Problem Types and Strategies

by Luke Hohmann, Harry Max

Scrum is a defined as 'a framework within which people can address complex adaptive problems, while productively and creatively delivering products of the highest possible value.'

But “problem" is an overused word. We assign the label to almost every imperfect situation we encounter, then deal with all of them in roughly the same way: avoiding them or tackling them, often using Scrum as a preferred technique. While this works just well enough to continue doing it, most of us have experiences when our preferred approach didn't "solve the problem."

Our failures are often caused by ignoring a critical truth about problem-solving: problems are not always problems. More accurately, there are a range of problem types and different strategies appropriate for handling them.

In this Collaboration at Scale webinar, recognized design-thinker Harry Max shared a new model for diagnostic thinking, one that would forever change the way you approach problem solving.

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Resource Files

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Presenter(s)

Luke Hohmann

Luke Hohmann is the founder and CEO of Conteneo Inc. (formerly the Innovation Games® Company). Conteneo’s enterprise software platforms and professional services merge collaboration frameworks, data analytics, and domain expertise to help organizations optimize decision making in the areas of strategy, innovation, sales, product development, and market research. Luke is also cofounder of Every Voice Engaged Foundation (EVEF), a 501(c)3 nonprofit that that helps citizens, governments, and other nonprofit organizations collaborate at scale to solve technical and wicked problems. EVEF has been a leader in the Participatory Budgeting movement, helping citizens prioritize hundreds of millions of dollars through budget games. EVEF has also partnered with the Kettering Foundation to create Common Ground for Action, the first platform for scalable deliberative decision making. Supported by both Agile Alliance and Scrum Alliance, Luke is thankful for the thousands of colleagues from the Agile community who have donated their time to EVEF.

Harry Max

Formerly the VP of Experience Design at Rackspace, Harry Max is presently an executive coach working primarily with global brands. He has been a founder or on the boot-up team of five start-ups and has worked with companies like Apple, Google, O’Reilly, PayPal HP, SGI, and DreamWorks. An early pioneer in e-commerce and crowdsourcing, he was co-founder of Virtual Vineyards (the original wine.com), where he designed all the interaction concepts behind the first secure shopping cart. Harry is the founder of Public Mind, the first Open Innovation platform for harnessing the voice of the customer. Although he is now an executive and leader in the technology sector, fundamentally he is a caring creative driven to prove what is possible. His passion is helping people by getting to the heart of the matter. He advocates for clarity, freedom, transparency, and service. He has written a number of books and is currently working on an upcoming book based on the subject of this webinar.