Here's how you can assess the potential impact of your strategic decisions in design projects.

When building Weave Community, we had a clear goal: create a geosocial platform to connect people with community organizers based on interests in real-time and nearby. For this we had to set measurable goals such as the number of people we needed on the demand side (people who wanted to do an activity) and in the supply side (community organizers hosting events). Besides this, we also had to measure the time spent by each user on the platform, the number of daily active users, and the number of events or activities that were held in a particular city, and the total number of attendees. These measurable metrics allowed us to evaluate the potential impact of both design and strategic decisions.

Action: Establish clear objectives and goals for the design project. Example: For our project, we set specific goals such as improving user mobility, ensuring comfort, and maintaining affordability. These objectives guided our decision-making process and helped us assess the potential impact of each strategic decision.

Action: Perform a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) to evaluate the internal and external factors affecting the project. Example: We analyzed our design’s strengths (e.g., innovative mechanism), weaknesses (e.g., initial high production costs), opportunities (e.g., growing demand for assistive devices), and threats (e.g., competition from established brands). This analysis helped us understand the potential impact of our strategic choices.

Usually a design engineering project attempts to solve or make progress on a complex human problem. Complex problems are the result of stakeholder dynamics and feedback loops that have developed over time. It is for this reason that engaging with every relevant stakeholder is crucial; the solution is always embedded in and stems from a thorough understanding of the problem. A key recommendation when engaging stakeholders is to draft a system map of all relevant stakeholders along with their feedback loops, dynamics, and stakes. After this, one must ideate a coalition within the stakeholders who share the purpose of your project, as complex human problems can only be solved through collaborations between stakeholders.

When constructing models, it’s crucial to acknowledge that all models inherently simplify reality, serving as abstractions or partial representations, no matter their complexity or detail. Initially, defining the scope, scale, and precision of the model is essential. A practical approach involves focusing on the model’s purpose, which guides the inclusion or exclusion of specific elements, ensuring that the model aligns effectively with its intended application.

Think slow and act fast. This is the best advice when iterating designs. Time spent planning and thinking before executing is key to a successful iteration as it is usually a cheap way to explore and experiment before sprinting to execution. Once one has thought slowly, one must act fast and test the given assumptions (ideally with real users or customers) without the preoccupation of having a perfect product. Instead, one must think of iteration as a way to test assumptions, learn more about the problem, and observe the user's actions or the product's behavior in the real world. Iteration is moving from the theoretical to the experimental in cycles.

Action: Evaluate the costs and benefits associated with each strategic decision. Example: We analyzed the costs of different materials and components, weighing them against the benefits of improved functionality and durability. This helped us prioritize decisions that offered the best balance between cost and performance.