Design-risk.

 

What’s that even mean? 

 

The abstraction of a probable good for other to partake in – benefit from – has a confrontation with the reality that there are blind spots in your head. 

 

There always will be.

 

Plans combust. 

 

Like, incinerate. Like get discarded and trashed and thrown away down the garbage disposal to never be seen again. 

 

So, it’s best not to design a good with a Byzantium of contraptions and compartments. A veritable Winchester Mystery House of ostentatious foresight.

Because people don’t have time to deal with the reliability issues. 

 

Because by the time it’s good enough, it’s overly complicated to what it is you are trying to give them.

 

Better performance? 

 

Something totally new to their experience of everyday life?

 

Start simple. Start small.

 

Talk to people first. Share the idea. 

 

Cool.

 

Maybe not. 

 

Maybe it is, until you get to talking about the money.

 

Aye, there’s the rub.

 

Will they even try it? 

 

Sure.

 

Days go by…

 

Not yet.

 

Like a little pipsqueak, mommy mommy, mommy, can I, can I, can I, look!

 

What about the consideration of the other person first?

 

So. You wait a month.

 

Any word?

 

Nothing. 

 

WTF?! MATE!!!!

 

And the reality of the commercial sales prospect, and the cycle of integrating into civilized humanity dawns.

 

This is going to be a while.

 

Good thing you didn’t go Homer-mobile. With novelties and goods that don’t need to be introduced until years ahead. Where, if you adapt to the customer’s needs, might lead you that far away from all those trials and errors in the “lab”.

 

Cool rapguy rubbing his hands here.

 

The phone call, ice cold, is more valuable in the start than QA planning?

 

Yup.

 

What quality are you assuring if there is no demand first?

 

So the skill is in introducing people, fresh, with that appearance of not biting them.

 

You know you don’t bite people. But other people do.

 

So…save money…save time…focus on demos…

 

You might lose prospects because of how bad it is. 

 

That leads to improvements, though. 

 

(hint: it’s a great idea to aim for large markets, where 1-10 failed demos don’t sink your reputation…)

 

So, to lead to improvements requires a beginning place. Which is never glamorous. 

 

Lean. Minimize points of failure. In the product you are hypothesizing is valuable.