Once in the Czech Republic, I saw on a castle the words “Čas zĕvuje pravdu.” The person quoted was C… something (I can’t remember.) Those words translate to “Time reveals truth.” Similar to the common English phrase “only time will tell.”

It’s a statement that holds a lot of validity. Obviously, if a principle is a sound one, it will have some sort of enduring or timeless character. If a principle is not sound, over time, the weaknesses will be exposed. In Web marketing, a similar phrase that I like to use would apply. That is “only testing will tell.”

I currently work in a corporate environment. Such environments tend to be laden with bureaucracy and this company is not the exception. As we develop our web presence, there seems to always be other people and departments (usually IT and Creative) that get involved and begin to express their opinions. Sometimes there are decisions that are no-brainers learned from past experience or just common sense. Many times, though, usually on questions concerning design, there will be stalemates where both parties’ arguments are only based on opinion and I-think-so status. Or, they may even have some sort of secret agenda. To avoid such an impasse, here are some steps that will help you get somewhere:

1. Realize that you might be the problem. Often we get emotionally attached to our ideas and our projects. By doing so, you are unconsciously creating your own agenda and when everyone is on their own team, no one in on the same team. Stay cool and stay subjective.
2. Keep the “maybe’s” in mind. Usually indecision comes because the predicted result of the debated project are ambiguous. Remember that if you don’t have proof, whether it is from your experience or the experience of others, then you don’t know. It might work or it might not. These “maybe’s” need to be worked out and not thrown out. Just because someone else’s case in not bullet-proof, that doesn’t mean that it isn’t a good idea.
3. Only Testing Will Tell. There is only one way that you will be able to know that something works. And that is to test it. You might think you know but only testing will tell. I cannot count the number of experiences I have had and case studies that I have read where the development group thought one thing and then the results were completely different. Once again, only testing will tell. Until you test you are only guessing.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 18th, 2006 and is filed under Whatever, Quotes, Design and Usability. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.