Design = Change for the better – Part 2 of 3

Part 2 of this article provides another practical way to incorporate Design processes into your innovation practices. If you haven’t read Part 1, check it out.

Idea # 2: The Jameson Principle

When developing new products, it is easy to incorporate new features or functionality “because we can!”

Just because we can, doesn’t mean we should.

Thanks to Professor Tom Barker’s “Jameson Principle”, a great way to determine if your new product or idea is on the right track is to evaluate it against four simple criteria:

1.    Better?
2.    More?
3.    Cheaper?
4.    Wow?

Better products enhance the user experience; they help get a job done faster, easier, more efficiently; they may be better looking than the competition, or they may use more advanced materials or production processes that helps them achieve a higher quality feel or more reliable operation.

The “More” criteria helps you determine if your new product enables more people to have access to the benefits your new product provides… For instance, the first email ever sent probably required an advanced understanding of telecommunications, information technology and computer-programming to be able to create, send and decipher… however, as the benefits of email communications became more understood, software developers have continually tried to design email software to be increasingly “user friendly” in order for more people to use it.

Cheaper is self-explanatory… if you can make your new product cheaper, without sacrificing its quality, functionality and appearance – why wouldn’t you? To reduce cost, you might look at the materials, manufacturing processes or the actual design of the product (such as part count, complexity, assembly process). You might survey your customers to identify ways to simplify the design by excluding lesser used / wanted features or attributes. You may work closer with your production partners to see if they can provide cost-savings through more efficient processes, automation or outsourcing.

“Wow” and “wow-factor” are terms that I often detest (more on that another time), however I do acknowledge that they simply and conveniently wrap up a lot of what Innovation and Design is all about.

Providing “wow” within new products is the sizzle that comes with the sausage. Achieving the other 3 criteria (Better, More and Cheaper) can amount to nothing if your new product doesn’t have some kind of “x-factor” – that tangible or intangible “thing” that sets it apart from your competition; makes it more desirable; just simply screams “buy me!” You can achieve “wow” within your products aesthetically (use a curve when everyone else is straight), functionally (use a touchscreen when everyone else is using hard buttons); physically (X% lighter, smaller, stronger, more-durable etc); ergonomically (one-handed operation; comfort-grip; large graphics; easy-to-read); colour, finish and so on. Apple have almost secured a monopoly on “wow” in recent years. This has been due, in no small part, to their investment in Design.

Wow-factor in your industry will differ substantially from other industries… so when you are developing your new product – try to define what “wow-factor” could mean to your market segment… what attributes, benefits and features would bring unique value and appeal to your product?

Stay tuned for next week’s final installment of “Design = Change for the better”. Of course, if you have any comments or feedback – feel free below, or contact me directly.