Metaphors help us understand our relationship with ambiguity.
When we embrace it, we see ambiguity as a constant presence, not just a time-bound experience. We can choose when to dive into it, and doing so opens up new possibilities for discovery and meaning, even when its uncomfortable.
Taking the time to reflect and look back on your work in a moment of ambiguity helps you make sense of what didn't make sense necessarily in the moment. It also helps strengthen self-awareness around skills and capabilities that helped you navigate ambiguity (i.e. quickly testing prototypes, doing a new user interview).
How does it work?
Use the downloadable worksheet to map your journey of a project and how you moved through or experienced different zones over the course of a project.
This worksheet uses the metaphor of deep-sea exploration. At first, you’re in the “Splash Zone”—comfortable, easy, and familiar. As you go deeper, you enter the “Discomfort Zone,” where things feel unclear and unsettling. But if you push further, you reach the “Discovery Zone,” where breakthroughs happen, and new understanding is gained.
After making your journey map, look at inflection points and boundary crossings and add notes to your map:
What activities were you doing then?
What abilities were you exercising in those moments? (consciously or unconsciously)
Credits
Kelly Schmutte
Both Emily Callaghan and Jess Munro helped evolve the ocean exploration metaphor over the course of our collaboration on design abilities tools.
Related Resources
LICENSE: CREATIVE COMMONS ATTRIBUTION-NONCOMMERCIAL-SHAREALIKE 4.0 INTERNATIONAL