Programming Question

1. Fail Fast to Success Sooner

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We will focus our DB work on the Fail Fast philosophy – it ties well into our work on benefits realization and solution evaluation. Coined by David Kelley, founder of IDEO, Fail Fast to Succeed Sooner

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I have included an article here to help start the discussion – though it mentions agile, I am not advocating for agile as the solution (in my mind, the project drives what approach is best!).

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It is to identify and explain one strategy and actions to bring Fail Fast to Succeed Sooner into the business analysis work done in a project. Also, identify the value of these actions and what the downsides are.(300 words)

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2. conduct a conversation around the benefits of the action as well as ways to address the downsides. How can these be included in the Solution Evaluation Plan?

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Failing Fast for the Rest of Us
By Alan Zucker
Fail fast entered the business lexicon from the hightech sector. It has become a powerful buzzword and
has ignited a small movement. FailCon offers a
series of global conferences for entrepreneurs to
study their failures “to prepare for success.”
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Failure is not the goal. Failure abounds. More
than 90% of start-ups fail to meet their
financial goals. On average, 30% of software
projects are canceled and another 50% fail to
meet expectations.
David Kelley, founder of the famed design firm
IDEO, coined the phrase fail fast to succeed sooner. Prototyping, experimenta6on, and learning are
core elements of IDEO’s success. As design thinking goes mainstream, Kelley’s message has been
truncated to the sound bite, fail fast. The heart of the message—to succeed sooner—is
unfortunately being lost.
Some marquee companies learned early lessons and became wildly successful. Facebook
started as a “hot or not” site. PayPal offered encrypted communications for Palm Pilot®
users. With the launch of the iPod® in 2001, Apple remade itself from a smallish
computer manufacturer into a personal technology juggernaut. Sadly, there are many
more companies that failed to learn and simply failed.
Learning from both achievements and failures is not just for start-ups. Large, established
companies may think that failing fast is too risky or too hard to implement. They have
sprawling, complicated operating environments and a culture where failure is not
accepted.
All companies can realize the benefits of fail fast; here’s how:
1. Prototype
Prototyping is a low-cost and fast way to gain valuable insight into how users will
interact with the product or application. Involving users in the design process lets the
team learn how the application will be used before committing to an approach. Failing
fast with a paper mock-up is one of the easiest ways to learn quickly.
Prototyping is easy. Low-fidelity tools like Post-It Notes® and markers are often best.
Sophisticated modeling tools may actually dissuade creativity. Find a representative
group of users. Invite them to an open space with lots of white boards and Post-It Notes.
Have a good facilitator lead the process. Observe. Experiment. Learn. Try again.
2. Go Agile, Go Scrum
Agile and the Scrum methodology create practices that allow teams to succeed sooner:
Agile embraces change. The two-week development sprint establishes short cycles
where prioritized items (stories) are included in the next product release. This
short cycle creates the ability to quickly experiment, learn, and adjust;
Direct business involvement improves collaboration. The product owner is
embedded in the Scrum team ensuring the voice of the customer is ever-present;
and
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3. Know Where to Experiment
All companies have a spectrum of applications ranging from commodity to strategic.
Commodity applications may support standard business processes like procurement,
accounting, and human resources. Strategic applications differentiate the enterprise
from its competitors.
Applications that support strategic objectives may be better candidates for innovation
and experimentation. Companies that can quickly implement changes, assess the impact,
and integrate the learning into the next iteration have a competitive advantage. Design
thinking, prototyping, A/B testing, and Agile development practices should be employed
to maximize this capability.
Companies may not realize significant benefits from pursuing a fail fast strategy for their
commodity or core applications—there is no competitive advantage to be gained.
Companies may benefit from quickly implementing commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) or
software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions with limited or no customization. This increases
the likelihood of success and also allows scarce resources to be deployed to the strategic
efforts.
4. Deliver in Small Increments
Big is bad. Large projects succeed only 8% of time compared to 62% of small ones. Long
projects are exposed to greater risk that the business or consumer environment will
change while the project is underway. Large projects generally have greater technical
complexity, more interdependencies, and are simply more complicated to execute.
Large projects should be organized into smaller incremental builds to increase the
overall likelihood of success. Chunking the project delivers functionality faster and
improves the ability to rapidly respond to change. Agile naturally reduces these risks;
but Waterfall project can also be structured as smaller, incremental efforts.
5. Improve the Process
Continuous improvement is generally associated with manufacturing. In software
development, continuous improvement increases velocity and creates greater capacity
for change. This expands the opportunity to learn, experiment, adapt, and adjust.
Agile has adopted lean principles derived from W. Edward Deming and the Toyota
manufacturing model. At the end of each development sprint, the team conducts a
retrospective. The retrospective is a structured review of the 2-week sprint. The team
reviews its internal process by asking:
What went well?
What went wrong?
What can be improved?
After the retrospective, the team develops a prioritized backlog of improvements to be
implemented in the next and future sprints. High-performing teams reserve capacity in
each sprint to implement these changes. These teams steadily increase their ability to
react more quickly to change.
Established companies can learn from start-ups. Failing fast to succeed sooner
embodies the principles of innovation, agility, and speed that can benefit all companies.
Creating a culture and environment that fosters learning and experimentation is the first
step.
© 2016, Alan Zucker; Project Management Essentials, LLC. To subscribe
Sources:
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Brown, T., & Kātz, B. (2009). Change by design: How design thinking transforms
organizations and inspires innovation. New York: Harper Business.
Donohue, J. (2015, May 31). Fail Fast, Fail Often, Fail Everywhere. Retrieved August 27,
2016, from http://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/fail-fast-fail-often-faileverywhere
Fail Faster, Succeed Sooner (SSIR). (2008, September 23). Retrieved August 27, 2016,
from http://ssir.org/articles/entry/fail_faster_succeed_sooner
FailCon. (n.d.). Retrieved August 27, 2016, from http://thefailcon.com/about.html
Love, D. (2011, May 03). The 15 Greatest Tech Pivots Ever. Retrieved August 27, 2016,
from http://www.businessinsider.com/most-successful-pivots-2011-4?op=1
Pace-Layered Application Strategy – Gartner IT Glossary. (2012). Retrieved August 27,
2016, from http://www.gartner.com/it-glossary/pace-layered-application-strategy/
Image courtesy of: http://slideplayer.com/slide/3547384/
Posted at 10:24 AM on November 1, 2016 in Agile, Business Value, Designs, Prototyping & Reviews,
Leadership | Permalink
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Not all comments are posted. Posted comments are subject to edi7ng for clarity and
length.
Ven Hudson Thanks for sharing the blog.
February 12, a/b tes6ng
2017
Ven Hudson Thanks for sharing the blog.
February 12, a/b tes6ng
2017
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1. Fail Fast to Success Sooner
We will focus our DB work on the Fail Fast philosophy – it ties well into our work on
benefits realization and solution evaluation. Coined by David Kelley, founder of IDEO,
Fail Fast to Succeed Sooner
I have included an article here to help start the discussion – though it mentions agile, I am
not advocating for agile as the solution (in my mind, the project drives what approach is
best!).
It is to identify and explain one strategy and actions to bring Fail Fast to Succeed Sooner
into the business analysis work done in a project. Also, identify the value of these actions
and what the downsides are.
2. conduct a conversation around the benefits of the action as well as ways to address
the downsides. How can these be included in the Solution Evaluation Plan?