0,1,N Tests and Understanding Teams

I write a lot on software testing. One of the rules of thumb I use is “0-1-N”. It helps me remember the 3 common cases I’d need to test for any list-based operation. But I recently started applying it to organizational design questions, in the form of ‘What would this {process, principles, idea} look like applied at the 0,1 and N levels?’. The 0 level would be as an Individual ( i.e. 2^0 people involved.) Systems like Scrum exist at the 2^1 level. They guide a team, usually in the context of a wider organization. But Scrum does not need to run at the 2^N to be effective. But by contrast, Scrum could be cumbersome for a 2^0 level.

This application becomes useful when it challenges your understanding. It forces you to ask how good ideas at the Individual level must transform as they scale out. Ahd which good ideas at the organization level are still good scaled down.
Consider scaling a business down to the 0th level. We’d effectively be talking about an independent contractor. A single player has to perform all the key business practices! Which ones get kept? What priorities or principles are the dividing line? What is “only useful at scale”, and what is “vital at every stage”?

Try it out for yourself! Examine the Scrum work processes. What agile principles inform individual actions? What do those look like at the 1st level, that is, for a team? Which practices are vital?
Then look at the Nth Level, the organization, how are we performing at the “Vital at every stage” as an organization?