From the Top: The Power of Storytelling in Our Work

When we dive into a new project, we instinctively focus on problem-solving, identifying challenges, gathering information, and working through solutions. After all, that's what clients pay us to do. But if we step back, our real objective goes beyond just solving problems. At a higher level, our job is to tell the project's story. And doing that well is essential for a few key reasons.

Why Project Storytelling Matters

First, every project has multiple stakeholders, many of whom you will never interact with directly. Yet, they will engage with the results of your work. Your role isn't just to design systems; it's to communicate the reasoning behind those systems. Your project story explains why the team made certain decisions, what tradeoffs we considered, and how the design evolved throughout the project's lifecycle.

If you don't tell that story, your work exists in a vacuum. And once a project is complete, people won't remember who did the work, only the outcomes. Without documentation, your effort and expertise risk being lost, misunderstood, or misinterpreted. Clear storytelling ensures that we preserve the complete history of a project and that your contributions are recognized and valued.

The Benefits of Telling the Project's Story

By taking the time to document a project through meeting notes, design decision logs (DDLs), narratives, and well-structured deliverables, you make it easier to hand off work and support long-term success. Your efforts don't just solve immediate problems; they create a knowledge base that benefits both your teammates and future stakeholders.

Beyond that, storytelling benefits your thinking. Writing forces you to slow down and reflect, leading to better decisions. When you articulate why the team did something a certain way, you may uncover new opportunities for improvement or alternative approaches that weren't initially considered.

An Investment That Pays Off: Building Trust with Clients

I understand that documenting a project takes extra time. In a deadline-driven world, it might feel like an overhead cost. But in reality, it's an investment that enhances your reputation, builds trust with clients, and ultimately helps you win more work. When a client or teammate sees a well-documented project, they gain confidence in its quality and thoughtfulness. Without a clear story, people fill in the gaps themselves, often relying on incomplete or inaccurate narratives.

At TEECOM, we are not just engineers, designers, or consultants. We are storytellers, even though project storytelling isn't part of a formal engineering education curriculum. Every project we work on is a chapter in a larger narrative, and it's up to us to ensure the story is clear, compelling, and valuable to those who come after us.

So, don't just think about solving problems the next time you start a project. Think about how you will tell its story and the lasting impact that story will have.

Cheers,

David Marks

CEO