Spotify’s DIBB framework
“Without data, you are blind and deaf and in the middle of a freeway.” – Geoffrey Moore
What is the DIBB framework?
Data-Insight-Belief-Bet (DIBB) framework is a way of aligning people at every level of the organization around a consistent decision-making approach.
DIBBs is a framework for helping teams derive actionable intelligence from their data. The steps are:
Analyzing the available Data (D)
Translating the data into Insights (I)
Formulating Beliefs (B)
Placing Bets (B)
From Beliefs to Bets
The DIBB Framework was developed as part of the broader ‘Spotify Rhythm’ and their evolving version of scaled Agile Methodology. It involves establishing cascading points of alignment, similar to traditional notions of moving from strategy to tactics, and for Spotify consists of:
Company Beliefs: The strategic understanding of the world and the resultant company focus over the next 3 to 5 years.
North Star and 2-year Goals: The handful of ambitious and measurable targets aligned to the beliefs.
Bets: at three levels:
Company Bets: large cross-organizational projects often lasting 6 to 12 months.
Functional Bets: generally large function-based projects aligning to Company Bets.
Marketing Bets: smaller more rapid initiatives and investments by teams.
Spotify displays Company Bets via a ‘Bets Board’, an online Kanban board showing the respective priorities and progress of each large bet – this was all about making the hard decisions of identifying the most important focus for resources and energy. The Bet Board is a key point of alignment for functions and teams alike. Each bet was linked to a two-page document: the front page had an overview including the primary sponsor, stakeholders, success metrics, and related bets; while the second page was a DIBB summary outlining the ‘why’ and ‘what’ of the bet. See the In Practice drop down for an example.
5 Steps to apply DIBB :
Start with the facts. Base your action on data and a deeper understanding of what is happening in the world, with your stakeholders, and in the market. Focus on collecting information that matters. You might consider market trends, sales, engagement rates, customer behavior, profit, and loss – anything relevant which might lead to a deeper understanding or new insights.
Draw insights. Work through the data and information to find the possible insights. This means looking for patterns, exploring potential questions, or using predictive analytics models to understand trends and implications.
Identify beliefs. State a hypothesis based on those insights. These are not facts, they’re beliefs and theories based on your current understanding and analysis of the facts.
Make a bet. Commit to action to either test or capitalize on the belief — generally both. Know that such bets and beliefs are not fixed, but will be updated with feedback loops gained through taking action. Be sure to define the expected outcomes of your bet, including success metrics and predictions based on your current belief.
Use a Bet Board. Consider prioritizing and displaying your bets for greater transparency and to allow people to both debate them and align to them more effectively.
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