3 tips for focusing on design, development and delivery

Human beings are designers at heart. They love the process of design, development and delivery. Where does this happen for you? Let’s explore the three stages in this creative journey.

1) You can focus on design.

What do you love to design? You may enjoy creating a kitchen, house, garden, computer programme, learning environment, training workshop, article or whatever. Design is a fulfilling activity. You feel in control and able to create a new ‘world’ - which is what human beings love. “Great design is often simple, satisfying and successful,” we are told. Looking ahead, what would like to design in the future? Try completing the following sentence.

The specific thing I would like to design in the future is:

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2) You can focus on development.

Development frequently involves doing ‘hands-on’ work - testing your ideas, exploring new avenues or working alongside customers. You can only develop a design so far by working in isolation. At some point you must get a reality check. You need to see what works, what doesn’t work and what must be improved in the future. Considering what you want to design, try completing the following sentence.

The specific steps I can take to
develop what I want to design are:

*

*

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3) You can focus on delivery.

You can now translate your design into a finished product. Everybody has a successful pattern for finishing. So it is good to find and follow the route that works for you. Looking back on your life, think of two or three ‘projects’ that you finished successfully. What did you do right then? How can you follow these principles in the future? Try completing the following sentence.

The specific steps I can take to ensure
I deliver what I want to design are:

*

*

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What happens next? Everybody is different. Some people feel the design and development is complete - so they continue to concentrate on improving the delivery. Some people move onto the next project and return to the joy of design. Some combine both approaches - with different projects at different stages. You will choose your own way to enjoy the journey of design, development and delivery.