2020 has been a crappy year for a lot of reasons, not least of which is the fact that it has been massively disruptive for work. No, I am not talking about working from home, although that has been disruptive for some.
I am talking about the enormous economic uncertainty we are currently experiencing. It has caused many organisations to put on hold any significant projects that require substantial investment. Organisations are paralysed by the uncertainty.
Big Project Suck
However, in some ways, I don’t think that is a bad thing. That is because I would say that as a general rule of thumb, most big projects suck. From website redesigns to massive IT projects, the outcomes are unpredictable and often undesirable.
Big projects often mean fixed priced that prevent you from adapting midst project, timelines that are nothing more than ill-informed guesses and specifications that are rarely based on user research.
We should be avoiding big projects anyway, let alone in the middle of such uncertain times. Big projects require significant risks and big decisions. They put massive pressure on everybody to ‘get it right’.
Focus on Low Risk, Iterative Decision Making
I prefer to avoid these ‘big weight projects’ whenever possible. Instead, I achieve the same objectives through a series of smaller, lower risk, iterative decisions based on data.
Digital lets me do this because it is easy to adapt and iterate upon. It also provides me with data on each of my small decisions to tell me if I am heading in the right direction.
Working in this way allows me to identify and explore exciting ideas which might be the solution to the problem I am trying to solve. These ideas won’t be perfect or even well defined. However, they will be enough to start experimenting with and evolving.
Approach Digital Projects Differently
I believe that 2020 is an opportunity to start approaching our digital projects differently. Instead of putting these projects on hold, we have a chance to look at their objectives and ask how we can take small incremental steps towards that goal without the risk of significant investment.
Now you might feel that in your case that is not possible, but I ensure you it is. If you aren’t sure where to start, get in touch. I am happy to discuss it with you.
However, I would also encourage you to consider things like setting better key performance indicators, running a discovery phase, doing a design sprint or building a prototype as good starting points. These are all small, low-risk steps that you can take with little investment.
Don’t Give Up. Start Small.
So if you are frustrated because some project you wanted to work on has been put on hold, don’t give up. Instead, talk to management and suggest starting small and doing some preparation work that will put you in a better position when the company can begin to take more significant risks.
You might find that when they see smaller, incremental steps in action, they may well be converted to this approach permanently, in much the same way that many organisations have been won over to the idea of remote working.
How Are Things With You?
However, I could be wrong. Things could be full steam ahead in your organisation, in which case I would love to know. How are things at your organisation? Are you still working on all of your projects, or have they been put on hold? Drop me an email and let me know.
I look forward to hearing from you.
