Work in Small, Iterative Batches—Not Big Phases—to Avoid Costly Mistakes

A global ecommerce company once tasked a team with overhauling its complex checkout flow. Instead of mapping out a months-long plan, the team broke the problem into bite-sized experiments—first targeting just the product detail page. They sketched three quick variants, mocked each up on paper, and shared them with five frontline employees and a handful of customers pulled into a breakroom. The feedback was candid, even brutal, but precisely what was needed.

After one week, the team built basic digital prototypes of the top two options and invited ten real shoppers to try them. They observed confusion with a particular button, iterated the design, and looped back for another test. Only when 90% of users breezed through the step did the team commit those changes to development, making sure to document key findings—but not waste hours on pixel-level specs.

Had they waited to perfect and document every detail for every scenario, the team might have spent months, only to learn later they’d gone off track. Now, each improvement was small, affordable to discard, and the outcome better aligned to user needs.

Behaviorally, this approach leans into principles from Lean manufacturing and Agile: reducing ‘inventory,’ minimizing risk, and enabling systems to adapt quickly based on learning. Teams that practice it report less rework, higher velocity, and tighter feedback cycles.

Break out from lengthy planning and huge project phases by picking just one piece of your next problem or idea to tackle—build a rudimentary version and find someone to try it today or tomorrow. Listen closely to their reaction, then build the next version, letting go of the impulse to document every step or wait for perfection. Repeat this micro-experiment cycle, each time only recording what’s needed to move forward confidently. Notice how much lighter the process feels—and how much faster you learn what works before you scale your investment.