ASPgems, a success story of an agile company using redarchy

A few days ago I participated in a very special meeting. The whole team of ASPgems, one of my most recent business initiatives. We took stock of last year, a complicated and demanding year, one of those that really put any organization to the test. We talked, we discussed, we laughed a lot. We also set out the new challenges for 2011, and we made important decisions.

But the most interesting thing came later, when we reviewed the first company presentation, in 2006, and we saw that the principles that gave rise to the company had hardly changed. These principles have helped us to become leaders in
agile development
in Spain, contributing to the innovation of our SMEs with applications such as
Invoicefu
and, above all, they have allowed us to build an organization that is truly different from the others, a true
2.0 organization
.

ASPgems, an example of a digital transformation project

It has rained a lot, a lot, since I started in the business world. But during the meeting I had the feeling that it was not in vain; that, little by little, the pieces are falling into the puzzle. I have already commented on how precarious our beginnings at Sun Microsystems were. It was 1989. Telefónica was overwhelmed and it took up to 6 months to install a line. That’s why we chose a 100-square-meter apartment that had two connections. We had to remove the fridge to connect our server, since the kitchen was the only place with enough electrical power.

Sun MicroSystems was a
pioneer
. In Spain in the eighties we made such revolutionary demands as the following: “the network is the computer”. They looked at us as if we were crazy. But reality has far surpassed prophecy. The network is much more than that today. The structure of global and open networks, which share on an equal footing, which make innovation a job for all, constitutes the basis of a new organisational model. A new way of organising ourselves that has gone beyond the traditional “order and command” of hierarchy, and that allows us to respond, from now on, to the very complex challenges that the new era poses to us. We have called this new model
redarquía
.

I’m not talking about distant prophecies, or experiments in a laboratory. Redarchy is a reality at ASPgems, and it’s giving us excellent results, both personally and professionally. That’s why I think it’s worth analyzing this Digital transformation through redarchy case study. That’s what I’m going to try to do in this conversation.

A different company

We founded ASPgems in 2006 and from the beginning it was clear to us that, due to its philosophy, it was going to be a different company.

ASPgems emerged – as Agustín Cuenca likes to say

– of “necessity and determination”; of that crucial moment when we finally say: “we are going to set up a company”. The vision that gave rise to the project was, broadly speaking, the following: in all sectors, organizations are going to adopt, more and more, agile solutions, simple and effective online applications, which allow companies to make the most of a network economy, increasingly global, complex and competitive.

The challenge was complicated, since the adoption of agile methodologies requires a change in mental models. It is a matter of culture, and not so much of processes. Teamwork must be carried out as a team, through collaboration: innovation and leadership is no longer the work of a charismatic leader, as is assumed in traditional organizations, but must be a task shared by all.

The company is focused on people, on their connected talent. That is why they are the ones who choose how to make their contribution to common goals, when and from where to do it. Transparency and trust are basic values. People are not part of a specific department, but make their contribution by organizing themselves according to the needs of each project.

The work is carried out in a network, and each of the members of the company chooses the place from which they prefer to make their contribution: Madrid, Barcelona, Zamora or from a historic place and crossroads such as Logroño.

The adoption of agile development principles and methodologies, based on the premise “less is more”, and the adoption of free software as the main work tool, have also had an important influence on the configuration of the company’s organizational structure.

And if the company is focused on people, products and services, all developments are user-centric. Following the web 2.0 philosophy, the user is the measure of the applications. Hence, continuous interaction with the customer, tests in real environments, and authentic feedback become fundamental elements to advance and improve in the development of applications.

It is not surprising that to work in this way the company replicates, to a large extent, the structure of free software development communities. Because it is there, in these networks, where perhaps for the first time the different actors were able to contribute freely and creatively, sharing all their talent to create innovative products and services of great value for users and for the community itself.

In short, we have built the ASPgems organizational model based on the properties of the
network structures
, and the results have been excellent. That’s why I want to share the keys to this experience with you:

Collaboration

The value that the company brings to its customers comes from collaboration between all agents: from collaboration between all employees, who share their knowledge freely and on an equal footing; and from collaboration with the customers themselves.

The realization of a project does not consist of a struggle, nor a continuous negotiation in which both parties face each other to put the embers to their sardine. It is a dialogue, full of interactions, in which we all build a better product and service in successive iterations.

It goes without saying that customers appreciate this new form of professional relationship. Collaborative development encourages frequent dialogue, and makes it possible for divergences to be negotiated, and solutions to emerge naturally from direct and continuous contact between customers and our development teams. That is why we proudly say that all our products and solutions have been co-created with our customers.

Self-management

The work is carried out in small, multidisciplinary teams, which have the authority to make important and necessary decisions to create high-quality products, innovate in everything they do and manage their own processes. The recipe is very simple: each of the members of ASPgems knows better than anyone how to do their job, chooses where they are going to make their contribution from, and has the autonomy to make their own decisions.

This distributed and decentralised structure is by no means anarchic, quite the opposite. It is the ASPgems members themselves who voluntarily and responsibly decide what level of contribution is needed. The result is a truly stimulating working environment.

Using social software tools like
Yammer
It makes it possible for all members to be in permanent contact, regardless of their location, and allows them to share knowledge. To reinforce this continuous exchange of information, a weekly videoconference of the whole group, and the holding of regular meetings, ensure that the objectives are shared.

Transparency

A networked organization can only function if it is transparent. When information flows freely in all directions, all nodes remain connected and contribute to collective knowledge and value creation. On the other hand, if the agents that are part of the network do not receive all the information, the system stops working. The nodes shut down, or they start working with false or incomplete information. This toxic element soon spreads and poisons the organization.

For this reason, at ASPgems, the relevant information obtained by any of the agents is immediately shared with all the others. Given that network relationships occur on an equal footing, there are no exceptions, beyond respect for the confidential information of customers: agents who have commercial information disseminate it, agents who have useful information about the development of a project, also do so.

Good – and bad – news never becomes a big surprise, or a gigantic snowball, because everyone in the organization is aware of what is happening practically in real time. This is the way for all agents to have the best information to make, at all times, the right decision.

The collective activities – whether it’s the “barbecue” on Wednesdays in the summer or the expert sessions – are open to our clients, who have the opportunity to learn about our best practices, and to meet personally the development engineers working on their project. Sharing these moments undoubtedly fosters transparency and creates value.

Emergency

The solutions that ASPgems provides to its clients do not have their origin in an order “emanating” from the top of the organization. Nor are we talking about actions planned to the millimeter. The solutions we develop emerge from the interactions, from the exchanges of proposals, corrections and improvements that occur between the members of the organization, and between the members and the client. It is the shared talent, and the collaboration of all, that ends up defining the best solution.

That is why we say that the solution does not fall from the sky, but emerges from below, the result of a process of collaboration between all the agents of improvement; the result of rich and complex interactions, in continuous evolution to respond to a complex and changing reality. Our customers are the first to benefit from this way of working, as it makes it possible for the simplest and most appropriate solutions for their needs to come to the surface.

Consistency

In most traditional organizations, the company’s mission and vision have lost strength either because they are imposed, or because over time they cease to be coherent and as such, are not shared by employees. In many cases, the principles that theoretically guide organizations do not conform to reality. In other words: one thing is said, but the people who make up the organization know that something else is being done.

Transparency in all the conversations shared by those of us who are part of ASPgems allows us to naturally reinforce the coherence and continuity of the organization. It is clear that, in this way, discrepancies arise immediately, since we do not all see the situation in the same way. But far from putting the organization at risk, these discrepancies allow us to build a consensual response. This response, developed with everyone’s contribution, is what allows us to offer the best solution to our customers. And above all, it allows us to adapt to changes in the environment while keeping our identity and values alive in daily practice.

Participation

The old mental schemes, heirs of the industrial model, maintain that distributed and decentralized work can weaken the organization’s strategy. Nothing could be further from the truth. The sense of belonging to an organization, and the contribution of each member to common objectives, are much stronger when they come from an autonomous decision, and not from an irrevocable order subject to an iron hierarchical control.

At ASPgems we share information, and we participate in the different decisions. When a person discovers an interesting new product or service, a technology or a way of doing things that may be relevant to the organization, they share it with others. Thus, through the continuous participation of everyone, is how we manage to integrate innovation into the daily operation of the organization.

Interdependence

It doesn’t matter how far apart the different members of the organization are. What happens in one project, or at any point in the organization, affects all the others. There are no indifferent projects or tasks. Everyone’s work is relevant. We all know the challenges that A faces in project X, whether it’s a commercial offer, the development of an application, the design of a logo, the maintenance of a database or the generation of invoices. This interdependence makes the relationships within the organization much richer, closer and more productive.

Openness

The role of each of the people who make up ASPgems is not closed, quite the opposite. At ASPgems we are able to organize and reorganize ourselves according to the project, according to the demands of the moment, according to the demands of the market. There are no departments, offices, areas, complex procedures, bureaucracy, orders… The borders are liquid, the network is open to the world: to the market, to customers, to the good things that the competition does.

Adaptability

The absence of a strict hierarchical and organizational structure, and the elimination of unnecessary paperwork – those that destroy employees’ passion – allows us to adapt in real time to an environment that is constantly changing. Faced with millimetric planning, pre-specifications, exhaustive documentation and marathon meetings, we are committed to getting down to work as soon as possible. The important thing is to “do things”, build, test, iterate with customers and users.

In this way we learn as we go, and we can move forward with real, solid, authentic information. Nothing to do with conscientious business plans, laboratory tests and forecasts. Real information, real relationships with partners, customers, suppliers and users. Information that allows us to correct, improve our work to move in the right direction.

Projects that go on forever always reach the market too late, when they no longer make any sense. Time is the key variable today. That is why we have opted for our own version of Scrum as a development methodology. A collaborative environment, where people show respect and trust with each other at all levels. Decisions are made by consensus, instead of imposed from above, and all knowledge is shared fearlessly and transparently. This methodology allows us to make innovation everyone’s job.

The principle of “less is more” is also a fundamental part of our culture and our passion for simplicity. We focus on doing less things; doing those things that are essential; doing them well and doing them fast.

Freedom

The key to the success of any organization, at any time and in any field, is in the people who make it up. At ASPgems we are aware of this. When a person feels free to choose the workplace and schedules, and to make their own decisions, it is when they can unleash all their talent and passion. It is then that their contribution is extraordinary. That is why ASPgems is people-centered, because we know that the contribution of people is the key to our success.

The existence of different levels of autonomy within the organization allows us to resolve the contradictions between the personal needs of creativity and fulfillment and the organizational needs of productivity and results, which allows us to maintain global stability with a high degree of commitment and freedom.

Learning

At ASPgems we all know that, in this time of uncertainty and accelerated and permanent change, the most important thing is not what we know, but what we DON’T know. That’s why we don’t just do the work we feel most comfortable doing. We dedicate time and effort to expanding our knowledge. We look for new technologies, new business models, new ways of doing things, and share them with others.

We listen, we are attentive, and we try to learn what our colleagues, customers, partners, and competitors can teach us. That’s the attitude that allows us to grow and innovate both personally and organizationally. We’ve created an innovation initiative where our developers can put their ideas to a vote among their peers. The person who proposed the most voted idea has the chance to turn their project into reality.

Climate and Culture Survey: “I like working here!”

I can insist a thousand times that the work and innovation environment of ASPgems is extraordinary, that it has nothing to do with the one that normally prevails in traditional companies. But I am aware that these statements only have value when they are backed by the opinion of the people who work at ASPgems. It is something that must be measured using the right tools, and that is precisely what we have done.

With the aim of knowing the real satisfaction of the people, just a few days ago we carried out a climate and culture survey, in which practically 90% of the team participated. Representativeness is, therefore, maximum. The results have confirmed our impressions, and have become a further stimulus to continue betting on the redarchy as the only organizational model capable of responding to the new demands of society and the market.

Here are some of the most notable results:

-The average satisfaction is 8.33, on a scale ranging from 0 to 10. At ASPgems, a good work environment and work-life balance prevail.

-The best proof of this is that the variable “I like working at ASPgems” has obtained a score of 9.12!

-The dimensions most valued by people have been the focus on people, with 8.82 – it is worth remembering that for us it is key to focus on people, and not on processes – and teamwork, with 8.42.

-Recognition is a key value: the statement “things well done are usually recognized” has obtained a score of 8.16.

Of course, there are still many things in which we can and must improve. We have to give even more weight to innovation, we have to give visibility to the tasks of each person, and we must continue working so that motivation is maximum. But it is clear that our way of doing and understanding things is bearing excellent fruit, and that the direct beneficiaries of these fruits are both the people who are part of the team and the clients, who can enjoy the talent of great professionals, creative, motivated, and innovative.