Month: June 2014

Disruptive innovation – the case to unite hardware and software again

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Google just had their conference and presented Material Design. It's a solid design approach and bumps-up their OS design game. However, after learning more about it, and thinking about Apple's approach to OS, I'm wondering if hardware and software are more united than we really thought.

What made the iPhone innovative is that it was a unique approach for combining a camera, email, book reader, text message reader, etc. into a phone, creating a mini computer. Rather than having a separate keyboard that takes up space, there was a flat screen, redefining how someone interacts and communicates with the device. The icons may change, the animations may change – but the core innovation was creating a new approach to interacting with a device using hardware and software to incorporate touch technology.

The Andriod OS was pretty much a copy of touch interaction – why Steve Jobs was so annoyed at Google. And Google was more open to installing this OS on other company's devices (also why Stevie was also upset at Samsung).

The Andriod OS is being perfected. Materials is beautiful and really brings a new game to devices. However, I wonder if the device OS trend is to just perfect what is available rather than to think about new ways humans can interact with devices.

What I often think about:

  • Better voice command tools . Why do we need to press a button for that to work? Why can't we call the device's name and just have it go? If this exists – let me know. It will help me be more hands-free while I drive.
  • Do we really need a keyboard? There weren't a lot of keyboards in Star Trek or Star Wars. Typing should be going away – especially if we have more voice command capabilities or gestures. Is a keyboard the way of the future?
  • Do we really need a mouse? Couldn't we draw with a stylus on the screen or point to what we want? This brings me to my next point…
  • When will laptop/desktop screens have touch capabilities? Or could we get the tablets powered up to get rid of the laptop/desktop and create a real notebook? HP and some other computers have this. It's great! 
  • Why do we keep relying on metaphors from daily life that require us to have a manual to operate? If we are truly evolving usability, shouldn't we rethink how we use our devices? Maybe a knob isn't the right way to operate a stove. Maybe a lever isn't the right way to flush a toilet – there are button mechanisms in place now, which is more intuitive. Just something to think about.
  • Why are technology implants considered an option at all? Do we really need technology in our bodies to get results? Isn't the brain a master biological computer? 

How we get there is to allow users, designers, technologists and researchers the ability to collaborate to create a product. Users are quickly getting to know what they want in a mobile product. They use them more than we think – and they have very clear thoughts about how we sometimes over-complicate a simple device. For example, some think that a phone should be more of a phone while some people (like me) can see the need for a phone on a tablet (video conferencing ability). If there is more dialog between everyone, we will create more interesting devices and interactions.

And this brings me back to combining software and hardware to create better experiences with devices. Now that we are perfecting what we have, maybe it is time for a disruption to appear that will make us rethink technology and what it can do in our lives.

Disruptive innovation – the case to unite hardware and software again

Everything is always under construction. But does that mean we are always inconvenienced?

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Right now, I am sitting in my loft apartment, trying to work. I write "trying" because on the roof above me is a jack hammer (and operator) removing the roof. I'm excited that the building I live in is going to get a 14,000 sq ft roof deck that I will definitely be using next year; however, I'm not happy about this noise or how I can't use the rooftop pool. My tan is seriously fading.

But I doubt you really care about this faded tan…so what's my point?

Under construction = inconvenience

And inconvenience can vary.

However, when you think about it, everything in life is under-construction and nothing is "final." Roads are always being repaired. People are always doing home improvements – or self-improvements, practicing more patience, understanding, or acceptance.

Even Web sites, apps and customer experiences are always under construction.

Talk to anyone working at some dot-com, app or in a corporate Web team and they are always working on the next release. No one can see the "construction" (development) team, but back at their offices on a staging environment, there are a number of updates and enhancements being tested by team members, busy making sure things work.  

Or else, people are launching new features as a "test." There may be 2, 3 or more versions of a page or workflow out there that users are actively using to give active feedback. Version testing can make users comparing their experience go mad – how can a site have 2 looks? But it is a great way to see which approach is best for an audience.

It's under construction. Workflow. Page design. Color palette. Word choices.

Call centers are also always under construction. Someone may redo the IVR to optimize call routing, or a script may get updated to resolve caller issues faster. New processes are always being tweaked and adjusted based on metrics and performance. 

But should under construction mean inconvenience if everything is always changing? Shouldn't we expect a good experience – or at least a notification of the inconvenience – so it can be avoided? Imagine if Web changes were happening on the fly, all the time, all day long. And I'm not talking about refreshed news articles – how about navigation updates by the second? Or let's say a purchase flow on an e-commerce site that breaks when you purchase because they keep fiddling with it?

We are inconvenienced with construction updates because that is "expected." It's ok to have weird, ill-labelled detours. It's ok for dirt and dusty to fly around. It's ok for these equipment items to be noisy. What if we were in a world where construction was quiet and it didn't make noise? What if a building went up quietly without a lot of fuss? Just something to think about…

What if we didn't expect anything under construction to be an inconvenience anymore?

What are your thoughts?

 

 

Everything is always under construction. But does that mean we are always inconvenienced?

Browser compatibility – a new old problem that’s really about honesty

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I was really excited to go check out this new Web app. I heard all sorts of great things about it. So I opened Safari on my trusty Mac, entered the URL and viola! I got to the site. I created an account – easy peasy. Got to the app – and I could do nothing! Absolutely nothing. Nothing worked.

I opened Chrome – same problem. I called the number on the site and they told me, "Oh yes, we support IE on PCs only."

I have only 2 responses to this:

  1. Seriously?
  2. Why didn't you just tell me that in the first place? 

Today, there are a number of ways someone can use an app – Web or mobile (and for mobile there is phone and tablet). This is good and bad.

  • Good because there is always a way for you to use an app, anywhere on any device
  • Bad because there needs to be at least 3-4 versions of an app available for users that developers need to build and maintain

Even though users today are pretty savvy, demanding and can easily figure out how to use Web and device apps, they can be understanding if you tell them why something may not work. 

Back in the day, if someone was using an archaic browser, a message would appear to tell the user to upgrade and which current browser versions were supported. Sure, that's not ideal. But in some ways, the site was doing a service for the users.

If you are 4 browser versions behind and you don't know – someone should tell you. Almost like how someone should tell you if your deodorant let out or you have lettuce between your teeth.

Now if an app is in Beta and there is only an iPhone (or Andriod) version available, the company lets you know. And if you are lucky, they tell you when Android (of iPhone) will be available. If they are smart, they use it as an opportunity to build their mailing list – collect email addresses of interested people and let them know when it's available. And let them know when other updates are available as well.

So what is up with this "trend" that Web apps not supported by all major browsers don't notify users when their browser/platform isn't supported?  

Users understand what Beta versions are. Users understand that you may have a new product that isn't available everywhere. Why hide that? Why let them go to your site, create an account and get into an app that they can't use – or better yet, can't understand why they can't use it? If you want to talk about lousy user or customer experiences – there you go!

Sure, everything should be supported, but not every company has the time, resources or staff to do that. So what's the next best option?

It's time to get back to honesty. It's time to look at the commonly used Web browsers and devices and let users know if the experience on that device/browser/app combination will be good, bad or better somewhere else. There's no reason to be ashamed. Sure, there may be missing versions or unsupported browsers; but if you are creating an app for businesses (mostly PCs using Internet Explorer) and the app isn't great to use on Safari, it's ok to tell users that if they come to your site using Safari. Or if your app doesn't offer a great experience for mobile devices – let users know that and offer a link to the App Store (Yelp and LinkedIn do that – and although it can be a little annoying, it reminds me that there are better ways to use their apps than Web). Provide users with alternatives to get the best experience.

And these alternatives don't need to be a screen that takes over the page as a modal, pop-up, or even as a separate page. Code exists to identify the browser/device being used – so that makes all of this fairly straightforward to do. The challenge is figuring out how to handle the compatibility challenge.

Here are some ideas:

  • A simple message at the top of the screen – a module similar to an error message or other notification.
  • A module above the browser that offers the app option (similar to what iPhone offers)
  • A form to sign-up to be notified when the version you need is available.
  • A form to sign-up for an invitation when a "Beta" version is available.
  • A link to get the most current browser, app, etc.

I love signing up for an invite – it makes me as a user feel special and it is the best opportunity for a company to capture new users! Win-win for all!

In this crazy world of change, users are sympathetic when you don't support every browser/device combination under the sun. Just be honest about it so you don't waste their time. And don't forget to use that moment as a business opportunity!

 

Browser compatibility – a new old problem that’s really about honesty