Empiricism

Question 1

What is Empiricism?

Answer 1

A philosophy that all knowledge originates in experience and observations.

Question 2

What’s the difference between simple-, complicated-, and complex problems?

Answer 2

Simple problems are those where we have a clear understanding of the problem and the solution is easily developed.

Complicated problems are those where we have agreement on the problem, but the solution is ill-defined. That said, if we find experts in the problem domain, they can create a solution to the problem (analysis).

Complex problems are those where we don’t have agreement on the problem or the solution. With complex problems, variables involved are so intertwined that when we change on variable, it has an impact on others. This results in us being unable to predict all the cause-and-effect relationships beforehand.

Question 3

What are the three pillars in Scrum?

Answer 3

1. Transparency (be transparent about the progress and product)
2. Inspection (regularly inspect the progress and product)
3. Adaptation (adapt the work and processed based on observations)

Question 4

Why is trust important for empiricism?

Answer 4

Teams working empirically continuously take risks, creating innovative ideas and providing feedback. Without having trust on the team, members may become reluctant to take those risks or offer their alternative ideas.