The Requirements Are Not the Territory: Talk To Users
Go to the territory, talk to users, and learn from them. Learn how they use the product, which problem it solves, and what they expect from it.
The Map Is Not the Territory
“The Map Is Not the Territory” is a quote from Alfred Korzybski, a Polish-American scholar. The expression first appeared in one of his papers in 1931.
Put another way, the map of reality is not reality. We need simplifications to understand the world, but we shouldn’t mistake the simplification for the thing itself. Maps are necessary, but they are flawed.
This expression is widespread in management and business because it helps make better decisions. Software engineering can also learn from it. How I like to apply it is: “Talk to users.”
Territory
What is the “territory” in software engineering? I believe the territory is the ideal product in the users' heads.
It’s probably not just one territory but many different ones, one for each user. Yet, they all have common ground, and that’s what we can consider our territory.
The territory is the product in the users’ heads.
Maps
The maps are simplified versions of the users’ ideas. They can take many forms, such as product requirements, wireframes, and design files.
Every description of a feature is a map of the actual territory.
Developer job
If maps are product requirements, then developers always work with maps.
The developers’ job is to build the territory in the users’ heads from multiple simplified maps.
Talk To Users
How do we prevent falling into the trap of “the map is not the territory” if we only work with maps?
Go to the territory, talk to users, and learn from them. Learn how they use the product, which problem it solves, and what they expect from it. Learn as much as you can from the territory itself.
Talking to users takes many forms—interviews, surveys, checking user data, etc. Choose one or multiple and keep it a regular practice.
Don’t mistake the requirements for the product. Talk to users.
Thanks to Sebastià for reviewing this article 🙏