The Shakeout Run

Let's talk about surprises. You know, those moments when you've been driving full steam ahead on an initiative, only to hit an unexpected roadblock? Something like the following…

Enter, the shakeout run

In my earlier years of running, I had a friend training for a big race. Let's call him Dave. I remember watching him in bewilderment as he went on a slow, short run the day before his big race. “Dave,” I exclaimed, “Isn’t the big race tomorrow? Why are you running today?” He grinned and said, “This? This is just a shakeout run. Just making sure everything’s in order for tomorrow.” For him, it wasn’t about pushing the limit. It was about ironing out any possible kinks before the big day. Shoes feeling right? No unexpected aches? Mind in the right space? Check, check, and check.

Now, let's zoom into our world. Much like runners who do shakeout runs to test the waters, shouldn’t we, too, have a mechanism in place? And guess what we have? Prototyping. Think of prototyping as our "product development shakeout run."

When we embark on an effort, especially when we're innovating or navigating uncharted waters, there are always unknowns. Sometimes, challenges we never anticipated emerge from the shadows. But what if a prototype, even just a fraction of the finished product, could illuminate these challenges? Spend a couple of hours hacking your way toward your expected solution. This small step can help unearth assumptions, pitfalls, and misalignments that might have thrown everyone off track.

But here's the golden nugget: we gain a competitive edge by surfacing these issues upfront. When the project gains traction, we’re not on our back foot awaiting alignment on uncovered concerns. Revisiting the earlier example…

…a few days later…

So why not refer to it as “prototyping” like everyone else?

Because it’s more than just prototyping software.

Diving deeper into the concept of the shakeout run, it's essential to understand that it transcends the boundaries of mere "prototyping." This isn't just about software development. You might be prototyping a new product template or addressing your manager's significant project tracking request. You may be a content designer trying out a fresh writing style for your member experience. The beauty of the shakeout run is its universality. Anyone can harness this approach, making it an invaluable tool to uncover those lurking, overlooked details and sidestep unnecessary hurdles way earlier in the process.

So don’t forget about Dave and his shakeout run. Go out for a quick jaunt before your next “big race,” you’ll likely uncover some risks that would have been unfortunate to find 5 miles into a marathon during race day.