Squirm Test
From BlueOxen
In 2000, Eric Armstrong, Jack Park, Lee Iverson, Eugene Eric Kim, and others were struggling to think through Doug Engelbart's vision for an Open Hyperdocument System. Things were not proceeding smoothly. During one of our discussions, Eric noted that one of the participants was squirming in response to something that someone else had said. That imagery stuck in Eugene's head, and he posited the Squirm Test as a thought experiment.
This simple thought experiment has been remarkably generative, and it has become one of the philosophical pillars for Blue Oxen Associates.
The Test
The Squirm Test is performed on a group of people collaborating on something together. You get all of the people in a room, seated in a circle, and sitting on their hands.
The first person then stands up and spends a few minutes describing what the group is working on and why. No one is allowed to respond except to ask a clarifying question.
When the first person is done, the second person stands up and does the same thing, articulating the group's goals and motivations in his or her own words.
Everyone in the circle speaks in turns.
You can measure the amount of Shared Understanding in the group by observing the amount of squirming that happens during the process.
References
- Wikipedia's principle of neutral point of view is a real-life instantiation of the Squirm Test.
