Jigsaw puzzles and projects

I am a huge fan of jigsaw puzzles. They are soothing to me. They impart patience, determination, stamina, self-control, and celebration. I think I love them most because jigsaw puzzles offer a sense of order and reason. Every piece has its place, and you are bound to figure things out eventually. Puzzles provide a clear goal.

I am currently a part of a large Electronic Health Record Implementation and as I was working on a puzzle recently I thought about all the parallels projects have with putting a jigsaw puzzle together. Here are some of the parallels I discovered.

“A jigsaw puzzle is a tiling puzzle that requires the assembly of often oddly shaped interlocking and mosaiced pieces. Typically, each individual piece has a portion of a picture; when assembled, the jigsaw puzzle produces a complete picture.” — Wikipedia

Defining and scoping the project.

• The definition above is Wikipedia's definition of a jigsaw puzzle. This definition is perfect for a potential project. We have all those scraps of ideas that somehow relate to each other, but we do not yet know how.

• Each piece is a portion of a big picture of where we are heading. We might see the picture in our minds as we see them on the box holding the jigsaw puzzle pieces, but we do not know how they connect and cannot discover all the details before we start assembling bit-by-bit.

Keep the big picture in mind.

• Could you imagine getting a box of puzzle pieces without an idea of what the completed puzzle will look like? When we know what we are building, it is far easier to plan and start putting the pieces together.

• If you look at all the pieces they can be overwhelming. Think how important it is to look at the box to see the image you are recreating. Consider how important that vision is to the end result. You could make the puzzle without it, but why would you?

• Assembling the photo on the box is the goal of the puzzle and keeping the cover on the box visible helps to achieve the goal. Having a clear goal/objective focuses me to achieve the desired output.

• Seeing the big picture, having a plan for achieving that big picture, and continually making measurable progress toward achieving that big picture will serve any project well.

Establish the border first.

• Boundaries give a sense of order.

• Find the side pieces and start lining them up to provide a larger context for the rest of the pieces. If you have trouble beginning a puzzle, it is most likely because you did not give yourself the structure or framework needed to complete it.

• Once again, this sounds so much like a project. When you start defining a project with a customer, you make a list of things to address. You go through the list and mark those bits that are clear (i.e. have straight edges) and only later address those that need more consideration.

• As in the jigsaw puzzles, assembling the frame — the easy part — first will give you ideas and clues of those more complex and unidentifiable pieces. Seeing the frame of the puzzle will define your project and opens you to more than one interpretation of the problem.

Develop a strategy/Turn over all the pieces.

• I try to break puzzles up into manageable pieces. I develop a strategy at the onset and tackle one section at a time. Developing a strategy and breaking a challenge into bite-sized pieces helps you avoid getting overwhelmed.

• Anytime I open a new puzzle I instinctively start turning all of the pieces of the puzzle so that the image on the puzzle is facing up. I find that it is very important to see the entirety of the problem to gain insight into trying to solve the problem.

Do not force a fit.

• In a jigsaw puzzle, there is always a specific way of how the pieces fit together. If you need to apply pressure to make two pieces fit, there is a possibility that one of the pieces is in the wrong place.

• What a great tip for projects! Instead of forcing ourselves to do something, we can first look at what we resist and why. In other words, we could recognize that we may be looking at the wrong piece (tool, method, approach, point in time, etc.) and adjust to what is better suited for the project.

• Put the “wrong” piece aside and look for another, which would fit perfectly in the space we are in at any specific moment.

When things are not going so well, take a break.

• When one spot stops working, move to another. But be sure to come back later.

• There are some pieces in the puzzle that seem unidentifiable. Sometimes that is how puzzles work. You have an idea of how things go together, but for some reason or another, the pieces do not fall in place yet. Patience and determination will help you work through that section of the puzzle by finding the other pieces first.

• Everything will look different when you return.

Ask for help and have fun.

• It is ok to ask for help and work together. How many times have you sat there looking at the puzzle in confusion and then someone walks in the room, picks up the piece right in front of you, and then plops it right in the exact spot as if it were so easy? A different perspective is what you may need at times to find how the pieces fit together.

• As much as I enjoy working on puzzles and do not mind doing them alone, something special seems to happen when people jump in to help. It is almost like a type of bonding that takes place. There is no competition, and everyone feels the satisfaction of a few pieces joined together regardless of who gets the piece.

• Working together makes any task easier and fun.

Take time often to celebrate your successes—even little ones.

• Have you ever noticed that sometimes there are certain images in the puzzle that seem to fall together quickly yet other images in the puzzle do not come together until the end? Consider that every little image in the puzzle is a small win. Put enough of those small wins together and “boom!” the puzzle is done.

• These types of wins are important on projects too! Small wins in your project allow the team to feel successful and are motivation to keep pushing through to the end.

Anything worth doing takes time and effort.

• A great puzzle can not be rushed and it takes time to put it all together.

• Doesn't that sounds like a project? Every step of the way you are making progress. Sometimes a piece is just a piece and it falls into place effortlessly. There are a few special pieces that present challenges along the way. Perseverance pays off.

Celebrate!

• After what may seem like an eternity, the pieces start to fall in to place rapidly. The last few pieces are quite simple, even in the most difficult puzzles. I have found that to be the case in many projects as well. It is a lot of planning and hard work in the beginning, but done well at the end of the project things seem to fall into place quite nicely.

• I find that when sitting down to assemble a puzzle that it is the small wins, like assembling a certain scene and completing it, that help reduce the feelings of being overwhelmed. Knowing when it is time to walk away for a break, savoring small victories and being productive will help in the problem-solving process.

Whether it is a jigsaw puzzle or project, it is the different shapes, sizes, colors, and complexities that make things interesting. I do not know about you, but I get a sense of fulfillment, pride, and satisfaction when I look at a completed puzzle. There is a feeling of accomplishment. The end result of a project or puzzle is because you have managed to bring order from chaos and that is reason to celebrate!

Happy Puzzling! Until next time…. - Leigh