This presentation was given at the Lean Software and Systems Conference 2012 (LSSC12).

Ever feel your organization is trying to run up a down escalator which is ever speeding up? Well, it’s probably because it is. Relentless changes in technology, competition and market conditions – just to name three driving forces – are making it ever more difficult to make good decisions concerning what risks to manage and what opportunities to pursue next. Just as you think you have something under control, something comes along and turns everything upside down.

In this talk, Robert Charette will describe his three dimensional risk escalator or helix to help understand the myriad of dynamic forces acting on (and inside) organizations today, and how instead of merely reacting to them, an organization embracing lean software and systems development can manipulate these forces to their advantage and profit.