Point Lookout: a free weekly publication of Chaco Canyon Consulting
Volume 16, Issue 18;   May 4, 2016: Just-In-Time Hoop-Jumping

Just-In-Time Hoop-Jumping

by

Securing approvals for projects, proposals, or other efforts is often called "jumping through hoops." Hoop-jumping can be time-consuming and frustrating. Here are some suggestions for jumping through hoops efficiently.
Magic Lantern Slide of a dog jumping through a hoop

A Magic Lantern Slide of a dog jumping through a hoop, ca. 1830. The metaphor about "jumping through hoops" is a reference to circus acts like this. Courtesy U.K. National Media Museum via Flickr, artist unknown.

In many organizations, bureaucracy consists of people, policies, and procedures that focus organizational resources on reaching accepted objectives. Bureaucracy can also be an unnecessary obstacle, but that's a topic for another time. For now, let's focus on how to operate within bureaucracy to get our work done with minimal frustration and wasted effort.

One approach might be what I call Just-In-Time Hoop-Jumping, which means deferring preparations for jumping through a given hoop until the time is right.

For example, if you're preparing a project plan for a sequence of reviews by sponsors, managers, and governance boards, you know that some of these folks review only parts of the plan. Others review the entire plan piecewise in a set of mini-reviews. Some review items only after others have reviewed them, and so on.

The straightforward approach to final approval involves developing the entire plan and submitting it to reviewers, in turn, making adjustments after each review. But Just-in-Time Hoop-Jumping often produces better results, because you develop in detail only enough of the work to meet the requirements of the next reviewer along the path to final approval.

Of course, a clear view of that entire path is necessary — including answers to any questions that any reviewer might ask. But it isn't necessary to have those answers in final form until you reach the point where they might be asked.

Here are three guidelines for implementing Just-In-Time Hoop-Jumping.

Synchronize your work to your audiences
On the path to final approval, you'll probably face a sequence of different audiences. Be certain that your work meets the needs of each audience, but complete treatment of each part of the work is necessary only for the part to be reviewed by that audience. Sketchy versions of portions to be reviewed by later audiences might be adequate for now.
Break your task into layers
As you progress, How can you operate within bureaucracy
to get your work done with minimal
frustration and wasted effort?
expectations for completeness and sophistication of the work increase. Meet those expectations. But going beyond what's necessary at any one stage exposes you to the risk that the above-and-beyond part might need rework if elements it depends on undergo change. Develop the effort in detail no more than is required for a particular stage of the review process.
Use modularity to manage the risk of rework
Understanding the standards to be applied at any stage of the process is a given. But you can limit the impact of failure to satisfy a reviewer by limiting the interactions between modules of the work. By making the modules of your proposal independent, you can reduce the work required to bring the entire work into compliance when one module changes.

Just-in-Time hoop-jumping can feel wrong and risky at first, but that's where the advantage comes from. It gives you time to focus your effort on the parts that matter most right now. Go to top Top  Next issue: Characterization Risk  Next Issue

Go For It: Sometimes It's Easier If You RunLove the work but not the job? Bad boss, long commute, troubling ethical questions, hateful colleague? This ebook looks at what we can do to get more out of life at work. It helps you get moving again! Read Go For It! Sometimes It's Easier If You Run, filled with tips and techniques for putting zing into your work life. Order Now!

Your comments are welcome

Would you like to see your comments posted here? rbrendPtoGuFOkTSMQOzxner@ChacEgGqaylUnkmwIkkwoCanyon.comSend me your comments by email, or by Web form.

About Point Lookout

This article in its entirety was written by a 
          human being. No machine intelligence was involved in any way.Thank you for reading this article. I hope you enjoyed it and found it useful, and that you'll consider recommending it to a friend.

This article in its entirety was written by a human being. No machine intelligence was involved in any way.

Point Lookout is a free weekly email newsletter. Browse the archive of past issues. Subscribe for free.

Support Point Lookout by joining the Friends of Point Lookout, as an individual or as an organization.

Do you face a complex interpersonal situation? Send it in, anonymously if you like, and I'll give you my two cents.

Related articles

More articles on Personal, Team, and Organizational Effectiveness:

Jigsaw puzzle piecesFirst Aid for Painful Meetings
The foundation of any team meeting is its agenda. A crisply focused agenda can make the difference between a long, painful affair and finishing early. If you're the meeting organizer, develop and manage the agenda for maximum effectiveness.
ClamsEnjoy Every Part of the Clam
Age discrimination runs deep, well beyond the hiring decision. When we value each other on the basis of age, we can deprive ourselves and our companies of the treasures we all have to offer.
Handbill for the exhibition of Manet's The Execution of Emperor MaximilianHave a Program, Not Just an Agenda
In the modern organization, it's common to have meetings in which some people have never met — and some never will. For these meetings, which are often telemeetings, an agenda isn't enough. You need a program.
A Cliff Chipmunk in Saguaro National Park in ArizonaThis Is the Only Job
You have a job. Even though you liked it once, those days are long past, and a return is improbable. If you could, you'd hop to another job immediately, but economic conditions in your field make that unlikely. How can you deal with this misery?
A home officeAnticipating Absence: Quarantine and Isolation
When the pandemic compels some knowledge workers to quarantine or isolate, we tend to treat them as if they were totally unavailable. But if they're willing and able to work, even part-time, they might be able to continue to contribute. To make this happen, work out conditions in advance.

See also Personal, Team, and Organizational Effectiveness and Project Management for more related articles.

Forthcoming issues of Point Lookout

A meeting in a typical conference roomComing April 3: Recapping Factioned Meetings
A factioned meeting is one in which participants identify more closely with their factions, rather than with the meeting as a whole. Agreements reached in such meetings are at risk of instability as participants maneuver for advantage after the meeting. Available here and by RSS on April 3.
Franz Halder, German general and the chief of staff of the Army High Command (OKH) in Nazi Germany from 1938 until September 1942And on April 10: Managing Dunning-Kruger Risk
A cognitive bias called the Dunning-Kruger Effect can create risk for organizational missions that require expertise beyond the range of knowledge and experience of decision-makers. They might misjudge the organization's capacity to execute the mission successfully. They might even be unaware of the risk of so misjudging. Available here and by RSS on April 10.

Coaching services

I offer email and telephone coaching at both corporate and individual rates. Contact Rick for details at rbrendPtoGuFOkTSMQOzxner@ChacEgGqaylUnkmwIkkwoCanyon.com or (650) 787-6475, or toll-free in the continental US at (866) 378-5470.

Get the ebook!

Past issues of Point Lookout are available in six ebooks:

Reprinting this article

Are you a writer, editor or publisher on deadline? Are you looking for an article that will get people talking and get compliments flying your way? You can have 500-1000 words in your inbox in one hour. License any article from this Web site. More info

Follow Rick

Send email or subscribe to one of my newsletters Follow me at LinkedIn Follow me at X, or share a post Subscribe to RSS feeds Subscribe to RSS feeds
The message of Point Lookout is unique. Help get the message out. Please donate to help keep Point Lookout available for free to everyone.
Technical Debt for Policymakers BlogMy blog, Technical Debt for Policymakers, offers resources, insights, and conversations of interest to policymakers who are concerned with managing technical debt within their organizations. Get the millstone of technical debt off the neck of your organization!
Go For It: Sometimes It's Easier If You RunBad boss, long commute, troubling ethical questions, hateful colleague? Learn what we can do when we love the work but not the job.
303 Tips for Virtual and Global TeamsLearn how to make your virtual global team sing.
101 Tips for Managing ChangeAre you managing a change effort that faces rampant cynicism, passive non-cooperation, or maybe even outright revolt?
101 Tips for Effective MeetingsLearn how to make meetings more productive — and more rare.
Exchange your "personal trade secrets" — the tips, tricks and techniques that make you an ace — with other aces, anonymously. Visit the Library of Personal Trade Secrets.
If your teams don't yet consistently achieve state-of-the-art teamwork, check out this catalog. Help is just a few clicks/taps away!
Ebooks, booklets and tip books on project management, conflict, writing email, effective meetings and more.