> [!tldr] Not placing sidewalks will show you where they need to be placed ## The Story There's a story about a newly constructed college campus. They built all the buildings and were ready to start class - other than there was disagreement about how the sidewalks should be laid. Would the students cut straight lines between all buildings? Or would they walk out to a thruway that had ribs going off it, etc etc. The story goes, a professor suggested that the grass **not** be paved for the first year. The students would walk over the grass, leaving trails where they walked. These trails were where the sidewalks should be laid. ## The Idea I'm not sure if this story is true, but it's a crisp example of letting the **customer** define [[Business Value]]. The extent to which you *predict* a customer will find value in your system is the extent to which your design may mismatch reality. ### Ramifications / Other ways this shows up - [[YAGNI]] - don't develop things you won't need - This treats you as the customer, which you are - quite often - [[Obsidian Typing System]] - The types I "pre-built" for myself were very hit-or-miss in terms of real-world utility. - I've added new types based on my real-world usage patterns. ## Exceptions While none immediately come to mind, the old idea of "*customers don't want an automobile, they wanted a faster horse*" comes to mind. There are some cases where you have to say "this is how this works". Shoot your shot. In essence, this advice is not a panacea. As in everything - [[Balance]]. **** # More ## Source - [[Hell Yeah or No (source)]]