There is no doubt that software development has improved dramatically over the past few years due, in part, to the Agile and Lean movements and a focus on customer-centric development; all approaches having their roots and origins in Silicon Valley's startup ecosystem. Collectively, software developers have used their creativity and these approaches to deliver dazzling software and platforms for the modern enterprise to much acclaim and success.
And while these software-based platforms continue to grow in popularity and expand their utility in the enterprise, most mature organizations are beginning to realize that platforms in their current form may only be part of the equation to solve complex business issues. So, if this is true, what is the other half of the equation?
Before we can answer that question, we should step back and look at the conundrum that all software developers are facing — the problem with human behavior.
Traditional software development models assume that people are entirely rational and will react to situations in a linear, predictable manner. If a software program does X, then the human should respond by doing Y and so on. However, when humans are involved, reality is rarely this simple. Human in general and therefore also as users of software succumb to biases (that they're rarely aware of) and make decisions that deviate from the model of rationality assumed by developers (see the latest HBR feature on Decision Making). In other words, we are irrational; victims of our own beliefs and biases. This "irrationality" can have serious consequences in the enterprise environment.
So, circling back to the question about the second half of the equation which, when combined with software platforms, can help us address complex business issues, I put it to you that the solutions is a need for and an acknowledgement of what we could call the "human platform". Where software platforms enable systems to communicate and work together, the human platform enables large groups of people to communicate, collaborate, solve problems and create together within an enterprise conducting business workflows and processes on a software platform in order to generate superior outcomes.
Would we know what a human platform looks like if we were to see one? If we don't logically define and determine what the human platform would look like, we might miss it all together. So, I think a working definition is in order.
The human platform consists of structured approaches to issues easily understood by people, a common "language" and "thinking model" for ideal for clear communication and for addressing both short-term needs and long-term uncertainty. Furthermore, thanks to the work done by Kepner-Tregoe over the past 50+ years, we can break down this human platform into five core thinking modes and capabilities that the platform must deliver to optimize human activities with software platform efficiencies. As we look at each capability, we need to determine if they collectively begin to paint the picture of a comprehensive platform for predictable, high-level intent- and data-driven human interaction which counteracts our biases, ineffective behaviors and "jumping to answers" based on little or no evidence.
Here are five capabilities that the human platform should provide or enable or develop within people.
- An ability to help us see things as they really are without bias. When it comes to business issues, it really is a data-driven world and we need a platform that enables us to identify and capture relevant data and remove from practice our fast-thinking, knee-jerk reactions from the mix. The ability to understand and to appraise situations properly as it really is, is a keystone capability.
- Problems in complex business and technology environments are inevitable and an ability to analyze problems in order to find their ultimate cause is crucial. This capability's importance increases exponentially as software platforms increase interactions between users from different disciplines across the enterprise.
- In the era of platforms, "big data", and data-driven business intelligence initiatives, it has become more important than ever to have a highly structured, methodical, and common approach to making decisions across the entire organization. The bigger the decision, the more important this capability becomes as incomplete analysis could cost organizations millions in lost revenue, lost opportunity, misallocated resources, etc.
We're off to a good start with a platform that enables people to understand situations properly, analyze problems effectively to find and fix root causes, and to make smart decisions are made based on data. However, it would appear that just having the ability to see clearly, do things well, and reach smart conclusions only addresses the here and now. A comprehensive human platform should also help us understand and provide clarity to what our actions could do — in the future.
- When we make a decision to do something that will affect operations right now, the near-term ramifications of our actions is fairly easy to identify. However, the effects of our actions long-term can manifests themselves in unexpected ways unless we purposefully address what could go wrong before taking action. The ability to identify and analyze potential problems resulting from our actions provides organizations with a built-in "checks and balances" process to mitigate future problems by anticipating them and preventing them from happening in the first place — organizations with this ability will have a competitive advantage that enables them to think creatively and to quickly innovate with confidence.
- The flipside of thinking through what could go happen is, of course, assessing what might go better than expected and how we might scale those successes. More specifically, if actions today produce positive results in one area, can we capture and recreate positive results in other areas? The ability to not only make good decisions most likely to produce positive results, but also the ability to identify and assess potential opportunities is the holy grail for strategic thinkers and executives most responsible for providing sustainable results.
So, we can now define properly what a human platform should look like. It should give all users the ability to appraise situations systematically and holistically, analyze problems to identify root causes efficiently, and to make smart, data-drive decisions for near-term optimization. Furthermore, the human platform should enable its users to think long-term about potential problems arising from actions to mitigate risks as well as providing a framework in which we can capture and recreate actions that produce opportunities for improvement.
As software platform adoption continues to climb, the organizations which will benefit the most from their promise will be those who rightly ensure that their users have a human platform designed to lead us to better problem solving and decision making harnessing the natural human ability to produce significant improvements in operational excellence and human behavior along with the efficiencies provided by the software platform.
