We all know that bureaucracy is bad, right? The tales of insanely complex, rube-golderg-like processes residing within large organizations are too numerous to cite. Most people universally agree that this type of overhead is a negative thing. More process is a hindrance on human creativity, something that should be avoided at all costs. Indeed, many Agile teams see their first big productivity boost from casting aside the detritus of unnecessary rules, roles, and other organizational straight jackets that were keeping a group of individuals from working as a productive team.
If we accept this truth, then does that mean the goal should be to eliminate all bureaucracy? The process rigor seen in most organizations is excessive, but many view it as a necessary evil. Necessary in order to maintain the scale, performance, or consistency required for there particular organization. With this in mind, managers may agree that organizational structure and rules can become stifling, and yet continue to implement it as a necessity for their organization. Quite possibly, they are right. What if the question isn’t about whether or not we have process, but rather what that bureaucracy should look like? Not all processes and organizational structures are created equally.
