Mastodon - 2024-07-12T23:58:27Z

Mastodon

Make work visible: amazon.com/Making-Work-Visible

There are lots of secondary signals in physical spaces. Those signals provide evidence how work is getting done: scrap buildup, inventory backlogs, physical constraints (space, temperature requirements), equipment with open screw holes, dust, duct tape, extension cords in the middle of walkways, rows of lights with mismatched voltage bulbs, pristine work surfaces, full spectrum lighting, etc.

There aren't really “free" signals in cognitive work.

Mastodon Source 🐘

Similarly, for the achievement-is-journey metaphor, there's a visceral component to realizing that the first step from the trailhead might be the same distance as the last step to the summit, but they aren't interchangeable. You can't step from the trailhead to the summit.

People doing the work already know this. Making work visible can help build awareness of the constraints, slack points, and dependencies for what is otherwise, "all the same".

Mastodon Source 🐘