A project plan can make very different kinds of work look alike. Research the options. Make a decision. Test an idea. Implement the solution.
Each becomes another line on the list.
But those lines may require different approaches. One project can contain routine work, questions that need expert analysis and uncertainty that only practical experiments can help us explore.
Look within the project
Imagine redesigning a website:
- Publishing approved content may sit in the clear domain, where a reliable procedure already exists.
- Investigating a performance problem may be complicated, requiring specialist knowledge and analysis.
- Discovering what helps visitors find the right service may be complex, requiring small, safe-to-fail experiments and observation.
These activities can happen alongside one another. The project does not need to belong to a single domain.
Nor does each activity have a permanent home. Implementation can reveal unexpected behaviour. Research can uncover a question that more analysis cannot resolve.
Match the approach to the situation
Cynefin helps us consider how to respond:
- Clear: recognise the situation and follow an established practice.
- Complicated: draw on expertise to analyse the options.
- Complex: try bounded experiments, observe what happens and adapt.
The activity’s name does not determine its domain. ‘Research’ might mean looking up a documented answer or exploring something nobody yet understands.
Ask what makes the next step uncertain. Can an answer be found through expertise, or do you need to act and learn from the response?
Review the next few actions
Choose one active project and examine its next few actions:
- Where would a checklist help?
- Where do you need expert advice?
- Where could a small experiment help you learn?
- What evidence would prompt you to change your approach?
A useful project plan can hold several ways of working together.
Before asking how quickly an action can be completed, ask: what kind of situation are we dealing with here?
