AS IF Concept

For every problem there is a solution. Absence of the solution is an absence of knowledge about the solution's location.

AS IF

GENERAL PROVISIONS

ASIF is an Adapted Scrum Integrated Network.

INTRODUCTION:

AS IF network is not the organization, rule or methodology. It is a system of thought, which is helping people and organizations to understand the environment, gain information and achieve beneficial results.

AS IF based on achieving beneficial results based on free individual choices, personal empirical experiences and collective experience of mankind. AS IF recognizes that Information Technology and free circulation of data has allowed us to share the collective experience of mankind in the widely available database of knowledge.

AS IF encourages practitioners to constantly share their experiences in the collective database of human knowledge.

Time and space where humans operate, both virtual or physical is never fixed and never static

The challenges and changes of this ever changing environment require constant and rapid adaptation. Adaptation is necessary for solving problems and achieving goals. Eventually, any set of rules and principles, disregarding how useful and purposeful they were in the previous circumstances can be deemed useless and even harmful in the existing moment of time and existing place in space.

Consider this, AS IF introduces the concept of CONSTANT ADAPTATION and CONSTANT CHANGE without boundaries. The intention is to provide the available solutions to the simple, complicated and complex problems. The ASIF system of operations is based on constantly adapting and constantly updating the knowledge base. Based on the information which is sent and received during this adaptation practitioners allow themselves to adapt, update and change all existing rules and methods in their environment, both physical and virtual.

AS IF believes that every problem has a solution; which can be known, guessed or unknown for the practitioner of any process.

AS IF recognizes the emergence and accessibility of the collective human knowledge depository, otherwise collective database of human knowledge.

This database exists within the free circulation and exchange of data, otherwise known as flow of information, in a framework of Information Technology. It takes the form of online public libraries, AI servers, search engines, social networks or any other forms, present or future.

This collective database grows when practitioners share the outcomes of their experience, both positive and negative. Eventually it is serving as an everlasting and constantly available pool of available empirical solutions, preventing risks and providing the roadmaps for the positive results..

Origins: ASIF is based on empiricism and the principles of Agile Manifesto. ASIF recognizes Agile manifesto is milestone for both IT industry and other fields of human activity and fully embraces its four values:

· Individuals and interactions over processes and tools.

· Working product over comprehensive documentation.

· Customer collaboration over contract negotiation.

· Responding to change over following a plan.

AS IF recognizes Scrum framework and its provisions as the most successful and beneficial way of operating within the Agile family. AS IF acknowledges the provisions Scrum guide, the founding document of Scrum framework, but considers it to be a selection of useful recommendations and not the set of bounding rules.

Eventually AS IF recognizes the importance of the empirical process for TRANSPARENCY, INSPECTION and ADAPTATION, and accepts them as pillars for its operation. AS IF does it without considering itself strictly bound by the provision of any guide or rules, which arise herein.

AFIF accepts, acknowledges and respects the copyright provisions of the Scrum guide, and other guides and instructions, as intended by its creators

Practitioners of AS IF shall only call their operations the trademark protected name(for example “Scrum” ) if those operations are conducted in full accordance with the provisions of the copyright.

Provisions:

Individuals, groups, teams or whole organizations can be practitioners of ASIF, individually or collectively. They can be free of any obligations or bound by mutual agreements and obligations.

To open the room for learning and experimentation ASIF compels practitioners, both individual and collective, to conduct coding, programming, testing, team building, management relations or other tasks as freely as they possibly can. It means acting outside any boundaries of any external guide, with an exception of binding laws and contact obligations.

Time and space, both physical and virtual where practitioners operate freely is considered “free time, and free space” by AS IF network. Practitioners are not constrained by any rules or restrictions when they operate in a free time and free space.

ASIF network encourages people and organizations to constantly work toward expanding the free time and free space, both physically and virtually.

Practitioners may freely decide whether they choose to abide by a set of rules for operations, development or team building; or to operate without any rules at all, only within the confines of legal and contractual duties.

The only considerations should be the practitioners' interests and objectives. This choice serves their individual immediate, intermediate and strategic objectives. This should include development, operation or any other field of activity.

Ultimately, ASIF network believes that any instruction or guide: engineering, technical or administrative are the set of recommendations that practitioners may choose to abide by or disregard at any time.

Altering any fundamental set of guiding principles; any methodology, or guide; omitting components, or disregarding any set of given rules is an important experiment and valuable asset for future practice, regardless of the result. When shared this experiment contributes new and useful assets to the joint database of human knowledge.

Concept.

While recognizing the importance of end user experience, feedback loops, self-inspection and learning from own experience AS IF empathizes the 21 century achievements in information technology; particularly the emergence and wide availability of the collective knowledge in the form of search engines, AI databases and social networks.

AS IF does not limit itself to the existing databases and embraces any new form of shared knowledge which may and shall arise.

AS IF empathizes on freely collecting and sharing information about objectives, pursuits, outcomes, environments, tools, and solutions. This information is providing the valuable elements for the treasure trove of knowledge. It is is an asset in the emerging depository of the available solutions to for complex problems; reducing complex problems to simple ones, or even removing the problems from existence

AS IF encourages practitioners to experiment with practices, tools, operations, rules and environments, while sharing the results openly for all others to learn.

AS IF recognizes any outcome to any process, positive or negative, as a valuable asset in the depository of available solutions

Relationship to Scrum Guide, Agile Manifesto or other guiding documents

AS IF does not recognize any rules or provisions as immutable.

PRACTICE:

ASIF recognizes three key elements of human activity, in software development, IT industry and in other fields of activity:

The Objectives

The Pursuit

The Outcome

By their own nature human beings are having objectives, are following the pursuit and are reaching the outcomes.

Objectives can be product, employment duty, solution to the problem, emotional satisfaction, production and sale of goods and services or any other goal which individuals or the organizations are setting up for their own or mutual benefit, profit, satisfaction or other reason.

Objectives can be individual or collective.

Individuals and groups can have one or multiple objectives at one time.

Pursuit is human activity, use of time and cost of energy while striving to reach the objective. It can be process, employment, occupation, class, exercise, business, work, search, quest, pursuit, hunt, rummage, battle, work, any other endeavor which practitioners find appropriate for reaching objectives.

Outcome is the result that practitioners obtain after the pursuit of the objective. Outcomes can be positive or negative. Only the individual or group who pursuits the outcome can establish if the particular outcome was positive or negative. No outside party can dictate the decision for them. Positive outcomes are satisfactory and beneficial, and are recognized as such by those who pursue them. Negative outcomes are not satisfactory and beneficial, and are recognized as such by those who pursue them. Both outcomes are valid assets for empirical experience and learning.

Abandoning the pursuit for objectives are valid outcomes as well. They can be considered negative or positive by those who pursue them.

In pursuit of the outcome individuals are operating in the environment, based on information and using the tools.

Environment is a field where individuals operate. Environment has boundaries. ASIF recognizes two types of boundaries-the rules and the laws.

The rules are the virtual, systemic, technological, programming, physical, administrative, organizational or other set of boundaries and limitations, which practitioners are able and eligible to alter, breach or ignore if they choose.

Following, ignoring or breaching the rules may or may not have consequences, but both situations are considered an outcome. AS IF encourages practitioners to share this outcome in the database of collective knowledge.

Laws are the virtual, systemic, technological, physical, administrative, organizational or other boundaries and limitations which are impossible to breach within given circumstances of operations. Laws form the natural boundaries for the environment.

Information Considering the emergence of Information technology, the AS IF network is seeing information as a matter, and not the abstract concept. Information has metrics, boundaries and value.

AS IF recognizes the existence, availability and constant growth of the collective database of human knowledge within the matter of information. It is an outcome of Information Technology.

Flow of information between practitioners is a bloodstream of the AS IF framework. Availability of information is its foundation.

Sharing the information about outcomes at the collective database of human knowledge is an asset in the growing pool of solutions and risk management tools.

Tools In the pursuit towards objectives within the environment practitioners use the tools which they choose freely. Tool can be a software, code, database, website, server, physical object or any other method, material or service which helps achieve the objectives.

Practitioners should strive for freedom in choosing the tools and should be aware what tools to use for best possible outcomes.

While understating the importance of all other tools, AS IF network is empathizing on the key tool which is a fundamental element of the whole concept. It is the depository of the collective intelligence in the form of search engines, AI servers, social networks, digital public libraries and any other database or network; and the constant and immediate availability of this database. The source of life for this database is the flow of output and input information from the database to the individual users and from individual users to the database, across the human habitat in time and space.

PRACTITIONERS

Practitioners of ASIF network are

-Any developer, operator or other individual and entity, in any field of activity who pursuits the objectives within the environment and who is sharing the feedback about the operations and outcome to the collective database of human intelligence,

- Any developer, operator or other individual and entity, in any field of activity who is seeking the risk management, tools solution to the problem or planning the roadmap by seeking information from the collective database of human intelligence.

While pursuing the objective, practitioners shall establish clarity about the environment they find himself within, both virtual and physical. This clarity should be established in regards to rules, hierarchies, relationships, dependencies, contact obligations, problems, goals, solutions, failures and any other factors, external or internal which might affect practitioners path to the outcome.

Practitioners should treat data and flow of information as a physical matter and part of the environment, not as an abstract concept.

Practitioners frequently and personally inspect and adapt the knowledge, preferably every calendar month or more often.

Practitioners should assess if they are bound by existing rules and commitments, and if this is preventing the positive outcome; or if, on the contrary, rules and commitments are helping achieve it. Practitioners should personally estimate the willingness to follow the boundaries of the rules, group dependency, other factors external or internal, including the group belonging or team commitments. Estimations should be made depending on their hypothetical effect to the outcome.

Practitioners should establish if the information about the methods, techniques and tools to achieve a positive outcome is already available, and use this information for the benefit of positive outcome.

Practitioners should take the responsibility for the outcome individually, even in cases when practitioners are bound by collective agreements with groups, teams or whole organizations.

Practitioners can operate individually or form alliances, teams or hierarchies with other practitioners. This choice depends on the solutions, knowledge and recommendations, contract obligations, programming requirements, developing dependencies and any other factors which may arise from the operations or the environment.

Scrum Framework as defined in Scrum guide has proven itself a most successful and beneficial set of organizational and practical steps to achieve positive outcomes here and now. ASIF network recommends following the provisions of Scrum guide at this given moment of space and time, while constantly inspecting and adapting the framework against itself with the help of a collective database of human intelligence, and freely changing or removing elements when necessary.

Practitioners may reach the desired goal or abandon the path midway. Both choices are outcomes.

AS IF divides practitioners, individual and collective in four main categories:

1. Individuals and groups who are following the rules(as described here above) and reach the outcome, positive or negative within the boundaries of the rules which they follow.

2. Individuals and groups who are willing to follow the rules(as described here above) but are unable to do so because of systemic, technological, organizational, administrative, commercial or other obstacles. They strive to reach the outcome outside the boundaries of the rules which they desire to follow.

3. Individuals and groups who choose not to follow the rules(as described here above) and reach the outcome, positive or negative outside their boundaries.

4. Individuals and groups who are unaware about the rules(as described here above) and reach the outcome, positive or negative outside their boundaries.

Belonging to the category is an emerging and vibrant process based purely on individual choices. Depending on the choices and actions individuals and groups are changing their belonging to the category .

Practitioners share their experience in the collective database of human knowledge. This information allows transparent inspection of rules and methodologies against themselves and builds foundation for necessary adaptation.

As a footnote we share key principles of AS IF network which help practitioners to reach positive outcomes.

KEY PRINCIPLES:

UNDERSTANDING AND RECOGNISING THE ENVIRONMENT, ITS RULES AND LAWS IS CRUCIAL FOR OUTCOME.

ADAPTING THE TOOLS TO THE PROCESS AND NOT THE PROCESS TO THE TOOLS.

ADAPTING THE PROCESS TO THE GOAL AND NOT THE GOAL TO THE PROCESS.

USING THE COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE AND ALL AVAILABLE DATA TO SEEK A RESULT.

ADDING YOUR OWN RESULT TO THE DATA BANK IF NO OTHER IS AVAILABLE.

BOTH SOLUTION AND FAILURE ARE VALUABLE RESULTS.

All research and development related to the ASIF network is conducted by EUROPEAN connection ZZP in the Hague, the Netherlands