Psychology for Enterprise Architects
posted by John Spacey, September 12, 2012This is not exactly news — people aren't perfectly logical. We all have emotions and biases that influence decisions and judgments. As Enterprise Architects, it is useful to understand a few common cognitive biases and how they tend to impact EA.
Irrational Escalation
The tendency to throw good money after bad — increasing commitment based on previous losses.EA example: sunk costs influencing architectural decisions
Neglect of Probability
The tendency to disregard probability when making judgments and decisions.EA example: rejecting a architectural approach because of perceived security risks (despite the risk being low)
Mere Exposure Effect
Dislike of the unfamiliar.EA example: resistance to new strategies
Omission Bias
Viewing harmful actions as much worse than equally harmful inaction.EA example: living with architectural problems for fear of being punished for a failed attempt at fixing them.
Hyperbolic Discounting
The tendency for people to have a stronger preference for more immediate payoffs.EA example: when tactical approaches are preferred to strategic
Reactance
The urge to disagree just to assert oneself.EA example: difficulties getting buy-in for architectural decisions — even when they plainly make sense.
Semmelweis Reflex
The tendency to reject new evidence that contradicts a well accepted paradigm.EA example: architectural paradigms take decades to change.
Unit Bias
The tendency to want to finish a given phase of work or task.EA example: continuing with a project everyone knows is doomed.
Zero-risk Bias
The urge to reduce the probability of a small risk to zero — no matter how high the cost.EA example: excessive focus on security and audits.
Ambiguity Effect
Avoiding options that entail a small degree of uncertainty.EA example: plan-up-front and big bang approaches
Availability Cascade
Repeat something enough and it becomes true (or at least people start to believe it).EA example: successful EA teams employ marketing techniques such as sound bites
Optimism Bias
The tendency to be overly optimistic about the outcome of one's plans.EA example: unrealistic business cases
Ostrich Effect
Ignoring the obvious.EA example: ignoring obvious business and technology gaps
Well Travelled Road Effect
Underestimation of familiar tasks and overestimation of unfamiliar tasks.EA example: contributes to resistance to change
Disregard of Regression Toward the Mean
Expecting exceptional events to continue.EA example: over spending on IT in a good financial year and deep cuts in a bad financial year
Endowment Effect
People demand more to give up something they already have then they would be willing to pay to acquire it.EA example: when retiring a legacy system users may demand excessive features for the new system.
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