Do The Opposite

An alternate title for this was "Do Your Worst", but it didn't really seem right to make it seem like I was going to deliberately tell you that sucking is a good idea.

Do the opposite, start from the end, reverse engineer...these all mean the same thing. These ideas are usually used in cases of failure, so you can see what it was in the chain that caused the failure. Its also a good way to figure out your competitors and how they do what they do. Have you ever seen something that's made you say "How'd they do that?" That is a case that you should take on in reverse, see what they did that got them to the end.

Another way to use reverse engineering is to start at the end of a project you haven't even started yet.

Wait, what? Start at the end, when I don't even have a beginning?

Yes. You already have an end...your client has told you what they want. Take what they want and work backwards. You know how things are supposed to turn out in the end...see how you can take the end and trace backwards to the beginning. It will help you gain a fresh perspective on everything.