Comments on: Linear is Not Always Best

By: How to Ruin an IT Project | Above and Beyond KM

How to Ruin an IT Project | Above and Beyond KM — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 03:55:56 +0000

[...] phases. And, as you’re doing this, make sure that your work product reflects at each stage the users’ growing understanding of the tool and your growing understanding of the users. Otherwise, you’ll end up with a system that faithfully follows the initial requirements [...]

By: VMaryAbraham

VMaryAbraham — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 04:43:53 +0000

Thanks for this link, Theron. It's an interesting piece.

I'm not sure I entirely buy the straight vs curvy types of knowledge, but I do think there are straight and curvy ways of conveying and acquiring knowledge. And, each should be deployed as most appropriate to serve the interests of the student. Could we implement a similarly flexible approach to IT projects?

- Mary

By: VMaryAbraham

VMaryAbraham — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 04:39:17 +0000

Riong –

I'm willing to admit that there's plenty of ignorance on both sides of the IT/client discussion, but that doesn't let us off the hook. If a lay person came to me with a legal problem and a desired outcome (i.e., success), I wouldn't condemn the client for failing to understand and propose all the appropriate legal theories that might advance their position. That's my job – just as it's my job to ensure the client understands what I'm talking about. (It's a form of informed consent.) Similarly, the burden still lies on IT to find more creative ways of interacting with their clients so that they actually deliver what the client needs rather than just what the linear plan dictates.

- Mary

By: theronkelso

theronkelso — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 18:52:14 +0000

I just ran across (via @cubistscarboro) a blog post (http://tr.im/nbQE) by Dave Cormier (@davecormier) of Edtechtalk regarding the difference between straight (i.e. linear) and curvy knowledge – and its impact (as well as the use of open educational resources) on education. The discussion on the differences – keeping planes in the air vs. a group of 12 year olds trying to connect to history – also shows there are times when you need don't need to be straight.

By: Rlong

Rlong — Sat, 30 May 2009 18:30:32 +0000

This is just a repetative linear process understanding that the first attempt, second and maybe many more do not accomplish the best way of resolving a problem. Many IT types do not understand the needs of the client (who doesn't understand IT) and most clients are handcuffed by their lack of knowledge of what IT and programs can really do. Some clients believe that there are limitations to IT that, in fact, do not exist. It is only their limited knowledge of IT and their arrogance that their knowledge is substantial that restricts them from asking for what they really could use in the first place.

By: VMaryAbraham

VMaryAbraham — Thu, 28 May 2009 19:10:54 +0000

At the risk of putting words in Dave Snowden's mouth, my sense is that in
its simplest terms a true linear process would suggest that we gather
requirements, set our goal and then march through the plan step by dependent
step until we've provided the deliverables necessary for the goal. My take
on the process Dave used is that he started with the realization that
neither he nor the clients truly understood what the right goal was, so
coming up with a detailed linear process was going to be difficult.
Instead, he listened to them, went off and designed something, brought it
back for them to try, and then went off again to implement the improvements
they requested as they learned to work with the tool. It sounds like this
more circular process was repeated several times, producing incremental
improvements, until they ended up with a tool that did more and better than
they could have conceived at the beginning.

- Mary

By: Mike Stewart

Mike Stewart — Thu, 28 May 2009 14:57:29 +0000

I have to say, I'm having trouble getting this–perhaps because I'm attempting to understand a non-linear process with linear thinking. Do you have to think non-linearly to understand non-linearity? How is Dave's design process non-linear? Working iteratively sounds fairly linear to me. What is non-linearity, anyway?

By: VMaryAbraham

VMaryAbraham — Thu, 28 May 2009 14:28:36 +0000

That's so true, Janet. The key to this, however, is bringing some of the
perceived discipline of linear thinking to the more free-form iterative
approach. Otherwise, how on earth would we ever deliver projects on time?

- Mary

By: Janet Schlesinger

Janet Schlesinger — Thu, 28 May 2009 14:17:46 +0000

Ain't it the truth! Designing or developing anything new needs to be an iterative process, not linear. Iteration is key to the Agile software development methodology which is being adopted widely because the resulting software is more likely to meet the users needs (and for other reasons as well.) Admit it, it's impossible to make perfect decisions and assumptions along the way and using an interactive approach affords us the opportunity to refine those decisions.

By: VMaryAbraham

VMaryAbraham — Thu, 28 May 2009 14:10:30 +0000

Thanks, Nimmy. As the world becomes increasingly complex, it will be harder
to find linear plans that allow us to operate effectively, That's when it
really helps to be comfortable with the ambiguity of working iteratively.

- Mary