Design is the beauty of turning constraints into advantages - Webstock

Constraints are something I think about, so this talk resonates with me. Over the past couple years, the Simple IoT project simplifications have resulted in the following constraints:

  1. treat configuration and state data the same for purposes of storage and
    synchronization.
  2. represent this data using simple types (Nodes and Points).
  3. organize this data in a graph.
  4. all data flows through a message bus.
  5. run the same application in the cloud and at the edge.
  6. automatically sync common data between instances.

Interesting to think about …

Notes from Ava’s talk:

  • asking the right question is the most important part of design
  • embrace failure and fail forward
  • constraints create creativity
  • it’s not about thinking outside the box, it’s about finding the right box to think inside.
  • Perceptual vs Conceptual scope
    • forest or trees
  • thinking there is an obstacle to overcome (constraint) causes people to think more broadly
  • song forms, poetry, etc require constraints
  • constraints are focused obstacles