Conceptual thinking vs technical thinking on a project

Todays post has some thoughts on conceptual thinking vs technical thinking on a project, and the process and challenges of aligning the two.

This is not a commentary on any specific project management methodology, project delivery technique, tool or system. There are mountains and mountains of resources out there on all that sort of stuff.

It is simply a collection of ideas, and some reflections from a recently delivered project. There is also some discussion on why prototypes & feedback loops can be really effective in the delivery of a solution.

So let’s jump in.

Conceptual thinking is important

It can help people to frame, understand and appreciate the big picture. It can communicate the current strategy or overarching philosophy of a project. It can provide a rough idea of what the solution might need to do or be.

Does this type of thinking provide the technical blueprint for;

-> solving a problem?

-> completing a task?

-> delivering the project?

No. It is a strategy shaper, not a blueprint maker.

Spending sufficient time at this level of thinking, can help avoid prematurely getting bogged down in the minuture of a solution ... before the problem is actually fully understood.

One caveat though; conceptual thinking should not be fixed for the entirety of a project. It needs to evolve and adapt to new learnings, and move with shifts in understanding as the project progresses.

Technical thinking .... also important.

This is where the rubber hits the road.

Where the how is defined and contructed. Where the finer details of a solution (potential or actual) are evaluated or workshopped. This is where the full extent of the problem is explored and understood - in the context of the technical environment and technical constraints.

No issue to big, no issue too small - it gets addressed right here.

A caveat for here as well … before you jump head first into coming up with technical solutions, just check the problem you are solving for is known and well defined.

Creating alignment between the two....

Here is a simple and conceptual way (hey…that seems relevant to this article!) to frame how to achieve synergy and alignment between these two types of thinking....

Let’s break this process down a little bit;

• Ideas come from our conceptual level thinking | “Hey this is basically what we are looking to do” or “the problem is x and we want to get to y”.

• The Prototype is the manifestation of our technical thinking | “here’s how this particular piece of the puzzle might look, work or feel”

Speed and efficiency can be very important here. If you can rapidly get to a prototype, then you can quickly assess the efficacy and validity of the prototype and current working concepts driving the project… and adjust course if needed.

The other key part of the process to consider - the feedback loop.

• The Evaluate stage gives the opportunity to take a step back and review what is happening | “Is everything on track or have we hit a problem?”

• The Iterate stage gives the opportunity to take on board the observations and learnings from our evaluation, and improve and strengthen the direction of the solution | “Keep building on what’s working, scrap what is not working and tackle any new road blocks or challenges that have since come up”

The ability to evaluate the technical details and conceptual thinking as the project progresses, and apply those learnings through iterative improvements and enhancements, can dramatically influence the overall path a project may take.

What can go wrong....

Things can happen which could very well derail the alignment in thinking, including;

• Getting stuck at the conceptual level - if you never progress down to any real detailed level, concepts might just be taken as a given and never actually get evaluated or understood within the context of technical systems and constraints.

• Inadequate prototyping - if one can’t see or feel what is happening until very deep into the project lifecycle - it significantly raises the stakes of getting the thing right when it does come time to launch.

• Ineffective feedback loops - if the feedback loop is faltering or just non-existent, it’s opens up the potential for significant gaps to emerge between the conceptual and technical thinking on a project.

The power of prototypes

Prototypes can be a really useful tool to bridge that gap between conceptual and technical environments. They can create a tangible realisation, or a visual proof, for how a concept might look, work or feel when fully implemented.

Prototypes can be internally facing (like for the development team only) or externally facing (like for the wider project team or stakeholder group). The best fit and approach in terms of the audience for the prototype will differ from project to project and/or within the various stages of the same project.

The good thing is that early prototypes don’t need to represent the full solution. If they can be rapidly developed, they ideally then can be rapidly evaluated.

Project reflections

I recently delivered a project where I developed a prototype very early on in the process. This meant at the very first progress meeting with the client project team, I was able to do a walkthrough of the prototype.

This gave an immediate and tangible thing to be evaluated. It created a real link between the conceptual ideas strategised at the start of the project, and the technical environment where the solution needed to be implemented.

Did this prototype have all the required functionality in place?

No.

Was it a perfect representation of the final outcome of the project?

Absolutely not.

But that’s totally fine, because it didn’t need to be.

The prototype created an initial common understanding for all project stakeholders, giving real insights into the planned direction of the solution. It also was a super effective tool for generating really insightful feedback. Ensuring an effective feedback loop was in place early, helped guide and inform further iterative development on the prototype.

This approach helped to successfully take the project from a conceptual idea, quickly through to a refined and effective technical solution being used in a production environment today.