· Low tolerance for bullshit because it wastes bandwidth
· Preference for clarity and speed over politeness rituals
· Systems thinking → leverage, scalability, repeatability
· Weak self-promotion because they focus on output, not optics

These are the personality traits of a „High performer”, and I have been called this earlier by head-hunter friend as well. As she is not wrong, my problem with this label is that puts me in a box, mostly likely with a negative label on that box.

I adore everyone, every youngster whose list is the exact opposite to mine. Mostly, because I know that my personality traits more often working against me than for me.

I do remember starting my first web development and graphic design business in 2001, and I was just as optimistic as the current Gen Z, minus the AI. One of my ways to learn English was by burning my eyes out by a CRT screen, learning every from Macromedia and Adobe and Corel software’s help section, because we did not have books.

You I admire to all the young talent who are better in everything that I do or did, and far enough: my time might be over.

But I am sill curious, so I give it a try, and when I saw one of these new-born talent’s Instagram ad promoting his free downloadable e-book about “How to build a good website” I did click on it and gave to him my personal e-mail address. It ends with “@msn.com”, he surely will not know what the hell is that…

I got the mail right away. Strangely, I was able to download 5 chapter of his book right away, not scattered through weekly nightmare marketing letters.

I read them all, and he does not say anything wrong or stupid and I agree with every word of it; it is just strangely and annoyingly repetitive, verbose, and scattered. It is 7858 words on 51 pages.

I asked ChatGPT again to sum up the book. There you go:

“Professional Summary

A successful website is not just about design or technology — it must serve a clear business purpose. Many projects fail because the website’s role is undefined, leading to confusion, wasted resources, and ongoing costs. Before starting any web project, organizations must clarify:

• Who the website is for (target audience)
• What business problem it should address
• What specific action or decision it should support

A website cannot compensate for unclear business processes or indecision. It should be built only when the business is ready, with well-defined goals and processes behind it. Otherwise, the website risks becoming an expensive distraction rather than a valuable tool.”

So, nothing new just the most obvious and basic things. I do understand that most people hate bullet points and has inexplicable love for long and tedious marketing e-mails or book, and/or just need more detail and reasoning, because plain facts are just boring.

But I google this guy to see what he is doing.

· His LinkedIn profile is blank; no education in anything or experience of any kind.
· He does not have any branding, or branding skills
· He has a one-click website built up in Webflow

But he has one thing for sure:

A 1024 by 1024 pixel “Untitled-2.png” photo with a size of 797KB used as an 80 x 80 profile picture.

Now, if you are laughing, slapping your thighs, there is 99% chance that you are another „High performer”, sitting in your box, with a year of birth starting with 1.

Seriously though, dude. We also need to learn self-promotion…

I pay a flat fee, which means that it is not a problem if I do not report my electricity consumption on the meter every month, but I usually do. At the end of the year — or just after a new dictation, I am not sure — it turns out that you have overpaid or have a debt.

Since mid-January, I have been receiving SMS messages that I have an unpaid bill, which may seem true, partly because the MVM application does not send a notification whether I need to report an electricity meter reading, and my previous bank card expired at the end of last year.

Despite the fact that I know that in the system I always have to initiate the transfer for each bill payment, at the beginning of the year many systems send me a notification, where the information of my old bank card was entered, and they warn me that they cannot deduct money from my account.

So, after the third such message, I entered the online interface to add my new bank card, and I see that a nice red exclamation point has appeared, with the inscription “Payable.”

But the bill cannot be paid because there is no button to start the payment procedure. We will soon find out why…

The customer service phone number is so hidden that I have to use the AI ​​search engine to find it. I call the customer service, where it takes me exactly 3:26 seconds to listen to all the “important” legal information and find a real customer service colleague hiding under one of the “press-number-5” buttons.

I can quickly explain my problem, and the answer comes:

“But a negative bill is an overpayment, and you don’t have to pay it!”

At this point, I explain that I see a lot of things on my screen, except for the word “overpayment,” and here in front of me is a huge red exclamation mark, with the word “payable” literally written next to it.

I suggest to the lady — I know I am telling her unnecessarily — that maybe they should take these off the screen.

The answer, of course, was “That’s not possible!”

I told her about the messages I received that I didn’t click on because I could see that there was a fake link in it, and she replied without hesitation that the company never send a text message.

But I also wondered about several things:

• How can a customer service system go live like this?

• Are you sure, that even an elderly person would notice that there are fake links in a text message?

• Do you seriously think that no one else will be confused by an non-payable bill labelled “payable”?

I also wondered how phishers can work so “beautifully” in sync with a bad system, because I’m convinced that it was not by mistake that they sent five messages in the first month of the year…

How the UX colleagues at the company do not think about the level at which these two things reinforce each other is another matter, but it is instructive for sure.

When I ask you NOT to make a decision without a technical person, this is what I mean…

Introduction

Think of your website or CMS like a house. Adding a new room or changing the layout might seem simple at first, but sometimes that means rewiring, moving plumbing, or rebuilding walls. The same is true for software — a small change in one part can have a big impact on the whole system.

Every business wants to stand out, often by customizing their digital tools. But while it is easy to calculate the Return on Investment (ROI) of a new feature, very few businesses calculate the hidden costs of customizing and maintaining it over time.

From large corporations adopting platforms like ServiceNow without estimating the true customization cost, to small businesses choosing between a ready-made theme and a fully custom WordPress build, the challenge is the same: the more you customize, the more complex (and costly) future changes become.

· “Should you choose a platform where have maximum flexibility of building up pages one-by-one, or should you hire a developer to create PHP templates instead?”

· “Should you rent a webshop platform or create an own?”

· “When do we switch to a new CRM are we going to have all the capabilities of the old one without extra cost?”

These are questions I have heard, or should have, in recent years.

Not every business has a rock-solid business plan; they do not know necessarily how they would like to extend their business in a few years, or there never been a technical person to help make decision like this. A poorly made decision can cost more than the original investment.

Content Management Systems (CMS) play a pivotal role in today’s digital landscape, empowering businesses and individuals to create, manage, and optimize their online presence. While off-the-shelf CMS solutions offer a range of features, there are times when organizations require tailored solutions to meet specific needs. Every system is different, with wide range of features and solution sometimes for the same problem. Have a minimum knowledge of the complexity of the different systems can help tremendously to make a long-term decision.

Why Complexity Matters

Changes in simple, isolated systems cost about the same each time (linear growth), while changes in interconnected systems cost more and more each time (polynomial or exponential growth). Once complexity accelerates, it is hard (and expensive) to slow it down without refactoring. Even small amounts of customization can cause costs to rise faster than you expect.

Forecasting Complexity Early

When you choose or design software, every part of it can either be:

• Standardized — reusable, predictable, low cost to change.
• Customized — unique, special-case, more expensive to change.

The more custom parts you have, the faster complexity grows — and that means future changes will cost more.

Even without knowing every detail, you can guess how fast costs will rise:

· Map dependencies — how many parts are touched by a typical change?

· Calculate the Complexity Growth Index. If a change in one part of your system affects:

CGI = Components Affected ÷ Total Components

· < 20% of the system → costs will grow slowly (safe). (CGI <0.2.)
· 20–50% → costs grow faster (need careful planning). (CGI 0.2–0.5)
· 50% → costs can snowball quickly (needs strict control). (CGI >0.5)

Add a complexity buffer to budgets based on risk level.

How to Get Ready for Changes

• Modular Design — Build in self-contained blocks that can be swapped or updated without touching the entire system.
• Standard Templates — For content or pages that are mostly the same, use shared templates.
• Refactoring Schedule — Regularly clean up code to keep complexity in check.
• Complexity Tracking — Measure how many parts a change affects over time.

How bad can it be?

With the following two charts, I aim to present two important points.

Importance of choosing the right system

Let us say you have your own development team that could do anything. Code and customize any system. Let us presume that every 1% of the changes cost 0.1% of the original budget. You can decide how realistic is this within your organization. With a budget of 10 000 € every change is 10€. The organization have to choose between three different system:

· system with 0.2 Complexity Growth Index
· system with 0.4 Complexity Growth Index
· system with 0.6 Complexity Growth Index

At what degree of changes you will be spending the 50% of your budget?

· system with 0.2 Complexity Growth Index: 41%
· system with 0.4 Complexity Growth Index: 23%
· system with 0.6 Complexity Growth Index: 17%

Best the simplest and most advanced platform you have more than double amount of possibility to customize the system for your need.

Importance of choosing the right developer team

In this example we already have chosen the platform we like to customize, but the company need an external development team. Although the most expensive group is not always the best, the cheapest also does not mean that you should go for it.

Our chosen system has Complexity Growth Index of 0.4, and quotes from three group.

· At one group every 1% of a change cost 0.1% of the total budget
· At second group every 1% of a change cost 0.2% of the total budget
· At third group every 1% of a change cost 0.4% of the total budget

In this case — since the system is complex with the 0.4 CGI — your money will be enough for fewer changes.

At what degree of changes will a group be spending the 50% of your budget?

· The first group before reaching the 16% of your budget.
· The second group before reaching the 14% of your budget.
· The third group at before reaching the 12% of your budget.

The difference between 16% and 12% might look small, but the difference is 33%. The first group can make 33% more customization than the third group!

Step-by-Step: How to Choose a CMS

The goal is not just “which is popular,” but “which fits your content and won’t explode in complexity later.”

Custom vs Standard

· If most of your pages or features are similar → use templates and standard layouts.

· If unique features drive real business value → customize, but design modularly and budget for higher change costs.

Step 1 — Define What You Actually Need

Ask yourself:

· Content types: Do you have just articles/pages, or also products, events, job posts, etc.?

· Taxonomies: Will you organize content in simple categories, or do you need multiple layers of tags, topics, and regions?

· Media: Just images, or also video, audio, documents?

· Languages: Is the site in one language, or will you need multilingual support?

· Workflow: Do you need approvals, scheduled publishing, or user roles with different permissions?

· Integrations: Does it need to connect with CRM, ERP, e-commerce, or other tools?

Step 2 — Match Needs to CMS Strengths

Here is a simplified overview for some well-known platforms:

Step 3 — Estimate Complexity

For each CMS:

· Count Built-in Features vs. Needed Add-ons: More plugins/modules needed = higher complexity risk.

· Check Dependency Chains: Example: In WordPress, adding a multilingual plugin might require compatible SEO, caching, and translation plugins.

· Ask “If I change one thing, how much breaks?”: Highly coupled systems (ServiceNow, heavily customized WP) = higher cost per change.

· Complexity Growth Index Quick Check: Estimate: % of system parts touched by a typical change ÷ total number of parts. Low (<20%) → safe; High (>50%) → risk of runaway costs.

How to Get Prepared with Content Before Choosing

A good CMS choice starts with useful content planning. This avoids expensive rework later.

Content Prep Checklist

• Inventory Content Types: List everything — blog posts, case studies, products, team bios, events.
• Define Taxonomy Rules: Categories vs. tags, and how deep they should go.
• Media Organization: Decide how images, PDFs, and videos are named, sized, and tagged.
• Language Planning: If multilingual, prepare translations or translation workflows.
• Metadata: Title, description, author, date for every item — these help with SEO and system migration.
• Templates: Sketch or describe a few page layouts (e.g., product page, service page, blog post).
• Permissions: Who creates, edits, approves, and publishes content.

Preparing for Future Changes

No matter the CMS:

• Start with templates for similar content.
  Document every customization — even small ones.
• Limit “one-off” pages — they cost more to update.
• Schedule content audits to clean unused files, posts, and categories.
• Budget for change — set aside 20–30% of the build cost annually for updates and improvements.

The Four Levels of CMS Customization

Level 1 — Content types, Fields, and information architecture Customization:

One of the core aspects of CMS customization involves defining custom content types and fields. This level of customization is crucial for organizations with unique data structures. Users can create bespoke content types to better organize and present their information and customize fields to capture specific data points. This provides a highly tailored content management experience.

· Hide / remove unnecessary/confusing content.
· Add new (helping, additional) information.
· Merge / separate contents (taxonomies, tagging, hierarchy)
· Change information architecture.
· Localize the content / add languages.

Level 2 — Layouts (Theme Customization)

Users can customize a website’s theme by adjusting visual elements like colours, fonts, and styles through the CMS interface or by editing code. For more specific needs, developing custom templates offers greater control over layout and design, benefiting businesses seeking a unique branded look when standard themes are insufficient.

· Add / remove or change current colours, icons.
· Add / remove or modify sections.
· Change sections order.
· Change sections order or layout on mobile devices.
· Develop new sections.

Level 3 — Functionality (Plugin and Module Integration)

CMS platforms typically offer plugins or modules to add specific features without complex coding. WordPress, Drupal, and Joomla, for example, have large plugin libraries to meet varied requirements.

· Remove unnecessary functions /modules.
· Change/modify functions /modules.
· Develop new functions /modules.

Level 4 — Backend Customization and Development

Organizations seeking greater control often customise the backend by altering the CMS core code to fit specific needs. Though this demands advanced programming skills, it enables developers to add complex features and integrations tailored precisely to the organisation’s requirements.

· Better copywriting and labelling of the backend.
· Add / remove or change current colours, icons.
· Add / remove or modify sections.
· Managing new administrator roles and capability types

Conclusion

Customization can be powerful — but it is not free. Every custom element adds complexity, which increases future costs. The smartest approach is selective customization: standardize wherever possible and only customize when it delivers measurable results.

Before customizing, always ask:

Will this give us enough value to outweigh the cost of maintaining and changing it later?

Bonus tip: Making decisions between a line of unified or personalized product or services has the same logic; the growth of complexity is the same.

Ninety-nine percent of my projects are success stories and have led to satisfied customers, but there were a few cases that allowed me to write this list of how NOT to approach a development as a customer. These are the mistakes that can be made; advice that, despite what I or our development team predicted, was not considered and led to a bad outcome or caused a project to fail.

“We can do better” — Try to reinvent the wheel.

This is the most common mistake that a business owner or management team can make. The reason for this is either technical illiteracy or a blindingly strong ego. The larger the company, the greater the chance of this problem…

Examples:

During a project, Hungary’s largest telecommunications company at the time proposed the creation of a map. This map allowed their customers to place themselves on it as an advertisement, for which they would be charged.

You are right: these would have been the paid equivalents of the free business profiles on Google Maps. Despite warnings from the team, management continued with the project, which failed in less than two years.

In another example — within a global company — a team decided to create a database of suppliers, along with a platform on which the user could search for these suppliers, see all the information about them and their business relationships with each other and with the main company. Sounds ideal, right? Who doesn’t use such an amazing search engine on a daily basis? Well, no one used it.

The team spent two years doing UX research to understand their users and admit their mistake: they never understood that users needed the most up-to-date information — not older than a few days or weeks — and the company didn’t have the capacity to update its own database with such frequency. Even if the user had to visit multiple sources for a query, it would result in better results than compared to a more “intelligent” but barely updated database.

And of course, I met entrepreneurs who wanted to copy Facebook or Skype…

“We are special” — Lack of adaptation.

Technical illiteracy coupled with a blindingly strong ego can also lead to the opposite mistake: instead of trying to recreate or use a solution that already exists on the market, we immediately start creating a completely unique solution.

The fact that the company has “special” needs is not a good enough reason to build a software from scratch without looking around the market. Popular platforms and software are popular for a reason: they cover the needs of 99% of users. Most of the time, you can find good solutions to your problems — sometimes even free and/or open-source solutions — with very little compromise.

And speaking of compromises…

“This is what we need now” — Inability to identify and evaluate compromises.

Choosing the right solution also requires some kind of strategy, business plan and/or flexibility. A strategically immature and operationally short-sighted business owner cannot calculate or recognize the cost of these trade-offs.

If you’ve never thought about your own business processes or asked a service designer for help, treating these processes as standalone silos can make bad decisions when it comes to building a webshop, for example.

A common problem with sole proprietors or small businesses is that they don’t have the time or capacity to think through every business process and focus only on the end result.

And speaking of short-sighted business owners…

“I have a business idea” — Miscalculating your own resources.

Most often, such a statement is made by those who never talk to investors, lawyers, technical teams, or developers, but are sure that their idea is simple and brilliant. It just happened that no one else had thought of it before…

I meet two groups — several years apart — who have come up with the same idea. I won’t tell you what it was like in the post, but let’s say it was similar to Uber or Bolt. It was only after the first 20–30 questions that they began to realize the magnitude and complexity of their own idea, which they wanted to implement on their own, without an external investor, because it was “their” idea.

“We thought about it in the meantime…” — Change the strategy in the middle of the work.

The latter is remarkably simple, almost embarrassing to mention. Just change your team, “strategy”, budget, or all of this together in the middle of a development. What can go wrong?

The following questions are intended to help to get aligned about the final features and capabilities of a digital product within the team. The following Prioritization Methods are the part of the UX Road mapping:

· Impact–Effort Matrix
· Feasibility, desirability, and viability scorecard
· RICE method
· MoSCoW analysis
· Kano model

After using any of the method listed above it is important to have a common understanding what that feature means and about the solution as well. In these discussions it is essential that all professions are represented by at least one member of that group:

· Developer team
· Data modeller team
· UX / UI design team
· Business analyst team
· Marketing team

As in these decision-making conversations you might need to change method of solutions, after every decision made, we must ask the same question we started, together some additional ones to see how the final product’s capabilities about to change. You must discuss the features one-by-one.

Take into consideration how one decision made about one feature might affect the function of another feature!

Questions for each requested feature:

1., Understand

Make sure if everyone has the same understanding what that feature means, does and what expectations does it sets to:

· Database/data model:
What changes or additions are needed to the database or data model?

· Processes handling the database:
How will this feature affect database management processes?

· UI of the platform:
What changes are required in the platform’s UI (both desktop and mobile)?

· User journey:
How will this feature impact the overall user experience and user journey?

· Business plan:
What are the business implications of this feature? how does it align with the business goals?

· Marketing of the final product:
How will this feature be marketed? what marketing strategies will be employed?

2., Discover and discuss

Is the technical team having an internal agreement how to develop the feature. Is the chosen platform / tools / programming language being capable to able to meet this demand:

· By default:
Is the feature supported out-of-the-box?

· By additional existing tools (e.g., plugins):
Can existing tools or plugins be used to implement the feature?

· By extending the core platform:
Is it necessary to write a custom module or plugin?

· By modifying the core:
Does it require core modifications that could be affected by platform updates, potentially freezing the platform in time?

· Not at all:
Is it impossible to implement this feature with the current setup?

3., Calculate dependencies

Assess the impact of the technical team’s decisions: Ask the same questions as at step number 1 (about the database/data model, processes handling the database, UI of the platform, user journey, business plan, marketing of the final product) with two additional questions:

· Process outcomes:
How will the outcomes of user processes be affected?

· Resources needed:
What resources (people, tools, timeline) are required to implement the feature?

These questions aim to provide a comprehensive framework for making informed decisions about feature development, ensuring alignment across teams, and understanding the broader implications of each decision on the product and its stakeholders.

INTRODUCTION

Imre Makovecz (November 20, 1935 — September 27, 2011) was a Hungarian architect from the late 1950s onward. Makovecz was one of the most prominent proponents of organic architecture. As such, his buildings attempt to work with the natural surroundings rather than triumph over them. Frank Lloyd Wright and Rudolf Steiner are both strong influences, as is traditional Hungarian art.

2012

Imre Makovecz as a brand was born only after the artist’s death, when in 2012 the artist’s work began to be cared for by the newly established Imre Makovecz Foundation.

The original HTML website has been supplemented with the Foundation’s presentation website; both received their own, distinctive colour with the same logo.

These were connected by a Home screen.

2013

The first Wordpress-based versions of the websites were released in 2013 by us, and. Imre Makovecz’s website has been given warm tones, while the Foundation has cooler tones.

THE ARCHITECT’S DESK

Imre Makovecz’s website was a bigger challenge.

As requested by the customer, it was important that the late architect’s desk should appear as the main interface, on which the content would appear.

The Desk stood in the artist’s study, which could not be moved. So, we had to take photos standing on a chair behind the original chair, and from 10 photos we got the high-resolution, panoramic image about the desk and the surroundings that we could be retouched to its final form.

2018

While the original websites have not changed in appearance, two sub-brands have appeared. A separate website was added to the newly opened Makovecz Centre and Archive, and the Makovecz Routes website was created, which presents the artist’s buildings built in Hungary, along routes divided into regions.

2020

In 2020, two new websites were born.

In the Makovecz Book and Gifts web shop, in addition to books published about the artist, graphics and posters can also be ordered.

The Makovecz Map shows more than 550 buildings built around the world.

2021

The seventh and final website presents one of Imre Makovecz’s last works, the Church of the Resurrection, which is considered the pinnacle of the designer’s life’s work by his family, students, followers, and the public.

2022

This year, the Foundation’s website received an updated design, and the Map website received subtle improvements to provide a better browsing experience.

THE HOMEPAGE

The original — static — homepage was able to keep up with the newly handed over websites.

(The colour of the Makovecz Centre and Archive’s logo changed once along the way)

THE PROBLEM

After the creation of the seventh website, it was clear that both the technical implementation and the communication of the sub-brands had to be put on a new foundation. Over the course of ten years, the newly created websites all had their own administration interface. Not only did this make it harder to update content across websites, but it also resulted in a lot of duplicated content.

The website presenting Imre Makovecz was always omitted from the continuous updates because we could not find a good solution for the responsive design without compromises. The seven websites have been visited by more than 130,000 people in ten years.

THE UNIFIED WEBSITE

The design of the new, unified website was preceded by a lot of research and discussion; years of visitor statistics and feedbacks also helped us.

THE PROBLEMS THAT THE NEW WEBSITE HAD TO SOLVE

THE PROBLEM

Different appearances

THE SOLUTION

As The Foundation as the main operator was given the all-encompassing role, which is why the neutral, grey colour of this section became the dominant colour.

THE PROBLEM

Different layouts, UX / UI

THE SOLUTION

The main element of the website has become the Stage, which — thanks to its flexible height — can display various contents.

THE PROBLEM

Represent the old websites

THE SOLUTION

As there is no longer a need for a separate opening Homepage, that has been replaced by the Quick Links navigation.

THE PROBLEM

Make the Imre Makovecz’s Desk responsive

THE SOLUTION

On mobile we show the upper and lower piece of the Desk’s photo before and after the content.

THE PROBLEM

Visitor focused on one topic only

THE SOLUTION

With the News on Section pages, there is a possibility to show content from any other topic as well; the constant presence of the Quick Links helps in the presentation of other content.

NAVIGATION

MAIN NAVIGATION

This the first level of navigation with the language switcher. On a large screen it is aligned to the left side of the Stage; only on a small screen it slides in above the Quick Links. At tablet resolution, it switches to a two-line layout.

SECOND ROW OF NAVIGATION

The second row of menu is the place for the secondary level of the navigation (submenus of the first level navigation items) and a loading place for those separate navigations which are not included in the main navigation but can be opened via the Quick Links, like the navigation of the Centre and Archives, Map or the Church of the Resurrection.

THIRD LEVEL OF NAVIGATION

A mouse-over drop-down menu.

MODIFIED BREADCRUMBS NAVIGATION

Since on some occasion one building can be reached from three different section (Archives, Routes, and from the Map) we needed to modify an everyday breadcrumbs navigation plug-in to be able to handle all three version of view, based on the page the building got visited.

The colouring of a Building page also based on the referrer page.

QUICK LINKS

Of course, there was no longer a need for a separate opening Homepage to represent the main topics; this has been replaced by the Quick Links navigation, which also appears in the footer with simplified design as well.

The collections of logos represent the separate website from the past except the Imre Makovecz Foundation, as it became main website itself. The Foundation’s logo appears only in the footer.

The inverted state of a logo also indicates which section of the website is visited. Within the merged page, these colours also help distinguish between different content.

THE STAGE

The main element of the website has become the Stage, which — thanks to its flexible height — can display various contents. The background colour of the Stage also indicates which section of the website is visited.

IMRE MAKOVECZ’S DESK

We also represent Imre Makovecz’s Desk on the Stage, as it has a particular importance.

NEWS ON SECTION PAGES

All main Sections uses this layout, where the content shares the space with the latest posts of some categories on cards.

This module calculates the number of the selected categories and the contents of them, and chooses one of the best layouts from four option.

Layout 1

Layout 2

Layout 3

Layout 4

THE OUTCOME

During the work, we combined more than 1060 content of different types and 4500 images, reducing the size of seven websites occupying more than 10GB of space by almost 25%.

This timeline of Makovecz websites is a good example of how a brand can organically become an umbrella brand. Of course, we would have done many things differently if the new sub-brands had been created according to a roadmap, but it is never too late to stop and create a framework that flexible enough for further structured growth.

The new page helps to represent the complete work of Imre Makovecz, presenting one building from multiple perspectives.

https://www.makovecz.hu/en/

Understanding Anekantavada

Anekantavada, a concept that dates back over 2,000 years in Jain philosophy, sounds complex but boils down to one essential idea: “multiple perspectives.” Essentially, it’s the belief that reality is a multi-faceted, complex thing, and there’s no single perspective or statement that can capture it all. It’s like saying there’s more than one way to look at things.

Design Thinking: A Modern Problem-Solving Tool

Now, let’s jump to the 20th century and talk about Design Thinking. This is a problem-solving approach that’s all about creativity and innovation, with a big focus on understanding people’s needs. It’s a bit like the Swiss Army knife of problem-solving methods, combining empathy, ideation, and experimentation to find unique solutions.

Blind men and an elephant

The medieval era Jain texts explain the concepts of anekāntavāda (or “many-sidedness”) and syādvāda (“conditioned viewpoints”) with the parable of the blind men and an elephant (Andhgajanyāyah), which addresses the manifold nature of truth. This parable is found in the most ancient Jain agams before 5th century BCE.

The parable of the blind men and an elephant is a story of a group of blind men who have never come across an elephant before and who learn and imagine what the elephant is like by touching it. Each blind man feels a different part of the elephant’s body, but only one part, such as the side or the tusk. They then describe the elephant based on their limited experience and their descriptions of the elephant are different from each other. In some versions, they come to suspect that the other person is dishonest, and they come to blows.

The moral of the parable is that humans tend to claim absolute truth based on their limited, subjective experience as they ignore other people’s limited, subjective experiences which may be equally true.

Similarities Between Anekantavada and Design Thinking

Handling Complexity

- Anekantavada recognizes that reality is a big, complicated mess, and no single perspective can capture it all.

- Design Thinking is all about tackling complex issues, understanding that problems often have multiple layers. It’s like peeling an onion to get to the core.

Many Perspectives

- Anekantavada encourages considering different viewpoints and engaging in discussions to get a better grasp of the truth.

- Design Thinking invites diverse perspectives by bringing in a mix of people from different backgrounds. This helps uncover fresh ideas and solutions.

No Absolute Truth

- Anekantavada says there’s no one-size-fits-all truth, and what’s true can change depending on the situation.

- Design Thinking agrees that there’s no one perfect solution to a problem. It’s all about adapting and tweaking based on the circumstances.

Try and Try Again

- Anekantavada urges people to refine their understanding of reality as they learn more and see different sides of things.

- Design Thinking’s all about iterating — it means trying, learning, adjusting, and trying again to improve your solutions.

Seeing the Whole Picture

- Anekantavada stresses looking at all sides of reality to get the complete picture.

- Design Thinking also takes a holistic approach, considering not just the problem at hand but the big picture and how it all fits together.

Conclusion

So, there you have it! Despite coming from totally different places and times, Anekantavada and Design Thinking are surprisingly similar in their approaches to solving complex problems. They both highlight the importance of embracing complexity, considering multiple viewpoints, steering clear of absolutes, and taking a flexible, holistic approach. By recognizing these shared traits, we can learn a lot from both Anekantavada and Design Thinking to tackle tricky issues, think outside the box, and come up with innovative solutions in our ever-complicated world.

Sources:

• Blind men and an elephant - Wikipedia
• Anekantavada - Wikipedia

Exploring the similarities between philosophical wisdom and Design Thinking was originally published in Bootcamp on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

I began working with WordPress in 2006 as a web designer, where I learned to create basic websites and got intrigued by website performance and content impact on social media. Back then, tools like Google Analytics, Twitter, and Facebook were just starting. Around 2011, companies like SumAll offered ways to track social media stats. Remember them?

As a visual thinker — I focus on design elements, not numbers. I believe numbers should be presented only when needed or when diving deep into data. I wanted to create a tool, which could help to map your thought process about projects, showing connections between their features and statistics.

For example:

· Which Twitter post boosted the activities on my website?

· Is there any correlation between the profit of a shop and a Blog post on the website?

· Which project performs better?

I designed the first version of my idea in 2014. I was in a rush, wanted to see my vision as soon as possible, I have not done any market research. I had no idea SumAll existed.

The name of that project was “Pebble”.

It is never got published, so I was surprised when I got a newsletter from SumAll about the upcoming updated version of their service, and I have found a visual similarity between these too. I know that is all happened by accident, but still: I had a feeling that I was on the right path.

I forgot about the project for weeks; I was an employee at this time, living in Malta and one day I was sitting behind a Black woman on the bus, who had colourful braids.

This gave me a new idea for better data visualization. I had a sketchbook with me, and I draw a quick version for the new layout.

This led me to the idea for a tool, and I name it “Bonwayo”, which means “seen” or “visual” in Zulu. The main idea was to represent all social media sources with one braid, where every channel gets its own colour (Blue for Twitter) and the thickness of the area represent increases and decreases in metrics like followings; the overall thickness indicating the whole online presence. “Pins” would represent posts.

Other braids with red-to-green colouring represent other data-sources, like Google Analytics, or revenue of a store. The whole screen would look like a seismograph, showing the posts impacts on everything.

I developed further the idea, but the obvious left-to-right representation of time did not make any sense, I felt uncomfortable with it. So, I flipped it. Suddenly, in the updated version with the right-to-left order everything had fallen its place.

The screen suddenly reminded me of a river; whatever new idea you would come up, and placed on the IDEA area, it would flow to the left trough the SCHEDULE — NOW — EXPERIENCE state. One idea would become a data at the end, a metric.

IDEA

Note down your ideas at the idea area and organized them as a mind-map.

SCHEDULE

Once you start work on your idea, and you have the first scheduled event for it, you can drag it to the realization area and use it as a task-group header. If your idea has a parent or a child idea, the connector lines are going to move correspondingly.

NOW

At the presence area you can mix and match your data sources and can have a quick overview about the current status of everything. The different mixtures or standard views of data can be saved as one new tab in this area, so you can easily switch between them with only one click.

EXPERIENCE

Once the parent idea has reached the 100% of the competence, the project will move to the experience area. As the time goes by your project going to collect data from various sources and gain experiences. These are represented on the experience area as a graph, and you can choose from various graph design.

Although I spend tremendous number of hours just to see my idea in action, I have not had any idea how to start a start-up or find a developer.

That how far I got alone with my tools back at those days. I had a small and slow laptop, Figma or Adobe XD were not a thing. I used Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop and even started to create ab animation with After Effects:

In 2018 Microsoft introduced a similar function (and discontinued) where you can schedule your Microsoft To-Do Tasks in Outlook.

What can I say? I probably made a mistake not pursuit this idea any further. We’ll never know… I still have the domain…

Effective project management requires seamless communication between all parties involved. By understanding the distinct perspectives of managers/developers and clients, potential problems can be prevented before they arise. This article delves into strategies for training clients and colleagues to think proactively, fostering a culture of problem prevention rather than problem-solving.

Understanding Different Perspectives

Focus

Managers/Developers manage multiple projects concurrently, necessitating a broader focus.

Clients concentrate on one project at a time, emphasizing depth over breadth.

Experience

Manager/Developers possess expansive and growing experience across various projects, enabling them to foresee complications.

Clients accumulate experience through recurring engagement in a single project.

Handling problems

Manager/Developers utilize past experiences to avoid potential future issues.

Clients primarily tackle current problems and may not anticipate future challenges.

Way of thinking

Manager/Developers think holistically and non-linearly, recognizing correlations between sub-projects and tasks.

Clients often adopt a linear mindset, overlooking interconnections between tasks.

My techniques for alignment

· Detailed Initial Meeting: Conduct comprehensive meetings at the project outset to align expectations and goals effectively.

· Brainstorming over Meetings: Replace routine meetings with collaborative brainstorming sessions that involve developers, fostering open dialogue.

· Adaptable Solutions: Anticipate incomplete project specifications from clients. Develop interchangeable modules and solutions for flexibility.

· Educating Clients: Understand that clients might lack full awareness. Dedicate time to educate them about project intricacies and possibilities.

· Solution-Centric Approach: Shift from merely executing orders to offering problem-solving solutions, promoting collaboration.

· Challenging Bad Suggestions: Exercise the right to decline suboptimal suggestions while proposing better alternatives.

· Inquisitive Approach: Continuously ask “Why?” to dig deeper into project objectives and uncover potential roadblocks.

· Future-Oriented Mindset: Envision the project’s trajectory in the long term. Engage clients in discussions about their aspirations for the future.

· Proactive Problem Warning: Earn trust by cautioning clients about potential pitfalls before they occur, minimizing negative outcomes.

My ultimate checklist for comprehensive planning

· Knowledge: Ensure shared understanding between clients and team members through effective communication.

· Conditions and Limits: Identify necessary resources and constraints for successful project execution.

· Content: Verify that the project accommodates different content types and client management needs.

· Functionality: Evaluate the necessity and simplicity of project functions to enhance user experience.

· Design and Flexibility: Design projects with flexibility in mind, allowing for easy adjustments and updates.

· Usability: Confirm the project’s compatibility with mobile devices and its clarity for all users.

· Enhancing Experience: Present alternative solutions when faced with challenges and highlight future possibilities and benefits to engage clients.

In the realm of project management, effective communication and understanding are paramount. By bridging the gap between the perspectives of manager/developer and client, a harmonious workflow can be established that not only prevents problems but also fosters innovation and growth. With the strategies outlined in this article, the journey from problem prevention to collaborative success becomes achievable.

My journey in the web development industry began in 1999, initially as a graphic designer, before transitioning to a role as a back-end and front-end web developer in 2008. Over the years, my experience has been a blend of both employment and contract work, spanning more than 300 projects.

As an entrepreneur, I’ve closely collaborated with clients to craft comprehensive brand identities, both in print and online, and have taken on the challenge of developing intricate WordPress-based websites. This diverse spectrum of work has given me insights into functioning within large organizations as well as directly with small businesses.

Advantages of Working for a Small Business

Making a Meaningful Impact

The management structure within small businesses is often minimal, granting direct access to the CEO. This personal connection facilitates a better understanding of the CEO’s vision, historical context, wants and needs for the brand. The proximity to decision-makers allows for a more meaningful contribution to the company’s growth and development.

Embracing Versatility

For those possessing multiple skill sets or working as part of a team, small business environments offer the opportunity to showcase a wider range of services. By illustrating the interconnectedness between these services, you can effectively introduce and sell diverse solutions to your clients.

Efficiency in Action

Smaller businesses tend to have streamlined bureaucracies or none at all. This fosters a more efficient work environment characterized by enhanced communication and a faster pace. The informal nature of communication often leads to quicker decisions and more cohesive collaboration.

Disadvantages of Working for a Small Business

Infrastructure and Technical Knowledge Gaps

Despite the technological advancements of the COVID era, some entrepreneurs still lack basic technical knowledge. Issues like working securely with cloud drives, familiarity with a broader array of software tools, the absence of task-management software, or reliance on outdated devices highlight the need for assistance in building a robust online presence. If these deficiencies are not detected in time, they can easily lead to inappropriate solutions.

Centralized Knowledge and Decision-making

In many cases, small businesses exhibit a flat organizational structure with a singular CEO at the helm. Rapid turnover within this close-knit group impedes the transfer of accumulated knowledge and experience.

Absence of designated managers burdens the CEO with swift, sometimes impulsive, decision-making. The CEO’s limited capacity to oversee all work processes and provide a holistic project overview can hinder efficient operations. Moreover, the CEO’s time constraints often prevent the sharing of the company’s vision, leaving team members to primarily handle day-to-day challenges.

Overbearing Ego

Within exceedingly small companies, a single CEO holds the reins. This concentration of power can manifest as an inflexible leader with a strong ego, resistant to change and evolution. The CEO’s constrained ability to adapt and limited financial resources can hinder meaningful conversations about innovative solutions or visionary plans that surpass their current scope.