Just as Microsoft seems at last to be struggling out from under the weight of it’s own mediocrity, and is finally, albeit under palpable threats to it’s survival, starting to put usability and desirability at the forefront, Google appears, in turn, to be reaching that tottering, preponderant level of product-portfolio obesity where corporate arrogance begins to seriously outweigh business sense. (more…)
Archive for the ‘Business’ Category
Is Google the new Microsoft?
Wednesday, February 17th, 2010“In The Bubble: Designing in a Complex World” by John Thackara
Tuesday, January 5th, 2010
Happy New Year!
We took a couple of week’s holiday over the new year, and I finally had the time to sit down with John Thackara’s profound, although somewhat disturbing, book “Designing in a Complex World” and give it the attention it deserves (much to the consternation of my 2-year old daughter, Rosie).
Thackara, design guru and consultant extraordinaire, runs the “Doors of Perception” series of conferences (and blog, linked to by this site) amongst a great many other things. His range of experience is incredibly broad, and this is reflected in the book, which explores topics including (but not limited to) manufacturing, architecture and social media, but nevertheless carries with it a couple of predominant themes – that of ‘human-centeredness’, and that of ‘lightness’. (more…)
Interaction design could (should?) rule the future of news.
Tuesday, December 8th, 2009
Although I continue to subscribe to The Economist, it’s an exception that essentially lives in the bathroom; in general I read all my news online. If The Economist online service was a little less awful, and there was a convenient handheld reader with a large, color screen, I would certainly switch to that. (more…)
Product management as rule of law
Monday, October 19th, 2009
Implementing product management methodology within a product team doesn’t always bring about product success. This can be due to a variety of external factors, but I believe it is more usually due to a lack of understanding of what product management actually is than it is any failure of the methodology itself.
Sure, the guys over at Pragmatic Marketing have been doing their bit to help clear up the mystery over the years, but, ultimately, they are just telling you what to do – they’re not there to help you do it successfully. (more…)
Agile may not be what you think it is.
Tuesday, July 14th, 2009
For several months, I have been planning an article on Agile methods. I was going to talk about the importance of design, or even Design, to the product process, and how, in my professional experience, many Agile teams are making at least as much of a hash of their products as the Waterfall victims that preceded them.
I was going to make the point that, while iteration is immensely useful, there’s no point iterating until you know what your objectives are. (more…)
Will there ever be a 3D asset interchange standard?
Friday, July 3rd, 2009[The following is slightly edited and reproduced from a post I made to a 3D discussion forum on Wednesday 1st. I think it may be of interest to readers]
Regarding open 3D asset file format standards standards, major CG tools vendors tend to have little interest in 3D asset interchange – it’s hard to make any money out of them per se, and it makes it way too easy for competitors and new market entrants to get in on the game. The major vendors would like nothing more than to lock you in whenever they can, or try to force you to use proprietary file SDKs/APIs (typically with restrictive licensing agreements) when they can’t. (more…)
The Design Vacuum in Software Development, Part 1
Monday, June 29th, 2009A personal soap-box issue which my colleagues and friends are certainly tired of me ranting about is what I call the ‘design vacuum’ present in many, if not most, software vendor’s product teams. So I figure it’s high time to rant about it here!
Traditionally, the majority of software companies have been culturally engineering-centric, by which I mean that for the vast majority of software developers there is no tradition of Design as a distinct discipline on a par with Development. This is in stark contrast to virtually every other product-oriented business in existence – CPG, automotive, white goods, consumer electronics and entertainment media nowadays all place at least as much emphasis on design as on engineering, more often than not with dedicated design departments at least as large as their engineering colleagues. (more…)
Excellence Is The Best Policy [Picture Imperfect]
Thursday, June 18th, 2009There’s an interesting post over on Picture Imperfect here that gets into how product companies can no longer scam customers as easily thanks to the power of social media, and the conversations that allow people to share their experiences more quickly than companies can pull the wool over their eyes.
Alain seems to be into the idea that only really excellent products (and their vendors) will endure, and that companies need to listen to creat those great products. There’s some truth in that idea, but … it feels a little utopian. I think weight must also be given to companies’ increasing ability to manipulate; better packaging, sohpistication, pricing models, channel lock-ins, and so on. I think it’s still an arms race with no one side (vendors vs. consumers) ever getting the upper hand for long.
“Differentiate or Die” (Trout 2008)
Tuesday, June 9th, 2009
This much revised new edition (the original was first published in 2000) features a horough discussion of the importance of deep customer and contextual understanding to creating successful, differentiated products.
Purchase it online here.
“Dealing with Darwin” (Moore 2005)
Tuesday, June 9th, 2009
Process guidance for technology companies that acknowledges the dynamic nature of the business and product environment, emphasizing importance of process improvement and evolution.
Pick up a copy here.