save time, money and bloodshed with soft system discovery

Breaking Down Barriers to

Deliver SuccessPRESENTATION PREPARED BY:

Marianne Sweeny

SR Search Strategist

#PORTENTUThis is the hashtag

PORTENT.CO/ssm-discoveryThese are the links

(Yes, use .co, not .com)

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Marianne Sweeny@portentmarianne@portent.com

HERE BE DRAGONS 5

PROJECT PLAYERS

Us

Them

Their target

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EVERY PROJECT STARTS WITH A PLAN 7

ALSO UNSTRUCTURED PROBLEMS

Dynamic

Multiple stakeholders

Conflicting interests

Uncertainties of many types

Intangibles

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CLIENT DISCOVERY

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CLIENT DISCOVERY TODAY

Sales contact

Questionnaire

Client meeting

Email, phone calls, more email, stand up meetings, more mail, more phone calls, internal meetings, client meeting (?), more phone calls, more meetings, meetings about meetings, email, email, email.

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DISCOVERY MEETING 11

OUTCOME

Questionnaire

Meeting minutes

PowerPoint

Expensive box lunch with big cookie

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You going to finish that

cookie?

ROADMAP? 13

WTF?

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WHY IS A DISCOVERY SESSION SO IMPORTANT

Because…

ENGINEERS THINK THAT …

User behavior is predictable

User behavior is consistent

Process can be automated

Transmission of the output (data) is the end result

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IN THE REAL WORLD

User behavior is…

Interpretive

Meaning is constructed in relation to unique situation

User behavior changes due to changing context

Information is processed before and after the system

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SYSTEM THINKING IS

Linear

Object-oriented

Mechanistic passive users

Atomistic view of data (discrete items)

Contained situationality

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OUTSIDE OF STAR TREK

The real world is…

Chaotic

Subjective

Constructivist active user

Holistic view that encompasses additional elements for context

Internal cognition

Trans-situationality

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SOFT SYSTEM METHODOLOGY

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Everyday life develops in all of us trusted intellectual structures which

to us seem good enough to make sense of our experiences, and in

general we are reluctant to abandon or modify them even.

SSM PROCESS

Use it to GET information needed for various system components

IDENTIFY wide and sub systems to be supported by new/modified system

STRUCTURE an analysis and design process to facilitate mapping of information to issues

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STAGE 1: BUILD A CONSENSUS MODEL

Express the current situation and surface the plurality of project team world views

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STAGE 2: EXPRESS THE ISSUES

Discussion

Consensus

Model (represent)

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STAGE 3: AGREEMENT & ACTION PLANS

Develop agreement and action plans through process of accommodation

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STAGE 4: EXECUTE

Execute on action plans for purposeful activity

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CATWOE

Customers who benefits from the system

transform

Actors who facilitate the transformation

Transformation process where inputs become

outputs

World views that give the transformation

meaning

Owner to whom system is answerable to

Environment or constraints on system

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SO WHAT, YOU SAY?

PROJECT PARTICIPANT VIEW FROM THIS TO…

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TO THIS 30

And that’s a good thing

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SSM & CLIENT DISCOVERY

DISCOVER

Discover client world views, environment, cultural and political influences

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REVEAL

Reveal the interacting systems within organizations (client and ours)

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DEFINE

Define user purposeful activities (what problems are we trying to solve)

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SHIFT

Shift thinking from optimizing for the technology to optimizing for the users

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ITERATE

Iterate the SSM throughout the engagement to meet shifting conditions

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SO THIS 37

BECOMES THIS

And that’s a very good thing

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SSM DISCOVERY OUTCOMES

CLIENT –SPECIFIC CATWOE

Who are the customers?

Who does the work?

What are the world views that govern our work?

Who “owns” the project?

What are the environmental influences?

What are the systems and subsystems?

What inputs become transform into what outputs?

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PURPOSEFUL ACTIVITY 41

MODELS IN REAL WORLD SITUATION 42

MILESTONES AND TASKS 43

ACTION PLANS 44

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SAVE TIME

46SAVE MONEY

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END RESULT 48

PORTENT.CO/ssm-discovery

These are the links

(Yes, use .co, not .com)

Q&A#PORTENTU

THANK YOUFOR ATTENDING

Me:@msweeny