Adaptive Path MX 2007: Closing Panel Discussion
[A discussion with all of today's speakers moderated by Peter Merholz]
Q: How do we sustainably get to wow? If we mean something that makes people happy, solve their problems, accomplish their goals, etc.
Irene Au: People at the top have to care about it. It doesn't have to be Steve Jobs, it can simply be someone really high up who care about UX and design. Figure out what parts you can impact to get these activities to happen on a more regular basis.
There is someone at Google who gets it and advocates at the highest levels. At Yahoo you see the leaders advocating for great experiences.
Jeff Veen: At Adaptive Path he worked on MeasureMap and realized that he wouldn't invent a technology, instead he thought about bringing a product to new audiences. How do I know if my blog is successful or not? This simple problem allowed them to pick a few metrics and solve a simple problem elegantly.
Todd Wilkens: With MeasureMap you knew what Wow was, you were designing for yourself. If you look at Whirlpool they have to make up metrics to understand what Wow is and can last a long time.
Jeff Veen: Speaking of Whirlpool. In the 90's there was this cliche of the fridge with the Internet connection. Whirlpool talks about UX but now is working on networked products. What about security, APIs, etc?
Sara Ulius-Sabel: Users really don't want the Internet on the fridge. The new product was an experiment exploring new areas and figuring out how to bridge the divide with suppliers. They know that there is some interest around digital devices and also that they are not good at digital devices. So build something that other people can hook up to.
Scott Berkun: So how do you sustain a team? Think of the Beatles. You do wow, wow, and how do you keep it together? What if a key person leaves? You have to replace them and the chemistry changes. It's just about who is doing the work. How do you sustain a healthy productive team? About half of the room says they don't.
Peter Merholz: Does that resonate with Whirlpool? Do people get to mistakes?
Sara Ulius-Sabel: Nothing new is really new. The combo washer-dryer was done in the 60s. Often fall into the trap of believing that what is new is the latest and greatest but it's almost always been done before.
In terms of the culture, Whirlpool is a big risk averse company. There is emphasis on shareholder value and cost. The ability to take risks is bounded and that is hard to face.
The Whirlpool Duet was built by an isolated team and they came up with something fabulous after 18 months away from everyone else.
Peter Merholz: By achieving empathy we realize and experience strategy that gets us to design beyond products (and maintain focus when making mistakes). This requires systems thinking (which in turn requires tearing down walls), that produces transformation for your matrixed(?) adaptive organization.
Q: Should products make people feel good about their children? Do designers have a responsibility to the consequences of your products on consumer culture?
Sara Ulius-Sabel: Should products be a vehicle for making a people prouder of their children? It certainly isn't the only way but it is an opportunity.
[My laptop battery died at this point. The rest is constructed from paper notes.]
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Who is this guy?
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