Before pitching a project, there& #39;s shaping it.

Before shaping it, there& #39;s this really hard work where you struggle to define the problem or the opportunity.

Need a word for that. It& #39;s not fluffy brainstorming / ideation.

More like "forging." Hard work, concentration, heat.

The "forging" step (whatever we call it...) is the most uphill of the uphill work.

It& #39;s trying to understand what& #39;s not working. Or why customers do something we don& #39;t understand.

It& #39;s where demand-side research happens.

Research isn& #39;t something soft and exploratory we do when we& #39;re bored or curious.

It& #39;s something expensive and intense we do when we don& #39;t understand something, and we& #39;re willing to make the hard trade-off to spend time learning about it.