VUCA, LFBs, etc.

I see around me, that many people liberally use words like complex, complexity, complicated etc, and then put a great emphasis that these words do not have the same meaning.  

Someone told me that a new shiny Agile framework has appeared in the market, where the disciples of this framework spend half of the time explaining to each other how Complex is not the same as Complicated.  Maybe it serves them some purpose.

Another word that is being thrown around liberally is VUCA. Discussing VUCA is just another manifestation of the same thinking… “Making things complex”.

Our world has always been a VUCA world and it will always be a VUCA world.

About 160 years ago, when the raw cotton supply to the textile mills in Manchester was abruptly cut off due to the American civil war, it was a VUCA world. Textiles mills in Manchester found another supplier, and found a way around it. Because of that incident, the city of Mumbai prospered and eventually became the financial capital of India.

When Neanderthals met Homo Sapiens 60’000 years ago, it was a VUCA World. It was a tragedy for Neanderthals, and a victory for Homo Sapiens.

To me VUCA is just one more LFB (Latest Fashionable Buzzword).

Saying that… “Today We Live in VUCA World”, is like saying “Today We Breathe Air”. 

Buzzwords are like cocaine. Both do a spectacularly good job for creating illusion.

Agile Framework, Chemical Process Formula, and ATC Tower

You are in the business of building software. And you want to build software in an agile way.
That sounds great!

Are you thinking of using some Agile Framework?
Not a bad idea.

You have a wide choice of Frameworks to choose from. 
You can select one that suits your organization's pocket, suits your organizational culture, suits your team's appetite to learn exciting mumbo-jumbo vocabulary, suits your inclination toward cool infographics, and finally (probably this matters most) which Framework your Consultant sells to your organization. 

Have you already selected a Framework?
Great.

Now this small tip could help you a lot.
No Framework can ensure your success, and no framework can be the cause of your failure.
A Framework is not a well-defined formula. 

A well-defined process formula for a chemical compound assures the final product as expected, if the mandated ingredients are provided and if the mandated process is followed.

Unfortunately, the Framework in which you are placing your unwavering trust without asking any questions is not a process formula. And certainly not a chemical process formula.

Treat your Framework like an ATC tower, and no more than an ATC tower.

ATC tower provides directions and a point of reference for the pilots. Folks in ATC tower will take care that no other plane collides with you and you will not collide with another plane. 

But when it comes to landing the plane, pilots have to make decisions themselves depending upon their current context. Context like...

- altitude of the airport,
- visibility,
- ambient temperature,
- air density,
- cloud cover,
- runway length,
- wet/dry runway,
- weight of the aircraft,
- wind direction, etc.

In the same way, the Framework you have selected will provide you some guidelines.
But you (& your team) are expected to have situational awareness & based on that make many decisions yourself. Decisions like...

- what is worth building,
- what should be built now & what can wait,
- what is the bare minimum stuff we should build,
- how to get frequent market feedback,
- are we on the right track or whether we need to change track,
- what we should treat as our yardstick for success,
- and most importantly what defines our success.

Treat your Framework like an ATC tower and not like a Chemical Process Formula.
That way you will have a better chance of success.