> A culture that requires permissions and signoffs before work can begin is a culture that leaves products stagnant for years.
I don't see such a culture. I often create one or more prototypes as part of my design. One of those might become the final result, or I might throw away everything. As long as that's understood, all is well.
The way I think about it is this: don't do work you aren't willing to throw away until earlier steps have been reviewed. How much work you're willing to throw away is a personal preference. Your design reviewer(s) might say "did you consider this other way that has these advantages?" You shouldn't reply with "No, and I've invested too much time to consider other approaches now. Stop holding me up and lgtm already." No one wants to work with someone like that. Your argument should be based on what's best. What's already done should only be considered if neither approach is (believed to be) significantly better.
I don't see such a culture. I often create one or more prototypes as part of my design. One of those might become the final result, or I might throw away everything. As long as that's understood, all is well.
The way I think about it is this: don't do work you aren't willing to throw away until earlier steps have been reviewed. How much work you're willing to throw away is a personal preference. Your design reviewer(s) might say "did you consider this other way that has these advantages?" You shouldn't reply with "No, and I've invested too much time to consider other approaches now. Stop holding me up and lgtm already." No one wants to work with someone like that. Your argument should be based on what's best. What's already done should only be considered if neither approach is (believed to be) significantly better.