FFC NL 2025 TALKS
FFC NL 2025
Autonomy, is that what we really want?
There has been a focus on autonomy in information technology, From autonomy in code, autonomy while coding, and autonomous systems with microservices to autonomous high-performing teams. When you read Daniel Pink's research in the book Drive, it makes sense; autonomy is one of the three things that motivate us; it is the ability of the person to make their own decisions. However, often autonomy can lead to isolation and disconnect from the rest of the code, team, or organisation. So, how can we balance the individual needs while staying connected to the team/organisation to stay autonomous?
In this talk, we will go through all the levels we deal with in IT, from code to organisation collaboration. We will go into autonomy at each level and explain how we often confuse autonomy with individual needs. These individual needs can become isolated and disconnected from the code, team and organisation. Through examples, we will show how our compulsiveness towards autonomy gives us both downsides of being isolated and coupled in the code within the team and organisation. You will leave the talk knowing how polarity management can help you manage this paradox between the individual and the team/organisation and get the benefits from the whole and the individual to be balanced.
MEET THE SPEAKERS
Evelyn Van Kelle
Trying to make sense of the socio-technical mashup that is called software design
Evelyn van Kelle is a behavioral change consultant that helps organizations and teams in designing and maintaining socio-technical systems. With a background in social sciences, she believes that sustainable organizational change and transformations can be achieved by focusing on human behavior. She helps leadership and teams to analyze and explain behavior, and uses that knowledge to change environments in such a way that desired behavior can flourish. Evelyn loves to share her knowledge by speaking at international conferences and meetups.
Apart from all that, she loves books, linguistics, food and everything related to it. Preferably in good company of friends and family.
Kenny Baas-Schwegler
Catalysing teams to design sustainable, resilient software through leadership and sociotechnical expertise
I believe in collaborative software design where *‘every voice shapes the software’*. Leveraging a domain-driven design approach with Team Topologies, I facilitate clearer communication between stakeholders and software creators by collaborative modelling and deep democracy, decoding complexities, resolving conflicts and ensuring software remains agile to business demands.
As an independent software consultant and trainer, I specialise in technical leadership, software architecture, and sociotechnical system design. I work with organisations and teams to design and build sustainable and resilient software architecture.