Relinquishing control

There’s a constant dilemma underway for those pondering OSS:

  • Do we try to gather every conceivable piece of data that we can and put up with the costs, time and effort to do so
  • Or do we keep just the Minimum Viable Data (MVD), minimising curation, but missing out on the details that might drive efficiencies or insights

In general, OSS implementers tend to have the mindset of, “if we can collect it, we should collect it.” I’ve been guilty of this mindset too. But perhaps this mindset has a slight twist. Is it actually a subconscious decision to not relinquish control?

For example, do we HAVE to record every single patch, jumper, lead, etc out in the field, data that is notoriously difficult to maintain, or could we relinquish control and let field staff make decisions and changes? [Note that I’m not talking about knowing the end-points of customer services, the A to Z, but perhaps hopping over some of the B,C,D connections].

Can we build the processes and workforce competence to allow for MVD?

Can we reach MVD by progressively removing “things” to see when the solution breaks like Colin Chapman did with his cars?

I’d love to hear your opinions (and tactics) on this one!

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