Dont Plan, Speculate

Overview
Jim Highsmith discusses why trying to fully plan away uncertainty is ineffective and how speculation can be a more realistic approach in fast-changing environments.

Key Takeaways

• Planning works only for known, controllable factors.
• Uncertainty cannot be eliminated through detailed plans.
• Embrace speculation and adaptive decision-making.
• Focus on short-term learning cycles rather than long-term fixed roadmaps.

Who Would Benefit

• Engineering managers facing rapidly changing requirements.
• Technical leaders looking to improve agility.
• Product owners and scrum masters.
• Software teams dealing with high uncertainty.

Frameworks and Methodologies

• Agile
• Lean
• Adaptive Planning