“Tesco’s secret sauce for innovation simplification was, appropriately, astonishingly simple: the company made people - and held people - accountable for simplicity,” writes Michael Schrage for the Harvard Business Review. Yet by implementing these questions consistently, Tesco identifies great new ideas and throws out the ones that don’t keep things simple. In fact, they’re all head-slappingly simple. Is the innovation better for customers?.Before rolling out one of these famous innovations, Tesco applies three questions: But what is the KISS principle like when used in business?Ĭonsider the example of Tesco, a UK supermarket with a reputation for innovation. “Keep It Simple, Stupid” examplesīut that’s the Navy. Wherever KISS started, the principles hold true today - no matter what kinds of projects you manage. In battle, there was no room for complexity. Johnson let the designers at Lockheed know their designs had to be simple enough that a soldier in a combat situation with basic training and tools should be able to fix it. To simplify, he set an example by asking the people under him to adhere to the acronym: Keep It Simple, Stupid.Īnother source traces the origins of the KISS project to Kelly Johnson, lead engineer at Lockheed Skunk Works. There were too many steps, too much red tape. Instead, he realized that the processes the Navy was using were too complicated. Stroop could have looked for cheaper equipment and materials. According to some, Rear Admiral Paul Stroop had a simple assignment: reduce the cost of naval aerial weaponry under his watch. Some trace the term KISS as an acronym that dates back to the U.S. The principle of KISS comes from specific projects in the U.S. You adhere to KISS when you avoid attaching unnecessary steps to a process that doesn’t need them. In project management, the KISS principle or KISS rule is a constant reminder to emphasize the simplest way forward. Improvements in business are ultimately about finding those elegant solutions that should make us slap our heads and say, “Duh - why didn’t I think of that?” What is the KISS principle in project management? Leonardo da Vinci once said that simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. But in pursuing diminishing returns, we sometimes make things worse.
Project managers often like to think that toying with the formula means we’re constantly getting better. KISS serves as a handy reminder that complexity doesn’t always reflect improvement. Even worse, a new initiative you’re launching might produce worse results if you add too much complexity along the way. You’ll just end up creating more work for yourself. KISS stands for “Keep It Simple, Stupid.” The message is just as simple: Don’t make your business processes any more complicated than they have to be. We like to add steps to processes to make them feel more “optimized,” even if those steps will only slow things down.īut what does KISS stand for, and what does it look like when applied in the real world of project management? What does KISS stand for?
We like to give input where none is needed. We like to fix systems that aren’t broken. In business, the KISS principle serves as a reminder that we human beings tend to overthink things. In modern parlance, we say: “The simplest explanation tends to be the true one.” Occam’s razor, a problem-solving principle dating to the Middle Ages, holds that all other things being equal, challenges should not be multiplied beyond necessity. The emphasis on simplicity has a long history. More likely, your last lightbulb moment made you slap your forehead and say, “Why didn’t I think of that before?” Our best innovations and ideas often come when we adhere to a principle with a clear message: “Keep It Simple, Stupid.” Was it because you discovered something sophisticated, complex, and hard to understand - with all sorts of bells and whistles along the way? Think about the last time you had a “Eureka!” moment.
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