Most productivity advice encourages us to eliminate spare capacity.
We fill gaps in the diary, batch similar tasks and streamline recurring work. We try to make every part of the system earn its place.
This can certainly make us more efficient. But it can also make us less able to respond when circumstances change.
Continue reading Why a little apparent inefficiency can make you more adaptableScrum and Agile teams are often encouraged to measure their work.
Velocity, throughput, cycle time, burndown charts and delivery forecasts can all offer useful signals.
They can show patterns, reveal bottlenecks and help teams ask better questions.
But most Agile work happens in complex environments, where outcomes emerge, context shifts and people respond to the system around them.
In that kind of setting, metrics do not simply describe reality. They also shape behaviour.
That is where trouble starts.
Continue reading Why metrics distort reality in complex systemsIn the previous posts in this series, we explored the Cynefin framework and the role of constraints.
Now we can connect that lens to something many teams use every day: Scrum.
A powerful insight emerges once you see it: Scrum is not really a delivery framework. It is a way of working designed specifically for the complex domain.
Continue reading Cynefin and Scrum – why Scrum works best in the complex domain
