TechniquePlease

TechniquePlease is a neutral, collaborative framework for documenting and sharing practical techniques across disciplines. It aims to distill expertise into concise, repeatable briefs that readers can apply to real problems. The emphasis is on clarity, reproducibility, and accessibility, with techniques designed to be tested and adapted in diverse contexts. The term originated in online learning communities and has been adopted by educators, makers, designers, and developers as a general format for knowledge transfer.

Core elements commonly appearing in a technique brief include a title, a short problem statement, a step-by-step procedure, required materials or tools, a section on expected outcomes, and notes on common pitfalls or tips. The template favors modular, reusable blocks, enabling practitioners to assemble portfolios of techniques for specific domains such as programming, design, music, or crafts.

Origin and adoption: The concept emerged in distributed learning and maker communities during the 2010s as a response to lengthy, opaque tutorials. A number of online projects promoted standardized briefs and open licenses to encourage sharing and adaptation. Over time, technique briefs were integrated into classroom curricula and professional development programs as a practical tool for rapid skill acquisition and cross-disciplinary collaboration.

Applications span education, product design, software engineering, digital art, and crafts. By focusing on tangible steps and testable outcomes, TechniquePlease supports peer-to-peer learning, mentoring, and iterative improvement. Some communities maintain public repositories or catalogs of briefs, enabling users to search by domain, difficulty, or outcome, and to remix existing techniques into new compositions.

Critics argue that technique briefs may oversimplify complex practices or undervalue tacit knowledge. Proponents counter that when used with critical reflection and contextual adaptation, briefs accelerate learning without erasing expertise. Best practice emphasizes supplementing briefs with demonstrations, discussions, and opportunities for experimentation. Related concepts include best practices, playbooks, and instructional design.