Over 100 terms from Agile, Scrum, Kanban, OKR, Design Thinking, Lean Startup and Business Model Innovation – with definitions, authors, examples and cross-references.
Iterative framework for complex product development with defined roles, events and artefacts.
For complex projects with unclear requirements.
Empirical process control through transparency, inspection and adaptation.
Ken Schwaber & Jeff Sutherland, 1995. Scrum Guide.
Software team works in 2-week sprints, delivering a working increment each iteration.
Fixed timebox of 1–4 weeks for a potentially shippable product increment.
Whenever regular delivery cycles are needed.
Rhythm creates predictability. No scope changes during the sprint.
Scrum Guide. Term from rugby.
2-week sprint: Monday planning, daily standup, last day review + retro.
Responsible for maximising product value through backlog management.
In every Scrum team. One person with decision-making authority.
'What' gets built, not 'how'. Single source for requirements.
Scrum Guide. Inspired by Chief Engineer at Toyota.
PO decides: feature A before feature B, because customer feedback is prioritised higher.
Servant leader who supports the team in applying Scrum and removes impediments.
In every Scrum team. Especially important when introducing Scrum.
Enabler, not manager. Protects team and promotes self-organisation.
Scrum Guide. Servant Leadership by Robert Greenleaf (1970).
SM recognises dependency blockage and organises cross-team meeting.
Prioritised list of all known requirements – the single source of work.
Always. A living document that evolves with every sprint.
DEEP: Detailed appropriately, Estimated, Emergent, Prioritized.
Scrum Guide. DEEP acronym by Roman Pichler.
Top: detailed user stories. Bottom: rough epics.
15-minute sync event: What was done? What is planned? What impediments?
Daily, same time, same place.
Synchronisation, nicht Reporting. Team organisiert sich selbst.
Scrum Guide. Also known as 'stand-up'.
'I'm waiting for code review' → Team immediately clarifies who takes over.
Team reflection: what went well? What to improve? What actions to take?
At the end of each sprint, before the next planning.
Continuous improvement through honest reflection.
Scrum Guide. Derby & Larsen 'Agile Retrospectives' (2006).
Sailboat format: wind (propels), anchor (holds back), rocks (risks).
Inspection of the product increment with stakeholders – demo, feedback, backlog adjustment.
At the end of each sprint, before the retrospective.
Keine PowerPoint-Show, sondern funktionierende Software zeigen.
Scrum Guide. Max. 4 hours for a 4-week sprint.
Customers test new search function live. Feedback: 'Filter missing' → new item.
Requirement from the user's perspective: 'As a [role] I want [function] so that [benefit]'.
For product backlog items. Keeps requirements comprehensible.
INVEST: Independent, Negotiable, Valuable, Estimable, Small, Testable.
Kent Beck (XP). INVEST by Bill Wake (2003).
'As a customer, I want to filter by price so I can find suitable products more quickly.'
Shared quality understanding: when is a backlog item truly done?
Always. Display visually, check for each item.
Transparency about quality. Prevents 'almost done'.
Scrum Guide. Distinct from acceptance criteria.
DoD: code reviewed, tests written, documentation up to date, deployed.
Specific conditions that must be met for a user story to be considered complete.
For each user story. Defines scope and enables testability.
Given-When-Then format for clear, testable criteria.
BDD, Dan North (2003). Gherkin-Syntax.
Given: eingeloggt. When: Filter 0-50€. Then: nur Produkte unter 50€.
Average story points per sprint – for forecasting, not comparison.
For sprint planning and release forecasting. Not as a performance measure!
Diagnose-Tool, keine Zielvorgabe.
Extreme Programming (Kent Beck). Alternative: Throughput.
Durchschnitt 25 Points/Sprint → 100 Points Backlog ≈ 4 Sprints.
Relative estimation unit for effort/complexity – abstract, not in hours.
Beim Planning Poker. Fibonacci-Reihe (1,2,3,5,8,13...).
Relativ, nicht absolut. 'Doppelt so komplex wie Story X'.
Ron Jeffries (XP). Planning Poker von Mike Cohn (2002).
Referenz-Story = 2 Points. Neue Story doppelt komplex → 5 Points.
Sum of all completed items at sprint end – must be 'done' and shippable.
Jeder Sprint produziert ein Increment.
Additive to all previous increments. Always functional.
Scrum Guide.
Sprint 1: Login. Sprint 2: Login + Suche. Sprint 3: Login + Suche + Filter.
Large user story, too big for a single sprint – broken down later.
For rough features at the bottom of the backlog.
Hierarchie: Epic → Features → User Stories → Tasks.
Agile Community. Story Mapping von Jeff Patton (2014).
Epic: 'Bezahlsystem' → Stories: Kreditkarte, PayPal, Rechnung.
Regular backlog maintenance: clarifying, estimating, prioritising and splitting items.
Weekly, max. 10% of sprint capacity.
Just-in-time Detaillierung. Top-Items fein, Bottom-Items grob.
Scrum Guide. Umbenannt von 'Grooming' (2013).
PO presents epic, team asks questions, breaks it into stories, estimates.
Graphical representation of remaining work over time.
Sprint Burndown kurzfristig, Release Burndown langfristig.
Ideal line vs. actual line shows deviations early.
Ken Schwaber. Alternative: Burnup Chart.
Day 5: ideal line 50% done, actual line 30% → early warning.
Foundational document from 2001 with 4 values and 12 principles.
As a guiding vision and reference for all agile frameworks.
'Items on the right have value, but we value items on the left more.'
17 authors, Snowbird Utah, February 2001.
4 values: individuals > processes, software > documentation, collaboration > contracts, responding > planning.
Fixed maximum duration for an activity – when time is up, you stop.
For all Scrum events: sprint, daily (15 min), retro.
Zeit fixiert, Scope variabel. Zwingt zu Fokus.
Pomodoro-Technik (Cirillo, 1980er).
Design sprint: 5 days timeboxed for problem→prototype→test.
Pull-based workflow system with visualisation, WIP limits and continuous improvement.
Bei kontinuierlichem Arbeitsfluss ohne feste Iterationen.
'Stop starting, start finishing.' Begrenze parallele Arbeit.
Toyota Production System (1940er). David Anderson (2007).
Support team: tickets flow from 'New' via 'In Progress' (max 3) to 'Done'.
Maximum number of concurrent tasks per column – prevents overload.
Immer! Wichtigstes Kanban-Element.
Little's Law: Weniger parallele Arbeit = schnellere Durchlaufzeit.
Toyota Production System. David Anderson.
Spalte 'In Entwicklung' WIP-Limit 3: Erst wenn eins fertig, kommt neues rein.
Total time from customer request to delivery – including waiting times.
For service level expectation, for forecasting.
Lead Time = Cycle Time + Wartezeit. Oft 80% Warten!
Manufacturing/Lean.
Ticket erstellt Montag, erledigt Freitag = 5 Tage Lead Time.
Time from starting work to completion – actual processing time.
Zur Prozessoptimierung.
Starts at 'in progress', ends at 'done'. Part of lead time.
Manufacturing, adapted for Kanban/DevOps.
Ticket 'In Progress' Di 9:00, 'Done' Di 15:00 = 6 Std Cycle Time.
Zustand optimalen, kontinuierlichen Arbeitsflusses ohne Unterbrechungen.
Flow is the goal! Optimise WIP limits until flow emerges.
Flow efficiency = value-adding time / lead time. Often only 5–15%!
Lean manufacturing. Csikszentmihalyi for psychological flow.
Good: items flow evenly. Bad: items pile up before 'review'.
Work is pulled when capacity is available – not pushed.
In Kanban fundamental. Gegenteil von Push.
Prevents overload. WIP limits make pull visible.
Toyota Production System.
Developer finished → pulls the next ticket themselves.
Anzahl abgeschlossener Items pro Zeiteinheit.
Alternative zu Velocity/Story Points. Einfacher zu messen.
Little's Law: Throughput = WIP / Lead Time.
Queuing Theory. NoEstimates-Bewegung.
Team completes 15 tickets per week = throughput 15/week.
Engpass im Workflow – langsamste Stelle bestimmt Tempo.
Identify and resolve = highest leverage.
Theory of Constraints: Optimiere nur den Bottleneck.
Eliyahu Goldratt 'The Goal' (1984).
10 Entwickler, 1 Tester → Tester ist Bottleneck. Mehr Devs hilft nicht!
Visual workflow representation with columns for each process step.
Always. Physisch oder digital (Jira, Trello).
Visualise the work. WIP limits per column.
Toyota 'Kanban' = Signalkarte.
Spalten: Backlog → Analyse → Development → Review → Done.
Fundamentales Gesetz: Lead Time = WIP / Throughput.
For justifying WIP limits. Mathematically provable!
L = λW (Warteschlangentheorie).
John Little (MIT), 1961.
10 Items WIP, 2 Items/Tag Throughput = 5 Tage Lead Time.
Japanese for 'change for the better' – continuous improvement.
Always. Small daily improvements.
1% besser jeden Tag = 37x besser nach einem Jahr.
Toyota. Masaaki Imai 'Kaizen' (1986).
Retro outcome: 'send meeting invitations one day earlier'.
Visualisation of WIP, lead time and throughput over time.
For Kanban teams. More powerful than burndown.
Horizontaler Abstand = Lead Time, vertikaler = WIP, Steigung = Throughput.
Statistical Process Control. David Anderson.
Bands getting wider = WIP increasing = problem.
Impediment preventing further work – must be addressed immediately.
Im Daily nennen, auf Board markieren (rotes Flag).
Resolving blockers has the highest priority.
Scrum (impediment) and Kanban.
'Warte auf API-Zugang vom Partner' – Team kann nicht weitermachen.
Prognose wie lange Items typischerweise dauern.
Statt fester Deadlines. Basiert auf historischen Daten.
Probabilistic rather than deterministic.
Kanban Guide (2020).
'85% of items in under 10 days.'
Goal management: qualitative goals (Objectives) with measurable results (Key Results).
For strategic focus. Quarterly.
Focus through prioritisation. Max. 3–5 objectives.
Andy Grove (Intel, 1970er). John Doerr, Google (1999).
O: Become market leader in DACH. KR1: 10,000 new customers. KR2: NPS 50+.
Qualitatives, inspirierendes Ziel – beschreibt WAS erreicht werden soll.
For focus and direction. No numbers!
Starts with verbs: 'Become', 'Establish', 'Transform'.
Andy Grove (Intel).
Good: 'Create the best onboarding in the industry'. Bad: '10% more users'.
Measurable results that indicate whether the objective has been achieved.
3-5 pro Objective. Outcome-fokussiert, nicht Output.
Binary verifiable: clearly achieved or not at quarter end.
Andy Grove.
Gut: 'NPS von 40 auf 55'. Schlecht: 'Feedback-Prozess verbessern'.
Vertical and horizontal goal alignment – everyone pulling in the same direction.
During OKR planning. Align vertically and horizontally.
60% Bottom-up, 40% Top-down.
OKR-Methodik.
Company: 'Beste Customer Experience'. Marketing + Produkt + Support alignen darauf.
Extrem ambitioniertes Stretch Goal – 70% Erreichung gilt als Erfolg.
For transformative goals. Not for must-haves.
'Shoot for the moon – even if you miss, you land among the stars.'
Google OKR-Kultur. JFK Mondlandung (1961).
Moonshot: '10x Wachstum'. Roofshot: '20% Wachstum'.
Realistisches Committed Goal – 100% Erreichung erwartet.
For binding goals that must not be missed.
Balance with moonshots.
Google OKR-Terminologie.
'99,9% Uptime aufrechterhalten' – kein Stretch, sondern Pflicht.
Weekly OKR review: update confidence, identify blockers.
Jede Woche, 15-30 Min.
Traffic light system: red/amber/green for each key result.
OKR Best Practice.
'KR2 ist gelb – Confidence 60%. Plan: User-Interviews nachholen.'
Subjective assessment (0–100%) of how likely a key result is to be achieved.
In weekly check-in. Starts at approx. 50% (moonshot).
Sinkendes Confidence = Handlungsbedarf.
OKR Best Practice.
KR '100 new customers': week 4 at 30, but confidence 70% because pipeline is strong.
Conversations, Feedback, Recognition – Begleitprozess zu OKRs.
Continuously. Replaces annual reviews.
OKRs allein reichen nicht – Menschen brauchen Dialog.
John Doerr 'Measure What Matters' (2018).
C: 1:1s alle 2 Wochen. F: Peer-Feedback. R: Shoutouts im Team.
Key performance indicator – metric for measuring performance.
KPI: ongoing measurement. Key result: target value for a period.
Was gemessen wird, wird gemanaged.
Balanced Scorecard (Kaplan & Norton, 1992).
KPI: 'Aktueller NPS = 42'. KR: 'NPS von 42 auf 55 bis Q3.'
Result/impact – not the activity itself (output).
Output: feature built. Outcome: users solve problems faster.
'Focus on outcomes, not outputs.'
Outcome-Driven Innovation (Ulwick). Marty Cagan.
Output: 50 Features. Outcome: Conversion 2%→4%.
Management by Objectives – klassisches Zielvereinbarungs-System.
MBO: annual, top-down, bonus-linked. OKR: quarterly.
SMART-Ziele.
Peter Drucker 'The Practice of Management' (1954).
MBO: '15% revenue increase for annual bonus'.
Nutzerzentrierter Innovationsansatz: Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, Test.
For complex problems with unclear requirements.
Fail early, fail often. Iterativ, nicht linear.
Stanford d.school, David Kelley, IDEO (1991).
Hospital: staff experience patient perspective → new solutions.
Process model: divergent-convergent for both problem AND solution.
Zur Strukturierung von Innovationsprojekten.
Diamond 1: find the problem. Diamond 2: find the solution.
British Design Council (2005).
Left: research → problem. Right: ideas → solution.
Visualisation of the user perspective: Says, Thinks, Does, Feels.
Nach User Research, vor Ideation.
Hypotheses about the user's inner world.
XPLANE. Dave Gray 'Gamestorming' (2010).
Fill 4 quadrants: what does the user say, think, do, feel?
Question format: 'How might we solve [problem] for [user]?'
Between define and ideate. Opens the solution space.
'How' = optimistisch. 'Might' = offen. 'We' = kollaborativ.
Procter & Gamble (Min Basadur). IDEO.
'How might we make waiting times less stressful?'
Quick, low-cost implementation of an idea for testing.
As early as possible. Better 10 quick ones than 1 perfect one.
'A prototype is worth 1000 meetings.'
Design Thinking, IDEO.
Papier-Mockup einer App in 15 Min → sofort testen.
Fictional, representative user type based on research.
Nach User Research. Macht abstrakte Nutzergruppe greifbar.
Name, Foto, Ziele, Frustrationen.
Alan Cooper 'The Inmates Are Running the Asylum' (1999).
Maria, 42, project manager: wants overview, hates complex tools.
First Design Thinking phase: understanding users through observation.
Always at the beginning. Before thinking about solutions.
Listen, observe, immerse. No assumptions.
Stanford d.school.
Einen Tag als Patient im Krankenhaus verbringen.
Creative phase for generating many ideas – quantity before quality.
Nach Problemdefinition, vor Prototyping.
'Yes, and...' instead of 'Yes, but...'. Encourage wild ideas.
Design Thinking. Brainstorming (Alex Osborn, 1953).
100 ideas in 30 minutes. Dot voting for favourites.
Thinking mode: opening up possibilities, generating many options.
In ideation and research. Opposite: convergent thinking.
First diverge (open up), then converge (focus).
J.P. Guilford (1967). Double Diamond.
'What if...?' No criticism. Build up, don't shoot down.
Focused problem statement: [user] needs [need] because [insight].
Between empathise and ideate. Defines the problem.
Action-oriented. Specific yet broad enough.
Stanford d.school.
'Maria braucht schnellen Projektstatus, weil sie 8 Meetings/Tag hat.'
Deep understanding of connections – more than information.
As a result of research. Basis for decisions.
Insight = Information + Interpretation + Implikation.
Research/Analytics.
'Users abandon because form is too long' → 'Simplicity > completeness'.
Zentraler Lean Startup Zyklus: Bauen, Messen, Lernen.
For each product iteration. Fastest loop wins.
Minimise cycle time. Validated learning is the goal.
Eric Ries 'The Lean Startup' (2011).
Build MVP → measure conversion → hypothesis confirmed/refuted.
Minimum Viable Product – smallest version to test and learn.
As early as possible. Not perfect, just capable of learning.
What is the minimum needed to test this assumption?
Eric Ries. Frank Robinson (2001).
Dropbox: just one video → 70,000 sign-ups overnight.
Insights confirmed through experiments – not opinions.
After every experiment. What have we learned from the data?
Learning is the product. Features are a means to an end.
Eric Ries.
'We believed X' → 'We tested and learned: Y (with data)'.
Strategic change of direction based on insights.
When hypotheses are refuted and course correction is needed.
Pivot ist kein Scheitern, sondern Lernen in Aktion.
Eric Ries. 10 Pivot-Typen.
YouTube: Video-Dating → Video-Sharing. Instagram: Check-in → Fotos.
Testable assumption about user, problem or solution.
Vor jedem Experiment. Macht Annahmen explizit.
'We believe that [X] because [Y]. We will test by [Z]'.
Scientific method, for startups.
'Users will pay for feature X.' Test: landing page with pre-order.
Structured test of a hypothesis with clear success criteria.
For every important assumption. Before major investments.
Cheapest, fastest way to learn.
Lean Startup, Scientific Method.
A/B-Test, Smoke Test, Concierge, Wizard of Oz, Landing Page.
Manually delivered service that will later be automated.
Wenn Automatisierung zu teuer/riskant ist.
Things that don't scale. Manual is OK for learning.
Eric Ries.
Food Pail lieferte Essen manuell per Fahrrad bevor App gebaut wurde.
Produkt wirkt automatisiert, ist aber manuell betrieben.
Um Nachfrage zu testen bevor Technologie gebaut wird.
Fake it till you make it. Lernen vor Bauen.
Nach 'Zauberer von Oz' (Mann hinter dem Vorhang).
Zappos: Fotos online, manuell im Laden kaufen.
Test with a fake product (landing page, button) to measure demand.
Vor dem Bauen. Misst Interesse ohne echtes Produkt.
Measure whether people would click, not whether they say they would.
Hardware-Testing adaptiert.
Landing page with 'Buy' button → measures clicks, product does not exist.
State where a product satisfies a genuine customer need.
Check before scaling. Without PMF, growth is burning money.
Marc Andreessen: 'You'll feel it when you have it.'
Marc Andreessen (2007). Sean Ellis 40%-Test.
'40%+ would be very disappointed if the product disappeared.'
Framework um Innovationsfortschritt zu messen – nicht klassische KPIs.
For startups and innovation projects.
Actionable metrics instead of vanity metrics.
Eric Ries.
Nicht 'Downloads' (Vanity) sondern 'Activation Rate' (Actionable).
Ein Durchlauf des Build-Measure-Learn Zyklus.
Kontinuierlich. Jede Iteration bringt Lernen.
Fast iterations beat perfect plans.
Agile/Lean.
MVP v1 → lernen → v2 → lernen → v3 oder Pivot.
Strategic tool with 9 fields for visualising business models.
For new business models, pivots, analysis.
All 9 building blocks must fit together.
Osterwalder & Pigneur 'Business Model Generation' (2010).
9 Felder: Value Prop, Segments, Channels, Relationships, Revenue, Resources, Activities, Partners, Costs.
Detailed analysis of customer value: Customer Profile + Value Map.
For sharpening the value proposition.
Fit between jobs/pains/gains and products/relievers/creators.
Osterwalder 'Value Proposition Design' (2014).
Links: Was will Kunde? Rechts: Was bieten wir? → Fit herstellen.
Framework: Kunden 'heuern' Produkte um einen Job zu erledigen.
For product development. Understands true buying motivation.
'People don't want a drill, they want a hole.'
Clayton Christensen 'Competing Against Luck' (2016).
McDonald's milkshake: 'job' = occupation for a boring commute.
Startup-Variante des BMC: Problem, Solution, Metrics, Unfair Advantage.
For startups. Focus on risks and hypotheses.
Felder sind Hypothesen zum Testen.
Ash Maurya 'Running Lean' (2012).
Statt 'Partners' → 'Problem'. Statt 'Relationships' → 'Unfair Advantage'.
BMC field: different customer groups with different needs.
For business model design. Basis for everything else.
Unterschiedliche Segmente = unterschiedliche Value Propositions.
Business Model Canvas.
B2B vs. B2C, Early Adopters vs. Mainstream, Freemium vs. Premium.
BMC field: why should customers buy from us?
Core of the business model. Must be clear and differentiating.
Quantifiable, Differentiating, Primary.
Business Model Canvas. Michael Lanning (1988).
Uber: 'Push a button, get a ride.'
BMC field: how do we reach customers and deliver the value proposition?
Zur Planung von Vertrieb, Marketing, Delivery.
5 Phasen: Awareness, Evaluation, Purchase, Delivery, After Sales.
Business Model Canvas.
Direct (web shop) vs. indirect (retailers). Online vs. offline.
BMC field: how and for what do customers pay?
Bei Monetarisierungsstrategie.
Transaktional vs. Recurring. Asset Sale, Subscription, etc.
Business Model Canvas.
Freemium: Basis kostenlos, Premium kostenpflichtig.
BMC field: which assets are essential for our business model?
Zur Identifikation kritischer Ressourcen.
Physical, Intellectual, Human, Financial.
Business Model Canvas.
Google: Algorithmus + Rechenzentren. IKEA: Design + Logistik.
BMC field: which activities are essential for our business model?
For focusing on what matters.
Production, Problem Solving, Platform/Network.
Business Model Canvas.
Consulting: Problem Solving. Amazon: Logistics. Facebook: Platform.
BMC field: strategic partnerships that enable the business model.
Zur Optimierung, Risikoreduktion.
Make or buy? What can partners do better?
Business Model Canvas.
Apple + Foxconn. Spotify + Labels.
BMC field: what costs arise from the business model?
Zur Wirtschaftlichkeitsanalyse.
Fixed vs. Variable. Cost-driven vs. Value-driven.
Business Model Canvas.
Ryanair: Cost-driven. Apple: Value-driven.
Preismodell: Basisversion kostenlos, Premium-Features kostenpflichtig.
For digital products with low marginal costs.
Conversion Rate kritisch: 2-5% typisch.
Fred Wilson (2006). Spotify, Dropbox.
Spotify: Werbefinanziert kostenlos, Premium ohne Werbung + Offline.
Pricing model: recurring payment for continuous access.
For recurring usage. Predictable revenue.
MRR/ARR als Metric. Churn ist kritisch. LTV > CAC.
Tien Tzuo 'Subscribed'.
Netflix, Adobe Creative Cloud, Dollar Shave Club.
Business model that creates value by connecting groups.
For multi-sided markets. Network effects are key.
Plattform besitzt nicht, sondern verbindet.
Parker, Van Alstyne, Choudary 'Platform Revolution' (2016).
Uber, Airbnb, Amazon Marketplace.
Produkt wird wertvoller je mehr Nutzer es hat.
For platforms. Winner-takes-all dynamics.
Direct vs. Indirect Network Effects.
Robert Metcalfe (Metcalfe's Law).
Facebook: more friends → more value. Uber: more drivers → shorter wait.
First customer group to adopt a new product – willing to take risks.
For product launch and MVP testing.
2.5% of the population (Rogers). Bridge to the mainstream.
Everett Rogers 'Diffusion of Innovations' (1962).
Tech enthusiasts who use beta versions despite bugs.
VPC element: negative experiences and obstacles faced by the customer.
Bei Value Proposition Design. Was vermeiden?
Funktionale, emotionale, soziale Pains.
Value Proposition Canvas.
Zeitverschwendung, hohe Kosten, Unsicherheit.
VPC element: positive outcomes the customer aspires to.
Bei Value Proposition Design. Was erreichen?
Required, Expected, Desired, Unexpected Gains.
Value Proposition Canvas.
Zeitersparnis, Kostensenkung, Anerkennung.
Strategie-Framework: Aspiration, Where, How, Capabilities, Systems.
For strategic planning at company or product level.
Strategie = integrierte Wahl-Kaskade.
Lafley & Martin 'Playing to Win' (2013). P&G.
1. Winning Aspiration → 2. Where to Play → 3. How to Win → 4. Capabilities → 5. Systems.
Strategic decision: in which markets to compete?
Bei Strategiedefinition. Fokus > Breite.
Bewusste Entscheidung wo man NICHT spielen wird.
Playing to Win.
Apple: premium segment. Few product categories, but leading.
Strategic decision: how do we win in the chosen markets?
After Where to Play. Differentiation or cost leadership.
Must be different OR cheaper. Stuck in the middle = lose.
Playing to Win. Michael Porter.
Cost Leadership (Walmart) vs. Differentiation (Apple).
First Playing-to-Win element: what does 'winning' mean for us?
At the beginning of strategic work.
Play to play ≠ Play to win.
Playing to Win.
'Leading provider for X in DACH' vs. 'Being profitable'.
Playing-to-Win element: what capabilities do we need?
After How to Win. Which to build/strengthen?
Activity system: capabilities reinforce each other.
Playing to Win.
P&G: Consumer Understanding, Brand Building, Go-to-Market, Innovation, Scale.
Playing-to-Win element: which systems support the strategy?
Zur Strategieumsetzung. Strukturen, Prozesse, Metriken.
Strategy must be supported by structure.
Playing to Win.
OKRs, Reporting-Struktur, Meeting-Rhythmen, Incentive-Systeme.
Framework: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats.
For strategic inventory.
SO: leverage. WO: overcome. ST: defend. WT: avoid.
Albert Humphrey, Stanford (1960er).
Intern: Was gut/schlecht? Extern: Was kommt auf uns zu?
Communication model: Why → How → What. From the inside out.
For purpose definition, brand positioning.
'People don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it.'
Simon Sinek 'Start with Why' (2009).
Apple: Why (Challenge status quo) → How (Beautiful design) → What (Computers).
Fundamental purpose of an organisation – the 'why'.
As a north star for all decisions.
Purpose-driven companies outperform.
Simon Sinek. Jim Collins 'Built to Last'.
Patagonia: 'We're in business to save our home planet.'
Strategischer Ansatz: Einzigartig sein, Preispremium rechtfertigen.
Alternative to cost leadership.
Be different, not just better. Blue Ocean instead of Red Ocean.
Michael Porter 'Competitive Advantage' (1985).
Apple: Design + Ecosystem. Tesla: Tech + Brand.
Switching costs that tie customers to a provider.
Zur Kundenbindungsstrategie.
Gut: Kunden bleiben wegen Value. Schlecht: Kunden gefangen.
Michael Porter (Switching Costs).
Apple Ecosystem. SAP (Implementierungsaufwand).
Systems with many interconnected, dynamic elements – not predictable.
Zur Einordnung von Problemen. Komplex ≠ kompliziert.
Cynefin: Simple → Complicated → Complex → Chaotic.
Dave Snowden (Cynefin, 2007).
Kompliziert: Uhr reparieren. Komplex: Markt verstehen.
Entstehung neuer Eigenschaften auf Systemebene.
For understanding complex systems. Whole > sum.
Emergente Eigenschaften aus Teilen nicht vorhersagbar.
Systems Theory. Santa Fe Institute.
Bewusstsein aus Neuronen. Stau aus Autos. Kultur aus Menschen.
Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous – turbulente Umwelt.
For justifying agile approaches.
VUCA-Prime: Vision, Understanding, Clarity, Agility.
US Army War College (1990er).
COVID-19 demonstrated VUCA: volatility, uncertainty, complexity.
Complex problem with no clear-cut solution.
Zur Problemkategorisierung. Wicked ≠ schwierig.
Every attempted solution changes the problem.
Horst Rittel & Melvin Webber (1973).
Klimawandel, Armut, Organisationskultur.
Interconnected elements with relationships and a shared purpose.
Zur ganzheitlichen Problemanalyse.
Systemgrenzen sind Konstrukte. Feedback Loops zentral.
Ludwig von Bertalanffy (1968). Donella Meadows.
Organisation = System aus Menschen, Prozessen, Technologie, Kultur.
Feedback loop: output influences input.
For understanding system dynamics.
Reinforcing Loop (exponentiell) vs. Balancing Loop (stabilisierend).
Norbert Wiener (Cybernetics).
More users → more content → more users. Thermostat (dampening).
Method for developing new products and business models under uncertainty: state assumptions as hypotheses, test them fast, decide on evidence.
When it is unclear whether customers really have the problem and would pay to solve it.
Build-Measure-Learn: build the smallest testable version, measure, learn – and only then scale or pivot.
Eric Ries, “The Lean Startup” (2011), building on Steve Blank’s Customer Development.
A mid-sized company tests a service offer with a landing page and 20 customer conversations before staffing a team for it.
Systematic catalogue of experiments for testing the riskiest assumptions of a business idea – from interviews to pre-sales.
When a Business Model Canvas exists and the question is which assumption to test first.
Test the highest-risk assumption first; cheap experiments before expensive ones; evidence over opinion.
David J. Bland & Alex Osterwalder, “Testing Business Ideas” (2019), 44 experiment types.
Instead of a prototype, run a fake-door ad first: the click rate shows whether there is any interest at all.
Way of working in which a product emerges in repeated cycles (iterative) and grows in usable steps with each cycle (incremental).
Whenever requirements are uncertain and early feedback is worth more than a complete plan.
Each iteration delivers an increment that generates real feedback – direction is corrected continuously, not at the end.
Evolutionary software development (1970s), the foundation of all agile frameworks.
Not the finished portal after twelve months, but sign-up after four weeks and search after eight – each tested with users.
Mindset and way of working that consistently makes decisions from the customer’s problem – not from your own solution.
When products are developed past customer needs or internal perspectives dominate.
Understand the problem first, then build the solution; customer contact is part of the work, not a sales task.
Design Thinking, Jobs to be Done (Christensen), Customer Development (Blank).
The team talks to two customers every week and prioritises the backlog by observed problems, not by feature requests.
Model that classifies initiatives by clarity of requirements and certainty of technology – from simple through complicated to complex and chaotic.
To decide whether an initiative can be handled by planning or has to be handled agilely.
The less clear the what and the how, the less planning helps and the more experiments and feedback are needed.
Ralph D. Stacey (1996), popularised in the agile community.
Rolling out known software: complicated, plannable. A new business model in an unclear market: complex, iterative.
Decision framework that sorts situations into five domains – clear, complicated, complex, chaotic, confused – each calling for a different approach.
Before choosing a method: what kind of problem is this, actually?
Clear: best practice. Complicated: expert analysis. Complex: probe, sense, respond. Chaotic: act, then stabilise.
Dave Snowden (1999, IBM), a sense-making framework from complexity research.
A team treats a culture question like a project (complicated) – and wonders why the plan does not work. Cynefin shows: this is complex.
Coaching approach that does not introduce methods by the book but selects, adapts – or drops – them according to the context of the team and the organisation.
When a framework was introduced “by the book” and still does not work – or when a team needs something other than the standard recipe.
Read the context first (Cynefin, Stacey, maturity, decision latitude), then choose the method. The team is not there for the method.
Agile Impact practice; theoretically grounded in Cynefin and the complicated/complex distinction.
A team with a clear, recurring mandate gets Kanban instead of Scrum – not because Scrum is wrong, but because the context needs no sprints.
