Design Thinking Digest

Purple Cows in Software

The Big Moo by Seth Godin and 33 others is a magnificant book for short attention spans in need of a bump of innovation caffeine. This is wonderful to give as a gift to people after you've had the BIG talk about innovation. I'm always on the lookout for the next Big Moo.

Recently I wondered if the New York Times might be on to one with the debut of the New York Times Reader, a stand alone piece of software that mimics but transforms the experience of reading the New York Times in an online environment. Check it out if you can.

Microsoft SparkUX

What will next generation user interfaces look like? Microsoft is holding a Salon this week in Half Moon Bay with over 30 industry luminaries to ponder this. I'll be interested to see what boils to the top and I'll see if I can get some of my Microsoft peers to post here about the experience and their impressions.

New Rules from Danny Meyer

As detailed in Time recently Danny Meyer is rewriting the rules of success in the restaurant business. We can all learn a thing or two from him. As we enter the era where user centered design becomes a table stake we can learn from how Danny has made his establishments stand out. Like many great ideas, his are revolutionary but also obviously simple in hindsight.

In Danny's world, and perhaps yours too, it's simply not enough to deliver a great product or keep your promise, you need to find a way to distinguish or differentiate yourself as well. Danny bonds himself to customers by focusing totally on a superior experience and he has some interesting principles that guide him.

First, the customer is second. Whaaahhh? That's right. In Danny's world he believes he needs to first meet the needs of his employees and then his guests, in that order. If you don't think free, and decent, coffee matters to your employees, or that evaluation systems that are a joke are not toxic to employee morale, think again. Where do your employees fit into your enterprise, how do they feel about you and your business? Danny gives his employees a reason to be passionate.

Two, always be connecting the dots that you capture about a customer. As John Battalle writes in Search, the database of intentions will soon be upon us. But you don't need to wait for this to start employing the principles Danny details in your own business. Danny gathers every piece of data about his customers that he can and he then uses it to enhance and personalize and experience of a customer. The more data that Danny has, the more likelihood that he can create memorable and meaningful interactions with a customer. Most of companies SAY they do this but does the pizza guy down the street from you still ask for your name, phone number and address every time you call in an order? Does the HR process of your enterprise make people enter the same data over and over again in six different systems during the on boarding process? (Hint, you all do this, fix it.) Three, teach skills but hire for personality. I suspect many companies claim to do this and I'm not at all sure how Danny does it but he claims to hire folks based on his impression of people’s natural kindness, empathy, curious nature and work ethic.

These are hard things to figure out in a one hour interview. How do you do it? Seth Godin has a nice perspective on the challenges and solutions to this problem. (BTW, if you aren't reading Seth's blog and buying his books you should be.)

Update, The WSJ (subscription required) has a more detailed overview of Danny and his principles.

Design in Devil in the White City

Design can crop up the most unusual places. For example, I've recently begun reading The Devil in the White City. A historical mash-up that brings to mind The Difference Engine, Gangs of New York and The Alienist. At its core though is a debate about the intersection of design by intuition and systemic design--with a serial killer thrown in for good measure. We certainly live in interesting times today but I imagine the world was a pretty fascinating place back in the 1880's as well.

GM, Nissan and Renault

The Chicago Tribune had a story (free registration required) this week about GM's misgivings about setting up an alliance. GM is concerned about what they would 'get' out of a deal compared to Renault and Nissan. GM wants compensation in the 'billions' if a deal is to be struck.

At face value this may seem reasonable to folks that know anything about the competencies that GM brings to the automotive industry in terms of its supply chain and the technology that drive its global purchasing systems. This is worth something no doubt. But so is making cars that people actually want to buy and that consumers THINK are a good value. Who benefits more from an alliance? A group that makes something that people want? Or a company that gets the table stakes right but doesn't seem to have the formula that can put passion into their product line? What company would you want to be in charge of?

Thoughts on Paul Rand

Recently a friend gave me a rare pamphlet created by Paul Rand called 'Some Thoughts...and Some Logos'. Paul Rand was an iconoclast and often worked alone in his projects, but he was systemic in his processes and didn't just rely on intuition.

To quote Paul Rand, "Bad design is frequently the consequence of mindless dabbling; and the difficulty is not confined merely to the design of logos. This lack of understanding pervades all visual design."

Much of what Paul wrote about logo design could apply to user experience and interaction design. Note what happens when we use the word user experience in place of the word logo in the following passages from Rand.

"If a user experience can be refined, without disturbing it's image, it seems reasonable to do so. A user experience, after all, is an instrument of pride and should be shown at its best."

"Here is what a user experience is and does;

A user experience is a flag, a signature, an escutcheon.

A user experience doesn't sell (directly), it identifies.

A user experience is rarely a description of a business.

A user experience derives its meaning from the quality of the thing it symbolizes, not the other way around."

"A well designed user experience, in the end, is a reflection of the business it symbolizes. It connotes a thoughtful and purposeful enterprise, and mirrors the quality of its products or services. it is good public relations - a harbinger of goodwill. It says, 'We care.'"

A user experience is less important than the product it signifies; what it means is more important than what it looks like."

Why I haven't been posting

Part of the reason that the site has seen little work in the past few weeks has been as I complete my transition into Microsoft I simply haven't found time to spend on this blog. That will change soon, there are lots of exciting things to talk about.

Transitions

I've recently departed IBM and taken on a new role at Microsoft as an evangelist for user centered design. While this may strike some of you more cynical types with a bout of cognitive dissonance I truly feel that Microsoft has made leaps and bounds in the past decade in how they apply user research and design principles into what they do. I expect that the mission of this site won't change but I'll probably focus on Microsoft topics here when they intersect appropriately.

D-Schools: Finding Good Talent

Should your next MBA be a designer instead? Perhaps. BusinessWeek revisits a passionate topic about the new 'D' schools and their impact on the enterprise and management consulting space. Find out where to look for this new talent by reading BusinessWeek's in-depth coverage.