Steve Baty is a UX strategist and principal of Meld. He discusses using design and strategy to solve business problems. He talks about applying concepts from science like conducting experiments and systems thinking to management. Baty advocates exploring novel ideas and alternatives rather than reinforcing the status quo. He cites examples like the Toyota Production System that changed manufacturing through a company-wide design philosophy.
3. A bit about me...
Solving problems for businessʼ
IxDA, IAI, and UX Book Club
johnnyholland.org, UXMatters.com
meld.com.au/blog
UX Australia, 25-27 August, Canberra
SCAD - March, 2009
24. Science in Business
“.. . m anage r s ca n n o w b a s e con s eq u e n tia l d e cisio n s
on s c ient if ic al l y va l i d e x p e ri m en ts . ” - HBR, Feb, 2009
SCAD - March, 2009
26. #16: Management systems must give
more power to employees whose
emotional equity is invested in the
future rather than the past
#25: Managersʼ deductive and
analytical skills must be
complemented by conceptual and
systems-thinking skills
#11: Existing management systems
often mindlessly reinforce the status
quo. In the future, they must facilitate
innovation & change.
SCAD - March, 2009
29. Karl Ulrich
“Good designers relentlessly generate lots of ideas
and open-mindedly consider alternative solutions. At
no time are good designers frightened to entertain a
crazy, competing, or uncomfortable idea.”
SCAD - March, 2009
34. Dave Butler,
VP Design
“The strategy circles around three areas: brand identity, user
experience and sustainability.”
SCAD - March, 2009
35. 'How can we make the can feel colder,
longer?'
Or, 'How can we make the cup easier to
hold?'
SCAD - March, 2009
36. “When youʼre talking about the impact of design... itʼs really about
helping this organization see differently, think differently and
leverage design as an integration or synthesis capability...”
SCAD - March, 2009
Thank you to the Industrial Design Department: Dave Malouf (prof. Interaction Design), Tom Gattis (the Dept. Chair) and Victor Ermoli (the Dean of the School of Design)
Alec Issigonis started designing the Mini in 1957. The original Mini was given a make-over by racing enthusiast and engineer John Cooper, giving us the Mini Cooper and Mini Cooper S - one of the most fun cars to drive. Ever.
http://www.supercars.net
Mini Cooper S - 1964 Monte Carlo Rally
New Mini released in 2003.
Photo: Chasing Photography.
The new dashboard design places the speedometer - large and center - so that it is visible to all passengers as well as the driver. In this way the design helps to reinforce the sense of fun of driving the car, and shares it around.
The location of the ignition key in the centre, seat-side console is distinctive and consistent to the brand. For non-Saab drivers - and new Saab owners, this drives them crazy! After a while (a few months) they start to get used to the idea and a steering column-mounted key slot feels odd and discordant. The novelty of this design reinforces a culture of “Saab owner” and generates brand equity in the driver.
It took the iPod 3 years to become an overnight success. It was only with the release of the iTunes Store and the Windows version of iTunes that the iPod became a success.
also: Wii + Wii Fit + games; XBox 360 + Windows Live
Thomas Kuhn was a student of the history of science. He is most famous for his ideas surrounding the major innovations in scientific thought - paradigm shifts. Here we will use his commentary on the linear progression of science and scientific research, following the scientific method and building up knowledge one solid step after another. However, this method does not deliver the really ground-breaking discover or change in thinking.
Generally, experimental science, particularly within universities, encourages researchers to take on only those problems they can expect - in advance - to be able to solve.
Scientists generally adopt a single theory to explain what they see in the observation stage of their work. When new evidence discovered it is interpreted in support of their own theory, and to discredit opposing theories. - “Your child is ugly.”
An artist’s rendition of Homo Floresiensis
Discovery in 2003 of a skeleton dating back 18,000 years. Subsequent finds of partial remains of a further 8 skeletons dating back to 12,000 years.
- competing theories of human evolution; large emotional & intellectual investment in each
- new evidence is interpreted in the theoretical framework of each. Disputes arise over interpretation.
94% of all the matter in the universe is made up of ‘dark matter’. We can’t see it, interact with it, or influence it. But it explains why the orbital velocities of stars distant to the galaxial hub don’t match the accepted, Newtonian version of gravitational law.
Harvard Business Review, Feb, 2009. pg 70 Vol. 87, Number 2.
Harvard Business Review, Feb, 2009. pg 91 Vol. 87, Number 2.
Harvard Business Review, Feb, 2009. pg 91 Vol. 87, Number 2.
From Bill Buxton’s “Sketching User Experiences”
- explore possibilities; test assumptions; observe people and the context of use; observe the world around you.
“Design is about exploring and comparing the relative merits of alternatives. There is not just one path, and at any given time and for any given question, there may be numerous different alternatives being considered...”
Minimize waste (muda); do not overburden people or equipment (muri); and remove peaks and troughs in production (mura).
In 1950, fighting to get back on their feet after World War II, and in awe of the US manufacturing sector’s ability to retool and produce 10,000’s of fighter planes in the period 1942-1944, Toyota sent a delegation to Detroit to look at the manufacturing processes in use by the big US car manufacturers. They were impressed with the way Detroit’s Big 3 had been able to increase productivity. In 1941, 55,000 individual work hours were needed to turn out a B-17. By 1944, this had dropped to 19,000 hours.
But their tour was disappointing. They observed a great deal of waste, inefficiency, and a range of what they thought of as bad practice. That changed with a visit to a Piggly Wiggly convenience store, where a drinks dispenser sparked an idea that spawned a philosophy that changed manufacturing the world over.
Just-in-time manufacturing; idiot-proof systems design; company-wide quality control; pull inventory systems are all the result of Toyota’s philosophy. This highlights the power of observation in design research; and that inspiration can come from highly unlikely places.
Minimize waste (muda); do not overburden people or equipment (muri); and remove peaks and troughs in production (mura).