10. Can you see the whole system?

In the day-to-day of a project it’s easy to get dragged into details. Decisions are made locally, issues are addressed one by one, and before long it becomes hard to see how everything fits together.

You need to counter this drift with a clear overall view – a map of the territory or and overall architecture for the project. So Question 10 is: can you see the whole system?

This doesn’t need to be a technical artefact. It might be a set of process flows, a customer journey map, or even a classic restaurant napkin with the future drawn out - any visual that helps people understand how the parts connect.

The form matters less than the function: it is about a shared picture that simplifies discussion and decision-making.

Complexity makes it difficult for any one person to carry the whole system in their head. A good map carries that cognitive load for the team. It makes trade-offs clearer, exposes unintended consequences, and simplifies debate by grounding it in a shared view of reality.

Without this perspective, projects tend to optimise parts at the expense of the whole, or completely miss significant elements that aren’t on the radar.

So the 10th question is a higher level one: can you see the whole system?