Background

Global engineering organisation Thales wanted to invest in improving how teams delivered value — particularly across engineering, IT, and delivery functions.

There was an awareness that improving delivery performance was not just about process — it required a better understanding of how teams were structured, how they interacted, and how work moved between them.

Leadership wanted to build that understanding more broadly across the organisation — not just within senior groups, but with the people closest to the work.

The brief

The request was clear.

They wanted to:

• build awareness of key organisational design concepts across both IT and non-IT managers

• help teams understand how to reduce cognitive load and improve focus

• explore how to form purposeful teams with clear responsibilities

• improve how teams collaborate — particularly through “as-a-service” interactions

• introduce practical tools such as Team APIs and clearer team interfaces

• use concepts like Conway’s Law to better understand the relationship between system design and team structure

Alongside this, there were three clear outcomes they were aiming for:

• raise awareness of the benefits of improving flow

• uncover concrete opportunities to improve the flow of value

• enable at least one cohort or department to achieve tangible, early improvements

Importantly, this was not framed as a large-scale transformation. The goal was to create shared understanding and momentum, starting with the people who could observe and influence the system day-to-day.

Flow Awareness Sessions were used as the initial step to achieve that.

The engagement

Together with my colleague Erica Engelen, I delivered a short series of Flow Awareness Sessions with practitioners and team-level contributors across the organisation.

Format:

• 4 x 2-hour interactive sessions

• hands-on, using real examples from participants’ own work

• focused on observation, discussion, and practical insight

• designed to build understanding, not impose solutions

The emphasis was simple: make the system visible, then reason about it together.

What the sessions focused on

Across the sessions, participants explored:

• how work actually moved through their teams

• where handovers created delays or confusion

• where dependencies slowed progress

• where teams were overloaded or stretched

• where ownership was unclear in practice

• what they could influence directly

Whilst drawing on theory and systems-thinking, the work was grounded in their day-to-day reality. One participant described it as developing the ability to detect invisible blocking points that are essential to remove to move forward.

What changed

The most important outcome was not a list of recommendations, it was a shift in how people saw and talked about their work.

Participants began to:

• recognise flow as something they could observe and influence

• identify specific points where work slowed down

• distinguish between local issues and systemic constraints

• discuss problems without defaulting to blame

• explore small changes that could improve flow

In many cases, improvements were not large or disruptive, they were practical adjustments such as:

• clarifying ownership between teams

• reducing unnecessary handovers

• improving communication at key interfaces

• making dependencies more explicit

• simplifying how work was passed between groups

These are not headline-grabbing changes — but they are often the ones that unlock real progress.

Participant feedback

The feedback reflected a clear shift in understanding:

“An eyeopener to improve team collaboration and fasten flow.”

“Changed how I think about organisational design.”

“Optimising workflow is, in itself, an integral part of the engineering process.”

“Stop managing dependencies, and start unblocking the flow.”

One particularly telling reflection was that this kind of thinking should also be shared more widely with leadership — reinforcing that improving flow is a shared responsibility across the organisation.

What happened next

Following the sessions, there was clear interest in extending this way of thinking more broadly across the organisation. In particular, leadership groups are now engaging with the same approach, recognising that:

• teams can identify and act on local improvements

• leaders play a key role in shaping the wider system

• both perspectives are needed to improve flow effectively

Could this help your teams?

If your teams are working hard but progress still feels slower or more complex than it should, the issue may not be effort, it may be that the system is hard to see. Flow Awareness Sessions are designed to make that system visible — and help people start improving it from where they are. They are practical, low-risk, and designed to create momentum quickly. If you'd like to explore a tailored Flow Awareness Session series for your organisation, get in touch. We can discuss your context, current challenges, and whether this would be a useful first step.