Making rigid plans at the outset locks the execution into a single route, like an old GPS that can't reroute based on changing road conditions.
As the market needs and conditions evolve, day-one plans turn into outdated wishlists that don't translate into value effectively. Teams start burning fuel without making visible mileage as they diverge from evolving realities.
Moreover, the scope is heavily guarded by contractual agreements, acting as a gatekeeper between the plans and the reality.
This inability to respond on time costs companies millions of dollars.
Of course we do, but continuously. There is a common misperception that agile teams don't estimate, don't plan, just fly blind. In fact, it's the opposite. Teams plan, do, check, and act on the results. Knowledge work have lots of moving parts, integration points, dependencies, and emerging realities that no initial plan can keep up with.
"Plans are useless, but planning is indispensable."
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dynamic plans for dynamic world.
Although it's tempting to have a clear plan from the get go, expecting reality to match upfront plans is far-fetched in today's business landscape. Despite all the padding in project timelines, things do slip. Milestones end up sliding right with frustration, while scope often remains unchanged, catering to outdated needs.
When responding to change is a necessity, it's clear that timeline padding doesn't cut it. Adapting to evolving needs become a matter of survival.
Remember Blackberry phones? They insisted on their physical keyboard when the demand was shifting to full-screen, multi-touch devices.
They couldn't see the seismic shift in market trends as the ground beneath them was crumbling.
Complacency crushed Blackberry.
No one wants to be a case study for their catastrophic failure.
The following elements underpin successful transformations.
1. Ubiquitous data
2. Massive processing power
3. Shared customer insights
Without leveraging data effectively, gaining insights and accommodating feedback is an uphill battle.
Are you tapping into your operational data and insights to make informed decisions?