Amplio Foundations:
Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

Amplio is based on a 2-decade study of what works to improve the capability of an organization to deliver value to their customers and other stakeholders. It is not a framework in the normal sense, but provides the advantages frameworks provide (quick starts, clear ways of working) without their disadvantages (pre-ordained practices are not universal). It includes practices from most of the Agile approaches available but is based on deeper roots. It is based on an integration of Evo, Flow, Lean, and the Theory of Constraints. This provides flexibility while providing an immense body of knowledge to avoid having to reinvent practices.

These roots include the work of:

Dr. Russell Ackoff tells us that systems are not defined by their components but rather by the relationships between their components.

Dr. Christopher Alexander (“Timeless Way of Building”) extends this by saying we don’t create quality systems by combining pre-formed parts. Instead, we must look at the whole and see how the parts interact with each other. These interactions, which he calls “forces”, are essentially the relationships Dr. Ackoff talks about.

Dr. W. Edwards Deming takes this a step further by recognizing that systems create the behavior we see. While we may intend the behavior of a system to be one way, the behavior we see is what it is really designed for. This is the true acceptance of empiricism – we have what our system is designed for, not what we want our system to be. Dr. Deming tells us that most of the challenges we face are due to the system – including people misusing it.

Don Reinertsen gives us 175 principles that can improve our value-creation efforts. This number is, of course, overwhelming. Some people use this to claim we can’t understand what’s happening because of the complexity involved.

Fortunately, Dr. Eli Goldratt provides us with the concept of Inherent Simplicity. This tells us that “reality, any part of reality, is governed by very few elements, and that any existing conflict can be eliminated. If we take that as a given, as absolutely correct in every situation, we’ll find ourselves thinking clearly.” I have taken this attitude to create what I call Amplio Foundations – a set of first principles of knowledge work, guidance, and a set of factors for effective value streams. This enables us to see the complex world of knowledge work with clarity so that we can navigate it with fast feedback to eliminate most of the work we would otherwise create.

Last but not least is Tom Gilb’s Evo system, which begins with the requirement to identify our key values and success criteria. Not just for a team but for the entire organization.

These pillars of systems thinking (Ackoff, Alexander, Deming), understanding how they work (Reinertsen, Goldratt), and how to decide on value (Gilb) provide for a cohesive approach I call “Success Management” and have branded it Amplio.

The mindset that we need to be adaptive using only empiricism to drive us only takes us so far. To truly be effective, we need to add systems thinking and understanding of our system of knowledge work.

Note: All slides in these presentations are aviailable to participants to use, license free, in the Amplio Consultant Educators Learning Journey.