How do manage/organize unknowns in goals/projects?

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Hi all this isn’t specifically a Fibery question but a broader project management question. Would also love to hear any Fibery team members answer this question.

Something that I repeatedly bump up against with projects/goals is dealing with unknowns. Software is full of them.

Yes you can always use tried and true tech/software/libraries but the moment you need to do something unfamiliar it quickly gets complicated. You have a rough idea for the result you want but you don’t actually know how to get there.

For a more realistic example of this scenario, let’s say that your goal is Go to the moon (this goal is a metaphor for any big goal you may have but no idea/experience on how to achieve it). Where do you start with this???

There’s a good chance most of your ideas won’t work, but there’s a chance that an idea leads to another idea. We tried strapping a rocket to a car, the car caught fire but the rocket worked, next action: try adding rocket to a backpack. When this happens where is that insight captured so that it’s not discarded. Yes the rocket car didn’t work, but the insight remains

I guess my question/pain is what does project management look like when things are so unknown. You somehow need to make progress despite not having a clear plan.

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On the topic of project management under uncertainty, assuming you already know how to ‘eat an elephant one bite at a time,’ I would suggest exploring the following topics, in descending order of complexity:

  1. TRIZ (Theory of Inventive Problem Solving) is a methodology developed in the USSR. It’s a systematic approach for innovative thinking and problem-solving in complex projects.
  2. Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg’s book is titled “What’s Your Problem? Rethink and reframe the problems you face to solve your toughest business challenges.” It focuses on redefining problems to find more effective solutions.
  3. “Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality” by Eliezer Yudkowsky, while not a traditional project management textbook, offers a unique perspective on rational thinking and problem-solving techniques.