![]() Leonardo da Vinci once said that simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. But in pursuing diminishing returns, we sometimes make things worse. Project managers often like to think that toying with the formula means we’re constantly getting better. KISS serves as a handy reminder that complexity doesn’t always reflect improvement. Even worse, a new initiative you’re launching might produce worse results if you add too much complexity along the way. You’ll just end up creating more work for yourself. KISS stands for “Keep It Simple, Stupid.” The message is just as simple: Don’t make your business processes any more complicated than they have to be. ![]() We like to add steps to processes to make them feel more “optimized,” even if those steps will only slow things down.īut what does KISS stand for, and what does it look like when applied in the real world of project management? What does KISS stand for? We like to give input where none is needed. We like to fix systems that aren’t broken. In business, the KISS principle serves as a reminder that we human beings tend to overthink things. In modern parlance, we say: “The simplest explanation tends to be the true one.” Occam’s razor, a problem-solving principle dating to the Middle Ages, holds that all other things being equal, challenges should not be multiplied beyond necessity. The emphasis on simplicity has a long history. More likely, your last lightbulb moment made you slap your forehead and say, “Why didn’t I think of that before?” Our best innovations and ideas often come when we adhere to a principle with a clear message: “Keep It Simple, Stupid.” Was it because you discovered something sophisticated, complex, and hard to understand - with all sorts of bells and whistles along the way? Moreover, he mentions that these mental models are made up of 6 to 12 components, and that a diagram made up of 13 or more visual components is probably not likely to be fully integrated into people’s mental models of the world.Think about the last time you had a “Eureka!” moment. None of these variables seemed to affect the complexity of the diagrams they used to represent the systems.ĭave Gray also mentions that when the researchers instructed the participants to take their time and add as much detail to their diagrams as possible, that even in these circumstances the participants maxed-out at 13 visual elements.ĭave Gray concludes, that we all tend to construct mental models of the world that consistently influence our understanding of how things work. This study is significant because it proved that it did not matter whether people created diagrams using pencils and markers or plasticine and cut-outs, or whether they were diagramming a complex system or a simple object. In fact, Dave Gray mentions that this was true no matter what kinds of creation-tools they used and regardless of the complexity of the system they were diagramming. The researchers discovered that when people create visual diagrams that they use about 6 to 12 visual elements - otherwise known as nodes - to describe a system. A while back I stumbled across an article written by Dave Gray who mentioned a 1997 study that researched the process people undertake while creating a visual diagram.
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