Research in the Face of Complexity: New Sensibility for New Situations

Key Insights

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  Most product organizations operate within complex adaptive systems, not predictable or purely complicated environments.

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  Traditional research projects that produce isolated insights often fail to impact product outcomes effectively.

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  Managing emergence—the unpredictable unfolding of outcomes—should be a core research focus rather than just delivering findings.

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  Dave Snowden’s Cynefin framework helps distinguish domains: clear, complicated, complex, and chaotic, with complexity being the key challenge for product teams.

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  Using vineyard management as a metaphor highlights that contextual factors drastically affect outcomes, meaning research approaches must be tailored per team context.

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  Direct actions or recommendations in complex systems rarely achieve desired outcomes without managing interactions and relationships.

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  Research democratization is promising but needs nuanced, context-specific approaches rather than one-size-fits-all solutions.

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  Tools like AIMS (Acting, Interactions, Monitors, Scaffolding) provide ways to intervene thoughtfully in complex adaptive systems.

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  Continuous agile cycles can be limiting for research; longer, consultative, and milestone-based approaches may be required to handle complexity.

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  Building trust and relationships, especially for remote researchers, is crucial to gaining access and influence within complex teams.

Notable Quotes