Stuck developing average products for average customers?
Break free with Rapid Learning Cycles.
The RLC framework is a new approach that helps you bring your best ideas to life faster. Based on ground-breaking work by Katherine Radeka and proven in a variety of industries, the framework focuses developers on early learning and decisions to avoid mid-project disruptions and rework.
Learn first, then decide
Sounds simple, right? But look at how your teams make project decisions today. They believe they have to freeze decisions early to avoid mid-project changes. But those decisions are often premature and based on incomplete information. Later developers learn more and have to correct their “frozen” decisions, disrupting schedules and budgets. By contrast, the RLC framework starts with learning to make better decisions later.
Learn with a plan
RLC teams kick off a project by identifying the key decisions they’ll need to make–the ones with high uncertainty and impact. Then they define knowledge gaps they need to fill in order to make decisions with greater confidence.
Learn on a schedule
Teams develop a learning plan based on the sequence in which key decisions have to be made and the knowledge gaps they need to close. They close the knowledge gaps in short learning cycles on a fixed cadence. At the end of each cycle, they capture what was learned, and plan their next cycle. These cadenced cycles quickly surface project problems and trigger needed adjustments to the plan.
Dovetail with agile software
Most companies today practice agile software development, but struggle to apply agile methods to hardware projects. RLC methods are not traditional agile, but developers can easily dovetail their work with agile software development by synchronizing the RLC learning cycle cadence with software sprints.
Reuse learning
A side benefit of RLC methods is that engineers keep an archive of their learning and decisions to use in future projects. One-page learning cycle and key decision reports are integral to the framework and capture what was learned in a concise format to avoid re-inventing the wheel on the next project
Ready for the next step?
- Want to explore the RLC framework further? learn more,
- Jump directly to my suggestions about next steps for launching an RLC initiative,
- Or contact me to ask your questions.
Hear what users are saying
Visit the user comments page