The truth about digital in 2017

In short, the truth is nobody knows what they are doing. Some people have more experience at not knowing than others. But in general people are just making it up as they go along.

It’s impossible to keep up with all the latest trends and tech, without feeling some form of impostor syndrome.

Blogs are becoming a grave of non achievable idealistic ways of doing things better. In truth the majority of what we read cannot and probably has not been applied fully in the real world.

This post could be about design, development or project management it really is irrelevant.

However to give context lets talk about the Agile movement. If you look at the core building blocks behind all the jargon the aim of agile is as follows:

1. To get people talking.
2. To keep people talking
3. To make sure everyone is up to date

Lets look at current design trends such as co-design and service design. What are the major goals:

1. To understand the problems by talking them through
2. To attempt to solve the problems by talking them through
3. To ensure people are included.

Lets not forget development:

1. Write code so the next person can understand it
2. Write good commit messages for context
3. Share knowledge to learn

The common theme here is of course communication. You don’t need to be an expert on a particular methodology or a set principles to improve your companies communication.

Some people will love Agile principles, others will laugh in your face at your attempt at trying to implement the principles of lean AGAIN.

Don’t throw a fancy named solution at a problem. Don’t go on a course or read a book and expect it to solve your problems. People will write based on their own experiences and will say what worked. In reality there are just too many variables for a one size fits all.

Instead talk to the people around you. Work out what problems they are currently experiencing. Look at using simple techniques like the 5 whys to get to the root of their problems.

Be inclusive and share the problems you discover. Empower people to communicate their ideas to solve the problems.

Use people’s key skills to help facilitate better communication. Don’t give up just change, try something new. Remove the fear of failure on an individual and share it collectively. Remove the accolade of success on an individual too this must also be shared.

Whatever sticks keep it until it no longer produces the results you need. Give it a name if you like and write a blog post. However make people aware it may or may not work for them :)

In short:

In 2017 lets break down barriers and silos, stop blinding people with science and lets find better ways to talk collectively. We all want to do well. It’s as simple as that. Lets talk :)