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Why Plans Fail: Cognitive Bias & Decision Making
Business runs on decisions. Recently, we've discovered that people aren't the great decision makers we thought they were.
Business relies on estimates, plans, and projections - and we all know how accurate they tend to be. Careers are made, careers are broken based on accurate estimation and planning.
But what if the successes and failures of these projects were not based on the prowess of those making the plans? What if success or failure were more often the result of a more complex set of events?
Why Plans Fail directly addresses our ability of to plan, to forecast, and to make decisions.
Written by Jim Benson, an urban planner, software developer, and business owner who has planned and built everything from small software projects, to houses, to urban freeway systems - Why Plans Fail is told by someone with much skin in the estimation and planning game.
This short work is the first in the Modus Cooperandi Mememachine series - which looks specifically at underlying issues that directly impact the success of teams, companies, and individuals. The Mememachine series is meant to start conversations and advance discussion.
Business relies on estimates, plans, and projections - and we all know how accurate they tend to be. Careers are made, careers are broken based on accurate estimation and planning.
But what if the successes and failures of these projects were not based on the prowess of those making the plans? What if success or failure were more often the result of a more complex set of events?
Why Plans Fail directly addresses our ability of to plan, to forecast, and to make decisions.
Written by Jim Benson, an urban planner, software developer, and business owner who has planned and built everything from small software projects, to houses, to urban freeway systems - Why Plans Fail is told by someone with much skin in the estimation and planning game.
This short work is the first in the Modus Cooperandi Mememachine series - which looks specifically at underlying issues that directly impact the success of teams, companies, and individuals. The Mememachine series is meant to start conversations and advance discussion.
128 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 31, 2011
14 people are currently reading
241 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 28, 2015
Alright, I suppose. Mainly because it was so short; thankfully the author didn't feel the need to keep repeating his ideas over and over again. This book examines various problems with project planning through the lens of cognitive biases. It felt like a mix of a collection of blog posts and some pop-science wikipedia-esque comments on biases. This doesn't mean it was worthless, just that it didn't really blow my mind. You can probably skip this one, but if you don't, you'll get the point pretty soon...
April 12, 2013
Great book tying cognitive bias to current planning fallacies in business. Great lightweight intro to Modus Press offerings.
April 12, 2019
It is just poorly written, repetitive, and nonsensical at times. In one paragraph, the author becomes very descriptive of an environment where a friend told him something. Since the author is NOT AT ALL descriptive anywhere else in the book, you start to think this is super important. It is not. I read it twice to make sure I wasn’t missing anything. The book is just a chaos of definitions and non related stories. I can’t help but think that it was simply an advertising tool for author’s company.
February 19, 2021
Nice book: concise, easy to read, not repetitive and provides good examples of the presented ideas.
The book proposes a thesis about how biases affect planning, but it does not abound in details about how to overcome them (which to be fair is scoped out at the beginning of the book).
I recommend it.
The book proposes a thesis about how biases affect planning, but it does not abound in details about how to overcome them (which to be fair is scoped out at the beginning of the book).
I recommend it.
March 26, 2021
To be casually dropped on your project manager's desk.
Great concise introduction to all the things that conspire to make project run late and send us the wrong signals.
Great concise introduction to all the things that conspire to make project run late and send us the wrong signals.
December 28, 2016
Cognitive bias is an important topic for Business Analysts or Product Managers. In short : we grab a twisted view of the reality when we talk to peoples, based on a set of factors. Unfortunately, most analysts aren't aware of that and base decisions based on flawed information.
There are many books on this field of study. All of them are outside the software domain and all of them are pretty thick. Hopefully, Jim Benson gave us a gentle introduction to the subject, dedicated to our very own software field. Each cognitive bias is covered in few pages with links to complementary materials.
ma note de lecture en français ici
There are many books on this field of study. All of them are outside the software domain and all of them are pretty thick. Hopefully, Jim Benson gave us a gentle introduction to the subject, dedicated to our very own software field. Each cognitive bias is covered in few pages with links to complementary materials.
ma note de lecture en français ici
August 3, 2013
Poor value for the price.
It's a 60-pages long collection of articles / blog posts related to congitive bias. And it has all the flaws of such book - even if few posts may really be worth the time you spent on reading them, the rest is quite dull and doesn't bring any value but re-states what's written in other posts already.
Just avoid or go browse the internet, you'll get better content for free.
It's a 60-pages long collection of articles / blog posts related to congitive bias. And it has all the flaws of such book - even if few posts may really be worth the time you spent on reading them, the rest is quite dull and doesn't bring any value but re-states what's written in other posts already.
Just avoid or go browse the internet, you'll get better content for free.
March 4, 2012
For lean & agile practitioners, this is a great introduction to the field of cognitive bias. Lots of great teaching that demonstrate each of the biases that Jim Benson introduces. Probably not the best resource for people that don't have some background in lean or agile practices.
January 25, 2014
This collection of articles is a great little introduction to cognitive biases in the workplace and is a very quick read. It is does not go into very deep detail however, so if you are looking for more than introductory text, this is not the book for you.
January 18, 2012
Probably a good intro for those new to the materials. Having spent a fair amount of time on biases an heuristics myself, this book was a good review of how they affect our day to day work lives.
February 27, 2019
Review on my blog https://www.jackvinson.com/blog/2012/...
November 18, 2013
A brilliant book about decision making, plans, estimates and humans.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews