The Dual Operating System is a concept used in Scrum@Scale. Originally, it comes from John Kotter, Professor Emeritus at Harvard Business School in Leadership. Kotter developed ways to drive organizational change, and in Scrum@Scale, we apply this concept in a specific way.

If you have a large, traditional organization, you probably already know that transformation will be difficult — because transformations are always difficult, and many of them fail. When you reach the conclusion that a full-blown transformation might not work because it’s too exhausting or too disruptive, there’s an alternative: use the Dual Operating System to set up a parallel organization that is “born agile” — starting immediately with clean Scrum and Scrum@Scale.

Think of your computer: many advanced users install two different operating systems, like Windows and Linux, and switch between them to leverage the strengths of both. Organizations also have “operating systems,” even if they’re not always aware of them. These systems evolve over time and reflect “how we do things here.” They may not be formalized like Scrum@Scale, but they exist. So the idea is: if a computer can have two operating systems, why shouldn’t an organization?

The big advantage is that you can bypass resistance entirely. Instead of trying to change the old organization from within, you simply build a new, parallel organization. Usually, this new unit works on something more “sexy” or focused — for example, in a large airline, you could create a new agile company dedicated to building an iPhone and Android app.

A crucial part of this approach is not forcing people to move into the new organization. Instead, you invite them. You say, “We’ve created this new organization. It runs on Scrum and Scrum@Scale. Anyone who wants to join is welcome.” This ensures that only people who genuinely want to work in an agile way will move over — which eliminates a major source of resistance.

Another big advantage is that the old organization keeps running. It continues producing services and generating revenue, while the new agile branch grows in parallel. Over time, this new organization takes on more responsibilities.

This is just a quick snapshot of how we use the Dual Operating System in Scrum@Scale. If you’d like to learn more about this concept, Scrum@Scale, or business agility in general, I offer regular seminars. You can find more information at teamflow.de.