Category: Methodology

Strategy, Architecture & Problem-Solving

Tanker

Sunk cost

During the last few weeks of writing my last book, I realised that a related message to a different audience would be better delivered by video. So I started writing a training video. Then I stopped. I’d thought more about what I wanted to complete, who the customers would be and focussed on that. The…
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Pugh Matrix Template

Pugh Matrix Template

In Running With Knickers on Your Head book, I introduced the Pugh Matrix to assist with deciding on which solution to proceed with. You need either the excel or the pdf (the pdf is just an export of the Excel sheets). Excel: Pugh Matrix PDF: Pugh Matrix Intro PDF: Pugh Matrix

Gemba WasteWalk

Gemba Templates

The two Gemba templates used in the Running With Knickers On Your Head book. These are used to help identify waste in your organisation. They’re not the only tool, but they’re a good tool to start with. The Excel download includes the two pdfs. Excel download 1: Gemba Pdf download 1: Stand in the Circle…
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Stealth Plane

Stealth Mode is a Novice’s Game

Yet again, I’ve come across another post by a would-be/current founder who’s asking for advice. They’ve framed the question in an abstract way, dancing around the subject, trying to get the advice that they want but without providing sufficient information about their idea for the community to be able to add any significant value.  It’s…
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NateSmith

Participation

A short while ago, I posted about how we can engage others in making decisions through the creation of an appropriate framework. Today, I noticed something else similar. I saw a video of the drummer Nate Smith engaging an audience in counting. Now if you’ve got even a basic level of musical talent, you’ve probably…
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Jumbled music

Devolving Decision-Making through Frameworks

If you create an appropriate framework, people can understand what to do when you haven’t told them the details. All too often, organisations define rules that do not need defining. They may choose to set criteria for approvals, or host panels in order to evaluate submissions. A better approach in many cases is to create…
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bathroom

Your Customers’ Problems Are Your Problems

I’m writing a new book, this will be my second*. I’d written a couple of chapters last week, one of which focussed on how organisations leave problems for the customers to resolve, but that they don’t think of it that way. In one chapter, I used the example of “Warning. Hot Water.” signs, stipulating that…
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theatre seating

Outsourcing Your Future – part 2

There are a number of company-hosted competitions, events, hackathons all with the aim of introducing innovation to the host company. I questioned the rationale behind these initiatives in the first part of Outsourcing Your Future. The P&G Signal Accelerator Innovation Brief for Daycare Subscription is a good example of how these can be presented to the public,…
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plumbing

Contingency as a Behaviour

After a late evening fixing a plumbing emergency at home, I’m reminded of the concept of contingency and how it can’t be practically be used as a buffer for all non-planned events.   So with my current main client, I start out early in the morning, long before must people (or birds) have risen. My…
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Traynor Guitar Amp

How accurate is your testing routine?

Testing is not just for software, but for the business processes, organisation or service that you’re implementing? I’ve seen many test routines that are too artificial, too removed from the reality of what the users will go through. Fortunately this factor has improved over time, especially with more focus on user stories. Let’s consider one…
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