Sometimes to be data driven means to compare and contrast original and variant, to require statistical rigour, to follow testing methodologies and isolate variables.
That’s great when there’s a baseline.
Sometimes to be data driven something else. It’s a search for the first data point. It’s sampling the tantalising, infinite space of possibility. This requires a different approach. Searching, making, and a different type of testing.
It’s the difference between two simple questions:
Could this be better?
The Scientist
Could this be?
The Artist
We each have the capacity for both questions and the quests that go with them. But it takes more courage to ask one, depending on what we’re practiced in.