Exploring what becomes visible when we look at the whole, and how that understanding can help us act.
Beyond the Obvious brings together reflections, practical tools and guides that grow out of complex engineering work and explore the wider patterns that shape how systems, organisations and people come together.
Reflection
Rethinking “why” in complex situations.
In difficult situations, asking “why” often leads us towards simple explanations: the customer changed requirements, the supplier was late, the teams did not align. But complex outcomes usually emerge through many interacting decisions, assumptions and dependencies. Better questions can help us see more of what actually happened, and what might need to change.
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What would happen if your programme suddenly came under serious pressure? A short exercise to reveal where the way the programme is organised may need to change, before an issue becomes a crisis.
Four perspectives for seeing where a programme may be making it harder for the overall system to come together.
Thinking a little wider is how we start to see beyond the obvious.
More perspectives
Shorter observations on what becomes visible when we look beyond the obvious, and how the parts connect to the wider picture.
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Beyond the Obvious is one part of Inside Complexity, a wider space for keeping the whole in view across systems, organisations, people and places.
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