Engineering Awareness

Being insightful isn't a question of talent; it's a question of awareness.  Awareness is essentially being mindful of the cultural and social constructs that surround you and the people for whom you are creating something new.

The most important advances are the least predictable ones.  Where engineering awareness is driven by the informal, the impromptu, and by acute observation.  Engineering awareness starts with the realization and consciousness of context.  Engineering awareness is about engineers who examine the context for themselves rather than having it described by someone else.  To cultivate insights and uncover opportunities, you need to observe the telling moments that reveal what consumers actually feel and do (as opposed to what they say they feel).  It's the seemingly unbroken aspects of a situation or context that provide the richest opportunities for innovation.

Look for tension points - - the things that aren't big enough to considered problems.  Little inconveniences are classic tension points - - where engineering awareness is embedded in seeing and hearing.  Aways remember the golden rule - - opportunities are totally context dependent.