Veracity Embracing Uncertainty

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how to lead, design and code through the unknown

uncertainty

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nice to meet you.galen murdocksoftware executivesoftware architectux designeragile coachceo,

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fear?

control?

embrace

experiment with confidence

accept what’s unknown

practice awarenessuncertainty

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fear?

control?

embrace

experiment with confidence

accept what’s unknown

practice awarenessuncertainty

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stimulus responseI

I

Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our

response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom. --Viktor

E. Frankl

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riderRationalRemembering selfSlow, Effortful, AnalyticalWITH self-awareness or controlOften listens just to Elephant (Lazy)Makes decisionsEasily exhausted

elephantEmotional

Experiencing selfFast, Automatic, Intuitive

WITHOUT self-awareness or control“What you see is all there is” (Narrow

view)Delivers updates

Energetic

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mindfulnessawareness of present experience

with acceptanceemotional agility1. recognize your feelings2. name your feelings3. accept them4. act according to your values

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fear?

control?

embrace

experiment with confidence

accept what’s unknown

practice awarenessuncertainty

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Complicated Plans, MRDs, PRDs, Specs

what we’ve been trained to do

Detailed Estimates,Long-range

budgets

Extensive engineering,

Intricate design.

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“Don’t manage uncertainty with methods designed for certainty.”Dr. David Snowden

Uncertainty ExpertCreator of Cynefin

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I can't control if we are going to win. I can control whether we do the right things.

Marcio SicoliOlympic Coach to Kerri Walsh Jennings & April Ross

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complex

complicated

obvious

chaotic

guess & learnentrepreneur

analyzeengineer

follow rulesbureaucrat

take actionfirefighter

uncertainty (a.k.a. cynefin)

cause/effect is obvious

cause/effect is obvious to an

expert

cause/effect is only

obvious in hindsight

there is no cause/effect

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The quest for certainty blocks the search for meaning. Uncertainty is the very condition to impel man to unfold his powers.

Erich Fromm

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fear?

control?

embrace

experiment with confidence

accept what’s unknown

practice awarenessuncertainty

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Creating an awesome product is hard

Foresee 20% of features

Foresee 50% of features

Foresee 80% of features

Agile works

well

Agile at

limits

Agile breaks

down

Innovation-Driven

Plan- Driven

Design-Driven

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veracity product launch

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what if each feature were marked green or blue?

chaos

complex

complicated

obvious

http://cognitive-edge.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/2015-05-SrumDays-Warsaw.pdf

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how to recognize uncertainty• often when you have a strong emotional reaction

• fear of the unknown• anxiety• anger• impulse to control the outcome

• when cause & effect is only obvious in hindsight• when you sense that agile planning will identify fewer than

50% of your stories• when the problem you’re facing doesn’t respond well to

planning• your plans dramatically change based on which next steps you

choose• you can’t plan away risk

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experiments & stories

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we do not control uncertainty. we interact with it.

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we experiment.knowledge

guesses

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lean startup with problem validation

frameproblems

measureeffectiveness

learnideas

buildproduct

measuring your

hypothesis against

results is not an excuse for

renaming lazy failures

as “experiment

s.”

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Principle: Iterate from vague idea to finished product,learning, making course corrections and improving quality as you go

iteratingtoward an uncertain idea

Source: Jeff Patton

how do we build complex software?

incrementingtoward a fully-formed idea

uncertain

certain

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in summary

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• green problems are fundamentally different than blue problems

• when you don’t have control over the outcome, have confidence in the process

• good experiments replace uncertainty and fear with knowledge and confidence

remember

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about veracityVeracity helps leaders and makers of software to solve critical challenges in the areas of product strategy, design, user experience and development. Companies like GE Healthcare and Microsoft rely on Veracity for leadership, mentoring and hands-on expertise to:• supplement internal teams,• accelerate product development, stability and

performance,• shorten time-to-market, • increase ROI, and • uplift product, team and organizational success.

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your challenges

unclearstrategy

risk of missing deadline

s

inferior user

experience

expand to

new platform

launch a new

productunstable product

poorlyperformin

g team

EVENT

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our services

strengthen strategy, architecture, UX, agility

solve tough software problems together

help deliver stable, reliable software

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For more information…contact us to set up an exploratory discussion, or to learn about our innovation and discovery workshops1.844.615.1074info@veracitysolutions.comveracitysolutions.com