Contextual innovation and usability
I recently suggested that focusing too much on user data and habits could make for usability at the expense of innovation. As if in answer to that charge, an HFI webcast just a couple of days later introduced me to the concept of "contextual innovation". First, HFI's own description:Contextual Innovation is a systematic process of inquiry to gain practical knowledge about your target markets. This provides a structured framework for brainstorming sessions in order to develop novel, useful, and effective products and services. This new methodology positions all aspects of design - including R&D - within the social and cultural context of a product's target consumers.In other words, let your users drive the entire process of product development, not just as after-the-fact focus groups, but by understanding every product within the context of peoples' goals and intentions. Granted, this is a bit different than standard usability, but it's a natural extension of moving usability considerations further up the product development chain.
Being an afterthought has always been usability's biggest challenge. More and more, we're winning the battle of getting people to see that user considerations need to occur early in the design and development process. The idea, though, that the user should be put at the very front of the process is not only pretty revolutionary, but could lead to an entirely different type of R&D.
Peter
· Wednesday, April 11Dr Pete, I was eagerly awaiting your weekly RSS Experiment installment about Google Homepate, but alas! Have you forgotten to write?
Dr. Pete
· Wednesday, April 11Sorry, Peter; with the holiday weekend, I figured Friday might be pretty dead, so I postponed it a week. I guess it would've helped if I had mentioned that on the blog, but I didn't realize it was being eagerly awaited. I promise to get you my review of Google Homepage, and I have at least four others in the pipe after that.
Greg Scowen
· Friday, April 13Ah yes... putting the user at the very front of the development process.
Sounds a lot like the concept that we used to have in retail, where you put the customer first? That wasn't revolutionary, that was logic. You want to sell something, then you have to put the customer first, without them you sell nothing.
So is it truly revolutionary to put the user first? It certainly shouldn't be. I have been fighting for this for years.
Just like retail customers; If you don't have users... you don't have a system (or don't need one).
Dr. Pete
· Saturday, April 14True, Greg; putting the user first shouldn't be revolutionary, but it still is to too many people. I'm not sure I explained it well, but I do think HFI is getting at something unique. This idea of contextual innovation isn't just about considering users early in the product development, but about actually letting them drive which products get developed in the first place. Essentially, it's user-driven innovation.
Greg Scowen
· Saturday, April 14I find the idea very interesting. I will be watching carefully to see how this progresses.
I read somewhere else recently about the possibility of something similar happening in retail as well. The concept was one where instead of the customer going around trying to find the best price, the customer would actually put out an advert (almost) saying they want to buy a Large Blue Chair. Then, all of the Large Blue Chair suppliers would put in tender for his custom. Another interesting concept... again, driven by the user.