In our space, we commonly deem or assume specific types of effort in an IT startup to be exerted on the business.
This type of work can include:
The concise description of a human endeavor, which captures user story(s), workflow(s), feature(s) or capability(s) required to satisfy said endeavor. The “what” is most often articulated by functional practitioners.
Future cost accrued when past-and-present shortcuts are taken from a technical perspective, including those in design or use of infrastructural components that are suboptimal. Manifests as a present cost beared by technical practitioners, the payments of which come in the form of maintenance due to breakdowns, poor system performance and slowed delivery/deployment cycles.
The fashioning of technology using machine language, programming languages or infrastructural configurations to serve the utility of a human endeavor. The “how” is most often executed by technical practitioners.
Effort focused on executing against a known challenge or adversary. This type of effort is concerned with the effectiveness of execution using tools, skills and methods. The cognitive context involves a focus on details and fundamentals as opposed to the bigger picture.
What we mean when we refer to responsive effort
Effort focused on analyzing a sought future state or outcome and then evaluating, reasoning and selecting the potential way(s) that this outcome could be reached. This type of effort requires a analytical cognitive context for a person developing the outcome while working alone; and entails participation in collective reasoning and decision-making rituals when working as…
