all part of systems thinking, as discussed in Chapter 5.

Feedback loops deliver the messages of failure that motivate us to change and improve. Feedback loops also deliver the messages of success that tell us that we're doing the right thing. As such, feedback loops can play a key role in creating learning and change.

Feedback can occur in any number of forms. These include:

• Personal communication – actually talking to people about their performance.

• Statistical – counting some criteria.

• Systematic ...