Approach
Start with the constraint.
Find the constraint. Remove it. Repeat.
Why we start with the constraint
Find what currently limits the result. Improving something else will not remove that limit.
We use the five focusing steps from the Theory of Constraints Institute (opens in a new tab) as a design loop for choosing what to build.
We state product limits before purchase so you can decide whether a tool fits.
The design loop
Five steps, repeated.
Open each step to see the question it asks.
What is actually preventing someone from getting the result they want? Not the thing that is easiest to fix — the thing that is genuinely in the way.
What can we improve using what already exists? Most people already own more capability than their setup currently lets them use.
What should be simplified or changed so everything else supports the constraint, instead of competing with it?
When the existing system genuinely is not enough, where should we add capability — with the smallest possible addition to someone's life?
Once one bottleneck is removed, the limit moves somewhere else. So we start again, rather than adding features to something that is no longer the constraint.
The loop restarts every time the bottleneck moves.
Worked example
The second-screen constraint
Step by step
Identify — the constraint is display capacity, not computing power
One screen limits visible work. A second monitor needs desk space, power and money. A BOOX tablet can provide the missing surface.
Exploit — use the surface that is already on the desk
Use the BOOX already on the desk instead of adding a monitor.
Subordinate — make it a real display, so nothing new has to be learned
macOS sees an extended desktop. Arrange it in System Settings → Displays and move any window onto it.
Elevate — add the smallest thing that is genuinely missing
A Mac app and tablet receiver connect over USB or your own Wi-Fi network. Our servers do not relay the screen.
Repeat — once the screen is no longer the limit, something else is
New limits remain: unencrypted Wi-Fi, an unnotarized build, Apple silicon only, and e-ink refresh that suits text better than video.
BOOX Mirror turns a BOOX tablet into a second display for an Apple-silicon Mac, over USB or your own Wi-Fi network.
Where AI fits
One tool inside the system, not the point of it
We use AI when it removes a real constraint. BOOX Mirror needs no AI.
We also work on accessibility, productivity, security and verification.