How to avoid SharePoint becoming a wicked problem

“ If you can tell me why you say that plan A is great, and I understand your judgments, you have succeeded in objectifying your space of judgment to me. And although I might not share your judgment and might not be convinced, I understand you now.”
Horst Rittel
“ A problem well stated is a problem half solved ”
Charles Kettering (1876-1958)

How to avoid SharePoint becoming a wicked problem CIO229 Paul Culmsee

Paul Culmsee, MCT, MCSE, CISSP
Seven Sigma Business Solutions
www.sevensigma.com.au
[email_address]
Author of cleverworkarounds.com blog
SharePoint architect, Trainer, Dialogue and Issue Mapping practitioner, author for SharePointMagazine.net & EndUserSharePoint.com Reformed tech geek, Metalhead

Session Agenda
Understanding wicked problems and social complexity
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

Project Success/Failure Factors
Failure Factors
Lack of user input
Incomplete requirements & specifications
Changing requirements & assumptions
Lack of executive support
Technology incompetence
Lack of resources
Unrealistic expectations
Unclear objectives
Unrealistic timeframes
New technology
Source: Chaos Report (1995)

Failure Factors
Lack of user input
Lack of executive support
Technology incompetence
Lack of resources
Unrealistic expectations
Unclear objectives
Unrealistic timeframes
New technology
Lack of shared understanding of the problem

Failure Factors
Lack of user input
Lack of Executive Support
Technology Incompetence
Lack of Resources
Unrealistic Expectations
Unclear Objectives
Unrealistic Timeframes
New technology
Also a lack of shared understanding of the problem

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”
“ It was in the minutes – did you read it?”
“ Well if everyone actually followed the process…”
These are examples of the forces of “social complexity” and “wicked problems”

Social Complexity
The more parties involved in a collaboration, the more socially complex
The more different these parties are, the more diverse, the more socially complex
The fragmenting force of social complexity makes communication very difficult
This extends to collaborative technologies too!

Wicked Problems
Defined by Horst Rittel in 1973
Problems in planning and social or public policy
Highly resistant to resolution
A number of “distinguishing properties” compared to “tame” problems

Wicked Problem Properties
The problem is not understood until after formulation of a solution
Cognexus Institute www.cognexus.org

The problem is not understood until after formulation of a solution
Wicked problems have no stopping rule
You cannot prove that all solutions have been considered
Solutions differ based on interests, values and ideology of participants

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

Dealing with Wicked Problems
There is no quick fix
No “tame your wicked problems in seven easy steps”
“ Constrain Scope” Strategy
Have you really solved the problem if you don’t consider the solution in the original context?
Authoritative Strategies
Decision is made for us and we agree to abide (Supreme Court)
Competitive Strategies
Win-lose outcome (politics and lobbying)
Collaborative Strategies
SharePoint?

The SharePoint Paradox
To deal with wicked problems we have to collaborate
SharePoint is a collaboration tool
We use a collaborative tool to improve our collaboration
Therefore, why do many SharePoint projects have wicked elements to them?

Strategic SharePoint Pitfalls
Do not “boil the ocean”
“ Too much too soon” is a magnet for wickedness
The organisation has to be ready to come too
Have a clear strategy
SharePoint should not be a “tool looking for a problem”
Do not paint with the same brush
Gen Y think everyone wants web 2.0
Engineers think everyone wants wikis
Record managers hate wiki’s and think *everything* should be classified
Marketing think that people will use it if it looks good
Some will never break the folder habit

Strategic SharePoint Pitfalls
Understand the inherent conflicts within application requirements
Records management vs Collaborative Document management
WCM vs Collaborative Portal
Branding before anything else
Account for “soft” factors
Organisational culture
Individual learning styles and behavioural styles
Vertical Market/Sector

Signs of SharePoint wickedness...
Arguments over accountabilities and ownership
Excessive rework of custom development
Poor performance and scalability
SharePoint mushrooms (site sprawl)
No history of modifications made
What, when, who and why
A service pack installation is a “War and Peace” effort
You have decided you should attend a best practice conference :-)

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

Will this solve a wicked problem?

Issue Mapping
Horst Rittel created a planning/design method called IBIS
Issue 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 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.

Benefits of Issue Mapping
Simple, 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
Democratic - Acknowledges all contributions
Disarms “truth by repetition”
Disarms “grenade lobbing” (topic shift)
Takes the interpersonal “sting” out of supporting or objecting to an idea
Faster - allows a group to achieve shared understanding with much less pain

The Craft of Issue Mapping
Issue maps can be sketched on paper, but usually crafted using software
Compendium
bCisive.
Issue Mapping is a craft based skill – you need some training and practice!
Don’t fall for the panacea effect!

Issue Mapping with other best practices
Maintain your other standards or frameworks
IM emphasis at the problem/requirements definition phase
Compliments any methodology or practice (PMBOK, Scrum)
Leverage IM with Agile methods
Agile/Scrum is a *process* based approach that rejects the waterfall approach
Agile processes and methods implicitly support shared understanding, but IM goes beyond software engineering
IM and Agile are a great fit

Leverage IM and SharePoint
Use Issue Mapping to understand the problem
Ensures shared understanding and shared commitment among participants
Use SharePoint to manage and track the solution
Documents and reports still need writing
Data needs to be managed, maintained and distributed
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_address]
Issue Mapping and SharePoint specialists
CogNexus Institute “Designated Partner”
Dr Jeff Conklin – creator of Issue Mapping ( www.cognexus.org )
Issue Mapping & Dialogue Mapping training and services
Book: Dialogue Mapping: Building Shared Understanding of Wicked Problems
CleverWorkarounds Blog ( www.cleverworkarounds.com )
SharePoint Project Management
SharePoint Strategy
SharePoint Governance
Compendium Software ( http://compendium.open.ac.uk/ )

Thank you for attending!
Post conference DVD with all slide decks
Sponsored by

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How to avoid SharePoint becoming a wicked problem

by Paul Culmsee

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How to avoid SharePoint becoming a wicked problem Presentation Transcript