Discovery-driven Planning

Discovery-driven planning is a planning technique first introduced in a Harvard Business Review article by Rita Gunther McGrath and Ian C. MacMillan in 1995 and subsequently referenced in a number of books and articles. Its main thesis is that when one is operating in arenas with significant amounts of uncertainty, that a different approach than is normally used in conventional planning applies. In conventional planning, the correctness of a plan is generally judged by how close projections come to outcomes. In Discovery Driven Planning, it is assumed that plan parameters may change because new information is revealed, therefore the plan is subject to change. With conventional planning, it is considered appropriate to fund the entire project as the expectation is that one can predict a positive outcome. In discovery driven planning, funds are released based on the accomplishment of key milestones or checkpoints, at which point additional funding can be made available predicated on reasonable expectations for future success. Conventional project management tools, such as stage-gate models or the use of financial tools to assess innovation have been found to be flawed in that they are not well suited for the uncertainty of innovation-oriented projects

Discovery-driven planning has been widely used in entrepreneurship curricula and has recently been cited by Steven G. Blank as a foundational idea in his pursuit of the lean startup methodology

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Famous quotes containing the word planning:

    In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.
    Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969)