There’s a natural tendency to overcomplicate in the fast-paced world of digital products, marketing, and project management. Whether it’s a technical solution, a design concept, a marketing campaign, or a project schedule, the drive to account for every possible scenario can lead to unnecessary complexity. This installment is all about embracing simplicity. As a digital professional, keeping things simple is not just a nice-to-have; it’s a necessity.

The Dangers of Overcomplication

When we overcomplicate, we risk losing clarity, increasing the likelihood of misunderstandings and slowing down progress. Here’s how complexity can hinder your project:

• Technical Complexity: Developers may be tempted to build the most sophisticated solution possible. While innovation is great, overly complex systems are more complicated to maintain, scale, and troubleshoot. I’ve seen many cases where teams have attempted to standardize tools (for example, Cookie Consent) only to pick a tool that “meets all requirements,” which was then impossible to implement due to its technical complexity.
• Creative Overload: Designers might add layers of features or aesthetics, potentially overshadowing the core functionality and user experience.
• Complicated Schedules: You may need to account for every possible contingency, leading to convoluted schedules that are hard to follow and execute.

Embrace MVP Thinking

Minimum Viable Product (MVP) thinking isn’t just for product development; it’s a valuable mindset for all aspects of digital production. Here’s how to apply MVP principles to your work:

• Simplify Schedules: Create precise, concise, and focused schedules for the essential tasks. Don’t clutter them with unnecessary details or contingencies that might never happen. If you must include deeper details, use groups and collapsable views to create progressive disclosure in your schedule. Not everyone needs to see every detail like you need to.
• Streamline Processes: Aim for simplicity when defining processes and ways of working. Processes should help your team work more efficiently and keep them from slowing down with unnecessary steps.
• Refine Documentation: Keep your documents and notes straightforward. If it takes an hour to understand your notes, imagine how long it will take others.

Why Simplicity Matters

Simplicity is not just about making things easier for yourself—it’s about making them easier for everyone involved in the project. If something is too complicated for you to understand quickly, others will likely struggle with it, too. Clear, simple plans and processes help your team stay focused and aligned, leading to better results.

Conclusion

Your role is to facilitate and guide your team toward success, not to overwhelm them with complexity. Embrace simplicity in everything you do—scheduling, process design, or documentation. Remember, if you find it hard to understand, so will everyone else. Please keep it simple; your projects will run smoother and achieve their goals more effectively.