VIPER - Getting Started
The thinking frameworks VIPER and VPEC-T are almost identical. The meaning of these acronyms is remarkably similar, however, after numerous sessions with business clients, we found ’Information’ was more meaningful to them than 'Content'. Similarly ‘Reliance’ felt less challenging than ‘Trust’. The two acronyms are interchangeable depending on the audience. However, I usually start with VIPER as the default these days.
VIPER is more memorable and therefore more easily adopted. This is the greater good. This article uses the terms interchangeably given that most examples stretch back to 2006 and VIPER only popped into existence late 2019. I shall refer to 'The Framework' for the rest of this post.
The Framework is a technique for solving knotty problems and stimulating innovative designs. It was first used to solve a tricky problem in UK Criminal Justice in 2006 but has since been applied to a multitude of different problem-solving situations: market sense-making, business process improvement, I.T. requirements, social, and personal challenges.
This is a practical "How To" guide for preparing to use The Framework.