Sometimes, a simple solution is all that is needed for a simple problem. As is common for developers and programmers of all varieties, I can’t help but enjoy finding a clever solution to a particular problem, but that pales in comparison to the joy that I obtain from coming up with a dead simple, smack-you-in-the-forehead answer. I call that being smart, not clever.
The farm property that I live on had an issue with multiple people wanting to use the land during hunting season, and no communication about who needs what area. Because two of the people were hunting, no other people could use the same area at the same time.
First, we tried a whiteboard, but nobody used it. So I created the electronic equivalent of a whiteboard, and it was wildly successful. I made a simple form with large, glove-friendly buttons (think hunter at 6am using his iPhone in an Otter Box), and a simple list showing who went where at what time. It would then be up to each person to see where the other(s) had gone and avoid their area.
It didn’t require a feat of programming. It didn’t require astounding design. It wasn’t an interactive map that required GPS permissions. It simply matched the problem at its level of simplicity, and therefore succeeded. It just required me putting my “clever” ego aside and letting the simple solution work.
