References & Influences
The ideas behind this aren't new.
Engineers, architects, product teams, and program leaders have been making complex systems visible for decades. These are some of the practices that inform how I think — see the Five P Method →
Big Room Planning
Large-scale collaborative planning that makes teams, dependencies, and work visible together.
EventStorming
Collaborative modelling that gets different perspectives onto the same visual model of a business domain.
Architecture Decision Records
Make important technical decisions explicit and preserve the reasoning behind them.
Theory of Constraints
Identify the constraint that's actually limiting the system, rather than treating every issue as equally important.
The methodology is independent of the tool.
I like understanding what's available, including open-source alternatives to the standard corporate stack.
Excalidraw
Open-source collaborative whiteboard for rapid Version 0.1 system diagrams.
tldraw
Open-source, programmable canvas for building custom whiteboard and diagramming tools.
Plane
Open-source project-management platform covering work items, cycles, modules, and planning.
OpenProject
Open-source project and portfolio management with planning, issue tracking, roadmaps, and Gantt charts.