> ... uncovering blockers as early as possible is critical when coordinating a bunch of entities.
I think the challenge for me has always been that the "uncover blockers" piece means building one or more small prototypes to prove out the capabilities of the dependencies, check feasibility, etc. So the building of these prototypes occurs prior to or in parallel with the authoring of the design doc, but then at a certain point they get paused so that the design doc can be completed and reviewed, and then picked up again when it's time for the "real" implementation to occur.
But pausing there takes discipline, since it ideally happens at the exact moment when all the main blockers have been cleared away and it is maximally tempting to just step on the gas and start into the work of cobbling the prototypes together into the project.
It's also important to set clear expectations with stakeholders who have seen the prototype and may think the project is 90% done, when in fact there's still 90% more to go in making that prototype production-ready.
I think the challenge for me has always been that the "uncover blockers" piece means building one or more small prototypes to prove out the capabilities of the dependencies, check feasibility, etc. So the building of these prototypes occurs prior to or in parallel with the authoring of the design doc, but then at a certain point they get paused so that the design doc can be completed and reviewed, and then picked up again when it's time for the "real" implementation to occur.
But pausing there takes discipline, since it ideally happens at the exact moment when all the main blockers have been cleared away and it is maximally tempting to just step on the gas and start into the work of cobbling the prototypes together into the project.