What Was Missing From the Start

 You’re taking a break.

The last project ended unexpectedly, and you’re still carrying the weight of having to step away. It wasn’t about effort or skill; it was the lack of context, the missing information you needed to make competent decisions. Walking away was the right call, but that doesn’t make it any less deflating.

So you step back. You scroll through your networks, catch up on updates, and give yourself space to reset. You’re not looking for work. You’re just letting yourself breathe.

Then a message pops up. It’s from a former colleague from your previous career. They mention seeing your recent posts about your work in UX, your focus on mobile apps, and your growing interest in ed tech. Their team is working on a mobile app and wanted to see if you’d be open to learning more.

 Curious, you reply, send it over.

Soon after, they share a short onboarding document. It gives you a sense of what they’re building, who it’s for, and how the team is thinking about the work so far.

As you read through it, something clicks. The misalignments, the frustrating gaps, the moments where you weren’t sure how to move forward — none of those were about your ability to do the work. They were about the absence of a shared starting point.

It’s not their approach that stands out. It’s the realization that your own projects rarely started with this kind of shared understanding. You realize how different your previous projects would have felt if something like this had existed — not because every detail would have been defined, but because the uncertainty would have been visible from the start.

The realization lands quietly but firmly. The difference between frustrating projects and successful collaborations isn’t always the work itself. It’s how you begin.

Although the project is a mobile app, it originates from your previous industry. As you look it over, you realize it isn’t the right fit. Not because the work is bad, but because the timing isn’t right and you need a break before taking on anything new. You thank your colleague for thinking of you and politely decline the opportunity.

As you wrap up the conversation, it hits you. Everything you just read was put together so well, so effortlessly clear, that it’s exactly what you’ve been missing. Over the next few days, you’ve been thinking about how to create your own version — a simple onboarding process that makes sure every future project starts with the clarity you now know is essential.

Helping UX Designers bridge gaps and grow