“Base” — A key pattern in the unFIX model

This is the first post in a series on unFIX model and its key patterns. Jurgen Appelo introduced the unFIX model as a pattern library for organizational structure, borrowing valuable and cohesive patterns from other sources while looking for a more cohesive and complete organizational design toolbox because none of the frameworks do organization design well.

One of the key patterns within unFIX model and quite an improtant one is that of a “Base”.

The base is a group where people feel safe and operate as an independent unit, allowing for options such as fully integrated, strongly aligned, loosely aligned, or fully segregated, creating a sense of psychological safety. The psychological safety aspect is a critical factor in the success of a Base. Psychological safety refers to an individual’s perception of the consequences of taking an interpersonal risk or a belief that a team is safe for risk taking in the face of being seen as ignorant, incompetent, negative, or disruptive. In a psychologically safe team, members feel accepted and respected. They are comfortable being themselves and expressing their thoughts and ideas without fear of retribution or ridicule. This creates an environment that fosters creativity, innovation, and robust problem-solving.

For example, within a Fully Integrated Base, members must feel safe to openly communicate and coordinate with other Value Stream Crews due to the interdependent nature of their work. Conversely, in a Fully Segregated Base, crews operate more independently, but psychological safety is still crucial for intra-crew communication and innovation.

Creating this sense of psychological safety within a Base allows for open communication, effective collaboration, and the ability to take calculated risks, which ultimately drives innovation and value creation for the organization. A Base can be structured in four different ways, depending on the nature of the product or service and the degree of integration or alignment between different parts of the Base:

1. Fully Integrated Base

2. Strongly Aligned Base

3. Loosely Aligned Base

4. Fully Segregated Base

Note: Frameworks such as SAFe and LeSS make the implicit assumption that the Base is Fully Integrated.

Here’s an overview:

1. Fully Integrated Base: This type refers to a large product or service which is deployed and offered as a single solution. It requires significant coordination between Value Stream Crews, possibly operating with the same cadence for iterations and increments. It may also require multiple Facilitation Crews to assist with dependencies and optimization of the complete solution​.
2. Strongly Aligned Base: This type of base offers a cohesive set of products or services with many dependencies between each other. While the production of these products or services largely happens independently, coordination between the Value Stream Crews is necessary to form a cohesive whole. The value streams don’t have to operate with the same cadence, but Facilitation Crews can still help with dependencies and optimization of the overall solution​.
3. Loosely Aligned Base: This base offers different products or services with few dependencies between each other. They are offered to the same customers independently but still have some level of integration or connectivity. Some coordination between the Value Stream Crews is needed for the multiple products to fit into the larger strategy of the Base. The value streams don’t operate with the same cadence, and it might be beneficial to have an Experience Crew to monitor the customer journey and user experience across the various products​.
4. Fully Segregated Base: This type of base offers multiple independent and potentially competing products or services. There is no integration or connectivity between the products. A typical example would be an incubator with a portfolio of startups where customers usually use just one product and might not even be aware of the other options. In this type, no coordination between the Value Stream Crews is needed, and the products could even be each other’s competitors. The value streams don’t operate with the same cadence, and an Experience Crew is not necessary​.

Each type of Base requires a different level of coordination between Value Stream Crews (teams or units responsible for a specific value stream), the pace of iterations and increments (how frequently the product or service is updated or improved), and the need for Facilitation Crews (support teams like agile coaches, product managers, technical leads) or Experience Crews (teams responsible for overseeing the customer journey and user experience).

For example, let’s consider a software company that develops a suite of integrated business applications, like an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system. This could be seen as a Fully Integrated Base, as the suite forms one integrated whole. In this case, each application (like finance, HR, sales, etc.) could be developed by a different Value Stream Crew, but they would need to work closely together to ensure that the suite works seamlessly as a single solution. They might need to operate with the same cadence for iterations and increments and have multiple Facilitation Crews to help the Crews with dependencies and with the optimization and deployment of the complete ERP system.