Most Decisions Are Not One Way Doors
1 min read
Designers have a tendency to view decisions as one way doors. This makes the cost of any design or feature very high. Designers either:
Believe shipping something that isn’t “perfect” will be existential to the product’s success/viability. These leads to hand wringing and endless iteration cycles on designs where the designer imagines the world will end if the product doesn’t “get it right”.
Believe they only get one shot since PM and Eng will never come back around to iterate, refine, fix something that went out under the banner of “done is better than perfect”.
These anxieties cause Designers to believe that any decision is a one way door. In an attempt to counter these forces Designers will fight for every pixel. They will engage in 3 Miracle Problem thinking to try and get it right in their one shot.
The reality is that most decisions are not one way doors. Most decisions are not the thing that makes or breaks the product. Most decisions can be undone or changed (especially in software).
What is more likely to happen is debt amasses around a decision making the cost of change high. A decision which is a two way door increasingly looks like a one way door even though it isn’t.
It is important to negotiate "if" vs "when" and yes, if instead of fearing that everything is a one way door.