Best Doable Option $($BDO$)$ vs Best Theoretical Option $($BTO$)$ Exercise

The trick here is to know the difference between the Best Doable Option $($BDO$),$ and the Best Theoretical Option $($BTO$)$

It frequently turns out that many of the really hard problems in life are best treated as multiplechoice tests. You don't really have to figure it all out$-$ all you have to know is enough to choose. That and the designer's mindset of "bias to action" and you are good to go$.$ We call it "finding the Best Doable Option $($BDO$)."$

It is very tempting to want to find the Best Theoretical Option $($BTO$).$ That's the option that you think you should be able to figure out; it's the one you deserve; and it's the one that probably doesn't actually exist! It's only in your head. When you're distracted by the idea of the BTO, all the BDOs, the things you can actually do$,$ seem like a compromise. They're all "settling," and you don't want to settle. But you aren't actually settling, because an option that doesn't exist in reality isn't an option$-$ it's just an idea. Designers are all about making things $-$ real things. We want you to real ize your dreams, not just dream them. So formulate the list of actually available options, then pick the best one. The Best Doable Option.

Think about it$.$ Despite many layers of complexity, lots of times there aren't infinite versions of possible solutions to your problem. And by taking a bias$-$to$-$action approach, you get unstuck, make a decision, and move into your future $-$ a future that you chose instead of one that would eventually be chosen for you by inaction. When you get good at recognizing your BDOs, you get good at making actionable choices and are the designer of your future.

Pick a problem that you want to work on or something that you are actually working on and would like to find a good solution to$.$

Pri

r

Brainstorm at least five solutions to the problem as you currently understand it$.$

Idea #$19k1$

Idea #$2$

Idea #$3$

Idea.#$4$

Idea #$5.$

Examine the options you've brainstormed and sort them into BTO and BDO categories