Prototyping Space

Design before you Implement was the key to successful computer systems implementation.  My early years at Accenture taught me the value of proper planning and design before embarking on construction and implementation.  It was a difficult "sell" to the clients to convince them to first develop a five year Systems Plan that would guide them in their priorities and requirements before rushing to judgment and  spending money on immediate perceived needs.

The next phase after Systems Planning was Preliminary Design (another phase very difficult to convince clients of the benefits).  As technology improved with on-line real time systems,  prototyping was added to the Preliminary Design with screen mock ups and  sample data.  It was an attempt to simulate the actual experience of the new system.

Susan and I have utilized this principle in our planning for any changes to the house.  For both of our houses, we first lived in the house resisting all changes (as imperfect as we thought it was upon purchase) until we could understand our "requirements".  In some cases we physically moved furniture into the rooms that would be "repurposed" to "prototype" how we would live, interact and feel about the new space.

We did this prior to our last big project of reconfiguring our kitchen and family room.  That project turned out to be one of the best we have implemented.  If we had re-designed our kitchen immediately after  purchase, we would have wasted money on features we didn't want or use.

Vision and Dreams are important - but living the vision makes it real.  Prototype your ideas first.