Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
not always a process. Which of these are examples of
processes?
• A recipe
• Following directions to reach a place
• Time
• A checklist
• Flowing water
• An elevator going up
• Human growth
• The number system
Resistance to Processes
The term “process” often meets with unexpected resistance. It is as if
developers and even managers are allergic to the term itself. This is
probably because of its assumed association with restricting one's freedom
and creativity. A process, especially someone else's process, is considered
a tool of authority, used in constraining one's creativity and management
style. The rational response is that the fear is justified because processes
can be constraining. However, constraints can also be positive.
We have all done a good job in cr eating things under universal
constraints (e.g., gravity). In fact, many feel that developing solutions
under constraints is challenging and fun. Games are bound by rules;
poetry and music have constraints of forms. Another good example of
creativity under constraints can be found in growing trees. Espalier is a
very old plant-growing technique. It involves careful training and pruning
of the branches of a tree along a support — wall, fence, or trellis — to
produce a two-dimensional tree. Espaliered plants are used in landscaping
for both function and beauty. In an area where space is limited or where
a plant is needed to decorate a large blank wall, espalier is most helpful.
True ingenuity comes from finding ways to exploit and overcome
constraints (Figure 8.2). Espaliering is being used commercially for fruit
trees, such as apple and pear trees. The technique allows more plants in
the same space, enough sunlight for them, and tremendous ease of picking
the fruit. Because the trees (the branches) are predominantly two-dimen-
sional, pickers find it very easy to reach the fruit instead of having to
constantly move ladders around the circumference of a usual tree.
