Colabmo development course A-P02

Learning objective: Challenge a constraint without discarding its legitimate purpose or exceeding decision authority.

Constraints differ in origin and in who can change them. A physical dependency, a current contract, an internal policy, a system configuration and a team habit are not interchangeable. The redesign team should identify the source and the person authorized to interpret or change it.

A constraint can be binding for this project without being universal. If a current agreement requires a particular approval, retain it until an authorized change is made. The team can explore alternative designs conditional on that change, but must label them accordingly. Brainstorming does not grant operating authority.

Use a purpose-to-mechanism ladder. Start with the stated rule, find its intended protection, identify the evidence that the protection works, and ask what other mechanisms might provide equivalent or better protection. For example, a monthly committee might exist to prevent unauthorized commitments. Its meeting cadence is a mechanism; authorized commitment is the control objective. The committee may also provide exception judgment that a simple threshold would miss.

Do not assume the written rule has only one purpose. Ask its owner about accountability, segregation of duties, auditability, customer promises and failure recovery. Then state exactly what can be changed within the team’s remit and what requires a separate decision. Keep unresolved interpretations in the constraint register.

One practical classification is: fixed within this exercise; changeable by a named owner; unverified; or chosen by this team. Every fixed constraint should carry its scope and source. Every unverified constraint should have a resolution action. If a critical constraint cannot be resolved, keep the affected proposal conditional and avoid a live test that depends on removing it.

Practice

A manager says all new suppliers must wait for a weekly committee. In W4, separate the committee, its timing, supplier eligibility, authority and retained evidence. Write two questions for the policy owner and one conditional alternative that preserves the underlying control.

Check your reasoning

Can a team remove a control because it has not observed any failures?