Project evolutions
evolution: The process of evolving, developing, or working out in detail, what is implicitly or potentially contained in an idea or principle; the development of a design, argument, et cetera.; A tactical movement. // Unlike phases, which are not ends in themselves, evolutions are independent, self-contained projects.
If your decision-making loop is more streamlined than your enemy, then you set the pace and course of the battle. — Major General John Admire
I would consider any organized effort expended to make something better, an evolution. (I like the term evolution better than the term sprint because I feel that an evolution implies that you will end up in a better place, and a sprint only implies that you will do it fast.)
This graphic demonstrates some of my thoughts about terminology for the different phases of a project evolution. Given the pace of the evolution, we can employ different loops. At a basic and quick level, the standard OODA loop performs very well. With a much larger project containing more elements, a slower phased view might work better. In the end, it is really a feedback loop with lessons learned being incorporated into the next evolution. ¶ 1. observe, orient, decide, act (field evolution cycle) 2. plan, prepare, act, review (evolution cycle for simple or smaller projects.) 3. discover, define, design, develop, deploy, discuss (the DeMeyere designer evolution cycle for larger and more complicated projects.)
No point in getting emotional about anything. Being emotional didn’t help with survival. What mattered was to learn everything, analyze the situation, choose a course of action, and then move boldly. Know, think, choose, do. There was no place in that list for “feel.” — Julian Delphiki II