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Obvious Design provides two main classes of services: product vision and
product design.
Product Vision and Strategy
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We have been obsessively studying the question of what makes a product succeed since 1991. Over the years we have honed a rigorous and systematic methodology for formulating breakthrough product concepts. We have applied these methods many times with a variety of clients and domains.
(See also: about
us)
Many products fail before they get started because
the vision is unclear or faulty. It's like setting sail without
a clear destination, or with an unfeasible one. Sadly, this is a common
phenomenon in the high tech industry.
We have a proprietary and highly refined method
for modeling customer needs and comparing them against competitors
and product concepts. In the process, fatal flaws and inconsistencies with the original
vision are shaken out. Dozens of new insights and opportunities are revealed. Using this conceptual framework it's possible
to brainstorm dozens of product variants, quickly isolate the diamonds-in-the-rough
and then polish them further into a solid, defensible product vision. These product concepts are actionable and easily translated into specific product and design requirements.
This service is intended for executives or senior
managers who influence or control product strategy and who find
themselves in situations like the following:
• The business has a core technology with
either too many or too few apparent directions.
A process is needed for sorting through the possibilities and isolating
the best opportunities.
• The business has been drifting for months
-- or longer -- without a clear, definite direction. Competitors are looming and something definitive
must be done. But it's not clear how to break through entrenched way of looking at things.
• The business is being cornered by strong
competition or disruptive technology that threaten its core franchise.
To survive these pressures and grow, a path towards new related
business must be found.
• The business needs a fresh outside
perspective on the business's products, technologies, customers
and the competitive landscape, and an infusion of relevant insights
and new ideas to assist in leadership and decision making. The business
might have a set of critical but difficult high level questions
that the business has been struggling with for ages without a definitive
answer.
• The large company or VC firm needs
to evaluate a proposed product, technology or company for investment or acquisision. It's new and different, but is it truly relevant or merely a gimmick? Which types of customers will and won't deem it
desirable? How does it relate to the competition? What variants
of the idea would be superior? A thorough process is needed to precisely discern the relevance of a new offering.
This visioning process is not vague or fluffy.
It results in a clear, well-defended and actionable definition of
a new product, a product line and a long-term strategy.
Our position consulting with so many clients and on so many products and domain areas has given us a broad, unique perspective on the ethereal notion of product vision. We have applied our framework and methodology dozens of times. Philip is currently writing a book about it and is ready to talk your ear off about it on a moment's notice.
Subscribe to our FREE Product Vision Newsletter.
User Experience Architecture / Interactive Product Design
We provide world-class user experience architecture services. You can think of a user experience architect as an uber-interactive product designer or interaction designer -- someone who can define not only individual features but the entire interconnected system:
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Translate rough, high-level product ideas into clear product visions and requirements. Business leaders often have great product ideas but not the language and experience to map them into actionable definitions.
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Research customers and the domain. Breakthrough solutions come from breakthrough insights into users and the nature of the problem to solve.
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Analyze the competition to find out what where the state of the art is at and determine what it will take to blow away the competitors.
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Establish the conceptual model and organizational paradigm of a product. Get this wrong and it will be an uphill struggle for users to grok your product. Get it right and users will understand it right away and wonder why everyone doesn't do it this way.
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Build mock-ups and prototypes to communicate
and validate the design. Have something concrete to show investors and stakeholders.
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Write detailed design specifications so engineering knows exactly what to build and QA knows what to test.
If you want to set your 1.0 product on the right trajectory, or overhaul an existing product so it becomes the one everyone recommends, user experience architecture is exactly what you need.
We have architected dozens of products over the past fifteen years across the spectrum of domains, customers and media. Millions of people arond the world use our designs daily. We pride ourselves in finding breakthrough solutions and getting it right the first time.
And we have a trail of happy clients, positive press and delighted users show for it.
To see what we've done, check out our product history or Philip's writings at Steal This Idea.
Surrogate Product Management Services
Sometimes a product or feature area needs a push-start.
The domain needs to be researched and the possibilities need to
be evaluated, resulting in a Product Requirements Document (PRD).
The PRD gives the team at large a guiding constitution of the definition,
scope and success parameters of the ultimate solution. We can provide
this service efficiently, interviewing the stake- and knowledge-holders,
researching the unknowns and synthesizing it all into a clear and
specific expression of what we're doing, what we're not and why.
In effect this service is halfway between the visioning
and design services we offer.
Patent discovery and expert witness for user interface and product design
We have consulted with law firms to major companies including Apple, Microsoft and Palm Computing to evaluate patent claims, discover prior art and to find workarounds for potentially infringing designs. (There's a good chance we'll figure out an even better UI!) Philip has witnessed the evolution of user interfaces since the 80's and has extensive knowledge of the history and process of UI design. Philip has filed and been granted several patents himself.
Due diligence for VC investment
Does the product or service make sense? What elements of its vision are strategic, and what are distractions? What would make the concept stronger? How can its design be made competitive?
We tackle these questions on a routine basis and can apply them as part of the due diligence process and to help get new ventures' product concepts and user experience architectures on the right track.
Speaking engagements
Philip Haine has given these talks on product vision and design:
2008 - Academy of Art University, San Francisco, California, to design grad students - SSNiF Scenarios
2007 - Yahoo, Inc., Mountain View, California, to product designers and product managers: Designing with Vision
2000 - Haas School of Business, Berkeley, California, to MBA students: Innovation and the Design Pyramid
1997 - CHI 97, New Orleans, Louisiana - Claris Organizer's Expanding Contact Card
1993 - University of Waterloo, Math & Computer Science Department, Ontario, Canada - Pen-based computing and the GO PenPoint Operating System
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