Agile Decision Heuristics & Mental Models
Agile teams rely on decision shortcuts, cognitive patterns, and mental models to navigate complexity, reduce cognitive load, and maintain momentum. These laws help teams choose wisely when time is limited, uncertainty is high, and options are abundant. By internalizing these principles, teams improve prioritization, planning, and leadership with greater clarity and speed.
| Concept | Agile Relevance | Usage in Agile |
|---|---|---|
| Hick's Law | Decision time increases with the number of choices. | Applied in backlog refinement, WIP limits, and simplifying team workflows to improve decision speed and focus. |
| Simon's Satisficing Principle | Decisions are made by settling for "good enough" rather than optimal solutions. | Enables fast decision-making in Agile but requires balance to avoid technical debt and missed innovation opportunities. |
| Goodhart's Law | "When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure." | Helps Agile teams avoid gaming metrics, focusing on customer outcomes rather than arbitrary KPIs. |
| Sayre's Law | In any dispute, the intensity of feeling is inversely proportional to the value of the stakes at issue. | Explains why teams argue most over minor process decisions or tools; helps coaches de-escalate and redirect focus to meaningful outcomes. |
| Dude's Law | Value = Why / How | Helps teams prioritize delivering customer value rather than just completing tasks, reinforcing outcome-based Agile roadmaps. |