Meeting 1: Foundation

Key Insights

Evidence-Based

Rigorous research backing all findings

Competitive Advantage

Software delivery capability drives success

Process Not People

Anxiety signals inefficiency, not failure

Introduction to "Accelerate"

Central Argument

High software delivery performance drives organizational success (profitability, productivity, market share)

Evidence-Based Approach

23,000+ survey responses from 2,000+ organizations over 4 years

Digital Transformation Reality

Software delivery capability provides competitive advantage across all industries

The Four DORA Metrics - "Powerful New Vocabulary"

Evidence-based measurements of software delivery performance

Lead Time

Commit to production

Elite: < 1 hour High: < 1 day

Deployment Frequency

How often you deploy

Elite: On-demand High: Daily

Recovery Time

Time to restore service

Elite: < 1 hour High: < 1 day

Change Failure Rate

% causing failures

Elite: 0-15% Medium: 16-30%

Debunking the Speed vs. Stability Myth

Old Thinking

Either Fast OR Stable

Slow = Safe
Fast = Risky

New Thinking

Both Fast AND Stable

Speed enables stability
High performers excel at both

Key Research Finding: High performers achieve 46x more frequent deployments + 440x faster lead time + 170x faster recovery

Addressing "Deployment Pain"

Recognition

Anxiety before deployments signals process inefficiencies, not personal failing

Root Causes

Complex, manual deployment processes
Poor architecture that creates dependencies
Lack of automated testing and validation

Cultural Signal

Fear indicates pathological or bureaucratic culture patterns

Interactive Assessment

DORA Metrics Assessment

Rate your organization's current DORA metrics maturity:

Select your organization's DORA maturity level to see improvement opportunities.

Westrum Culture Assessment

Rate your team's culture characteristics:

Pathological Bureaucratic Generative

Move the slider to assess your team's culture based on Westrum's model

Discussion Questions

Current State Assessment

How would you rate your team on each DORA metric?

Lead Time: How long from code commit to production?
Deployment Frequency: How often do you deploy?
Recovery Time: How quickly do you restore service after incidents?
Change Fail Rate: What percentage of deployments cause failures?

Speed vs. Stability Myths

What examples have you seen of assumed trade-offs in your organization?

Where does your team assume "slow equals safe"?
What processes exist because people believe speed creates risk?
How might practices that improve speed also improve stability?

Deployment Pain Points

Describe your team's current deployment experience and anxiety levels

What emotions do team members feel before deployments?
What manual processes create deployment complexity?
How does deployment fear signal process problems vs. personal failing?

Culture Indicators

Using Westrum's model, what culture type best describes your organization?

Pathological: Power-oriented, low cooperation, information hiding
Bureaucratic: Rule-oriented, modest cooperation, narrow responsibilities
Generative: Performance-oriented, high cooperation, shared risks

Action Items for Next Meeting

Begin informal tracking of one DORA metric for your team

Identify your biggest deployment pain point and document it

Observe examples of pathological, bureaucratic, or generative culture behaviors