How I Bridge the Gap

Beyond the pixels - A structured approach for complex problems

The blind man and the elephant

You know that old parable about the blind men and the elephant? Each person touches a different part, the trunk, the tusk, the side, and walks away convinced their little piece is the whole picture.

That's exactly what happens in product development. Designers optimize for user delight, product teams chase market efficiency, and engineers build for long-term stability. Everyone's right from where they're standing, but they're all seeing different elephants.

This is where projects stall and good ideas die in translation. My approach bridges what I call the Perceptual Gap, breaking down strategy into shared building blocks that work across all perspectives. It turns fragmented understanding into something everyone can actually build together.

You can't build what you don't collectively understand. The real gap isn't technical, it's perceptual. Great strategy fails when it can't be translated into action.
- ️My core belief on product design

Start Product Discovery

Fragmented Sight

End Product Discovery

Shared Vision

The Framework

Bridging the 4 layers

We break down complexity by deconstructing the 'elephant' into four layers you can actually work with. This framework makes sure every design decision connects back to strategic goals and translates cleanly into what needs to be built.

S
Strategy

What opportunities and challenges need addressing?

Translating abstract ambitions into a tangible vision

P
Process

What process changes are needed to meet our goals?

Aligning business logic with strategic goals

A
Application

What must our applications provide to support the processes?

Designing components that optimize business workflows

T
Technology

What technology changes are needed to support the architecture?

Implementing a stable system to support the solution

Principles

My guiding principles

Great products come from teams that trust each other. I use four guiding principles to cut through friction and create a safe space for ideas to thrive. This keeps our process smooth and ensures we all stay focused on the same goal.

Principle 01

Be a facilitator

Create accessible spaces for understanding and collaboration. Enable discovery rather than impose solutions.

Build a shared understanding of the problem space

Rather than pushing a single view, I create space for discovery by:

  • Bringing a critical eye: Connect disparate ideas and encourage diverse perspectives
  • Decomposing the vision: Help the team carefully break down a high-level strategy into increasingly concrete building blocks
  • Ensuring traceability: Make sure every step of the creative discovery process stays aligned with the project's core goals
Principle 02

Be a translator

Connect the business 'What' to the engineering 'How' through a shared vocabulary. Distill complex trade-offs into actionable insights.

Create a shared language between disciplines

I bridge the gap between disciplines by:

  • Contextualizing strategy: Distill abstract business goals into functional requirements the technical team can execute
  • Demystifying technical constraints: Translate engineering logic into clear trade-offs for product owners and designers
  • Closing the feedback loop: Make sure implementation details accurately reflect the original user-centric intent
Principle 03

Be a navigator

Guide teams through complexity by resolving conflicts and maintaining alignment throughout the product lifecycle.

Shift subjective arguments into collaborative effort

Help teams navigate complexity by resolving conflicts and ensuring alignment:

  • Prioritizing trade-offs: Navigate competing constraints and help teams make informed decisions about scope, quality, and timeline
  • Facilitating alignment: Bridge gaps between stakeholders through active mediation and clear communication
  • Maintaining momentum: Keep teams focused on core objectives while adapting to changing constraints
Principle 04

Be a cartographer

Create lasting artifacts that capture decisions, rationale, and system patterns for future reference.

Preserve decisions and context for future reference

Capture the story behind decisions so people understand why:

  • Documenting the hidden logic: Explore the history, stakeholder dynamics, and human realities of the project
  • Building conceptual scaffolds: Develop shared mental models and visual systems that serve as a baseline for future design and technical work
  • Creating navigable systems: Organize design artifacts so teams can find what they need and understand how pieces connect