I haven’t thought of the Pareto Principle in quite a long time.
It was a central theme to my 2004 Software Endgames book because of the implications of Pareto and software defects (trending, clustering, resolution, complexity, etc.) It was a rich and interesting way to view defects at the time. Still is.
Then I wrote a blog piece entitled Pareto and You – Separating the Wheat from the Chaff in 2013, where I explored the implications of Pareto beyond software testing and defects. At the time, I saw the principle as something that could potentially have broad implications beyond software and into life itself. That is, could we view it as something as reliable, consistent, and law-like as the law of gravity?
I had been thinking the answer to this was yes. That is, as long as we view it as a lens for guidance rather than a law that strongly drives our behavior, measurement, and reactions. Consider it a Pareto Compass that would guide you towards True North in your understanding of complexity.
We were chatting about agile coaching the other morning in the Moose Herd and the principal came up again. I mentioned it as a lens that an agile coach could leverage in their assessment of and navigation thru Agile & Digital Transformations. Afterward, I put on my brainstorming hat to envision scenarios in my agile coaching journey where I might be able to look at the world through a Pareto lens—