I’m due to have a conversation with someone about an ambitious startup-type idea they’re seeking to run within an established company. They have an idea—it might be a great one–and … Continue reading The bell curve of project versus business
Category: Risk and uncertainty
Learning by doing… a cricket match
I’ve never been able to appreciate cricket as much as I’d like (I do feel affinity with the writer who described it as “sunbathing with rules”) but I do like … Continue reading Learning by doing… a cricket match
Considering a flexible architecture
Last week I recalled a disussion I had about understanding the quality of a software architecture. As part of that conversation the head of the company was interested in flexibility: … Continue reading Considering a flexible architecture
One good approach to development “research”
Normally I’m very wary of “investigation” or “research” cards in a delivery team. Sometimes there are pieces of development work that are difficult, but I usually find that when a … Continue reading One good approach to development “research”
Taking responsibility amid uncertainty
[I held onto a draft of this post for some time, as I felt it was never the right time to publish it. But today, although the details seem to … Continue reading Taking responsibility amid uncertainty
For real innovation, take your second best idea
Recently I was speaking to a friend about choosing business ideas for innovation. He described an exercise in which three teams in the same organisation were tasked with brainstorming and … Continue reading For real innovation, take your second best idea
“Definition of enough” for discovery work
In many development teams I work with there is a “definition of done”. This a checklist (explicit or implicit) of things that need to have happened before we can say … Continue reading “Definition of enough” for discovery work
Not all opportunities follow from the numbers
Regular readers will know that I’m a big fan of measuring things and I talk a lot about making goals measurable. But I hope that doesn’t mean I’m a slave … Continue reading Not all opportunities follow from the numbers
A clearly-stated bias for action
In the course of some conversation, a friend pointed me to a page by Amazon explaining their internal cultural principles. While I have some dislike of Amazon as a whole … Continue reading A clearly-stated bias for action
Separating risks and issues (or not…)
When things get confusing I always rely on a handy model, image or diagram to clarify things. So it was often frustruting for me when, in the early days of … Continue reading Separating risks and issues (or not…)
