The best choice given the information you have

The best choice given the information you have

"Hindsight is 20/20" is a cliché because, like most clichés, it's true. It's easy to look back weeks, months, or years later at a given action and see what you should have done differently.

When I work with my clients on any project, but especially AMS implementation projects, I tell them at the outset, "We're going to make the best choices given the information we have at the time. This likely means we will make decisions that we ultimately have to change later on."

Like so many other things related to projects, this is part of managing expectations. Far too often I will encounter groups who have implemented an AMS in the recent past, and they lament all the incorrect decisions they made. Were some of them avoidable? Probably. But the reality is that many of the decisions were made with the best information at the time. What they found out later was not information they had when the decision was made, so there's no way they could have known to make a different decision.

Project post-mortems are fine and can be very helpful learning experiences. But the key is to learn from them, not punish yourself for "mistakes" that were made.

Don't play "Woulda, shoulda, coulda." Take what you know now and adjust as needed.

Wes's Wednesday Wisdom Archives

Daylight savings and business rules

March 11, 2020

Daylight savings and business rules This past Sunday, most of the US observed Daylight Savings […]

It’s always about priorities

March 4, 2020

It’s always about priorities No matter the size or type of technology project, you will […]

Only one can be best

February 26, 2020

Only one can be best One of my (many) pet peeves with software vendor marketing […]

Seek to simplify

February 19, 2020

Seek to simplify When I work with my clients on system selection or implementation, one […]

Some problems are not problems

February 12, 2020

Some problems are not problems “A problem with no solution is not a problem, it’s […]

UI Matters!

January 29, 2020

UI Matters! Almost since I began consulting over 20 years, I’ve noted how important the […]

Be careful with absolutes

January 28, 2020

Be careful with absolutes When I speak with clients I try to be careful about […]

New Year’s Resolutions

January 22, 2020

New Year’s Resolutions Why do New Year’s Resolutions fail? Research suggests that part of the […]

Why Process is So Important

January 15, 2020

Why Process is So Important One of my favorite business authors is James Clear, who writes all […]

The Significant Change of SaaS Software

January 7, 2020

The Significant Change of SaaS Software One of the most significant technological changes in the […]

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top