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I work for someone that will pick apart your every idea and make sure you are solving the right problem. The number of times I've been convinced we had to do so

by xupybd 5y ago

I work for someone that will pick apart your every idea and make sure you are solving the right problem. The number of times I've been convinced we had to do something for him to figure out the problem is actually in another part of the business is embarrassing. It's a skill I hope to develop myself. It's much easier to just sign off on something and say that's a great idea go for it. To make sure you understand the problem down to the smallest detail and clearly assess if it's the best solution requires a dedication and focus that many managers lack.

ChrisMarshallNY 5y ago
In the [Japanese] company that I worked for, they had some serious process around evaluating proposals. Basically, you had to have the project designed, before pitching it. After that, it had to go through a lot of folks, flinging poo at it (They called these meetings "Design Review" meetings, or "DRs"). It certainly resulted in relatively successful outcomes (and I saw failures, where managers let stuff pass without that level of detail), but I think it also killed a lot of good stuff. Some ideas are worth approaching, even if the approach has not been fully mapped-out. I'm a huge fan of "Evolutionary Design"[0-1]. It has served me well, but is not for the faint of heart (or the inexperienced). If you don't have a lot of experience (as opposed to intelligence and/or education), then I do not recommend this approach. I am also a fan of "biting off more than you can chew"[2]. Again, I would only recommend this for experienced people, if it is for shipping projects. If not for shipping projects, then go for it. Knock yourself out. [0] https://littlegreenviper.com/miscellany/forensic-design-documentation/ https://littlegreenviper.com/miscellany/forensic-design-docu... [1] https://littlegreenviper.com/miscellany/evolutionary-design-specification/ https://littlegreenviper.com/miscellany/evolutionary-design-... [2] https://littlegreenviper.com/miscellany/thats-not-what-ships-are-built-for/ https://littlegreenviper.com/miscellany/thats-not-what-ships...
- kqr 5y ago
  I agree. A complete up-front design is basically a way to guarantee that you will get several key parameters wrong. That said, even a very rough outline of an idea should be subjected to an appropriate amount of high-level criticism.
ignoramous 5y ago
> I work for someone that will pick apart your every idea and make sure you are solving the right problem. Caveat: One may have to reframe the problem to really solve it http://www.azarask.in/blog/post/the-wrong-problem/ http://www.azarask.in/blog/post/the-wrong-problem/ | https://archive.is/uLlkx https://archive.is/uLlkx
rramadass 5y ago
>pick apart your every idea and make sure you are solving the right problem Can you give some examples? Have you identified any specific methodology/process at play here which can be learned?

by xupybd 5y ago

ChrisMarshallNY 5y ago

In the [Japanese] company that I worked for, they had some serious process around evaluating proposals. Basically, you had to have the project designed, before pitching it. After that, it had to go through a lot of folks, flinging poo at it (They called these meetings "Design Review" meetings, or "DRs"). It certainly resulted in relatively successful outcomes (and I saw failures, where managers let stuff pass without that level of detail), but I think it also killed a lot of good stuff. Some ideas are worth approaching, even if the approach has not been fully mapped-out. I'm a huge fan of "Evolutionary Design"[0-1]. It has served me well, but is not for the faint of heart (or the inexperienced). If you don't have a lot of experience (as opposed to intelligence and/or education), then I do not recommend this approach. I am also a fan of "biting off more than you can chew"[2]. Again, I would only recommend this for experienced people, if it is for shipping projects. If not for shipping projects, then go for it. Knock yourself out. [0] https://littlegreenviper.com/miscellany/forensic-design-documentation/ https://littlegreenviper.com/miscellany/forensic-design-docu... [1] https://littlegreenviper.com/miscellany/evolutionary-design-specification/ https://littlegreenviper.com/miscellany/evolutionary-design-... [2] https://littlegreenviper.com/miscellany/thats-not-what-ships-are-built-for/ https://littlegreenviper.com/miscellany/thats-not-what-ships...

kqr 5y ago
I agree. A complete up-front design is basically a way to guarantee that you will get several key parameters wrong. That said, even a very rough outline of an idea should be subjected to an appropriate amount of high-level criticism.

ignoramous 5y ago

> I work for someone that will pick apart your every idea and make sure you are solving the right problem. Caveat: One may have to reframe the problem to really solve it http://www.azarask.in/blog/post/the-wrong-problem/ http://www.azarask.in/blog/post/the-wrong-problem/ | https://archive.is/uLlkx https://archive.is/uLlkx

rramadass 5y ago

>pick apart your every idea and make sure you are solving the right problem Can you give some examples? Have you identified any specific methodology/process at play here which can be learned?