The Red Herring: Delivering Value or Distraction?
Picture this: You’re in the final stages of a project. The finish line is in sight. Suddenly, an intriguing new feature request appears. It seems like a quick thing that needs minimal effort for maximum results, and before you realize it, you’ve been drawn off course.
Such deceptive distractions, aka Red Herrings, lurk within every project. They may appear alluring, but they have the potential to misdirect teams. The sly reference “red herring” originates from a hunting practice from the 18th to 19th century. It’s believed that the early animal rights activists used the strong odor of cured red herrings to distract hunting dogs, giving the prey time to escape. In the same way, metaphorically speaking, red herrings can steer your project team off the track of the ultimate goal.
How do you tell the difference between a red herring and a real opportunity?
What are red herrings?
In the context of a project, a red herring is a feature or capability request that appears valuable at first but can sidetrack the project team from important tasks. These features or capabilities often show up as tempting opportunities to “add value” but can cause the team to lose focus. Occasionally, they might even offer an opportunity for innovation if they can be handled with care. They often come branded as a “low-hanging fruit” or a “quick win” for the project.
Low-Hanging Fruits
These are easy tasks that don’t require much time or effort. Low-hanging fruits offer quick value and gratification, but they might distract from more challenging tasks that offer more substantial value.
Quick Wins
These are strategic actions that can be performed swiftly and provide immediate positive results. They are very appealing because they show fast progress and boost team morale. However, if overemphasized, they can divert the team’s focus from more important, complex tasks.
Both low-hanging fruits and quick wins can boost team confidence and project momentum. But it’s important to discern whether these tasks genuinely add value to the project or are just red herrings in disguise.
Advantages and pitfalls
Despite their potential to distract, red herrings can serve a constructive purpose, but it’s a double-edged sword.
Implementing low-hanging fruits or quick wins can demonstrate progress and gain stakeholder support, boost team morale, and provide a sense of accomplishment. Furthermore, red herrings in a project can help negotiate for resources or approvals on more critical tasks. In addition, exploring red herrings could ignite creativity or uncover unexpected opportunities.
On the flip side, red herrings pose challenges if not managed carefully. They divert attention from main tasks, delay project delivery, and risk key goals. Overemphasizing these elements can result in teams missing essential tasks. They also introduce added features, expanding the project scope without comparable benefits, leading to overruns in time and resources.
When managed correctly, red herrings can be useful, but it’s important to find the right balance.
Managing red herrings
Once red herrings are identified, the next step is effective management. This process requires a balance of evaluation, negotiation, documentation, and flexibility.
- Evaluate Potential Return: Consider the ROI of each feature or ask. Analyze if the time and effort put into a red herring would yield a valuable return aligned with the project’s goals.
- Negotiate with Bargaining Chips: Use red herrings as a negotiation tool. When discussing project priorities with stakeholders, offering a small feature, aka a red herring, can help you get approval for something more significant.
- Document Potential Growth Opportunities: Red herrings may become useful in the future. It’s important to track these requirements for evaluation as the project evolves.
- Maintain Flexibility: Strive for flexibility when designing project outcomes. A well-designed product or service should be able to accommodate new features or changes in the future.
- Say Yes to Innovation: While red herrings may not be critical at the moment, exploring them can uncover valuable opportunities, mitigate future risks, inform better decision-making, and fuel creative ideas. While they shouldn’t overshadow the primary project goals, they shouldn’t be dismissed as they might offer an unexpected competitive edge.
- Stay Focused: Above all else, maintain the team’s focus on the primary project goals, ruthlessly weighing the potential value of each new idea against its impact on the project team, scope, budget, and timeline.
Ultimately, effectively managing red herrings can help maintain the balance between innovation and focus in any project. The cornerstone of successful project execution is good prioritization, which involves differentiating essential tasks from potential distractions. Whether they present themselves as tempting quick wins or low-hanging fruits, ensure they add value to the project rather than pulling your team’s focus away from it.
Finding the right balance
Red herrings create a dilemma. They may seem like noise or distraction, but they can also be turning points, leading to innovation. The trick is to discern which ones deserve attention and which ones should be set aside to maintain focus.
Understanding red herrings and implementing strategies to manage them is only one piece of the puzzle. A successful project also requires prioritization, evaluation, and adaptation to handle unexpected shifts in requirements. Thus, developing a resilient team culture that can navigate a project’s ups and downs without getting swayed by every shiny new object is crucial.
Furthermore, informed decision-making is essential to a project’s success. This involves assessing whether a red herring aligns with the project’s priorities, provides a compelling return on investment, and inspires creativity and innovation in your team. By doing so, you can harness the potential of each requirement, leading projects to success without getting derailed by distractions. It’s about finding the balance and knowing when to push and when to let go.
