Another project Thinkie—as projects scale, it becomes necessary to aggregate & summarize & filter feedback. The volume is overwhelming otherwise. It’s easy to miss that the aggregated, summarized, & filtered feedback loses something. If a project is starting to sputter, restoring direct feedback might help.
Pattern: feedback between those who make changes (I’m thinking of programmers but it could be anyone) & those affected by changes runs through one or more layers.
Transformation: what would happen if the programmers talked 1x1 with the users?
Dang, I could write a whole book about this. I’m saved by the Thinkie format. What would happen? That’s for you to figure out. How would you coordinate different users talking to different customers? Figure it out. How would you keep all the other stakeholders (customer service, marketing, sales, training, consulting, executives, investors) appropriately informed & engaged? Figure it out.
Is programmers talking to users even a good idea? I told you & I told you—Thinkies don’t generate good ideas, just lots of ideas.
Getting out and talking to real users or customers can be transformational.
This Reminds me of Adam Grant’s story in “Give and Take” about how talking to just a single student who received financial aid (a customer) significantly transformed the productivity of the call center employees who called people for donations.
The point is that connecting empathically with a few people who are impacted by what we do brings a sense of reality and meaning to the things we do.
Do you have a Thinkie to do the reverse? i.e. what would happen if layers are added? I'll be curious to hear what the "Pattern" for this would be.