Everyone in software development makes decisions, a lot of decisions. From product people deciding which features should be added to which products, to developers deciding how to implement those features based on this module or that function, we continuously make decisions. Some decisions work out well, others not so much.
Dr. Paul Nutt, who was a professor at The Ohio State University, studied decision results in organizations. He found that approximately 70% of the decisions managers and higher in the org chart made were two choice or binary decisions. Basically “do this” or “don’t do this”. Of these decisions, over 50% failed. However, when the decision makers considered at least three options, the failure rate dropped to 30%. That’s a significant improvement.
Dr, Nutt’s research is consistent with this little heuristic that we’ve used for years:
One option is a trap. Actually, one option is not an option OR a decision. You just do it.
Two options is a dilemma. In general two options results from standard thinking. Basically “This is what I want to / should do, or not.” or an option and its opposite.
Three options is a choice. This moves beyond standard quick thinking, engages creative thinking, and expands possibilities.
We’ve observed people are quick to find two options. Getting creative for that third option occasionally is a struggle. And once that third option is found, the next several options can appear quite quickly.
Here are some ideas if you get stuck finding your third option.
Find a partner – Your partner will probably have a slightly different view than you have which can provide ideas you may not have thought of.
Move to extremes – like “how could we make it worse?” Or “what’s the least effective thing we could do?”
Change the frame — What can we do to make this funny, interesting …
Use analogies – These can be to past events or experiences outside the current domain. “How is this like another situation we encountered? How is it different?
Want to make better decisions? Have at least three options.
Join us in the Problem-solving Leadership workshop to learn more and practice using the Rule of Three.
The Rule of Three has many uses. Watch What is the Rule of Three? to learn other uses.
by Don Gray