“So while [techies] trump up our skills at designing “easy to use” interfaces for our applications, millions of people are still trying to figure out how to get our beautifully designed application out of its zip file or disk image. Or where in fact the Downloads folder is. Or what, exactly, a folder is. [...] I’ve watched firsthand as people who’ve struggled to do basic computer tasks as long as I’ve known them pick up an iPhone and be cruising around within hours, if not minutes. For people who do not already thoroughly understand computers, New World devices are easier to understand and easier to use.”
Posts Tagged: innovation
4
Feb 10
Techies don’t understand the iPad
10
Dec 09
Innovations in Video
1) RSSHandler.com. Just discovered this site that let’s you subscribe to YouTube chanels and auto-download them like a podcast to your iPod. I’m not sure why YouTube doesn’t provide this directly – they should. A couple good channels to start with: Muppets Studio or PBS NewsHour.
2) iCam’s latest update now lets you record video on motion and view it remotely on your iPhone. I hear it works through most firewalls that would otherwise block the video (nice!).
3) My favorite innovation in video, however, is USTREAM. They now have a free Apple-approved iPhone app that let’s you broadcast video from anywhere. This is truly amazing and will enable all sorts of citizen journalism. Can’t wait to see how this one unfolds.
29
Nov 09
Make More Mistakes
Pillar on Are You Building a Learning Suppression System?:
“You can’t learn anything from doing something right. If you did it right, you merely confirmed that what you already knew or believed was correct. Nothing learned. But if you make a mistake, you can identify it and correct it.”
And then identifies to types of mistakes: commission (doing what you shouldn’t have) and omission (not doing what you should have).
“Errors of omission signify a lack of innovation in your team. Maybe someone thought of a better way but was afraid to say anything. Or maybe nobody even thought about it.”
23
Nov 09
Stop using the word: innovation
Scott Berkun in the SpoolCast: Innovation Beyond the Buzzword talks about how to approach innovation in a methodical way.
He says the first step, is to stop using the word, and instead use a phrase that better represents what you mean. He typically finds that people mean one of these three when talking about “innovation”:
- Having new ideas
- Taking more risks
- Making things radically better
Other advise: “[Scott] tells us you have to be opportunistic and start small. High-priority challenges may be a temping place to start, but he suggested looking first at low-hanging fruit. You can build momentum for positive change by racking up a number of small wins that together move the project in the right direction. Having these small successes under your belt gives you more influence when attempting larger changes later on.”
7
Nov 09
Visual Management
Visual Management is one of those things that feels obvious, but isn’t. The idea is that you manage projects, tasks, and other bits of work-in-progress using something visual (ie, not digital). It’s a chart on the wall that everyone can see, that everyone can modify, and is updated regularly.
There was a workshop specifically for Visual Management at Agile 2009 and a subsequent write-up on the presenter’s Visual Management Blog. But don’t be fooled – while this may be gaining traction in more technical areas, this will work for anyone’s project. There are lots of great pictures of examples and is worth your time to browse the pictures even if you don’t read the whole post. I’d suggest starting here.
I’m amazed at how well a non-technical solution can communicate to everyone on (or off) the team.
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