robert fein hcid2012_final

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The problem is the solution

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EMC 6th largest information technology company

in world– From consulting through information

management and storage– Leaders in Cloud Computing

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Some Projects

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EMC Consulting User experience is central to its offering

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

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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

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Some ground rules Discussions are more

fun than talks

Ask questions

Volunteer information

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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

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* NB: From my pre-EMC days

But first, a Story*…

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The brief

Create a fully faceted taxonomy for 32K SKUs

And, oh yeah, solve the cod problem

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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 …

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and…

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

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What Happened?!?

We were working on the wrong problem

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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

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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

16© Copyright 2011 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved.

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

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Discovery Phase

"Question everything generally thought to be obvious.”

--Dieter Rams

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Why?

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

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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!

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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– …

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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?

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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

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Create a Team

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

--Kurt Koffka

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Why?

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Goal To forge an effective project team

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Elements of a great team Communicate clearly

Manage expectations

Generate trust

Build chemistry

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Communicate clearly

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Manage expectations

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Generate trust

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Have chemistry (or Èlan)

NOYES

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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

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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

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Why?

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Goal On each part of the problem, the people who

will be most effective

Most effective ≠ best

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Three simple heuristics

1. Put yourself out of a job

2. Your team owns it, not you

3. Delegate and support 

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Put your self out of a job

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Your team owns it, not you

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Delegate and support 

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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

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Execute

JFDI

(Just Do it)

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Get these four right

… and the rest of the project is easy

(comparatively)

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Thank you

Any questions?

Robert M. Fein Director of User ExperienceEMC Consultingrobert.fein@emc.comTwitter: GoodSenatorLinkedIn: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/rfein

And yes, we’re hiring