How a radio podcast on queuing at coffee shops got me thinking about prioritisation of work and and a bit about getting coffee sooner.

Ambiguous goals result in wasted effort, ongoing conflict and demotivated teams. I have seen highly energised teams loose traction and energy as they tread water dealing with shifting goals. A few observations about avoiding them and how a bit of pain now saves a whole lot of pain later.

How long is a piece of design?

This question is frequently raised when discussing the estimation of design effort. Always asked without not much hope of an answer.

The term vague was used today when discussing estimation of effort for a story card. The context was the estimation was made early with many assumptions - therefore it was vague and there was no need for specific input from designers.

This is an idea I hard that thought I would throw out here and see your thoughts. Whilst slightly un formed and as yet untried I like the idea and hope to try it out soon :)

First off I have to say, this is as much an experimentation in sounding my thoughts with the broader community as much as it is a way of consolidating my own thinking.

My guess is - in a few years (or perhaps a few months) I will come back and challenge my own words. I will have discovered new ideas and new methods that may make some of what I have to say redundant.

You can help me out here …

Let me know your thoughts, challenge me and perhaps together we can hone some of the rough edges.