The Best in OOBE

My previous entry was about how prototyping can lead to productive failures. There is a lot of prototyping that can go into OOBE (“out of box experience”) design and those who do it well have excellent brand recognition.

Some companies spend a lot of effort on the OOBE where we know a positive impression in the first 15 seconds of sight of the package and the first 15 seconds of opening a package can set 80% of the overall impression of a product. Some products you might be able to relate to include an automobile or a hotel. Those who pride themselves in the customer experience will focus on that initial impression. So too did Apple back in the early Mac days. I spent some time working with product managers at Handspring looking into OOBE as determined by in-box collateral. Apple was the master of OOBE (and UI) until about the last 10 years. The product packaging of my latest iMac as well as the setup experience with my iPad show how off-track Apple has become.

In contrast, I want to share the best experience I have had recently with OOBE. And that’s with my Roku devices – a Roku 1 and a Roku 3 that were installed just this week. The box-opening experience was easy as was set-up. The on-screen directions for wi-fi and programming proceeded with ease. If I had to be critical of anything, I am not a fan of their color scheme.

So, when discussing OOBE in our workshop’s Project Studio, I will point to the Roku as one example of an OOBE to appreciate and use as a role model.

PS. We can also think of OOBE when we introduce ourselves to other people. I know you’re not supposed to “judge a book by its cover” but do you really want to finish a book that is off-putting at the start?