The whiteboard
How the work actually gets done
Not a slogan. The stage-by-stage methodology behind every project on this site.
1
Find the leverage
- What happens
- Identify the highest-leverage problem worth solving right now.
- What I do
- Talk to the problem space directly, look for repeat pain, question assumptions.
- What gets produced
- A clear problem statement and a bet on why it matters.
- How it's measured
- Whether the problem is specific enough to design against.
2
Design the system
- What happens
- Turn the bet into an architecture — not just a UI.
- What I do
- Map data flow, constraints, and failure modes before writing code.
- What gets produced
- A system design that can be built incrementally.
- How it's measured
- Whether the design survives contact with the first real edge case.
3
Build
- What happens
- Build the smallest version that proves the system works.
- What I do
- Write, wire up, and integrate the core path end to end.
- What gets produced
- A working slice, not a mockup.
- How it's measured
- Whether it runs, end to end, on real input.
4
Test
- What happens
- Push the build against real conditions and real users where possible.
- What I do
- Look for where it breaks, not just where it works.
- What gets produced
- A list of what's actually wrong, ranked by impact.
- How it's measured
- Whether the failure modes are now known and bounded.
5
Ship
- What happens
- Get it in front of the people it's for.
- What I do
- Cut scope ruthlessly to protect the ship date over the feature list.
- What gets produced
- A live, usable version.
- How it's measured
- Whether someone outside the build process can use it unaided.
6
Improve
- What happens
- Feed real usage back into the system design.
- What I do
- Watch what actually happens, not what was expected to happen.
- What gets produced
- The next, better version of the system.
- How it's measured
- Whether the next iteration removes more friction than it adds.