Multiple Discovery

It often seems that folks automatically assume that all useful software development innovations come out of the United States. And innovations (and innovators) from places other than the US have little merit. Yet specific innovations have a tendency to pop up, more or less simultaneously, in various places:

“The concept of multiple discovery (also known as simultaneous invention)  is the hypothesis that most scientific discoveries and inventions are made independently and more or less simultaneously by multiple scientists and inventors. The concept of multiple discovery opposes a traditional view—the “heroic theory” of invention and discovery.”

~ Wikipedia

I rarely bother to mention Familiar’s independently inventing something very much like Scrum (we called it Jerid, now Javelin) back in the 1994-1996 time frame. Not inspired by Nonaka and Takeuchi’s New New Product Development Game, nevertheless Jerid featured:

• Two-week interations
• Time-boxing
• Sprint planning and sprint retrospectives
• Self-organising teams
• Focus (through e.g. quantification of objectives)
• A risk-based approach
• (Later on) Flow

I have no wish to tarnish or undermine Jeff and Ken’s achievements with Scrum. Nor the somewhat later accomplishments of the Snowbird folks. Just putting down a marker for us Brits. And other nations too.

Aside: The Lean manufacturing community has largely forgotten about Frank George Woolard, a Brit whose work preceded and some say inspired the Japanese, notably Eizi Toyoda.

– Bob

Further Reading

Don’t Look For Inventions Before Their Time ~ Matt Ridley
The Back Story – Finding a Lost Classic ~ Bob Emiliani