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Doodads

The playable bits of my posts, all in one place. Try them, and take them into your next workshop.

  1. What belongs where?

    Sort eight notes from an agent project onto three shelves, then see which ones would quietly break the system if nobody reviewed them.

    Try it

    Clear out the junk drawer. Pick up a note and put it where it belongs.

          The junk drawer

          Eight notes in the drawer. Pick one up.

          Based on the split between global, local and ambient context in Nielsen Norman Group's "The New Big Ball of Mud" (2026). The notes are made up for the exercise, and the shelves are my call, not an answer key.

          From the postCheap to build, costly to remember

        • To say or not to say?

          Pick a situation, answer the five PACED questions with sliders, and see whether you should say AI was involved.

          Try it

          Which situation do you want to try?

          Verdict

          Pick a situation and I'll set the sliders for you. Move them and see what happens.

          After the PACED framework from Nielsen Norman Group (2026). The situations are made up to try the questions on, and the research is mixed.

          From the postShould you say AI was involved? Five questions before you decide

        • Paint a sprite

          Paint a tiny sprite with this site's one visual rule: four tones, one object, lots of air.

          Try it

          Click or drag to paint. Keyboard: arrow keys move, space paints, delete erases, 1 to 4 picks a tone.

          Pick a tone and paint.

          Every illustration here is drawn like this, as a grid in four tones. Switch theme and watch your sprite change colour.

          From the postRebuilding this portfolio, one pixel at a time

        • From idea to playable build

          Walk one feature through the eight steps, and meet the agent who does each one.

          Try it

          1. 1. Goal
          2. 2. Plan
          3. 3. Rules
          4. 4. Build
          5. 5. Screen
          6. 6. Test
          7. 7. Checks
          8. 8. Play

          I set the goal, written as how it plays: this should be fun with plain rectangles instead of art.

          The process from the post. The tests can't be skipped, and nothing ships until it's fun.

          From the postBuilding a game with a team of AI agents

        • The diamond

          Run a workshop through Kaner's diamond: open up, get through the groan zone, land. With and without the tricks against anchoring.

          Try it

          Twelve people, one question. Walk the workshop through the phases, and try the two tricks.

          0 ideas on the table

          After Sam Kaner, Facilitator's Guide to Participatory Decision-Making. The numbers are for play, not from a study.

          From the postFacilitation is design work

        • The kernel of strategy

          Pick a diagnosis, a guiding policy and actions for a made-up case, and see whether they hold together.

          Try it

          The caseA public agency's new self-service gets more users every month. Calls to the contact centre keep rising anyway.

          Does it hold?

          Choose one in each part, in any order.

          What is really going on?

          After Richard Rumelt, Good Strategy / Bad Strategy (2011). Choose in any order. The case is made up.

          From the postStrategy is a diagnosis

        • The first ten minutes

          Ten new players, five places they quit. Switch on lessons from games and get them to their first win.

          Try it

          Switch on a lesson from games:

          • 1. A five-screen feature tour before anything happens
          • 2. Every feature on screen from the first login
          • 3. A submit button that feels final and scary
          • 4. The save button says nothing
          • 5. Confetti on every click

          0 / 10

          Nobody reached the first win.

            The players are made up. The lessons are from the post: Mario, Portal, Celeste and friends.

            From the postWhat games teach us about onboarding

          • Above and below the waterline

            Sort the parts of design work into what a portfolio shows and what it hides. Then compare with my take.

            Try it

            What does a portfolio actually show?

            Shows in a portfolio

            Hard to show

              Above the waterline: 8. Below: 0. Sink what you think is hard to show, then compare.

              Tap a thing to sink it or float it back up, then see my take. It's one designer's opinion, not an answer key.

              From the postThe problem with designer portfolios

            • Pick the right map

              Start from the question you have, and get the kind of map that answers it.

              Try it

              What do you need to find out?

              Pick a question, and I'll draw the map.

              After Jim Kalbach, Mapping Experiences. A rule of thumb, not a law: most real maps borrow from each other.

              From the postWhy you need a map