I reported on my progress cleaning up my office Cleaning Up the Office, Round 2. I hadn't let it get that bad since that round of organizing, but I did ask for help from Daughter #2 in May, to buy some bins and drawers to continue my never-ending attempts to stay organized.
The past 8 months, I've traveled about half time and finished a book. Either of those events means my surface organization goes downhill, but my office was not a disaster. (Mark disagrees with my assessment. 🙂 Wednesday, Daughter #2 and I attacked the part of my office I had not yet organized: my desk and a bookshelf of supplies I use frequently. (The bins and drawers for the travel and workshop material was working quite well. I'd updated and refined that over the last few months.)
I only had three bags of recycling. Once we bought some bins, I could organize the pens, stickies, and pads I use, so now everything has a place.
There is no way I could have done a BDUF to really know what I needed or how to organize. I had to evolve my organization, based on how I work. I was willing to change some of my workflow, but not all.
When you're developing a system in which people work, such as an office, or a kitchen, or–gasp–a software system, make sure you build in feedback-from-the-customer time. I had to live with my office to see what was working and what wasn't. So will your customers. The result will be worth it.
Very useful blog website, informative and easy to navigate. good work Johanna, and thank you for sharing your knowledge.