In Getting Things Done, a next action is the next visible, physical activity needed to move something forward.
That might mean:
These actions move us towards completion. But in an uncertain situation, we may not yet know which route will produce the outcome we want.
Sometimes the next action needs to help us learn.
Continue reading Cynefin and GTD: when your next action is an experimentFailure is not usually something organisations want to talk about.
We prefer words like delivery, progress, efficiency and success. Those are good things. But in Agile work, some of the most important learning comes from small failures that happen early enough to do something about them.
The key is not to avoid failure completely.
The key is to make failure safe enough, small enough and visible enough that the team can learn from it.
Continue reading What teams taught me by failing safelyAgile is often described as a way to deliver work faster.
That is not wrong, but it is incomplete.
At its best, Agile is not simply a delivery framework. It is a learning system. It helps teams discover what is true, what is valuable, what is possible and what needs to change.
Continue reading Agile as a learning system, not a delivery frameworkThis is the third post in a short series exploring the Scrum Master role through the four main Cynefin domains:
The first post looked at the clear domain, where simple rules and repeatable practice can help.
The second post looked at the complicated domain, where teams need expertise, analysis and informed judgement.
This post looks at the complex domain.
In the complex domain, the relationship between cause and effect can only be understood afterwards.
The work is uncertain. The team cannot simply apply a checklist or ask an expert for the right answer. There may be no single right answer.
Instead, the team needs to learn through action.
Continue reading Scrum Masters and Cynefin – where learning matters mostScrum 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 systems
