With every project we start and every problem we are trying to solve, we are embarking on a journey. And although we might have a goal, this journey is still a journey into the unknown.
Even with the most proper planning we won’t be able to predict and factor in all the obstacles that might lie in front of us. There are simply too many unknowns that are impossible to predict. How could we, really? It’s the future. What we can do, though, is prepare. Prepare for the moments our assumptions prove to be wrong and our plans fail us.
The journey of a creative project involves thousands of possibilities, potential ideas, and choices. The outcome of our adventure, therefore, highly depends on our ability to make informed decisions the very moment we face them. Which way is the right one? Should we take the safe road or try a more risky approach off the beaten track? What helps us find the right answers in such moments is a clear vision of where we want to go together. A sense of purpose. Furthermore, we need to be able to make our decisions based on facts and real experience. And, because we can never be completely sure to make the right decisions, we need to increase the possibility of making better decisions. The way you do this is by generating enough good options, enough promising ideas, and enough valuable solutions. This way, we are increasing the possibility of making a good decision, no matter which solution we end up picking. Prototyping – in the broadest possible sense – is the perfect tool to unearth the most promising solutions and by that expanding our decision surface. Embrace prototyping and you will be able to navigate into the unknown towards your goal with confidence. Not because you know all the solutions upfront, but because you know that you are able to find them when you need to.
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