Shipulski On Design

I’m tired of hearing about North Stars and Idealized Future States. I much prefer to define the current state.

I want to move from “let’s do this!” to “how are we doing it today?”

Stop: Imaging what could be.  Start: Defining what’s going on right now.

Every journey starts with a first step.  And that first step is taken from where you are.

Location before destination, that’s what I say.

Where are you?

Before you can decide if you need a course change, you’ve got to know your direction of travel.

Instead of arguing about a new course heading, analyze the current direction of travel.

To determine your direction of travel, look where you were three years ago, two years ago, and one year ago.  From the past, draw a line through today and onward.  That’s your trajectory.

Before you can know where you’re going, you’ve got to know where you’ve been.

Where have you been?

Now that you know where you were, where you are, and where you’re going, you’re ready to run small experiments to find the fertile design space.

Mari Dallavara — small cairn