1. The document discusses the key factors for project success: doing a discovery phase to understand the true problem, creating an effective team, putting the right people on the right tasks, and executing the project effectively. 2. It provides examples from the author's experience where not properly understanding the problem led to an unsuccessful project outcome. 3. The author emphasizes understanding user needs, clear communication, managing expectations, trust, and delegation as important elements for a successful project.

1. The problem is the
solution
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2. EMC
6th largest information technology company
in world
– From consulting through information
management and storage
– Leaders in Cloud Computing
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3. Some Projects
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4. EMC Consulting
User experience is central to its offering
I’ve been the Director of UX there for 3 days
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5. Who I am
18 years of experience, and 8 as a User Experience Director, Strategist and Leader
I focus on leading and delivering award winning projects that produce great
experiences for users and value for clients
More recently, I’ve been concentrating on
– Building teams of excellence and
– Multi- and omni-channel eCommerce and Content projects
Work history
– 8 years client-side in the US and UK (e.g., Time Out, Plastic Logic, Intel, Convio)
– 10 years agency-side in the UK (e.g., EMC, GrandUnion, Sapient)
– Most technical Domains (PC / Mobile Web, Device, Consumer software, Enterprise software)
– Most Industries (Media, Retail, Grocery, Consumer Electronics, Government, Energy,
Telecom, …)
He is a proud father to 1 & 8/9 children
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6. Some ground rules
Discussions are more
fun than talks
Ask questions
Volunteer information
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7. The Problem is the Solution
Success depends on four factors:
1. Do a Discovery Phase
2. Create a Team
3. Put the Right People in the Right Place
4. Execute
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8. But first, a Story*…
* NB: From my pre-EMC days
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9. The brief
Create a fully faceted taxonomy for 32K SKUs
And, oh yeah, solve the cod problem
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10. Stages to this project
1. Start with a request (a brief)
2. Deploy process, best practice, creativity,
genius(?)
3. Solve the problem (described in the brief)
4. Client accepts
5. Solution gets built …
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11. and…
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12. “It turns out that
you need to select
cupboard, food,
bakery, then bread
is listed. A lot of
clicks to find a
basic item.”
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13. What Happened?!?
We were working on the wrong problem
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14. What happened
The actual problem
The project parameters
– Commercial
– Time
– Organisation
Because we were working on the wrong problem:
– The design brief was wrong
– The taxonomy created wasn’t deployable
– The result:
▪ Created a counter-intuitive navigation system
▪ Imposed a physical layout system onto a digital system
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15. The Problem is the Solution
Success depends on four factors:
1. Do a Discovery Phase
2. Create a Team
3. Put the Right People in the Right Place
4. Execute
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16. The Problem is the Solution
Success depends on four factors:
1. Do a Discovery Phase
2. Create a Team
3. Put the Right People in the Right Place
4. Execute
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17. Discovery Phase
"Question everything generally thought to be
obvious.”
--Dieter Rams
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18. Why?
"The Blind Men and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe (1816–1887)
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19. Goal
Explicit Implicit
Gather a fundamental Creates a unified team
understanding of the with a common
problem understanding and a
– Its parameters client / sponsor
– the impact of the ecology champion
on the problem
The Brief!
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20. A Discovery Phase…
Defines scope and business/user requirements
based on research
Provides a deep understanding of:
– Business parameters
– Competitive landscape
– Operational factors
– Authority and sign-off
– Process
– Risks
– …
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21. Answer the five Ws (and an H)
Who is / will be What is the problem?
affected?
– External AND internal
Where does the
problems solution need
Why is this a problem?
to be used?
When does this problem
How are we solving
need to be solved?
(framing) this problem?
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22. The Problem is the Solution
Success depends on four factors:
1. Do a Discovery Phase
2. Create a Team
3. Put the Right People in the Right Place
4. Execute
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23. Create a Team
"The whole is greater than the sum of the
parts.”
--Kurt Koffka
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24. Why?
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25. Goal
To forge an effective project team
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26. Elements of a great team
Communicate clearly
Manage expectations
Generate trust
Build chemistry
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27. Communicate clearly
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28. Manage expectations
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29. Generate trust
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30. Have chemistry (or Èlan)
YES NO
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31. The Problem is the Solution
Success depends on four factors:
1. Do a Discovery Phase
2. Create a Team
3. Put the Right People in the Right Place
4. Execute
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32. Put the Right People in the Right Place
(on the right tasks)
"He gets on base a lot. Do I care if it's a walk
or a hit?”
--Billy Beane, Moneyball
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33. Why?
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34. Goal
On each part of the problem, the people who
will be most effective
Most effective ≠ best
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35. Three simple heuristics
1. Put yourself out of a job
2. Your team owns it, not you
3. Delegate and support
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36. Put your self out
of a job
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37. Your team owns it, not you
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38. Delegate and support
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39. Success depends on four factors
1. Do a Discovery Phase
2. Create a Team
3. Put the Right People in the Right Place
4. Execute
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40. Execute
JFDI
(Just Do it)
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41. Get these four right
… and the rest of the project is easy
(comparatively)
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42. Thank you
Any questions?
Robert M. Fein
Director of User Experience
EMC Consulting
robert.fein@emc.com
Twitter: GoodSenator
LinkedIn: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/rfein
And yes, we’re hiring
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