What Is Pathfinding in Software Design?

Nicholas Jitkoff says pathfinding in software design is storytelling and vision setting: picturing things that could be built, in his case toward the near term, feasible and also inspiring. It sits somewhat off the critical path, and close enough to have a near-term impact. It does not always exist as its own team. Often any design team takes it on, fixing bugs and shipping the next release while also figuring out the next step.

It usually takes a company that is ready to change. Google, before Material, was not open to doing anything until Larry said they must make a change and that they had months to do it, with the willingness to commit resources. Sometimes design is the catalyst and has to explain why the change will matter. Sometimes the decision is already made and the work is to jump on it and run. Being empowered to pathfind, and then able to execute on that vision later, happens in cycles. The useful part is taking advantage of that, and being all right with how chaotic, generative, and exciting it is.

At Meta he saw the range that makes the work exciting: a team making the operating systems for VR, research teams thinking 10 years out about new displays and other technology, and a place between them for what felt near-term and actionable. A little urgency, plus freedom to explore, is a part of design he enjoys.