Where I can lose my way

As I moved from the client-focused consulting world into the R&D-like environment of a robotics company, one big difference I’ve had to confront is this: how do I communicate what I’m creating?

In client-driven design work, there’s a need (which by some is seen as overhead) to be both designing and also managing the communication of what is being designed.

Currently, I’m not being asked to do that, at least not explicitly. The very little bit I’ve done has been well received, but not necessarily scrutinized or engaged with. Now, part of that is because I’ve jumped into a very intense 0 to 1 sprint, and everyone either has a good idea of what we’re doing, or they are aware enough to stay out of the team’s way.

But, this is where I can definitely see myself losing that aspect of my work. Not making artifacts to communicate design, but rather the skill of articulating my product thinking in a compelling and clear way.

I was just reading this post by Elizabeth Laraki (and didn’t even finish before I started jotting down these thoughts) where it highlighted product thinking as crystallizing use cases in a way that ensures you’re building something compelling and useful. (Damn if that ain’t succinct.)

I have not been necessarily doing that much, as many aspects of our product were well understood by the time I arrived, but I can sense myself slipping away from the good hygiene of crystallizing my thinking for the benefit of others. Great designers clarify things through their thinking and their articulation of those thoughts—“connecting the dots” between the product goals and the audience you’re building for, as Laraki said in the linked post.

I need to make sure I don’t lose that sharp skill in my tool set, that I make time to do so, and that when I do it, it is actually valuable in the process and not just theatrical.