Category: Lessons

Lesson: Features – Used, Unused, Forgotten and (worse!) Avoided

Have you heard anyone tell you that they use less than x% of the features in [your software here]? x is usually somewhere in the range of 10 to 50.

Part of the reason may be that the need is limited [and therefore, there is a poor fit of the software to the need], or there may be several other reasons related to the usability design of the software. I imagine not many people recall how well MacWrite (or even WordStar) met our word processing needs. Most software today is bloated with features and impossible to master. And even with all the revisions, the structure and utility of some documents from the paper & pencil days are still not easily reproducible on a computer. There are some features we know are unused, there are some that we learned but never stayed in our workflow and we have forgotten, and there are those that we avoid (but tolerate their existence) because there is distrust or incompatibility.

Thus, we could have an exercise focused on “simplicity in design” where we list all the features and cut the ones in the lower priority half of the list – then see what we have left. Would we have something that more people would prefer? Would we gain a competitive edge? Would we get greater user satisfaction? Could we get greater product quality by having less buggy features? Would the persuasive message be simpler? Would be have to spend less on product development?

Brainstorming Aid: Using Hints

At the very least, a hint (or a “seed” might also be an appropriate term) is a useful way of providing a context from which to generate discussion and ideas. The use of hints could also be expanded to integrate multiple facets into a brainstorming exercise. The hint might be incidental (contact in an unintended manner) or purposeful (part of an agenda).

The Incidental Hint: this is more likely the case for teaching moments where spontaneous and freeform brainstorming is desired, and there is freedom to explore. We might just gather a group together, state an unexpected topic (and objective) and let everyone interact. An incidental hint, for example, might come from listening to the radio or reading a magazine.

The Purposeful Hint: in a research or business setting, there is probably a framework from which one would select a hint. For example, in order for a company to design a new product, it would be useful to know what current technologies are available (mobile devices, eg), or what the customers are asking for (pharmaceuticals, eg).

The hint contributes greater definition to an idea and is tied to a scope. A series of concurrently developed products with similar hints might constitute a product family.

Thoughts: Questions About Change

Sometimes, the best point from which to start brainstorming is with a question (other times, it might be with a problem definition). The question could be self-directed such as…

If I could change one thing at [work, home, school], it would be… Then we would probably want to add “…because…” just so we understand the motivation.

We could also make this question a little more sophisticated (maybe follow our innovation theme) and ask…

I could make [this, that] significantly better by…

The issue with self-directed questions is that they may hinge on one’s focus on personal limitations. It would be an interesting comparative exercise perhaps to also ask the question…

They could have done [this, that] better if…

Perhaps we could roll this into a quick creative exercise where one gets to critique someone else’s work as well as their own.

Here’s an idea: create a new label for a drink (I’m drinking a Tejava at the moment). OK, let’s expand on this idea. We could have a selection of beverages and each team could select one. The team would taste the beverage themselves, then brainstorm and design a new label, attaching it to the bottle. Another team, acting as a focus group would taste the beverage with the new label on it then comment on how well the new label works.

After such an exercise, we should discuss how such an understanding of labeling could be applied to a sustainability-themed product.

This might seem like a marketing exercise, but it really is about persuasion (psychology) – and psychology is really the most applicable tool in advancing sustainability (or most issues for that matter). Sometimes, sustainability isn’t a large enough issue to persuasively alter behavior (on a dominant scale) so it might have to be associated with something else (money, prestige, health, eg).

Lesson: What they need is…

After another KFC mix-up today (always confusing original with extra crispy and now grilled!), I was starting a sentence with “What they need is…” Variations on this include…

– What they should do is…

– They should have…

– Why didn’t they…? or even

– There ought to be a law to…

These are all the start to instant brainstorming. Of course, this is usually in response to some instigating event.

If we focus on schools, we could look for areas for improvement.

Lesson: Building a Recycle, Reuse and Reduce Program

One of the topics discussed when I was working on a Fundraising project with NTU was how to get people to care about environmental issues such as Recycle, Reuse, Reduce, especially starting in schools and having it permeate to parents and families. Whereas “convenience” has proven to be the most compelling feature in the US (although some who want to make it a penalty-based campaign just don’t get it), we could brainstorm what it would take to successfully launch such a program in the student’s own “backyard” (probably school). Here are the main elements:

(1) Financial support. Such a campaign will have expenses. Can one get a grant for such a project, or should starting funds be raised personally by donations or borrowing? Can the program eventually become self-supporting?

(2) Expectations. What do you hope to accomplish? Can you justify the effort by the results?

(3) Opportunity. Is this timely? Can you engage the target audience? What is the CREATIVE element you would incorporate?

(4) Problem-Solution Pairing. Can you clearly and persuasively explain the framework of this project in terms of an “attention-grabbing” problem and a competitively advantageous solution?

(5) Can you list the tasks/action items involved in accomplishing the project goals? How will you get from point A to point B? Who are the stakeholders? Who will be actively involved? Who will be passively involved?

(6) What are the project risks? What will you have learned if the project fails? Will you still emerge as a leader?

(7) Materials. Create a materials list. Add alternative materials and justify the selection of the primary materials.

(8) Content. What are the main ideas? How are the main ideas connected? How are the main ideas supported? What is the single most critical take home message? How innovative is this?

(9) Delivery. How will your platform be deployed? How will you measure your level of effectiveness and success? How will your project be sustained? For how long will it be sustained?

(10) Give your project a name. Create a byline that clearly but briefly describes your project. Do you need to differentiate? Optional: create a project roadmap.

Note: this could be a program for plastics, glass containers, water, or even batteries – just select something that has not been implemented but is needed in your school (or home). There are many such programs already in the US, so we could pose this a porting project or one of “localization” – language translation or cultural adaptation. This reminds me of the green carbon footprint calculator a few of the CEE 277E students did in 2010.

Lesson: Features

Products are characterized by their set of features. As consumers, we are often bombarded by marketing features whereas we usually end up becoming familiar with a subset of functional features. Sometimes we focus on the specifications-type features (eg, number of megapixels in a digital camera). Here are a few exercises to get students familiar with the product development process:

(1) Understanding competitors’ features. Give $x to each team and have them purchase a product. They can research the product then create a feature list. Prioritize the feature list and put them into categories such as (a) ok to drop, (b) optional, (c) nice-to-have, (d) must-have and (e) deal breaker.

(2) Improve on a product. Have students create the feature list for the next generation of the product, and have them work out the prioritization and categorization. Students can wear different hats: (a) design, (b) marketing, (c) engineering, (d) manufacturing, (e) legal…for example. Each team member must evangelize at least one old or new feature.

(3) Have students name their product as if (a) they worked for the company making the original product, and (b) they worked for a competing company. Optional: Have students create a basic positioning statement that describes the scope (who, what , where, why, how?) of the product.

(4) Tell team they must eliminate one top tier feature (eg, because of cost over-run). How does the decision get made?

(5) Tell team that one feature (pick it at random) and tell them to put together a plan to take care of it (or not!?)

Just thinking about the Singapore Polytechnic group who may be interested in architectural design, we could focus on the Y2E2 building and have them apply this exercise.

Exercise: Sketching Your Neighbor

In the video at http://www.ted.com/talks/tim_brown_on_creativity_and_play.html (titled Tim Brown on creativity and play) the audience had to sketch their neighbor within 30 seconds. Then they showed their sketch to the person who they sketched. It is interesting to see what the reaction is, and connect such reactions to the level of maturity/expectations.

Game: Shake Balls Out Game

This could be a game to encourage creativity and teamwork. Just like the contest called “Junk in the Box” (http://www.nbc.com/minute-to-win-it/how-to/episode-126/junk-in-the-trunk/) in Minute to Win It (the tv show), we provide some basic items such as empty Kleenex boxes (reusing!), ping pong balls and some sort of securing material (what can we reuse?), and the students have to design their own “regulation” boxes. They can design and test perhaps one or two days before the contest. We can also think up some twists to this game.

Drill: Compare & Contrast

Reminded again about all the design flaws of the Y2E2, would it be interesting to have students do a compare and contrast exercise? They would really only have to jot down notes as they do it, then we could get them onto PostIts and categorize each of them into “hit”, “miss”, “huge success”, “big failure”, “good try”, “could be better” and “what were they thinking?” These are all ways we personally evaluate innovations. Things we could use for this exercise:

(1) Y2E2 vs the Huang Building,
(2) Y2E2 vs an older building on campus,
(3) Coke vs Pepsi,
(4) Chinese language vs English language,
(5) iPad vs iPhone (or something similarly techie but audience would want to learn more about)

Evaluation Question Example

Using a Jeopardy (the game show) format, I would present applicants with a (seemingly) simple object and have them create a question for which that object is the answer.

Example: Pencil (answer)

Possible Questions:
(1) What do we use to do our homework? This question relates to a personal functional description.
(2) What has a pointed tip on one end and sometimes has an eraser attached on the other? This question is a visual description.
(3) What writing instrument keeps getting renewed by sharpening? This question focuses on the maintenance of the item.
(4) What do some people wedge on their ear? This question has multiple possible answers and relies on people’s “common” view.
(5) What do artists use and come in many colors? This question shows some differentiation and avoids being overly general.
(6) What can you use to poke a hole through the bottom of a paper cup? This question is fairly original and constructive.
(7) What can you use to scratch an itch on your head when you are in class? Again, a fairly original question and shows a non-usual use of the object.
(8) What can you use as a plant stake? This is a creative question but one would normally not do it since it would be a waste compared to some alternative objects.

This reminds me to make a note about artists who collect used pencils (they never completely disappear do they?) to create works of art.