case study

Creation

Visiting with Rob a few days ago about our role as experience architects, he mentioned that we are creators and that our work is to lead people.

My first thoughts when he said those words were about Heavenly Father: how He is the Master Creator and how His entire work is centered around leading people. As our Father, he is the ultimate architect, crafting experiences—such as our lives on this Earth—to lead us and to guide us so that we may become like Him and return Home to live with Him again. I then thought of His Son, Jesus Christ, and how He completed the largest and most significant design project in the history of this world when he lead and orchestrated it’s creation.

What an honorable field to be in! What a noble job! What a luxury to have such role models to look up to occupationally! These thoughts struck me and have lingered in my mind since then, including thoughts of what I can learn from Their example and specifically how I can apply them to my current projects. This morning, I took the opportunity to review the story of the creation to see what more I could learn. Below are some verses that I stopped on and thoughts that accompanied them.

“In the beginning God created the Heaven and the Earth. (Genesis 1:1)”

Organization. The Hebrew word that “created” it is translated from means to organize. It describes shaping, fashioning, and forming as a divine activity. Can the work that we do be spiritual even if it’s an application interface displaying financial records? Absolutely; in fact, it should be. We should be seeking the guidance of the Spirit in everything we do. Creation is a process of collecting the best materials, utilizing the best knowledge, collaborating and corroborating with experts and peers, and then meticulously crafting something wonderful and new.

“…and God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:10)”

Quality. I don’t believe that this means that He looked down in surprise and thought “nice… that turned out well.” No, He understood that His work was important, that it will affect many people, and that it needed to be right. His work included ensuring not just that it was done, but that it was done correctly; he “watched those things which they had ordered until they obeyed. (Abraham 4:18)”

“And God blessed them, and God said unto them, be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over [my creations]. (Genesis 1:28)

User-centered. God constructed His work such that it empowered those that would use it. It was for them and therefore it was constructed in a manner that was usable and useful to them. It contained the features that they needed to accomplish their tasks and in a way that would be pleasant to do so.

“And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. (Genesis 2:2

Reflection. We have been commanded to honor the Sabbath, but why? The most important reason is to take at least one day out of our week to actively worship Him who gave us life, but there is much more to this seven day pattern. We must not run faster than we have strength; physically, emotionally, or creatively. We must take time to meditate and to reflect upon our work.

“And the Gods prepared […and then…] came down and formed these generations […] according to all that which they had said… (Abraham 4:21; 5:4-5)”

Preparation. Stringing that quote across three verses is a stretch I know, but the pattern is there. They prepared and planned before they executed. The words prepare and organize are used fourteen times in chapter four. They didn’t rush into their work and didn’t produce something on a whim. Designing for experience requires much more methodical processes. You must architect, design, and scope. How do you expect your product to be a success without first defining what it is supposed to be and the steps required to complete it?

posted by Wade Preston Shearer on Sunday, Nov 02, 2008
tagged with creation, lead people, experience, organization, quality, user-centered, reflection, preparation