Are processes and procedures only for enterprises?

Question

I've had the opportunity to work at quite a few start-ups. One thing I've found to be common in them is adhoc way of doing things and ignorance towards processes, best practices and known project management techniques. When I suggest changes to the employers they come up with the answer that all these processes look good in books and reality is different OR they are only relevant in Google, Microsoft and Yahoo like companies.For example in the middle of the sprint (in Scrum) a product owner would come and say. Hey I've changed my mind about so and so feature so lets do the changes. Don't tell me about man hours, estimates and sprints. Just finish this tonight.It seems start-ups are exempted from following the standards and best way for them is to just go with the flow and make decisions based on gut feelings. Is that true? What is the justification?

Answer 1

Processes and procedures are not just for larger companies. However, they do not need to be long and complicated. Larger companies use them to regulate behavior and educate people on how to perform tasks.

In many cases they quickly become a burden- but that is because for every little problem companies dump more into them without understanding the consequences.

I can certainly understand the reluctance to create processes and procedures in a start-up however you still need to be very disciplined so success is not random. There are tools that are both powerful and easy to use to make decisions, understand what the customer really wants, and drive productivity.

The rationalization that they look good but in reality do not work is probably more from the human mind always minimizing energy and looking for the easiest path. However, what is easy for one person often creates unnecessary work for everyone else- it takes discipline to take the time and be creative in finding a solution that works for everyone.