2.3.1. Foundational Principles: Value, Starting Point, and Iteration

💡 First Principle: Effective action begins with a clear understanding of the desired value, an honest assessment of the current reality, and a commitment to making incremental progress with continuous feedback.

Scenario: A team wants to improve their deployment process. Instead of designing a complex, perfect process from scratch, they start where they are by mapping their current workflow. They identify one small improvement to automate (progress iteratively) that will deliver immediate value by reducing manual errors. They plan to gather feedback before tackling the next improvement.

This subsection covers the first three Guiding Principles, which establish a value-centric approach, the importance of assessing the current state, and the benefits of iterative progress with feedback.

1. Focus on Value
   • Rationale: Ensures work contributes to stakeholder value.
   • Exam Application: Questions test your ability to identify actions that directly contribute to or are aligned with value for the consumer.
   • Professional Application: Before starting any task, ask: Who are the stakeholders? What value is this intended to deliver for them? How will they perceive its usefulness, benefits, and importance? This includes understanding Customer/User Experience (CX/UX) and broader business impacts like revenue or growth.
2. Start Where You Are
   • Rationale: Avoids waste by leveraging existing resources.
   • Exam Application: Questions focus on assessing the current state before implementing changes.
   • Professional Application: Don't reinvent the wheel. Before building a new process or implementing a new tool, understand what is already in place. Assess the current state using observation, measurement, and data collection. Identify what can be reused or improved upon.
3. Progress Iteratively with Feedback
   • Rationale: Manages risk, enables flexibility, delivers value sooner.
   • Exam Application: Questions focus on breaking down work and using feedback loops.
   • Professional Application: Instead of trying to deliver a perfect, finished product all at once, break down large initiatives into smaller, manageable increments. Implement and gather feedback frequently. Use feedback loops to understand what's working and what's not, and be prepared to adapt based on changing circumstances. Avoid "analysis paralysis" – doing something and getting feedback is better than endless planning.

⚠️ Common Pitfall: For "Start Where You Are," assuming the current state must be completely discarded. Often, valuable elements exist that can be built upon, saving time and effort.

Key Trade-Offs:

• Perfection vs. Progress: "Progress Iteratively with Feedback" encourages delivering a "minimum viable product" to get feedback and deliver value sooner, rather than waiting for a perfect, all-encompassing solution that may be late or miss the mark.

Reflection Question: How can the principle "Progress Iteratively with Feedback" help a team overcome the fear of failure and the pressure to deliver a perfect solution on the first attempt?