Since simplicity does it and there is no need to complicate what is evidently straightforward, I will proceed to make this brief and say, show me a product support personnel or enthusiast who is interested in going beyond the surface of problems, and I will show you one who is ready to make lasting and scalable solutions available. 

Immediate Intervention is needed and Deep Search is great

In an ideal situation, going granular is not always the first step, instead prompt system restoration is always advisable. However, leaving the root or parts of the issue without full closure could be an attempt to keep running in circles. 

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Pursuit of Clarity and Indicator of the Height of Interest

The more you want to reach the depth of concern is a good pointer to how much interest you have towards gaining a solid understanding of the matter. And this mostly yields clarity as a result, especially when right sources are involved, thereby clearing avoidable assumptions that could be roadblocks to executing with clarity of purpose. Pursuit of granularity often leads one into where the core of the matter resides. The deeper you can go, the better.

Attention to Details

Granularity is not in the volume but more about the substance (where the matter lies). It could be viewed as another name for the phrase “paying attention to details”. This is following through for an end-to-end understanding. 

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Beyond Product Support

Whilst the thought here is focused on the support side of the product, keep in mind that the use of granularity as a skill extends to other aspects of a product and its business. This could potentially be in how you break things down to their base form, or how you organise or separate items based on their fundamental attributes, right to the care (or caution) you give when implementing or connecting the different parts of a project.

Useful to both Business and Life

Understanding that the world of work should not be isolated from that of everyday life, hence granularity is an essentially transferrable skill useful even in the general landscape of life.
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PREP Points of Granularity

The points of granularity could be approached in the form of questions in view of Product Support. These points can stand alone or be connected to each other:‍

Pattern

Is there a pattern? What is the pattern? This is very useful when a good number of samples are available for checks or investigations.

Root-Branch thinking 

Is this the root of the matter or just a branch? Where is the root? What could be the root? What is the main issue? This is usually applicable when discovering where the originating issue is with a system.

Elements thinking 

What are the elements of the matter at hand? How are they fundamentally? This is more about understanding the components or variables at play. This can be mostly suitable for understanding a system e.g. during system changes, deployments or new integrations.

Part-Whole thinking 

What are the possible solution options to the parts as well as the whole? This involves provision of incremental solutions until all parts get covered.

One Example 

This is an instance of the part-whole approach. You can imagine an experience that activated this dimension of consciousness in me. I recently worked on a report that involved investigating the performance of some third-party transactions. When Scott Noel (CTO, SafeBoda) had a check through it, he advised that we break down the report more granularly into users’ side (e.g., incorrect pin entry, insufficient funds) and ours / third-party side, so we could focus more on the ones within our close control. And with the support of my Line Manager, Anita Naluzze, we were able to further categorise the issue better. This made us have a clearer understanding of the issue at hand as we isolated them individually and as well into their groups. Also, we were able to identify an underlying concern that did not critically impact the investigation but important for both the reliability of the system and any later similar checks that could be required to be done on the system. Of course that was the “click moment”, it was at that point that I became more aware of this foundational discipline and skill —  granularity.

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Choose and Dive in

The reality is that time won’t permit deep search into every problem or matter at hand, hence the call to be able to identify and select the instances to utilise this knowledge (or reminder), the key is for you to have depth of understanding in and approach to as many matters concerning the essentials as much as you can. 

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P.S: 

The beautiful endeavour discussed here is a cultivation that often requires a price to pay in the currencies of interest, time, concentration, and effort (intentional commitment, research, deep / curious / playful / enjoyable thinking, and contribution).

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