Interactions with other people can be complex and challenging because people do things differently. Here’s a tool to add to your toolbox… When you want to simplify communications, create rails.

Rails are all about providing lightweight structure – just enough to promote right action and effective communication

Scrum is full of examples of simple rails – story formats (“as a _ I want to _ so I can _”), and stand-up 3-question protocol, for example

The secret to good rails is that they do not inhibit free discussion, are minimally invasive, and lead people to providing the right information or taking right action in the shortest time possible

They should also be simple, easy to remember and use

Most important, you can’t have rails on everything. Experiment with creating and tweaking your own to suit your team and situation.