I mentioned a while back that I am a Boy Scout. OK, maybe my boyhood days are long gone, but I still consider myself to be a Scout. I learned many lessons as a Scout; lessons that continue to serve me well today. One of those is KIS or Keep It Simple.
I remember learning primitive camping skills. Many novice campers would bring too much gear, requiring hauling and storing it, and just in general complicating camp life. The simple (KIS) approach is to bring only what you absolutely need. Many novice campers would also select poor camp sites and then spend time dealing with dampness, bugs, discomfort, safety issues and more. The simple approach is to avoid those issues by selecting a good camp site. Then in both cases, you spend all that saved time enjoying the camp and doing what you came to do. KIS pays off.
KIS applies equally well to many aspects of simulation. When things go wrong, it can often be traced back to too much complexity.
The basic concept of KIS is to do just enough to do it well and no more! Does this mean you should not do your best? No. But it does mean that you should segment your work into small phases and KIS on each phase.
In model-building for example, let’s say a stakeholder expresses desire for a detailed model for the 10 areas of his system. One common approach is to go off and create exactly what the stakeholder asked for. Unfortunately, this will probably be wrong. A better approach is to pick one representative area, and do a very high-level model of that one area. Then review that model and results with the stakeholder. In most cases, you will both learn a lot and you may jointly decide on a different approach. Then perhaps do a detailed model of that same area or perhaps extend that high-level model to a few more areas. Again you will probably learn something that will change your approach or objectives. For each phase, you want to do the simplest thing (KIS) that will meet the objectives for that phase. In this way, you will minimize any wasted effort and come much more quickly to exactly what the stakeholder needs.
Let’s consider model-building at a much more detailed level. A common mistake by novices is to build a large section of a model (perhaps even an entire system) all at once. And then you hit “Go” and it does not work. Why doesn’t it work? There are perhaps a thousand possible reasons to investigate. Even worse, there are most likely dozens of small or large problems, each potentially obscuring the others. Verifying and validating such a model is a daunting task. A much better approach is to start by selecting a very small (KIS) portion of the model to build and verify that it works. Then repeat. When a problem is discovered in any new section, it is generally easy to find it because you know it is a result of that latest section just added. Again, “Keep It Simple”.
Remember, Keep It Simple. Work effectively and exceed your stakeholder expectations one simple step at a time.
Dave Sturrock
VP Products – Simio LLC
Tags: Agility, camp, KISS, management, simio, simulation, success, validation, verification
Very valid point. Often times folks make the mistake of making things harder than they need to be or bite of more than they can chew. Both of which can result in a poor quality, due to time constraints or general lack of understanding from loss of focus. I especially like the point made regarding the step by step approach for building a large model. Its the simplest approach when it comes to troubleshooting the model, because each segment is verified one step at a time, thus saving a lot of time at the end. Its like building a car from scratch. If each component is tested each time a new one is assembled to the car, then the chances of the car operating properly once completed are very high.
I totally agree that we should keep our models simple! I believe that complex models cause complex probems which make us stuck. Moreover, sometimes we need corrections or comments on our models, so our stakeholders/experts should understand the model easily, then make useful comments/corrections.
Keeping It Simple in my mind doesn’t mean not doing your best, it’s the idea that the solution is usually pretty simple. It seems like in school we are taught that the solution is usually never simple. Warren Buffet once said, ‘The business schools reward complex behavior more than simple behavior, but simple behavior is more effective.’
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