Not so long ago, several executives were embarking on a trip. They were mostly consists of twenty-something to thirty-something with upper-level income in the society. The trip would allow them to visit several companies at a destination – one, that would enable them to foresee tomorrow while the other, would enable them to see what is way beyond.
During the course of the tours, they made one stop at Microsoft’s home of the future and the other at Deutsche Telekom’s Fortune Center. They were given the chance to hear well rehearsed and research descriptions of an engineering marvel that would transform the world. In the lab, they were able to see not clunky prototypes scattered around. They were interacting with products and form factors that looked ready to be ship and invade the world.
As one of the travelers documented, he never saw any experimentation on the tour. No one from the host companies took notes of their reactions. In each instance, the group’s feedback was never taken into consideration. The truth of the matter, is that the host companies should realized that these group of people made up a least a portion of the key target demographics of the product displayed.
Moreover, no one word of their comments was recorded for future design improvements. There was no debriefing after the tour to capture ideas and reactions but just a polite thank you.
Today, the flaw of this strategy has been exposed. It’s no longer working. The technology business has migrated into becoming a system that would enable people to see products not just for what they are, but also for what they can become, and then help to make their vision a functioning reality.
This means one thing, that the relationship between the consumer and producer has again been redefined. In this dynamic system, customer is also the co-designer and business partner, experimentation in the IT sector is needed. It is not just about displaying the product but also about demonstrating a willingness to experiment in the first place and eventually providing a vehicle for value proposition.
For short, we want detailed documentations for the interactions between the producers and users of the product. And that is integral for a success of a product.