A surprising amount of rework begins with a sentence like this:

“I thought we were doing it this way.”

The problem is usually not that someone made a bad decision. It is that an assumption quietly became a fact.

We assume the deadline is fixed. We assume the client wants more detail. We assume everyone understands what “simple” means. We assume a piece of information is still current because nobody has said otherwise.

Then we build on top of it.

Sometimes the assumption is right. Sometimes it is not. The expensive part is finding out after the work is already done.

Before you begin

For one piece of work this week, take a minute and separate three things:

What I know: What has actually been confirmed?

What I’m assuming: What am I treating as true without confirmation?

What would change the work: Which assumption matters enough to check before I continue?

You do not need to eliminate every uncertainty. Most work starts with incomplete information.

The goal is simply to notice which assumptions could send the work in a different direction.

This is especially useful when several people are involved. Two people can agree on the same task while holding very different pictures of what that task means.

Making the assumption visible gives you something concrete to clarify, challenge, or confirm.

An assumption becomes dangerous when everyone starts treating it like a fact.

What are you currently treating as a fact that is really an assumption?