Forward deployment handbook
Use the handbook to understand the reasoning behind a method and avoid common mistakes. Eighteen topic-based chapters include questions and related exercises. This is an edited guide based on the Chinese manuscript, rather than the full book.
What forward deployment means
Make the system work for the people using it
Check the system and the experience of the people using it.
02Echo and Delta: complementary responsibilities
How do business discovery and engineering work together?
03Keep track of facts, assumptions, decisions and outcomes
Know which decisions to revisit when new information arrives.
Discovery and problem framing
What to agree before visiting the customer
Agree on access, scope and commitments.
05Start research with a specific event
Ask what happened before deciding why.
06Understand who benefits and who takes on more work
People outside the meeting may be affected most.
07Turn a request into a testable problem
State what finding would change your view.
Solution design and risk management
Verify what happened when AI says it is done
Handle success, failure and unknown outcomes separately.
09Make human review effective
Reviewers need enough information, time and authority.
10Test assumptions with a small experiment
Make the result useful for choosing the next step.
11Assign responsibility for data and risk
Assign an owner for risks that remain after controls.
Evaluation and everyday use
Five areas to check before release
A better overall score may still leave tasks unfit for release.
13Find out whether people are using the system in their work
Check task completion and where the workload went.
14Communicate through disagreements and bad news
Make the facts, impact and next options clear.