BUY THIS BOOK FROM BARNES AND NOBLE
Kelly,
Tom, & Littman Jonathan (2001). The art
of innovation. New York: Doubleday.
IDEO's
Methodology
1)
understand
 | the
market
|
| the
client
|
| the
technology
|
| the
perceived constraints
|
2) Observe
people in real-life situations
| what
they like
|
| what
they hate
|
| what
confuses them
|
| latent
unaddressed needs
|
3)
Visualize
| new-to-the-world
concepts
|
| customers
who will use them
|
4) Evaluate
and refine
| quick
prototyping
|
| input:
internal, client, potential users, relevant
outside experts
|
5)
Implement
OBSERVATION
| Not
focus groups, not traditional market research,
not "experts"----actual people who use
the product (or something similar).
|
| Inspiration
comes from being close to the action…new ideas
come from being there.
|
| "Being
left handed" means seeing things in a new
way, developing empathy for the needs for
customers who may be very different from you.
|
| Find
the rule breakers---people who are
"jerry-rigging" existing equipment to
improve its functionality.
|
| Keep
a "bug list"---things wrong with yours
or others' product.
|
| Look
for little innovations to existing products as
well as big ideas for new products.
|
| Think
of products in terms of verbs, not nouns (e.g.,
not cell "phones"---cell
"phoning"). Emphasize the active
use of the product rather than the static
product.
|
BRAINSTORMING
Tips
| Don't
make sessions longer than one hour.
|
| Don't
take turns speaking.
|
Seven
Secrets for Better Brainstorming
1) sharpen
the focus: start with a well-articulated definition of
the problem. Too fuzzy, and you flounder; too
narrow, and you miss opportunities.
2) Playful
rules: publish rules for the session
| Don't
critique or debate ideas
|
| Go
for quantity (shoot for 100 ideas an hour)
|
| Encourage
wild ideas
|
| Be
visual
|
3) Number
your ideas
4) Build
and jump: brainstorming typically builds slowly
(use "building" here), takes off, then
plateaus ("jump" to another topic as it
wanes).
5) The
space remembers: be visual and 3d. Cover the
room with paper before you being: e.g., butcher block
paper on the tables, sheets on walls, post-its, lots
of markers.
6) Stretch
your mental muscles: do some observation homework
before the brainstorming session.
7) Get
physical: don't just write, DRAW. Use sketching,
mind mapping, stick figures.
Six Ways
to Kill a Brainstorm
1) The boss
gets to speak first.
2)
Everybody speaks in turn.
3) Use
nothing but "experts"
4) Always
go off-site to brainstorm (Not that retreats aren't
nice, but you want your regular workplace to be a
creative place).
5) No silly
stuff.
6) Taking
notes (sure, everything gets written down, but
everyone ISN'T taking notes).
HOT
GROUPS
| dedicated
|
| tight
deadlines
|
| irreverent
|
| no
hierarchies
|
| well-rounded,
and respectful of that diversity
|
| open,
eclectic workspace
|
| connected
to the outside world
|
"You
find the fun and--snap!--the job's a game."
| If
possible, let people pick the groups they work
with. Occasionally, let them even pick
projects to work on.
|
| Adversity
can draw a team together.
|
| Teams
shouldn't be too geographically spread out.
Close quarters can energize a group and makes it
easy to hold quick spontaneous meetings.
|
| There's
an art to putting a team together--the right mix
of specialities, personalities.
|
Tip:
get rid of "they"---don't spy on your
employees email, don't tell them what to wear, etc.
That kind of stuff takes management from
"us" to "they".
Three
Questions
Three
questions every team member has for the leader:
- Do
you care about me?
- Can
I trust you?
- Are
you committed to the success of our team?
The best
team leaders answer these questions with actions
instead of words.
Abundance:
Strive to create an atmosphere of abundance. If
there are a lot of cool projects instead of one or
two, people are less likely to fight over them or
insist on credit.
Cool
teaching technique: Benjamin Zander,
conductor of the Boston Philharmonic, tells his
students on the first day of class that they all get
an "A"--provided they write a letter to him,
dated as if it was the last day of class, explaining
why they deserved the grade. Then they actually
have to accomplish all those things.
Gifts
and Awards
Give lots
of gifts and awards, but not routinely (except for
end-of-project awards). Create cool gifts for
surprises, and involve as many people as possible.
Create cool team and project t-shirts, too.
Playing
Hooky
Sometimes,
let people play hooky:
| Take
the afternoon off together and do something fun.
|
| Take
work-related field trips together.
|
| Encourage
unplanned breaks during the day.
|
Misc
| Once
a year, throw a big bash---the point isn't
simply how much money you can spend as much as
what kind of experience you can create.
|
| Launch
a clubhouse: a weekly or monthly meeting
that functions similar to a writer's group where
people share what they're doing or what they've
discovered. Even better, cater lunch!
|
| What
makes team meetings work? Enthusiasm,
show-and-tell, humor, and irreverence.
|
| Create
a team icon.
|
Characters
Hot teams
need characters. Even a couple of certifiable
weirdos.
8 types of
Characters
1)
Visionary: to see into the future
2)
Troubleshooter: chief fix-it person
3)
Iconoclast: someone to challenge the status quo
4) Pulse
Taker: the heart to counterbalance the head
5)
Craftsman: a shop wizard
6)
Technologist: a resident geek
7)
Entrepreneur: keep spin-offs within the fold instead
of losing them
8)
Cross-Dresser: self-educated (though he/she may have
been educated in a different field), but loves the
area.
| PROTOTYPING
Prototype. Do it NOW. The water is
rising, and if you don't act soon your project
will be under water. Besides, once you
start drawing things, you open up new
possibilities of discovery. Doodle, draw,
sketch, build--especially when you're facing
"writer's block".
|
| Be
iterative (i.e., make several prototypes):
rough sketch, cheap model, etc. and use them to
keep everyone informed of what you're doing.
|
OFFICES
| There's
a connection between space and innovation.
|
| Creating
the right workspace may be nearly as important
as hiring the right people. The best
offices celebrate teamwork.
|
| Create
neighborhoods---spaces that draw workers in and
encourage interaction (e.g., a big table acts as
a "park" for every 3-4 persons.
|
| Give
everyone a say. Team heads design the
overall look of their space but let each team
member mold their space as they see fit (and
encourage playfulness).
|
| Use
building blocks (e.g., IDEO's foam cubes).
|
| Consider
"prototype" (temporary) spaces, too,
for the duration of a project.
|
| Density
yields buzz. Too little space and people
feel like sardines, but too much space is bad,
too.
|
| Hierarchy
is the enemy of cool space. Don't reward
superiors with superior space.
|
| Give
workers a view.
|
| Make
your entrances "storytelling
entrances".
|
| Keep
a "magic box" full of odd cool stuff
and gadgets.
|
EXPECT
THE UNEXPECTED
Velcro,
saccharine, ivory soap---all were invented
serendipitously.
Seven
Tips for Cross-Pollination
1)
subscribe and surf: "idea wade" (browse)
lots of media
2) play
director: watch people like a film director composing
a movie.
3) hold an
open house to spread your best practices
4) inspire
advocates: cultivate individuals who celebrate
different viewpoints.
5) hire
outsiders: hire occasional fresh blood, and get people
that are slightly off center.
6) change
hats: impersonate your products' users.
7)
cross-train: pick up ideas from other businesses.
BARRIERS
& BRIDGES
NO
YES
hierarchy-based
merit-based
bureaucracy
autonomy
anonymous
familiar
clean
messy
experts
tinkerers
CREATING
EXPERIENCES
| Think
verbs, not nouns. You don't just
create a product, you create the experience
of using that product.
|
| Divide
the experience into small steps and consider
what could go wrong with the experience at each
step. Then consider how the experience
could be improved at each step.
|
| Make
experiences entertaining (learn from Las Vegas).
Add a little spice to the experience (e.g.,
buying fish at Pike's Market in Seattle).
|
| Tell
a personal story about your products (e.g.,
Restoration hardware).
|
| Look
at Apple Computer's "out of the box"
experience.
|
| Study
badly designed experiences to learn what NOT to
do.
|
| Little
experiences count. Instead of ugly
temporary paper badges, IDEO visitors get a
snazzy laminated badge with their picture as a
keepsake.
|
COLORING
OUTSIDE THE LINES
| Make
joyful failures. Many companies (e.g.,
Charles Schwab's online brokerage) fail a lot
before succeeding. But design so that
failures are less burdensome (e.g., Klutz
juggling bags make failure a lot easier than if
they'd used balls).
|
| Rules
sow the seeds of bureaucracy.
|
| Examples:
Shoebox greetings, Target, Swatch.
|
| Search
for the elegant simplicity of the "Wet
Nap" interface ("Tear open and
use") or the "low mass" solution
of the Frisbee (no moving parts, no
instructions, delivers fun with little
practice).
|
| Beware
"featureitis".
|
HOW TO
MAKE GREAT PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
1) Make a
great entrance: make the people who use your products
feel welcome
2) Make
metaphors or phrases to guide development
3) Think
briefcase: devices that cross over between work and
home.
4) Color
inspires
5)
Backstage Pass: let people know what's going on behind
the curtain (e.g., confirmation and status messages)
6) One
click is better than two: faster and simpler is
better.
7)
Goof-proof: failing that, provide "undo"
8) First,
do no harm: take the pain out of your goods and
services
9)
Checklist: compile a list of critical features and
compatibilities and make sure you have/meet them.
10) Great
Extras: great accessories can carry a product.
LIVE THE
FUTURE
| Browse
toy stores, bike shops, and other places to get
ideas.
|
| Go
where the action is.
|
| Cultivate
your sages.
|
| Make
"concept cars".
|
| Make
"movie trailers".
|
