HCID 2012 - Robert Fein

1© Copyright 2011 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved.

The problem is the solution


EMC 6th largest information technology company

in world– From consulting through information

management and storage– Leaders in Cloud Computing


Some Projects


EMC Consulting User experience is central to its offering

I’ve been the Director of UX there for 3 days


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


Some ground rules Discussions are more

fun than talks

Ask questions

Volunteer information


The Problem is the SolutionSuccess depends on four factors:

1. Do a Discovery Phase

2. Create a Team

3. Put the Right People in the Right Place

4. Execute


* NB: From my pre-EMC days

But first, a Story*…


The brief

Create a fully faceted taxonomy for 32K SKUs

And, oh yeah, solve the cod problem


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 …


and…


“It turns out that you need to select cupboard, food, bakery, then bread is listed. A lot of clicks to find a basic item.”


What Happened?!?

We were working on the wrong problem


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




2. Create a Team


4. Execute




2. Create a Team


4. Execute


Discovery Phase

"Question everything generally thought to be obvious.”

--Dieter Rams


Why?

"The Blind Men and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe (1816–1887)


Goal

Gather a fundamental understanding of the problem

– Its parameters– the impact of the ecology

on the problem

Creates a unified team with a common understanding and a client / sponsor champion

Explicit Implicit

The Brief!


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– …


Answer the five Ws (and an H) Who is / will be

affected?– External AND internal

Why is this a problem?

When does this problem need to be solved?

What is the problem?

Where does the problems solution need to be used?

How are we solving (framing) this problem?




2. Create a Team


4. Execute


Create a Team

"The whole is greater than the sum of the parts.”

--Kurt Koffka


Why?


Goal To forge an effective project team


Elements of a great team Communicate clearly

Manage expectations

Generate trust

Build chemistry


Communicate clearly


Manage expectations


Generate trust


Have chemistry (or Èlan)

NOYES




2. Create a Team


4. Execute


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


Why?


Goal On each part of the problem, the people who

will be most effective

Most effective ≠ best


Three simple heuristics

1. Put yourself out of a job

2. Your team owns it, not you

3. Delegate and support


Put your self out of a job


Your team owns it, not you


Delegate and support


Success depends on four factors


2. Create a Team


4.Execute


Execute

JFDI

(Just Do it)


Get these four right

… and the rest of the project is easy

(comparatively)


Thank you

Any questions?

Robert M. Fein Director of User ExperienceEMC [email protected]: GoodSenatorLinkedIn: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/rfein

And yes, we’re hiring

mailto:[email protected]

http://uk.linkedin.com/in/rfein