A way to do creativity.
A set of principles for innovation and progress — vision, collaboration, inclusive behaviour, and a pragmatic, evidence-based mindset. It prioritises the journey, using waypoints over milestones, targeting shared value for everyone involved.
Prioritise the journey.
Push Manifesto is about vision, collaboration, inclusive behaviours, determination, communication, governance, and learning — and above all it prioritises the journey: using waypoints over iterations and milestones, balancing the desire for fit-for-purpose with shared value outcomes for users and stakeholders.
It feeds the Maturity Model and an evidence-based mindset, supporting the scientific approach — daring to explore the latent space, with a pragmatic world-view.
The building blocks of a push.
- 01
Push
A logical unit of output that has a beginning, middle and end. ‘End’ generally represents an outcome, doesn’t need to immediately progress to the next, includes all work items, has value, and has an agreement of ‘Done’ — everybody gets something.
- 02
Ambiguity & Cognitive Bias
These kill projects. Offer high readability, clear mental models, support diverse audiences, adopt simple conventions, reduce complexity, take the least-cost route, seek clarity and always, always question. Take an agnostic approach.
- 03
Risk
Again, kills projects. You don’t get to space by crossing your fingers — continuously cite and counter risks. Pretty sure Babbage, Boole and Bayes knew Murphy.
- 04
Check-ins, Waypoints & Reviews
Whilst stand-ups are useful, prefer a low-ceremony, less-noisy follow-up on work items — top and bottom of the week, honesty and shared understanding. Your child’s report card should not be a surprise, by virtue of care and involvement.
- 05
Identify & Remove Road Blocks
Early identification is key, with an inclusive approach taken.
- 06
Creating Shared Value
An inclusive and humble approach, in recognition that your project — whilst having value and benefits — contributes to wider goals.
- 07
Mise en place
Don’t start a project without your mise en place done. Get those vegetables chopped.
- 08
Work Items
Work items, tasks and cards transform Assets. Link the work item to the asset. Don’t deposit results back into the task. Knowledge management is first-class.
- 09
Getting it Wrong
Being learned, critical thinking and taking a scientific approach will always help you climb those mountains.
- 10
Go Find Out
Engage. Engage early, and enough — even if to make friends. Get out of the chair and go find out. Do the work, and don’t repeat the obvious.
- 11
Know when to Roll ’Em
Manage your work effort, dial in your approach and don’t push your luck. Only kick a push if the conditions are favourable. If it can go wrong it will — Murphy’s law applies.
- 12
Hypothesis
Every great idea starts with a test strategy. It doesn’t exist if it can’t be tested.
Small things, more often.
“I push the trolley around the supermarket. I push myself to exercise. I push my kids through school. Why is the creative process any different?”
“Small things more often.”
“Shovelling dirt is still shovelling dirt. Doesn’t matter if you do it iteratively. Software development is complex, hard work — find a way to recognise that.”
“Programming: loops, sequences and decisions. Everything else is just abstraction from the truth.”
“I haven’t, but this is how I would work it out.”
“Like building a cathedral out of a tornado.”
“Keep the turbulence down.”
“Just get on with it.”
“T-shirts are like ideas — you change them when they don’t fit.”
“No problem, let’s work it out together.”
“Creativity has no timeline.”
“People and data don’t change. Pretty sure there’s a cave painting out there with FNAME and LNAME on it.”
“Create habits. People, process, technology and habit. If you want people to do things, create habits.”
“No plan survives first encounter.”
“Scout mindset: being able to see things as they are, not as you wish they were.”
“Perfect is the destroyer of good enough!”
“You are under no obligation to remain the same person you were a year ago. You are here to create yourself, continuously.”
Get out of the chair and go find out.
Read the long-form thinking behind the manifesto on the blog, or dig into the source on GitHub.