At the 2010 99 Percent Conference, Twitter Co-Founder Jack Dorsey shared a terrific keynote speech about the importance of drawing ideas to get them out of the mind and into a form where they can be tinkered with and shared. Jack says:
I think everyone in this room has felt the verge of an idea and how it just gets you a little bit excited and crazy and you can’t sleep. You’re on a white board or you’re drawing like crazy. But That is one of the most important things to start doing, to start drawing your idea, to start getting it out of your head, and seeing it from a completely different perspective. And more importantly sharing it with others.
Trapped in his mind, Jack’s ideas were not benefiting anyone. After a quick sketch, his idea became something tangible that other people could see, analyze, and understand. A sketch is a reference point that invites comments and feedback. It’s also a space that can be added to or altered.
When conducting Visioning sessions to brainstorm ideas, nothing is set in stone, which means that participants don’t have to be afraid to take risks, be daring, and push their imagination to the farthest limits. Documenting an idea by drafting pages and pages of technical jargon imposes limits on creative people with remarkable ideas.
People need a chance to freely express their vision; otherwise, it will result in a product that is less remarkable. This is especially true when designing and building a complex software product. A simple whiteboard sketch can ensure that everyone in the room is kept on the same page. Binders full of technical specifications are far too open to interpretation and often lead to needless hours spent on developing poorly defined pieces of functionality.
Ideas have wings, and they need to be released, NOT pressed between pages of technical requirements like some dead butterflies.
