The Simplicity Shift: Innovative Design Tactics in a Corporate WorldHigh-tech products have historically had notoriously poor design. Fortunately, companies have recently started to embrace user-centered design practices. This transition hasn't been smooth; many companies have difficulty transferring good design into final, shippable product. There is a political/cultural disconnect between the outward corporate desire for good design and the internal corporate culture that implements it. The Simplicity Shift is about moving the company culture to value, discover and implement simplicity, and to create a well-designed product. For most companies, product design is not paramount; it is something locked into a "design department" and approached as a sub-task of the larger sequential process. For companies to truly create breakthrough, easy-to-use products, they must elevate design so that its terms and tools are shared by everyone in the team. Design is a strategic tool that thereby becomes a part of how every company employee thinks, acts--and most importantly--makes decisions. Product managers and professional designers will benefit from the tools and examples about making design work in a production company. |
Contents
Why Are We Here? | 1 |
THE SOLUTION | 2 |
THE PROBLEM | 3 |
DESIGN Is FREE | 4 |
THE SIMPLICITY SHIFT | 5 |
THE FOUR TYPES OF COMPANY BLINDNESS | 6 |
WHAT THIS BOOK Is NOT ABOUT | 7 |
WHAT THIS BOOK Is ABOUT | 8 |
THERES MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE | 75 |
INSIGHT 4 THE PRIORITY TRICK | 80 |
INSIGHT 5 MAKE THE EASY EASY AND THE HARD HARD | 83 |
CONCLUSION | 89 |
Design Break MP3 Player | 91 |
ANALYSIS | 93 |
PERSONA AND SCENARIOS | 95 |
STARTING THE DESIGN | 102 |
So What Is Simplicity? | 11 |
FLEXIBILITY Is THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL | 12 |
PRODUCT DESIGN AS ADVERTISING | 13 |
MOBILE PHONE KEYS | 14 |
SIMPLICITY DRIVES UNDERSTANDING | 16 |
BLUETOOTH LOGIN | 18 |
COMMITMENT TO SIMPLICITY | 20 |
CONCLUSION | 21 |
You Mean Something Is Wrong? | 23 |
CROSSING THE CHASM AND DEEVOLUTION | 24 |
THE USER INTERFACE DOESNT EXIST | 27 |
CONCLUSION | 33 |
Design Break The GPRS Study | 35 |
ANALYSIS | 36 |
DISCOVERY 1 THEY DIDNT KNOW | 37 |
DISCOVERY 2 IT WASNT ALL NEEDED | 38 |
CONCLUSION | 39 |
User Blindness | 41 |
BREAK UP THE MULTIUSER | 43 |
WALK IN THEIR SHOES | 50 |
PUTTING THESE INSIGHTS TOGETHER | 54 |
Design Break Microwave Oven | 57 |
ANALYSIS | 60 |
STAGE 1 | 64 |
STAGE 2 | 66 |
STAGE 3 | 68 |
COSTS | 71 |
WRAP UP | 72 |
Feature Blindness | 73 |
STAGE 1 | 103 |
STAGE 2 | 105 |
STAGE 3 | 106 |
COSTS | 111 |
Innovation Blindness | 113 |
INSIGHT 6 SEE THE WATER | 114 |
INSIGHT 7 EMBRACE THE IMPOSSIBLE | 119 |
INSIGHT 8 FAIL FAST | 124 |
CONCLUSION | 132 |
Design Break Heater Timer | 133 |
ANALYSIS | 137 |
STAGE 1 FIND THE CORE | 140 |
STAGE 2 EXPAND THE CORE | 142 |
STAGE 3 BOWING TO REALITY | 144 |
CONCLUSION | 148 |
Implementation Blindness | 149 |
INSIGHT 9 THE DESIGN MANIFESTO | 152 |
INSIGHT 10 THE SWAT TEAM | 157 |
CONCLUSION | 160 |
Conclusion | 161 |
NAÏVE ATTITUDES | 162 |
FEATURE BLINDNESS | 163 |
INNOVATION BLINDNESS | 164 |
IMPLEMENTATION BLINDNESS | 165 |
ACTIVE INVOLVEMENT | 166 |
Recommended Reading | 169 |
| 171 | |
Common terms and phrases
basic Bluetooth clearly companies complex consumer products core design core tasks cost create Crossing the Chasm decisions Design Break Design Manifesto desktop device dial dialog box discussed display e-mail easily easy Emma example exist Failing Fast fairly feature blindness feature list focus folder functions goal GPRS hard headset heat high-end high-tech horse trainer implementation blindness Infrastructure layer initial innovation blindness Insight interaction issues Lisa marketing menu messages microwave microwave oven mobile phone MP3 player Nokia original design play Presentation layer problem product concept product design product team push screen scroll bars simple design Simplicity Shift sketches slider soft buttons solution Stage 2 design starting Steve SuperCook SWAT team Symbian target user Task layer technical things thinking timer understanding unFeatures usability test user blindness user interface user testing user-centered design usually