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September 19, 2007
What is "Scope", anyway?
Lots of Archestra stuff points out that needs are not requirements. This is worth repeating because it's so easy to forget. But keeping that in mind, when is a solution not a solution? When it doesn't solve the right problem.
One of the best ways to not solve the right problem is to not identify the problem correctly in the first place.
Over and over again, organizations experience confusion in problem definition. Often they are helped by the funny way that solutions arrive on the scene without enough definition themselves, and start redefining the problem the way somebody stretches into a badly fitting suit.
When that happens, the hard questions about scope should kick in. Most solution consultants will say that the point of adopting a solution is to reach a target "future state" that is measurably different from the "current state". What ought to be front and center is the probability that the "future" is soon enough and that it's a place you can stay long enough when you get there. In other words, what has to happen, as opposed to what hypothetically could happen, is something that is feasible (you can do it now) and viable (you can keep it up). If those two points aren't covered, then what is the point of struggling so hard to do something relevant to generate benefits?
Posted by Malcolm Ryder at September 19, 2007 8:54 PM
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