Empirical Product Control Loop

Empirical Product Control Loop, or short EPCL, can be found in many organizational models, methods or frameworks. Empirical Product Control Loops are used to optimize the product of a complex system.

The term originates from the concept of Empirical Process Control, which Ken Schwaber used to clarify the principles of Scrum. It was initially described in the book Process Dynamics, Modeling, and Control.

Examples of Empirical Product Control Loops

• OODA Loop: Observe, Orient, Decide, Act
• PDCA Cycle: Plan, Do, Check, Act
• Wardley Mapping: Leadership, Purpose, Landscape, Climate, Doctrine
• eXtreme Programming: Red, green, refactor
• Lean Start-up: Build-Measure-Learn
• Process for the complex domain in the Cynefin Framework: probe-sense-respond
• Scrum: Transparency, Inspecting, Adapting, in combination with time-boxing & deliver early and frequently. Manifested in the Sprint and the Daily Scrum.
• Cycle in empirical research. Used for example in Design Thinking and Product Discovery frameworks: Hypothesis, How to validate, Run Experiments, Measure, Conclusion.

Empirical Product Control Loop in AME3

In AME3 the Tournament and the Match are Empirical Product Control Loops. For simplification, they are structured into 3 phases to create a common ground with existing methods and frameworks: Anticipate, Advance and Assess.