No problem, no project

We've established that if you don’t have information on a problem, then you really don't have an actionable problem at all. ("No data, no problem")

The corollary to this is that if you don't have an actionable problem, then you don't have a worthwhile project either.

No problem, no project.

This may sound trite and obvious, but it's remarkably common for folks to start working on a project without having defined the problem they're trying to solve.

You've probably done this. I know I have.

You can spend hours on it, or days, or more — without ever having clearly identified the pain we're trying to solve, the opportunity we're trying to secure, or the actual value of getting it done.

Why do we do this?

I suspect it's just because tinkering with things is fun.

In some ways it's a lot more fun than gathering data, clarifying the problem, and estimating its value. Those are all so technical it's almost boring.

But you know what's really fun?

This: Working to solve a problem that you know is important, implementing a solution within an appropriate budget, and celebrating that measurable victory.

That's actually way more fun than fiddling around for a month on a problem you haven't carefully defined.

All the best,
A.