Information is all around us. As much as we might try to absorb everything, we need to make choices in what information we consume and how we use that information.

In Clear Thinking, Shane Parrish shares the value in collecting both high-fidelity and high-experience information. I want to unpack these each in some detail. However, first, I would like to address one issue I have with this section of the book.

High-Fidelity Information

Shane opens the section about high-fidelity information by talking about the validity of different information sources. He posits that because many information sources condense the full narrative, filtering through the lens of the writer to form a revisionist history.

While I agree with Shane Parrish quote (above) in principle, I also believe that part of learning involves consuming lots of information, evaluating it, and then reaching our own conclusions about its quality and whether it warrants deeper exploration. Knowledge is hard-earned over many cycles of gathering information and testing hypotheses. It is important to collect the scraps masquerading as knowledge, but we have to accept them for what they are…

Shane mentions distillation, and I can’t resist a good pun—so I’ll mention that I enjoy a good bourbon whiskey. Although I know a bit about how whiskey is produced, I wouldn’t say my knowledge runs deep. I certainly don’t know much about how the grains used in the whiskey were grown. But for me, that’s a fine distillation.

Knowledge is multidimensional. In some areas, we have deep expertise; in others, our knowledge is broad. And sometimes, there are gaps. The key is accepting where those gaps are and realizing where we need to dig deeper.

Having said all that, for me, the general premise of collecting high-fidelity information is right.

There is an important and nuanced point that needs to be made about high-fidelity information. High-fidelity information comes from the source. It is the water trickling from the spring. The spring can emerge into an idyllic environment, or it could emerge into an arsenic mine. The fidelity of information does not always correlate with the quality of the information. Even with high a fidelity source, it’s important to be cautious of opinions and conventional wisdom masquerading as fact. However, true or not, high-fidelity information represents the perceived reality.

High Expertise Information

While high fidelity is useful, there is another form of information which is of equal importance. High expertise information draws on the experiences of experts to fill holes in knowledge. As a curious person looking to gather information, it can be useful to see the world through someone else’s eyes. An expert, particularly one who has recently and repeatedly solved a similar problem is well poised to give pertinent information and advice. Experts can provide accurate and high-quality information.

Why It Matters

Having spent more than a decade inproduct development, the collection of information from multiple stakeholders is an important process. In practice, I have found that good HiFi information can be indispensable. To the uninitiated, it might appear like all laboratory environments are the same. However, in reality there are numerous small differences between translational laboratories (such as those found at major universities), regionally regulated clinical laboratories, and the laboratories of ISO 13485 licensed life science manufacturing companies. Amongst the biggest different are the systems that are in place in each of these settings. These differences can account for different user requirements. Good HiFi information, at an early stage, enables comprehensive user requirements to be written. There are few shortcuts in diagnostics product development, but preparing well-considered user requirements that meet the customer needs might be one of the few!

Knowing the questions to ask and what HiFi information to collect is where HiEx thought and information can be valuable. Hard-earned experience cuts down the time required to get to the root of the problem. It is tough to beat HiEx information. However, Shane does offer a useful tactic when evaluating the root cause:

Summing It Up

In product development, the value of collecting high-fidelity (HiFi) and high-expertise (HiEx) information can’t be overstated. HiFi information, like water from the source, is raw and unfiltered, helping us understand the subtle differences in environments—whether it’s a university lab or an ISO 13485 manufacturing facility. This kind of detailed insight is crucial in writing user requirements that actually meet the needs of the customer. There are few shortcuts in diagnostics product development, but solid HiFi information is one of them. HiEx information, meanwhile, offers a different perspective, drawing on the hard-earned experience of experts to quickly cut through confusion. In practice, both HiFi and HiEx information are essential, providing the foundation for asking the right questions and getting to the root of a problem faster. When combined, they create a powerful tool for making informed decisions and driving successful product outcomes.