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Almost everybody who's been in the IT industry a
while knows the term, “Analysis Paralysis”. Like
“spaghetti code”, “legacy people”, and “I'm 95% done
but have nothing to show you,” it's a code-phrase, a
supposedly funny term that masks a sad truth.
Analysis paralysis, as I've experienced and
witnessed it, has three manifestations:
- I'm trying to produce a complete picture of
something, and it's taking me much longer that it
should.
- I'm lacking information and I can't get it.
- I'm simply stuck.
In all cases, this problem is not the analyst's
problem, it's the team's problem. And it's not a
product problem, or a process problem, it's a people
problem.
Analysis paralysis is a people problem and belongs
to the team because it's a matter of communication;
of expectations, standards and agreements; of working
toward our true shared objectives.
It also has to do with private drivers, such as
personal consequence or benefit, overriding business
value drivers, such as risk and waste reduction.
Getting out of analysis paralysis requires
awareness, reflection, and sometimes courage.
The Agile/Lean mindset helps me to avoid getting
into analysis paralysis in the first place, using
such mechanisms as:
- making just the critical, high-cost-of-change
decisions now, and deferring everything else
- inviting me to collaborate with others, who can
offer perspectives and information on the subject, as
well as coach me out of rat holes
- encouraging me to submit, receive feedback on, and
evolve imperfect solutions now, rather turn produce
presumably-complete solutions later
You might recall my 2010 Cutter IT Journal article,
“Today's Business World Needs Contextual
Craftsmanship”.
In our industry we often think of craftsmanship as
it relates to developers. What does contextual
craftsmanship mean for analysis? I believe it is:
1. The ability to decompose a problem to a sequence
of smaller, manageable problems of decreasing value
and risk
2. The ability to address each smaller problem
pragmatically when its turn comes.
3. The ability to perform (1) and (2) effectively
across different contexts.
If you find yourself “analysis paralyzed”, you
first have to be aware of this state. And then:
Approach your peers and team members for help.
Remember, it's not your problem, it's everybody's.
Copyright © 2011, 3P Vantage, Inc. All rights reserved.
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