Page - 221 - in The Future of Software Quality Assurance

The Why, How and What ofAgile Transformations 221 How, very clear How, very unclear simple complicated complex chaotic Fig. 2 The Ralph Stacey model • Simple situations: Here it is clear what is needed and how it can be achieved. Simple situations include baking a cake, riding a bicycle or learning to swim, for example.There is a veryclear relationshipbetween the what and the how. If you follow a fixed number of steps, you will get the result you want. This is a knownmethod, so there are best practicesyoucan learn froman instructor.And thenitworks—all the timeinfact. Ifyoudon’tyetknowhowtodealwithsimple situations,finda traineror instructor to teachyou. • Complicated situations: These arise when the uncertainty around the what and howincreases. It is fairlyclearwhat is neededandhowthis canbeachieved,but rock-hard guarantees are no longer possible. It is therefore worthwhile making a detailed analysis in advance of what exactly is needed. The more precisely something is thought out and specified, the greater the chance of success. Take choosing a technical platform, for example, or making a medical diagnosis or repairing a large machine. All these tasks may seem very difficult beforehand, but if well-trained people carry out a thorough analysis first, they will almost always succeed in achieving a good result. The success rate of the how can be increasedbyadditionalattention,training,theuseofexpertise,automationand/or standardisation. Complicated work is usually repetitive. You do it more often and get better at it. Optimisation with lean, therefore, is perfect in complicated environments. Experts and consultants who carry out analysis and propose a specificsolutionarethereforesuitedtocomplicatedsituations.Complicatedwork canbeplanned inadvance,butneedsexpertise, analysisandpreparation.