Anti-patterns for balanced cognitive load

Imbalanced workload: Both overloading team members with too many tasks or responsibilities and underutilizing them by assigning insufficient responsibilities or challenges can lead to reduced productivity. An imbalanced workload can hinder an individual's ability to learn and retain knowledge, ultimately impeding the effectiveness of DevOps adoption. Strike the right balance between challenging team members and avoiding burnout to foster a productive and engaged team.

Oversized teams: Forming excessively large teams that exceed the cognitive limit of effectively managing relationships as described by Dunbar's number (approximately 150 people). As teams grow beyond this size, there is a risk that communication, collaboration, and decision making will suffer, reducing the team's overall effectiveness. Create smaller teams that can communicate more effectively, make better decisions, and deliver higher-quality products and services. This is especially important in the beginning stages of product development; try to keep your teams as small as you can for as long as you can.

Lack of autonomy and psychological safety: Cultivating an environment that lacks autonomy and intolerance to failure can lead to risk aversion and an unwillingness to experiment and innovate. In environments that micromanage or over prioritize being risk adverse, individuals tend to shift focus from delivering value to avoiding failure, resulting in sub-optimal outcomes and slower delivery. Embrace a culture of psychological safety that encourages autonomy, experimentation, and risk-taking. Allowing individuals to make decisions and experiment can lead to significant breakthroughs and innovations, as well as higher job satisfaction and performance.