Tag: systems-thinking
Thursday, November 24, 2011
So you want a fresh apple
Posted by Simon Baker
Without a system in place what do you do? You stroll out of your farmhouse door, walk down to the orchard and pick a luscious, ripe, red apple right off the tree. That was easy. And you got some exercise and fresh air too.
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Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Systems are seductive
Posted by Simon Baker
We leap into solving problems with a system of our own design because we convince ourselves they do the job faster, better, and more easily than we can do it.
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Monday, November 21, 2011
Crack cocaine problem-solving and complexity
Posted by Simon Baker
Once something is large enough and puzzling enough to be designated a problem, we have a tendency to rush in, exaggerate its complexity and solve it with an overcomplicated system. The trouble is, complicated systems produce complicated responses to problems. They don't produce solutions. When the system doesn't do what we designed it to do, which it will, we push on it to make it work. But that doesn't work so we push it harder and harder and grow more anxious. Then we come crashing down. Not to worry. It's really not long before we're back with the urge to do it all over again. And again. And again.
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Friday, November 18, 2011
Beware the Coefficient of Fiction
Posted by Simon Baker
There's a saying: "If it isn't official, it hasn't happened".
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Monday, February 7, 2011
Energized Work are speaking LSSC11 in Long Beach, California
Posted by Simon Baker
David Anderson graciously invited us to speak once more at The Lean Software and Systems Conference. This time it's in Long Beach California from May 3rd to 6th. Volcanoes permitting, here's the abstract for our talk:
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Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Driving continuous improvement with PDCA and measurements
Posted by Simon Baker
Continuous improvement has always been an implicit part of being agile and with the growing awareness of work by Deming, amongst others, plus the increasing popularity of Lean thinking, it is rightly becoming the center of attention. And yet, I suspect much of the continuous improvement that happens may or may not be actual improvement. I wonder if most of it proves to be negligible in the grand scheme of things.
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Saturday, January 16, 2010
Lean Software and Systems Conference in Atlanta
Posted by Simon Baker
David Anderson invited us to speak at the first Lean Software and Systems Conferencein Atlanta from April 21st to 23rd 2010. We'll be talking about our evolving 'system' for software product development, which David saw when he visited us at BSkyB, and more. That was nearly two years ago. Since then we've continued to develop the approach and techniques, applying it more recently on a project with a couple of consultants from the Womack and Jones crew at the Lean Enterprise Academy.
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Thursday, January 14, 2010
Reports are waste and a reason for poor decision-making
Posted by Simon Baker
Myron Tribus said:
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Comments: 9
Friday, January 8, 2010
Speaking at London QCon
Posted by Simon Baker
We've been invited to speak again at QCon London. Here's the abstract for our session:
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Saturday, September 16, 2006
Command and control? I don't think so
Posted by Simon Baker
Command and control elicits compliance to enforced processes through management by policy. Focusing on process fixates management on the means rather than the result. Emphasis is placed on building hierarchies, formalizing roles, and people are viewed as resources. All this amounts to bureaucracy and adds no value. Hierarchies introduce protracted decision-making. Decisions made up the hierarchy typically don't involve the people who will be tasked with fulfilling the decisions. And consequently, the support from these people for the decisions is absent. These decisions aren't easily reversed. All this nonsense doesn't exactly set the project up for success. I can't think of a better way to demotivate people and reduce productivity.
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