Something for the Weekend - Documentary Makers

It surprises me how often the Enterprise Analysis phase is missed from BA activity - probably because of project pressures or just because it’s a phase that doesn't produce standardised deliverables. Enterprise Analysis is a phase of finding out about the organisation or business areas that your forthcoming project will impact. Understanding the structure, what the culture is like, what they do, how and why they do it. It’s a chance to build up some valuable domain knowledge to shape thinking before the detailed work starts.

Every time I look for definitions of what Enterprise Analysis entails I only find dry lists of 'artefacts' that could be collected… But there's a really simple and engaging way to think about this phase... become a 'documentary maker'. Think of the process as being more about the relaying of the information you learn to others. Develop the narrative of the story with the raw information you've gathered and overlay it with insights gained to really bring the information to life (it obviously doesn't have to be a film!!).

How will this help?

• Going through the process of communicating the information makes you (and others) ask deeper questions and improves your own knowledge.
• In the same way that good Enterprise Analysis acts as a solid foundation for good quality requirements and designs for BAs, sharing the information with the project team has to ripple out into other activities and deliverables too.
• Creating this shared 'team memory' will aid in decision making when the project is in full swing.

Credits & Sources

Thanks to Sean Blezard for the Documentary Maker analogy

Something for the Weekend - Frank Lloyd Wright

I've written previously (Emotional Connections, Fail Whale, Anthora Coffee Cup) about the importance of creating deeper connections with our products. So when I spotted this quote by Frank Lloyd Wright I just had to share it;

"Form follows function - that has been misunderstood. Form and function should be one. Joined in a spiritual union."

Frank Lloyd Wright, recognised by the American Institute of Architects as the 'greatest American architect of all time', was a master at balancing aesthetics and practicality - making his spaces and objects desirable, aspirational and usable.

I often feel that, as BAs, our natural tendency is to focus on the functional first and the form second. Indeed we even refer to our products as "functionality"! And that's understandable, it makes good business sense to focus on building products that do what they need to do without ceremony but does it feel like we should offer more to our end customers?

In order to achieve this it won't be through just in adopting some of the tools and techniques (shared previously) but in changing our individual mind sets.

• Pursuing User Experience shortcomings with the same passion as functional ones
• Using the whole team to contribute ideas for the best possible UX
• Understanding and deeply empathising with the end customer

Sources and Credits
Quote found via Design Milk
More info on Frank Lloyd Wright

Something for the Weekend - Waterproof Power Strip

I thought I'd follow up on last weeks SFTW on vision and fit with the real world with a great example of the opposite! www.wetcircuits.com offers waterproof power strips! A great safety increment on the standard power strip but as Wired.com explains 'Your TV isn’t going to be any safer when perched on the end of your bathtub'!

A great physical example of not considering the things that interact with your design (in this case the socket and the devices you might plug in!!).

So whilst we're at it, what are the factors that change data based thinking (waterproof power strip) into creative thinking (safer power)? I was reading a book by Tim Brown this week and he recommends a simple but effective model developed at IDEO. His book (Change by Design) is fantastic and I could never do it justice but here's a summary of the model:

• Inspiration - actively seek out sources of inspiration...That might be other industries who do something similar or even analogous situations. Comparisons are drawn in the book about F1 pit stops and A&E units. Be open to less obvious inspirations too.
• Observation - watch your customers in the real world without agenda. Observe the way they naturally adapt ways of working to overcome small niggles (keeping log books, labelling things, ordering items together to quicker serve customers, etc) and understand why they do these behaviours - they're rarely an accident!
• Empathy - take a different mind set, rather than considering what your customers need, imagine you are your customer, how you would feel and what you would need. Perhaps interview some of your customers to ensure you've got the right picture.

Small activities that lead to more creative solutions. If you want the book there's a link below, ditto if you want the power strip!

Sources and Credits
Wired.com
Wetcircuits
Tim Brown IDEO

Something for the Weekend - Henry Ford

Henry Ford was without doubt a revolutionary and left an indelible mark on the world. He changed the face of the both transportation and attributed quotations but I'd like share one in particular:

"If I’d asked my customers what they wanted, they’d have said a faster horse" - Henry Ford

That quote was taken just after the launch of the Model-T in 1908. The Model T was simple to drive, easy to repair and cheap to buy. A huge commercial success by 1920 the majority of Americans had learned to drive in a Model-T!

I've written previously on the difference between 'Listening Vs Understanding', and this acts as another great example of that, but I wanted to take a slightly different slant. What causes the need for revolution rather evolution? What makes the case for throwing it all away and starting from scratch?

There are obvious 'signals' that trigger innovation or more fundamental overhauls of something existing but when you look at true revolutionaries there seems one obvious commonality and that’s a clear sense of vision. An understanding not only of the product, the company or the customer but how the product fits in the world as a whole. In the case of Ford there are plenty of examples of this, one of his principles was about higher wages for his workers. It meant that he got the best workers but it also meant that they could afford to buy Ford products and act as advocates - something that would typically have been out of reach.

So what can we do as analysts?

• Root cause analysis - really understand the problem or opportunity and think widely about how the solution fits within that.
• Consider what might be required on the periphery to make your solution a true successes.
• Start operational designs early even if its just rough notes to help you discover the right questions to be asking - I'm a firm believer that you can't define the function until you've understand how something fits operationally and organisationally.
• Design visibly and iteratively - allowing you both to 'fail fast' and use the collective brain power of your SME's before you're too far progressed.
• Have the confidence to challenge the solution even if you designed it.

Sources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Ford

Something for the Weekend - Emotional Connections (iPod)

As promised, I wanted to follow up on the last SFTW with some validation as to why creating an 'emotional connection' in what we deliver is equally as important as creating a functional one… an argument that the iPod can make without too much justification from me!

The iPod is often held aloft as a great design example… It's practical, intuitive, functional but also has the ability to engage with people in a way that's very hard to put your finger on… good physical design, creativity, brand, tactility, universal / consistent navigation, simplicity? - what is that x-factor? I don't know the answer but I know it's important!

Creating an emotional connection is not at all frivolous, it has huge commercial advantages. Apple have sold 260,000,000 iPod units worldwide and hold around a 70% market share of the global portable media player market (I want to say 'iPod market' which is a sign in itself!). Just imagine getting a tube or plane and not seeing the ubiquitous white headphones! To remain streets ahead of your competitors despite a higher unit cost is impressive.

In our world it's equally important to remember the importance of these connections… we need 'our customers' to feel a sense of satisfaction when using a system or process not just acceptance. I'm not sure there's a fixed recipe for creating this (or I'm sure I'd be a lot richer!) but I think a strong starting point is the recognition that 'functional' is not enough... Understand every detail, understand your customer and pursue perfection.

Something for the Weekend - Weird or Just Different

Derek Sivers (musician, businessman and ex-circus clown!) gave a very short but effective presentation at TED last year and I've been meaning to share it for a while.

It's just two and a half minutes long and to me demonstrates a key point in effective communication.... understanding that people look at the world with different perspectives and with different frames of reference. The examples provided by Derek are particularly relevant as they show conflicting, but equally correct views, against our (western in this case) frames of reference.

Do check it out....

Click Here

I don't want to dissect such a short video too much but there's three key thoughts that crossed my mind when I watched it;

• Considering whether we truly search for other perspectives on the activities that we do or whether we just look for agreement.
• Whether multiple perspectives do actually provides a stronger end result?
• Whether we truly take the time to understand what people are saying and where they are coming from or just hear the words and think we understand.

Something for the Weekend - Understanding vs. Listening

I recently read an article from the Harvard Business School on elBulli. elBulli is constantly recognised as the worlds best restaurant, people travel from all over the globe for the 5 hour dining experience. Not just that, each year, some 2 million hopeful diners vie to be one of the fifty customers he serves each evening for the six months that elBulli is open (8,000 a year). The HBS report (some of it plagiarised below) had a marketing lens but I'd like to look at the same case from a LEAN perspective.

There is much about the restaurant that's inefficient, as MBAs are quick to note:

• They should employer fewer staff - (1 waiter per customer is unnecessary!)
• They should source cheaper ingredients
• Less complex cooking techniques
• The restaurant is a 2 drive through mountains from Barcelona - they should relocate to Barcelona and perhaps open another branch in Madrid.
• They should make the booking process easier (2 year waiting in some cases!)

However the study also recognised that if you stripped all that away what you'd end up with is, McDonalds! (if you put that logic on steroids). I'm not saying McDonalds isn't popular but certainly wouldn't wait two years for one!

There are number of interesting points that relate to this, in particular in understanding what motivates seemingly irrational customer behaviour but I'd like to focus on is one point in practical relating to LEAN and its Voice of the Customer principles and the difference between listening to the customer and truly understanding the customer.

To summarise Chef Ferran Adria's comments in the report he believes that if you listen to the customer they'll tell you what they want based on what they know and they'll be happy with it. But it'll never be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I agree with sentiment, listening and delivering against expectations gives good service (Critical Success Factors) but GREAT customer service (enhancing features) is about something more, going above expectoration.

LEAN techniques, being grounded in manufacturing, are naturally efficiency based - I'm certainly a big LEAN advocate but I can't help reflecting on whether certain processes could risk being over-LEANed? Is an element of service orientated 'waste' acceptable if it provides a differentiator? Or should the processes and systems be slick and efficient and our people be the differentiating feature?

An interesting point to consider…

Full HBS report is available here