The rubber duck method: How a simple technique can help you solve complex problems

Steal this technique from developers to help process your thoughts clearly.

Sep 20, 2024

🕰️ Est. reading time: 4 minutes

A few weeks ago, I was visiting Amsterdam. I walked by a shop packed with rubber ducks. Some were basic, while others were modeled after characters from Marvel and Star Wars (which caught me off guard a bit).

Later, I visited a tourist spot and wandered into a gift store. They were selling rubber ducks too—some as toys, some as keychains, even printed on mugs.

Apparently, ducks have become a part of Dutch culture because they’re a common sight in any form of Dutch waterways.

In 2007, a Dutch artist named Florentijn Hofman created giant inflatable rubber ducks that traveled the world—Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Sydney, and others. His ducks became famous and turned into an icon of Dutch contemporary art.

Speaking of rubber ducks, they are also part of tech culture, especially among developers.

I didn’t know about this until I asked an engineer on my team who had a rubber duck on his desk. It’s a popular tool among developers. You talk out loud to the inanimate animal, explaining a problem to help process it, break it down into simpler steps, and help you form a solution. This technique was popularized by Andrew Hunt and David Thomas in their book The Pragmatic Programmer.

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I asked my engineer friend if he really talked to the rubber duck. “Of course not,” he said.

“It’s just for fun and partly a reminder that you can be self-sufficient by talking through your complex issue, whether out loud or not, or by writing it down to process your thoughts and find a solution.”

Like developers, designers often face complex challenges: ambiguous situations, unclear problem statements, creative blocks, balancing user needs with business goals, and many more.

Designers could also steal this technique and apply it to their day-to-day design process.

Here are the key characteristics I love about this technique:

#1 Talking through your ideas (out loud or internally)

The concept of talking out ideas has roots that go further back. In 1805, the German writer Heinrich von Kleist, in his essay On the Gradual Formation of Thoughts During Speech explored how we don’t always discover clear thoughts by thinking alone—sometimes they emerge in the very process of speaking. Kleist suggested that while we might begin with only a vague notion, it’s through speech that an unclear thought takes shape and becomes a fully formed idea.

A more modern take comes from Charles Fernyhough in The Voices Within (2016), where he explores how inner speech—though not spoken out loud—plays a crucial role in creativity, problem-solving, and self-awareness. Whether spoken aloud or kept internal, talking through your ideas is an essential tool for shaping and refining thoughts.

#2 Break down complex issues into simple, clear explanations

Since the rubber duck is just an inanimate object, the other characteristic of this technique is that it encourages us to talk out our thoughts simply and directly, without overcomplicating things.

This resonates with my favorite technique from Richard Feynman—the art of learning a new skill—where you can pretend you are teaching something to a child.

You break down complex issues into simple, clear explanations to help you uncover gaps in your understanding and reinforce your thinking.

#3 Self-sufficient

One last characteristic that I love about the rubber duck is its emphasis on self-sufficiency.

In a collaborative space, of course, some of our complex issues can be resolved by talking to others or asking for help. But in some cases, you can try to critically analyze your work yourself before seeking help from someone else.

When I shared the rubber duck technique, many find it challenging to engage in self-talk at first, saying their minds just go blank when they try. Here’s my tip:

Start with a simple question: Ask yourself what you’re trying to solve or achieve. This can kickstart your thinking process.
Write it down first: If your mind blanks, jotting down key points or ideas can help. Once you see it on paper, it’s easier to verbalize.
Break it into small steps: Focus on one small part of the problem at a time. Talk through each step without worrying about the bigger picture initially.

Using AI could be an alternative.

Since we aren’t looking for answers or advice from the AI, we want it to guide you through the steps we just discussed.

So, first things first, start with a prompt to describe how the AI should behave, something like this:

🤖: I want you to act as my rubber duck. I’ll talk through my ideas, and I need you to help clarify my thinking by asking questions, reflecting back what I say, and encouraging me to break things down step by step without giving direct answers. Let’s work through each part of the process to uncover gaps in my understanding, reinforce my thinking, and find solutions/ideas.

Take a look at this conversation of mine with ChatGPT.

If you have anything to add about the rubber duck technique or any similar technique from your toolkit, please share it in the comments.

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