Comments on Designing Customer-Centered Organizations

joanne hippolyte — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 14:52:56 GMT

having only just come across this article some years after it was written, I think all of what is said is still very relevant today. One thing I would like to add is that, we as design practitioners need to take some responsibility as to how we communicate and utillise user centered methodology and demonstrate its value beyond project benefits. We have come up with a way of doing precisley this which we call proposition design. We use visual techniques to analysise business problems. We then use design led analysis to create tactical product innovation strategies to help companies actively navigate through markets, or create new markets etc. and optimise their internal systems. We have created a number of techniques which optimise the design process and signifcantly speed up time to market whilst reducing risk. this was done by doing precisely what you suggested which is radically re-thinking the role research & design play within business dynamics. Our understanding of implementation and delivery is the catalyst that allows us to do this. Thank you for a great article and I hope you have managed to get this out to a wider audience;-)

Brad Lauster — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 14:51:48 GMT

Enjoyable article. Thanks John and Jared!

I’d like to add a word of advice for any designer interested in affecting organizational change: just find the person responsible for organizational effectiveness or the person leading a reorganization effort and express interest in helping out. Just as we love to talk about design, these people love to talk about organizations; so a love for creating order from chaos is one of many qualities we have in common.

As John and Jared suggested, and in my experience doing organizational assessments at Stanford, the people responsible for projects dealing with organizational change often aren’t aware of the techniques we use to inform our designs. Upon discussing the techniques, they became excited about employing them during the project (and excited about having me help).

These org-related projects really are a lot of fun and they offer a great opportunity to learn about framing our work in terms of its affect on the organization, which I’ve found, has a very positive impact on our credibility with executives.

jz — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 14:51:48 GMT

We’re intending to do just that, Brett. After showing a version of this article to a professor at Harvard Business School, he invited me to publish it in a journal for marketing managers. We’re currently working on adapting it for that audience. So, stay tuned.

Brett Lider — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 14:51:48 GMT

I am very glad someone has finally written about this. I have found as a consultant that we are often the impetus for organizational changes through the design of the website. Basically, the client will buy-in so deep on what the product will deliver that when they realize they will have to change organizationally to support it, they do. This is a tricky bit, because it can also lead to product failure. I have often wondered how web consultancies could partner with management consultants to deliver more value.

So what next? We can implement some of these changes organically, but how do we spread the word to other professions, other companies, executives, product managers, etc.? This is where I get a little stuck. To start small, we could start attending their conferences and publishing in their publications.

Which brings me to my final bit. I challenge John and Jared to get this article, or some version of it, into a publication whose target audience is one we want to reach: executives, product managers, management consultants, etc.