Robert fein hcid2012_final

The problem is the
solution

© Copyright 2011 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. 1

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 Solution
Success depends on four factors:

1. Do a Discovery Phase

2. Create a Team

3. Put the Right People in the Right Place

4. Execute


But first, a Story*…

* NB: From my pre-EMC days

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, ba
kery, 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


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
Explicit Implicit
Gather a fundamental Creates a unified team
understanding of the with a common
problem understanding and a
– Its parameters client / sponsor
– the impact of the ecology champion
on the problem

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 What is the problem?
affected?
– External AND internal
Where does the
problems solution need
Why is this a problem?
to be used?

When does this problem
How are we solving
need to be solved?
(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)

YES NO



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 Experience
EMC Consulting
robert.fein@emc.com
Twitter: GoodSenator
LinkedIn: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/rfein

And yes, we’re hiring

Robert fein hcid2012_final

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