Humphrey's Law

"The user will never know what they want until after the system is in production (maybe not even then)."

Watts Humphrey

Humphrey's Law reflects the reality that stakeholders and users often cannot clearly define their requirements upfront, especially in complex systems. Instead, they refine their understanding only after interacting with prototypes, early versions of the product, or tangible deliverables.

Impact on Agile Teams

  1. Iterative Development:
    • Agile embraces iterative and incremental delivery, allowing teams to provide stakeholders with working increments of the product frequently (e.g., at the end of every Sprint). This iterative approach enables users to refine their needs based on tangible outputs.
  2. Adaptive Planning:
    • Requirements evolve as users interact with the product. Agile frameworks, such as Scrum or Kanban, support this through flexible planning and re-prioritization. Teams regularly adjust the product backlog to reflect new insights gained from feedback.
  3. Collaboration:
    • Agile emphasizes close collaboration between teams and stakeholders to effectively manage evolving requirements. Ceremonies like Sprint Reviews and Backlog Refinement meetings provide structured opportunities for feedback.
  4. Prototyping and MVPs:
    • Create Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) and prototypes to test ideas early. This minimizes the risk of building features that do not meet user needs, ensuring that resources are used effectively.
Impact on Stakeholder Management:
  • Setting Expectations:
    • Agile teams need to educate stakeholders about the iterative nature of development, explaining that changing requirements are normal and even beneficial. This prevents frustration or resistance to change.
  • Encouraging Collaboration:
    • Continuous collaboration helps stakeholders clarify their evolving needs. Sprint Reviews and ongoing communication ensure that feedback is consistently gathered and incorporated into the development process.
  • Building Trust:
    • Transparency about the iterative process and progress builds trust with stakeholders. Demonstrating incremental value through working software reinforces confidence in the team's ability to deliver.
  • Facilitating Decision-Making:
    • Agile teams help stakeholders prioritize features as requirements evolve. They act as facilitators, balancing user needs, business goals, and technical feasibility to drive informed decisions.
Impact on Product Strategy:
  • Value Delivery Focus:
    • Agile teams focus on delivering the highest-value features first, using prioritization techniques such as MoSCoW or Weighted Shortest Job First (WSJF). This ensures that resources are directed toward what matters most to users and the business.
  • Prototyping and Validation:
    • Prototyping and MVPs are essential for validating assumptions early. This allows teams to pivot or refine the product based on real user feedback, reducing wasted effort on features that don't align with user needs.
  • Flexible Roadmaps:
    • Product roadmaps must remain adaptable. Rather than rigid timelines and fixed scopes, Agile teams plan around outcomes and milestones, leaving room for iteration as requirements evolve.
  • Feedback as a Strategic Asset:
    • User feedback becomes central to strategy. It informs not just what features to build but also how to differentiate the product in the market. Incorporating user insights ensures the product remains relevant and competitive.
  • Reduced Waste:
    • By focusing on validated requirements, Agile teams avoid spending time and resources on unnecessary features.

Scenario

A company is developing an e-commerce platform. Initially, stakeholders request a simple product catalog with search functionality.

  1. Iteration 1:
    • The Agile team delivers a basic catalog and search bar.
    • Feedback: Users find the search helpful but request filters for price range, category, and brand, as well as product reviews.
  2. Iteration 2:
    • The team adds filters and a section for product reviews.
    • Feedback: Users find the search helpful but request filters for price range, category, and brand, as well as product reviews.
  3. Iteration 3+:
    • The team iterates further based on feedback, evolving the platform into a sophisticated, user-friendly product that aligns with actual user needs.

Summary

Humphrey's Law underscores that stakeholders and users often cannot articulate their full requirements until they see and interact with a product. Agile teams thrive in this environment by embracing iterative development, adaptive planning, and continuous collaboration.

By managing stakeholder expectations, fostering strong communication, and making user feedback central to product strategy, teams ensure they deliver high-value solutions. This approach minimizes wasted effort, maximizes adaptability, and creates products that truly meet user needs.

Agile frameworks' iterative and flexible nature make them uniquely suited to address the realities of Humphrey's Law, enabling organizations to build trust, deliver value, and stay competitive in dynamic markets.