Author Archives: Liz

On Multiple Givens, Whens and Thens

Posted on May 6, 2019 by Liz

I wrote this as a reply to user RHarris’s question on StackOverflow, but thought it might be easier to find here too. The login scenario and the access record here are adapted from their question. What contexts should we include … Continue reading →

Posted in bdd, stakeholders | 5 Comments

How to run a Futurespective

Posted on September 12, 2018 by Liz

Futurespectives, like Retrospectives, look back at the past… from the future! I find them very useful when there isn’t much to retrospect on: at the start of a project or initiative. I’ve run them for myself, for other individuals, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments

Probably not

Posted on July 28, 2018 by Liz

When working in complexity, where the right thing to do emerges and we learn by actually trying things rather than by analysis, there’s a very human instinct that happens when we think of probes to try out. I see it … Continue reading →

Posted in cynefin, real options | 2 Comments

Me too.

Posted on October 17, 2017 by Liz

I don’t need to write a post about sexual harassment in the workplace. I already wrote one, 12 years ago. Reading it back, I was struck by the paragraph I wrote about blurred lines. I tried to remember what I … Continue reading →

Posted in life | 15 Comments

On Real Options and Speculative Investments

Posted on September 8, 2017 by Liz

If you’ve read the awesome graphic novel, “Commitment”, you’ll know the rules of Real Options already: Options have value Options expire Never commit early unless you know why. There’s an additional rule which is sometimes added to this: Options have … Continue reading →

Posted in cynefin, real options | 1 Comment

Reflecting Reality

Posted on August 31, 2017 by Liz

One of the things I often do as a coach is help people to set up their visual boards, whether physical or electronic. Sometimes that can be surprisingly hard for teams to do without a bit of guidance, so I … Continue reading →

Posted in kanban, lean | 2 Comments

A Helping Hand

Posted on July 18, 2017 by Liz

This week, Sallyann Freudenberg and Katherine Kirk have been running a small summit on inclusive collaboration and neurodiversity – not just focused on diversity in our experiences, but in the very make-up of our brain. Sallyann suggested there was a … Continue reading →

Posted in cynefin, learning, life | 1 Comment

When Ignorance is Bliss

Posted on June 23, 2017 by Liz

I’ve written before about epiphany; that sudden sense of enlightenment that you get when you realise that you’ve discovered a new pattern in the world. It’s ironic that my favourite moment of epiphany was when I finally understood its opposite … Continue reading →

Posted in cynefin | 3 Comments

Yes, and…

Posted on March 5, 2017 by Liz

Imagine two actors standing on stage. “I like your penguin,” the first says. The other turns round, looking at the empty space where one might imagine a penguin could be following. There are two things that can happen. Perhaps the … Continue reading →

Posted in complexity, cynefin, deliberate discovery, real options | 9 Comments

Breaking Boxes

Posted on November 7, 2016 by Liz

I love words. I really, really love words. I like poetry, and reading, and writing, and conversations, and songs with words in, and puns and wordplay and anagrams. I like learning words in different languages, and finding out where words … Continue reading →

Posted in complexity | 7 Comments