People, Processes, and Technology
Processes
Instead of "processes," it is useful to distinguish between two possible types of procedures:
- Processes: the process is the protagonist and knows how to do the work. The person is integrated into the system as an instrument, as a support operator. In other words, people help the process.
- Practices: the person is the one who creates the outcome, and the process is an aid, a tool that simplifies routine aspects so that they can achieve greater efficiency and not dilute their effort in mechanical routines. In other words, the process helps people.
The main difference between the two is the type of knowledge they work with:
- Explicit knowledge: contained in the processes and the technology.
- Tacit knowledge: held by the person.
Differences between processes and practices
Scrum Manager offers a further consideration on the traditional people-processes-technology triangle, holding that work procedures can be:
- Processes: if their execution provides the key knowledge for achieving the result. They are therefore containers of knowledge "made explicit" in the process and the technology it uses. In other words, the person helps the procedure.
- Practices: if the procedure helps the person, who is the one who contributes, through their tacit knowledge, the key "know-how" for achieving the result. In other words, the procedure helps the person.
Technology
Process engineering models regard the "process-technology" pairing as the main driver of the quality of the result. Their antithesis, agility, gives people the leading role in the result.
From Scrum Manager's point of view, both options are valid, but for different types of work. In industrial production environments, people contribute labor to execute and supervise processes. However, for knowledge companies working in fast-paced, innovative scenarios, people contribute, through their talent, the know-how that gives value to the result.
People
Organizations that need to build in a significant and frequent innovative component, or that operate in sectors where innovation moves very fast, get better results when they make people's talent, rather than the execution of processes, responsible for that innovation.
In this type of organization, it is important to ensure not only the team's level of creativity but also its capacity to learn. The knowledge conversion model defined by Nonaka and Takeuchi uses its four phases to describe the process through which people acquire tacit knowledge by sharing experiences, direct communication, documents, manuals, and traditions, adding new knowledge to the organization's collective base.
Common mistake
Treating technology as a substitute for people in knowledge work. Generative AI has intensified this confusion: it is tempting to see coding assistants or AI agents as substitutes for people in creative or highly complex work. The distinction between processes and practices proposed by Scrum Manager is more relevant than ever: AI is a powerful technology for automating the parts of the work that can be made explicit, but tacit knowledge—judgement, context, understanding of the real problem—still resides in people.
References
- Nonaka, I.; Takeuchi, H. (1995). The Knowledge-Creating Company. Oxford University Press.
See also
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