The third face of Agile: A solution in search of a problem

 

In this blog by Mike Cottmeyer, he talks about the "two faces of Agile" where one is emergent, in that you are involved in an R&D like project where you are "experimenting, learning, and adapting (your) approach based on super-fast feedback cycles… and the outcomes, the products they are trying to build, are emergent. The end goal isn’t necessarily clear at the start".  This is in contrast to the convergent type, where you are "to figure out the right products to build, but their markets have a predetermined notion of what to expect...but the outcomes, the products they are trying to build, need to converge around set expectations."

In other words, his argument is that Agile project typically have a clear end goal or one that will emerge.

An approach I think that is missing from the above is what I refer to as the dependent type, which is basically the reverse of the emergent type.  It is an R&D project that runs in reverse.  You have or know exactly what the solution will be, but you have just not discovered an application for it.  So the end goal of the solution is dependent on the application of the solution and if that application delivers business value.  It's a solution in search of a problem.

A good example of this would be Google+.  Google+ is the latest addition to the social networking platforms with Twitter and Facebook as dominant leaders.  Though it rose quickly the user base growth has tapered down and new entrant Pinterest has already surpassed it.  Its initial claim to fame was its deep integration with its powerful search capabilities, but that has so far not been compelling enough to gain momentum to challenge Facebook and Twitter.  Google+ is now adding business collaboration features to gain business users (and most likely to intercept momentum of Microsoft's acquisition of the business social networking site Yammer).

Even when you have a solution and the backing of a mult-billion dollar tech company, you will still need to be agile, adaptive, experimental and continuously iterating to find the right application to your solution!  The Google+ example clearly highlights this dependence.