Why Companies must Reduce Complexity!!!

Happy New Year to all of you. 2015 dawns over the water here, and I have a chance to review many articles and and time step back and think. That is what the holidays provide for me a time of family time and reflection and direction.
In the last half of 2014 we saw a significant increase in companies wanting, engaging with with us on "operational System, Operational Environment in 2020 - 25". These were not esquires these were real engagements where companies were reflecting on their systems relative to the new operational landscape we are all facing over the next 10 years.I suspect that 2015 will continue this trend and different programs been taken by companies to guide investments, and technological adoptions to provide them with a foundation to address "operational transformation". Certainly from with in Schneider _Electric we focused on this transformation, and accelerating platforms, Products, applications that will enable operational systems for 2020-25. Addressing the increasing complexity of systems, without increasing operational process complexity is fundamental.

But I thought I would start the new year blog with a great article that I read through the holidays on companies addressing complexity. One of challengers we all face is the new operational landscape with changing products, a flat world of competition and changing workforce, we have a tendency to
think and create complexity is increasing value. This article by Neil Smith allows a good "step back" of the need stay focused on simplicity and this must apply to operational processes and systems, if we are going to be able to absorb change and compete.

So have a read, and lets make sure we do not loose focus on this fundamental objective of simplicity is key to "operational excellence"!!

http://changethis.com/manifesto/95.06.ReduceComplexity/pdf/95.06.ReduceComplexity.pdf

SIMPLICITY the path to adoption, and alignment!

Last week I talked about the two big concepts companies are going to have to grapple with in order to increase competitive efficiency (operational efficiency).

Last week I was dealing with some projects and again the example of technology solution/ change is simple compared to associated “cultural change” that has to be invoked inorder to achieve the objective and return. Key is adoption of the new approach, why not merge technology/ and human nature, to enable a key ingredients of change adoption by changing the situational experience. Human nature is one to to take the path of least resistance, so “simple”, “logical” and “intuitive” experiences can only promote adoption.

 

Many of you will have read the Walter Isaacson’s “Steve Jobs” there many messages but one principle was simple and least path to resistance.  Another book that reflects this and brings many smiles to your face is Alan Cooper’s “The Inmates Are Running the Asylum”. Highlighting how engineers add features devices like alarm clocks, movie players, etc that increase the complexity over multiple versions to point that only 15% of features are actually used.

Both of these books are targeted at product development, but in reality, the same applies to Operational/ Automation solutions that must be adopted to succeed, but as it was pointed out again last week to me. Time for dedicated training in this every changing world is diminishing as fast as the introduction of new changes in systems. Combine this with the “rotating staff” symptom I have talked about a lot, with people taking on new activities, so new procedures, experiences, and less time to learn them.Steve Jobs insisted on simple, take out unnecessary actions, always asking “why” is it included, when reviewing a product.

How many of you ask this same question when engineering an operational solution, or we acting like so many of us engineers just add this one new feature, someone might use it. Maybe it is because I am older, or have been bitten many times, but I am starting to follow a similar policy where “choice= complexity”. There is less time for choice; the systems must provide us with options, enabling faster, more consistent decisions and actions. Minimal learning curve, so when looking at an activity, the question should be; “What is associated experience that would minimise the learning to perform that activity confidently?” How does someone learn, most of us avoid manuals, in preference to 3 to 5 minute youtube?

This “simplicity” motto applies to configuration, setup and operational execution at all levels, this is why standards are the only option going forward, providing a set of well designed, proven building blocks that are composed into an application. The standards can be evolved that the consuming application will evolve, with the changes no matter if they model, UI etc.

This is why great products are driven by one person who represents the user, and looks at the final experience, as well as capability. It is pleasing to see this in some the latest engineering projects from system integrators, they have minimal key strokes to achieve a result, and navigation is “follow the colour”. One person said you should also look at your design, not from today, but if you went away and came back in 2 years would you still understand it, and be able operate it, or add changes to it? These are good questions.

The leading “Operational Excellence” companies are on the journey of asset alignment, team alignment, but also driving simplicity to everything from architecture, standards, UI, models, interfaces etc. It is proven to achieve adoption, and sustainability of the solution. Too often we are too close to wood and trees and miss the holistic experience, and forget the drive of simplicity.