In my experience design teams lack “what if” time and are over-leveraged for “what are” time.
WHAT IF we did this amazing thing?
– vs –
WHAT ARE we delivering this cycle?
They’re not always mutually exclusive, but teams with adequate “what if” time are definitely a minority.
Ways to optimize more “what if” time:
✣ Calendar it. (Duh.)
✣ Piggyback time on hackathon weeks.
✣ Virtual team offsite.
✣ Annual whatif-athon.
Lastly, it starts at the top. If you’re the top design leader it’s on you to prioritize time + advocate w/peers & execs.
Make it happen!
“What if” time