To design something meaningful, I need to understand not just the business goals, but the reality behind the interface. That means going where the work actually happens: talking to cashiers mid-shift, watching dispatchers handle a rush, piecing together reality from field recordings, staff feedback, and on-site reports.

Once I understand what's actually going on, I start making things to think with: rough prototypes, quick tests, small experiments. I'd rather put something unfinished in front of a real user early than spend two weeks perfecting a flow nobody has validated. The goal is to reduce uncertainty fast, not to produce perfect deliverables.

I involve developers, stakeholders, and users from the start, because the best solutions come from people who understand different parts of the problem. I've seen better ideas come out of one honest conversation than weeks of solo work. That only happens when everyone is in the room early enough to actually change something.