Comments on: Bring A Solution http://www.denki.co.uk/2009/12/09/bring-a-solution/ Denki's home on this vast series of tubes. Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:22:07 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v= hourly 1 By: Gary Penn http://www.denki.co.uk/2009/12/09/bring-a-solution/comment-page-1/#comment-9675 Gary Penn Sat, 12 Dec 2009 16:22:54 +0000 http://www.denki.co.uk/?p=1543#comment-9675 Jane's observation says more about her than Twitter :) Jane’s observation says more about her than Twitter :)

]]> By: David http://www.denki.co.uk/2009/12/09/bring-a-solution/comment-page-1/#comment-9671 David Fri, 11 Dec 2009 17:28:27 +0000 http://www.denki.co.uk/?p=1543#comment-9671 @Peter: It's very true that sometimes you have to flag up that something isn't working, even if you can't put your finger on it (the Red Hat of de Bono's Six Thinking Hats). The very act of doing so and discussing it might inspire someone else to realise what the problem is. @Peter: It’s very true that sometimes you have to flag up that something isn’t working, even if you can’t put your finger on it (the Red Hat of de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats). The very act of doing so and discussing it might inspire someone else to realise what the problem is.

]]> By: Peter Murdoch http://www.denki.co.uk/2009/12/09/bring-a-solution/comment-page-1/#comment-9665 Peter Murdoch Wed, 09 Dec 2009 23:15:38 +0000 http://www.denki.co.uk/?p=1543#comment-9665 Building on your final line of "It may not always be achievable", one thing to remember is that if you find yourself unable to offer a better solution, don't stay silent. It's better to say "That sucks" and have people know that it sucks rather than sit in the corner and hope that someone else figures it out. As Kirsten said, hearing such a thing may be annoying. However, remember that you will, inevitably, annoy people. Counter this by replacing "That sucks" with "That sucks because ${x}". Telling someone why it sucks can be just as good as telling them how to fix it, because you're opening up the ability for someone else to respond to you by either agreeing or disagreeing, followed by further justification. This way, you still end up fixing it even though you offered no solutions. This is especially true when it comes to usability, where an immediate solution might not always be apparent and what works for one person might not work for everyone. There is, of course, the age-old "It sucks but I just can't put my finger on why it sucks", which might make you think that, again, you should pipe down because you have nothing to bring to the table: again, untrue. There are few things in this world that have not been done before, especially in the world of games. Find something even remotely similar that you can give a clear-cut opinion on (be it good or bad) and compare the two: "X does this thing where the player gets to choose Y, and it makes it really good - we should do something like this, but better". So, yes, try and bring something to the table but don't be afraid if you can't. However, if you repeatedly find yourself saying "Your ideas suck and mine are way better, I just can't explain it" then you might want to read Carnegie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People" (ISBN-13 978-0749307844), which should help you bring people over to your line of thinking without ever actually mentioning that you dislike the existing idea. Building on your final line of “It may not always be achievable”, one thing to remember is that if you find yourself unable to offer a better solution, don’t stay silent. It’s better to say “That sucks” and have people know that it sucks rather than sit in the corner and hope that someone else figures it out.

As Kirsten said, hearing such a thing may be annoying. However, remember that you will, inevitably, annoy people. Counter this by replacing “That sucks” with “That sucks because ${x}”. Telling someone why it sucks can be just as good as telling them how to fix it, because you’re opening up the ability for someone else to respond to you by either agreeing or disagreeing, followed by further justification. This way, you still end up fixing it even though you offered no solutions.

This is especially true when it comes to usability, where an immediate solution might not always be apparent and what works for one person might not work for everyone.

There is, of course, the age-old “It sucks but I just can’t put my finger on why it sucks”, which might make you think that, again, you should pipe down because you have nothing to bring to the table: again, untrue. There are few things in this world that have not been done before, especially in the world of games. Find something even remotely similar that you can give a clear-cut opinion on (be it good or bad) and compare the two: “X does this thing where the player gets to choose Y, and it makes it really good – we should do something like this, but better”.

So, yes, try and bring something to the table but don’t be afraid if you can’t. However, if you repeatedly find yourself saying “Your ideas suck and mine are way better, I just can’t explain it” then you might want to read Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends and Influence People” (ISBN-13 978-0749307844), which should help you bring people over to your line of thinking without ever actually mentioning that you dislike the existing idea.

]]> By: Kirsten Kearney http://www.denki.co.uk/2009/12/09/bring-a-solution/comment-page-1/#comment-9664 Kirsten Kearney Wed, 09 Dec 2009 10:20:22 +0000 http://www.denki.co.uk/?p=1543#comment-9664 I was at the BBC for five years and that was always the rule there. It's especially useful when you work in an industry that's totally focused on new ideas and creative concepts. If you're going to spent at least a third of your week coming up with ideas in teams and partnerships, rather than just carrying them out, you get pissed off pretty quickly with hearing "Nah that's a crap idea." followed by silence. If you don't have something better to offer then shut it! I was at the BBC for five years and that was always the rule there. It’s especially useful when you work in an industry that’s totally focused on new ideas and creative concepts. If you’re going to spent at least a third of your week coming up with ideas in teams and partnerships, rather than just carrying them out, you get pissed off pretty quickly with hearing “Nah that’s a crap idea.” followed by silence. If you don’t have something better to offer then shut it!

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