Total Loss of Structural Integrity
Ever watch Seconds from Disaster? Then the term ‘Structural Integrity‘ might sound familiar. It happens when the structure of an airplane or building is damaged. Instead of a solid structure it becomes a collection of disconnected parts often leading to some kind of disaster.
The term kept coming up while I was putting together some IKEA furniture this weekend. I don’t want to complain about IKEA and generally love the whole concept. No problem here with missing screws or unclear instructions.
But one thing is kind of annoying with the IKEA stuff: it seems that as you are putting the furniture together there is absolutely no Structural Integrity until you screw in the last screw in or pull the last string or attach the last piece of cardboard. Then the whole thing turns into a solid mass.
That is until you find out that section 3a should have been attached to section 6b the other way around. You simply unscrew some elements resulting in the unstable state you were in 6 steps ago. Then it seems like the unscrewing of a few screws leads to a total loss of structural integrity which you will never, ever regain. Even if you put all the screws and sections in the right place. Some things aren’t meant to be disconnected.
The same can happen with projects. You have a plan, a team and the right resources. But something happens. It might be good, or bad or just unforeseen but it forces you to re-evaluate your fundamentals. Then you find out that removing or changing one of the assumptions from your plan changes everything down the line. Suddenly the whole project loses its structural integrity. People will shout ‘Well, if we do that we might as well change everything!’ or ‘That isn’t what this project is about! I thought we were doing it for…’.
Yesterday I found out that I had placed one side of my new bookshelf upside down. I removed a few screws and tried to just fix that one part. Halfway through the whole thing started coming apart at the seams and I had to give up. There was no other option but to take the whole thing apart and start all over.
Sometimes you just have to respect structural integrity and build things up from the ground.
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3 Responses to “Total Loss of Structural Integrity”
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Hi Boris,
Really nice example you use to show the difficulty of especially organically grown projects corporations or products. Structures that emerge and that are not designed are the hardest to change. In these emerged structures you can better close-up if things kind of don’t fit perfectly. Trial and error is the way to go..
I guess this will be a big trend.. buttom up structures which will stay alive as long as the STRUCTURE wants. Interesting to see what it is that makes the structure alive(glued together).
Don’t you know that you need3 pairs of arms to put together any Ikea furniture?
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