B03 Wicked Problems Paul Culmsee

8/3/2019 B03 Wicked Problems Paul Culmsee

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“By itself, SharePoint can neither create nor

destroy organizational chaos, but does anexcellent job of reflecting the level of organizational chaos that existed at the time

© Seven Sigma Business Solutions. www.sevensigma.com.au

“A problem well stated is a problem half solved”Charles Kettering (1876-1958)

o ep oymentImmutable law of SharePoint #5 by Jason Guthridge



Wicked Problems and SharePoint

Rethinking the approach

Paul Culmsee

Partner - Seven Sigma Business Solutions

[email protected]

New Zealand Community SharePoint Conference – July 2009



About Paul Culmsee – Seven Sigma Business Solutions

• www.sevensigma.com.au

• [email protected]

– SharePoint architect, trainer and project manager

– Speaker and author• “Best Practices” SharePoint Conference speaker

• CleverWorkarounds blog ( www.cleverworkarounds.com)

• Contributing author to endusersharepoint.com andsharepointmagazine.net

– MCSE, CISSP, MCTS (MOSS 2007), MCT




About Seven Sigma• WA owned advisory practice with strong SharePoint

competencies – Planning and sense-making – Project management and business analysis – Training –

• Seven Sigma is the only CogNexus Institute “designatedpartner” in the world – Facilitation, Dialogue Mapping, Issue Mapping, IBIS Training




Session Agenda

• The cause and nature of wicked problems

• The “SharePoint paradox” and paths to SharePoint wickedness

• The power of Issue Mapping and IBIS based collaboration• How to leverage the best of SharePoint and Issue Mapping

(Sorry geeks, this is non technical!)




Project Pain…• “They don’t know what they want!”

• “The requirements are too vague!”

• “If only they had listened to me”

• “Not another %$%$% meeting!”

• “I was never consulted”

• “This is ridiculous – it won’t work”• “How am I supposed to estimate that?“

• “It was in the minutes – did you read it?”

• “Well if everyone actually followed the

process…”




Divergence and convergenceUncertainty


Problem

Uncertainty

SolutionTime



Four divergent forcesUncertainty

Pace of

change

Problem

wickedness


Problem

Uncertainty

Technical

complexity

Social

complexity

Time



Wicked Problems• The problem is not understood until after formulation of

a solution

Cognexus Institute www.cognexus.org




Wicked Problem Properties

• Wicked problems have no stopping rule

• You cannot prove that all solutions have been

• The problem is not understood until after formulation

of a solution

cons ere

• Solutions differ based on interests, values andideology of participants




Wicked Problem Properties• A wicked problem can be explained in numerous ways

(serving the intentions of who is explaining it)• It can be hard to go back – “one shot operation”

• Every wicked problem can be considered to be a

symptom of another problem• There is no ultimate test of a solution to a wicked

problem




Inappropriate methods..?“It’s a process problem”

– Process can amplify divergence

“Let’s reduce the scope” – Goalposts have moved in the

meantime.

–

scope statement Authoritative and Competitive

approach – Win-lose outcome

– Where is the commitment?Collaborative Strategies

– You mean SharePoint?




The SharePoint Paradox• To deal with wicked problems we

have to collaborate• SharePoint is a collaboration tool

• We use a collaborative tool to

• Therefore, why do many SharePoint projects have

wicked elements to them?







Strategic SharePoint pitfalls




Strategic SharePoint pitfalls1. Boiling the ocean

“Too much too soon” is a magnet for wickedness

The organisation has to be ready to come too

2. Jumping to to the “how” before the “what”

SharePoint should not be a “tool looking for a problem”

Use the “squirm test”

3. Painting with the same brush

Gen Y think everyone wants web 2.0

Engineers think everyone wants wikis Record managers hate wikis and think *everything* should be classified

Marketing think that people will use it if it sparkles

Some will never break the folder habit




Strategic SharePoint Pitfalls4. Ignoring inherent conflicts within

application requirements

Records management ‘vs’Collaborative Documentmanagement

“Intranet site must look like theinternet site”

5. Not accounting for “soft” factors

Organisational culture

Individual learning styles and

behavioural styles Vertical Market/Sector


www.sharepointjoel.com



Signs of SharePoint wickedness...




Signs of SharePoint wickedness...• “Budget? There was a budget?”

• Users complain that G drive was better• SharePoint is no longer mentioned by name

• “Governance” is mentioned in every second sentence

• Arguments over accountabilities and ownership• Excessive rework of custom development

• SharePoint mushrooms (site sprawl)

• A service pack installation is a “War and Peace” effort




One “best practice” to rule them all

Ensure a shared understanding of the problem

among all participants“The ‘Holy Grail’ of effective collaboration is creating shared understanding,

which is a precursor to shared commitment” – Jeff Conklin




IBIS and Issue MappingIssue Based Information System

– Complex group discussion broken into basic artefacts

• questions, ideas, pros, cons

Issue Mapping is crafting an IBIS based map of discussion

– It makes critical thinking visible.

– Shows the deep structure of an issue




Issue Mapping




Issue Mapping




Issue Mapping




Issue Mapping




Issue Mapping




Issue Mapping




Issue Mapping




Issue Mapping




Issue Mapping




Issue Mapping




Issue Mapping




Issue Mapping




Issue Mapping




Issue Mapping




ISSUE MAPPING IN ACTION

We are demonstrating the power of issue mapping over conventional

techniques to manage the complex dialogue required to manage

problems with wicked elements.




Will this solve a wicked problem?




Benefits of Issue MappingSimple, intuitive, adds clarity to discussion

Limited short term memory means exploration of a complex

problem unaided is confusing and error prone All participants have an organised point of reference

We have captured decision rationale and organisational memory!

emocra c - c now e ges a con r u ons

Disarms “truth by repetition”

Disarms “grenade lobbing” (topic shift)

Takes the interpersonal “sting” out of supporting or objectingto an idea

Faster - allows a group to develop shared understanding withmuch less pain




Issue Mapping with other best practices

Maintain your other standards or frameworks

IM emphasis at the problem/requirements definition phase

Easy for participants – no new “dance moves” to learn Compliments any methodology or practice (PMBOK, Scrum)

Uncertainty


Problem

Uncertainty

SolutionTime



The Craft of Issue MappingIssue maps can be sketched on

paper, but usually crafted usingsoftware

– Compendium (free)

– bCisive (commercial)

Issue Mapping is a craft based skill – you need some training andpractice!

Don’t fall for the panacea effect!




Leverage IM and SharePointUse Issue Mapping to understand the problem

– Fast-track attaining group understanding

– Capture decision rationale for the future

Use SharePoint to manage and track the solution

– Documents and reports still need writing

– Data needs to be managed, maintained and distributed

– Issue maps need to be stored, classified and indexed!

Holy Grail - Present issue maps within SharePoint

sites – SharePoint project sites containing the latest *thinking* via an

integrated issue map







Summing Up• Wicked factors are very common in IT projects

– SharePoint is especially vulnerable

• Achieving shared understanding among participants is

*paramount*

– Later best practices can be undone by failure to achieve this goal

• IBIS and Issue Mapping are a key complimentary tool

– Designed *specifically* to tackle social complexity and wicked problems

• When used to their strengths, Issue Mapping and SharePoint can be

a very potent combination




More Information• Seven Sigma Business Solutions (www.sevensigma.com.au)

– [email protected] (0410 533 585) twitter: paulculmsee

– Issue Mapping and SharePoint specialists, IBIS training and facilitation

– CogNexus Institute “Designated Partner”

– Free Debategraph web part

– SharePoint Development and Integration Services

– SharePoint Support Services

• CleverWorkarounds Blog (www.cleverworkarounds.com)

– SharePoint Project Management

– SharePoint Strategy

– SharePoint Governance

– “The one best practice to rule them all” - 5 part series

– “Why do SharePoint projects fail” - 6 part series
