There are many ways on how to start innovating (whatever that means for you). But what should always be the first thing to do before you begin?
The first thing you should do is to mark, measure and record the current state, the spot where you are right now.
In this article, we will cover why does knowing your status quo matter and how to go about recording it.
This is also the first step to design thinking – the cornerstone of legal design.
Why does it matter to be very specific about where you are now
Your starting point will be your lighthouse – from understanding the problem to keeping the flame lit.
Really understand the issue
Being very specific about where you are at will help you define the problem and how bad / not so bad it actually is.
Establish a benchmark
Think of it as before/after photos. You want to have an immediate comparison to keep you going, understand your evolution, and note changes.
Challenge your assumptions
You might think: I already know what I am doing, I can eyeball how much / how long / how to improve the situation! Spoiler alert: you can’t.
When you are cleaning your fridge, you also don’t know at first how bad / good it is. Depending on that, the cleanup can take anywhere between 5 minutes and 2 hours full of unpleasant surprises.
Only by making sure you understand the current state you can make good estimates as to the delivery. It will also help you pass good assumptions onto your suppliers, if you have any.
Set realistic goals
Humans tend to expect 100% from any technology we deploy.
The thinking would be something like this: if tech performs at 80%, but not 100%, it is not worth doing (despite the fact that the human performs it at 40% so that would be 40% increase).
If you set yourself a transparent starting point, you will have a realistic benchmark to set something to aim at that is not your unrealistic expectations.
Have better follow-ups
If you are clear about where is your start and finish, it is also much easier to demonstrate the progress. This makes the path for better buy-in of your stakeholders, understanding where should you go next, and yes, finding and defending the budgets.
How to measure current state
Observe and log
Take your time to write down everything that everyone is doing, your context, your stakeholders, your experiences. Try to see how people are doing it, instead of having them describe it to you.
Gather as much data as you can regarding what you/people are spending time / money / energy / whatever other resource on.
Track your existing metrics
Write down all the current KPIs and where you stand. If you are recording your time, you can start there. But do not stop there.
Make sure you go into details
Let’s say you are looking for a new knowledge bank solution. It sounds reasonable to review your timesheets first (if you do these). But while you may be “drafting something”, do you actually spend the whole time drafting or do you spend most of the time retrieving precedents from your inbox?
Make sure to be really granular about your observations.
Line it up with the Win state
Win state = where you want to end up.
To get into the stage of measurable improvement, make sure that your definition of success can be reasonably compared to what you have at the beginning.
That way you will not end up with apples, oranges, and/or a confused board of directors.
Final Provisions
Knowing your current state is key. It may look like a lot of work at first (especially if you need to make a lot of people taking detailed diaries about their daily activities).
Ultimately the decision on how to start innovating and what to do is different in every situation. So knowing what that situation is, is essential.
Once you know where you are, you can decide, where you should be heading.
And having set priorities and targets is the first way how to actually improve. Not just change stuff for the sake of it, but actually innovate.
Attorney-at-Code
