David W. McCoyMore on that German word I like so much…
Say you have been hired to design and develop a new management system to be marketed to homeowners’ associations. Pretty nice job, eh? Every association on the planet is a potential customer. So you start analyzing the requirements and applying process management techniques, just like a good little analyst.
Scenario 1: "Yeah! I want a system that lets us enforce the rules. I want to be able to track violations, archive photos of violations, issue fines and track legal proceedings. I want this system to give me an air-tight case against any violators. Our homeowners have rights, and those rights must be protected. Anyone violating those rights must be punished. That’s all I care about!"
Scenario 2: "Fantastic! I would love to have a system that lets us keep track of homeowner needs. I want to be able to schedule the block parties, pool use, and all the other fun events we do. I think it would be cool if we had an interactive site where we could share ideas, talk about our hobbies, our kids and our great neighborhood. Our homeowners want a sense of community. Anyone moving into our community is to be cherished. That’s all I care about!"
Welcome to Weltanschauung: two vastly different worldviews, two vastly different sets of expectations to meet. Good luck building a satisfactory root definition. While the homeowners’ association example is 100% mine, I will credit Trevor Wood-Harper (and Lyn Antill and D.E. Avison) and their Multiview methodology research legacy as the inspiration. Back in 1986/87, Trevor and I discussed his published example of prison systems, Weltanschauung, and root definitions. His story was eye-opening and it stuck with me. In fact, it would be unfair not to credit that example for the inspiration. Sometimes, there is little difference between a prison and a homeowners’ association. It just depends on your Weltanschauung, doesn’t it.
P.S. I love my homeowners’ association. They have the right Weltanschauung. Now if we only had a cool system like the one in scenario 2.
Category: Academic Goings-On Business Process Management (BPM) Philosophy Tags:
0 responses so far ↓
There are no comments yet...Kick things off by filling out the form below.
Leave a Comment