This week: test the big assumptions before the project gets expensive
Hello fellow clarity builder
We are trying a new format: moving from one long post to a few themes around project and decision-making clarity. We hope you find an article here that helps you on your journey to find clarity.
This week is about one clear idea: reduce uncertainty before the project gets bigger, louder, and harder to change.
That matters because the gap between projects going wrong and being wrong often takes a long time to materialise. Assumptions harden into plans. Plans become commitments. Commitments become hard to challenge.
The three notes this week look at that problem from three angles: how to test assumptions, how to use simple rules to stay focused, and how to know when a project should continue, learn more, or stop.
Always test the big assumptions
A plan is not the enemy of Agile work. The real problem is false certainty: pretending we know more than we do, or hiding behind labels instead of talking plainly about what is uncertain.
Start with the big assumptions. Ask what you still need to learn, what evidence would change your mind, and what small test you can run before the project gets expensive.
Simple rules create calm focus
Experienced project people often seem calm because they know where to look first. They use simple rules of thumb to cut through noise and focus on what matters.
This note is about borrowing that judgement and making it visible enough to use in your next project conversation.
Be ready to step away
Stopping or redirecting a live project is difficult because people, money, reputation, and momentum are already involved.
That is why projects need clear decision points, evidence, and stop rules before the next big commitment.
Check One Assumption
The Clarity Check
Choose one live project and make one uncertainty visible.
- Name the biggest assumption.
- Decide what evidence would change your mind.
- Run the smallest useful test before the next commitment.
See you next time,
Greg
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