Duck Alumni Career Blog

November 21, 2014

~ A "Letters from Silicon Valley" Series ~

Innovation is one of the keys to success in Silicon Valley and elsewhere. As a Duck you have an advantage in the realm of creativity, as the U of O tends to attract & encourage independent thinkers and trail blazers. 

In Silicon Valley "fail fast" is one of the mantras of cutting edge businesses and individuals. However "fail fast" means different things to different people. For some it's code for giving up on an idea, product, or startup sooner rather than later. For others it means trying just about any poorly formed idea, even if it seems doomed to fail. Some people even think to themselves, “I like failure because it’s so easy to achieve!”

For me, “fail fast” doesn’t mean to give up too early or to wallow in failure. It means to quickly create a low resolution prototype of a serviceable idea. Many successful innovators are very good at quickly getting the gist of useful ideas out of their heads and into the minds and hands of colleagues and potential users. If an idea resonates with people, the creator develops it further through more iterations. If an idea doesn't gain traction they let it go, or "fail fast", and move on to the next idea. 
 

The creation of the Palm Pilot, a wildly successful personal digital assistant developed by Palm (now part of HP) in the ‘90s, is a prime example of the innovative process of prototyping an idea. Jeff Hawkins created the first prototype of a Palm Pilot by whittling down a piece of wood. A chopstick served as the “stylus” and a printout taped to the block served as the “interface” of his proto-device. Hawkins carried the prototype in his shirt pocket and took it out during meetings, drawing attention to the interesting project. Collecting feedback and experience eventually led to the technological realization of the Palm Pilot, a precursor of today’s smartphones.

How to quickly create and test a low resolution prototype:

  • Talk to a trusted colleague or user about your concept
  • Be visual when you explain your idea
  • Quickly create a low fidelity model to demonstrate its merits and flaws
  • Test it with users
  • If feedback indicates the product has no legs, then let it go or "fail fast". If the idea gains some traction, then quickly build on it

Make sure that when you share your idea, draft, or prototype that you explain it's in an early stage and you’re seeking feedback about its strengths, weaknesses, and how it can be made better or done differently. This is important, because some people will naturally think you’re bringing something to them that is highly refined and they'll think your work is low quality, when it’s actually just a rough draft. Once people understand it's a low resolution prototype they will feel freer to give feedback and collaborate with you to improve it or help you see that it isn't workable. This way you can quickly build on your idea or “fail fast” and move on to the next one. And remember, as the saying goes, if Plan A fails, there are 25 more letters in the alphabet.

May you fail fast AND have many successes.

Go Ducks!

Contact:
Humberto Chacon
humberto@chacon.us