Between company and consumer, design is everywhere. It is in the products we seek, the services we need, the experiences provided, and the communications between buyer and seller. Design thinking is typically used in creation and can be used to uniquely solve a problem or create a future idea. It is believed that a design approach can be taken when relating people, businesses and technology. People have desires, which businesses fulfill through their capacities of technology and innovation is how the companies become more efficient in providing people with what they want. There is a methodology to design thinking. It includes the phases of inspiration, ideation, and implementation.
In the inspiration phase, people are instructed to observe or take on another persons' point of view. Showing empathy for another person many times can allow this inspiration for the creation of a new idea that can help fulfill a specific need. In ideation, prototyping is discussed as being the fuel to new ideas. The more rapid a prototype can be constructed the faster the idea can come alive and the better an idea can be innovated into its' final form. It is not uncommon to cycle through over 100 prototypes before you get the final result. The last phase of design thinking is implementation. It involves many areas of interest, such as financing, distribution, and resource allocation, but most importantly, it involves communication. Many great ideas never make it out of corporation walls. It is believed that the better that you can sell an idea, the more likely it will come to life. So storytelling is important in communicating your ideas. Try to tell the story, whether it is the journey of the customer or it brings people together, sometimes the story is even the end of the project.
With design thinking, new strategies emerge, new products come alive, new technologies between hardware and software are created, or relationships can be established. Knowledge Management can provide a framework to innovation through design thinking. It can help create a culture of inspiration within a company. It can help people find new roles to play, it can provide collaboration on projects, or it be the source of ideas for the company. Design thinking is not just about a methodology it is about creating this culture.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Democratizing Innovation
Eric Von Hippel in his presentation begins with a comparison of the roles of innovation taken by manufacturers and users. Manufacturers' innovate to benefit from selling where as users' innovate to benefit from using. It is common for people to believe that it is dominant companies that are leading creation, development and innovation of products and services we consume, but in fact, Hippel's research showed that the contributions of users have been great toward the innovation of products. One great quote in the presentation is that "necessity is the mother of invention." In the presentation, users that innovate are described as having a specific need, reveal information freely, and collaborate in small communities.
He gives several other examples of user contribution to the improvements of products. One example was of a police force equipping their cars after the eruption of Mount St. Helens. There was so much smoke and debris in the air, it was clogging air filters. The police force instead of waiting for support, they did something about with what they had laying around. They used tubing you would find on the back of a household dryer. Another simple example was of one of his students, where their wife had been near giving birth to a child. This student had altered his backpack to accomodate the charging of electronic devices so that he could charge via one plug.
Specialized needs are exercised on the edge of the market where to the user, it is low cost and to the manufacturer, there is uncertainty. The result is that the user is empowered through innovation and the manufacturer is left trying to remain competitive. An example is how three engineers at the company Lego had created a new robot that could be assembled just like other legos, but where it was different was how each component of assembly had a miniature cpu. Once put together it could operate based on a written code. Within three weeks of its' release, user communities had already hacked the code and innovated what functions the robot could perform. Lego was left not knowing what to do, as if they were "a deer in the headlights."
Knowledge management can help close the gap between manufacturers and users. Manufacturers' have an abundance of capital but limited knowledge of user needs. Users have very little capital but an abundance of ideas because they often times no what they want to great detail. Creating a community of collaboration between both could help innovation thrive and as a result, we would have better products.
He gives several other examples of user contribution to the improvements of products. One example was of a police force equipping their cars after the eruption of Mount St. Helens. There was so much smoke and debris in the air, it was clogging air filters. The police force instead of waiting for support, they did something about with what they had laying around. They used tubing you would find on the back of a household dryer. Another simple example was of one of his students, where their wife had been near giving birth to a child. This student had altered his backpack to accomodate the charging of electronic devices so that he could charge via one plug.
Specialized needs are exercised on the edge of the market where to the user, it is low cost and to the manufacturer, there is uncertainty. The result is that the user is empowered through innovation and the manufacturer is left trying to remain competitive. An example is how three engineers at the company Lego had created a new robot that could be assembled just like other legos, but where it was different was how each component of assembly had a miniature cpu. Once put together it could operate based on a written code. Within three weeks of its' release, user communities had already hacked the code and innovated what functions the robot could perform. Lego was left not knowing what to do, as if they were "a deer in the headlights."
Knowledge management can help close the gap between manufacturers and users. Manufacturers' have an abundance of capital but limited knowledge of user needs. Users have very little capital but an abundance of ideas because they often times no what they want to great detail. Creating a community of collaboration between both could help innovation thrive and as a result, we would have better products.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Thriving in an Era of Rabid Collaboration
In the video on "Thriving in an Era of Rabid Collaboration," Brad Wheeler, spokesman from Indiana University, speaks of the challenges of collaborating.
He speaks of the advances in computer technology that have enabled students, administration, and other users in higher education to effectively teach or learn more efficiently. Systems that allow these efficiencies in higher education are developed through collaboration amongst universities, they are expensive to develop and they are highly resource consuming, but the value as a result of implementation, allows universities to be competitive with other education providers. The driver of this collaboration is the capability of fast digital networks. The capability is present but the idea of collaboration is difficult amongst stakeholders.
He speaks about the words collaboration and cooperation. Collaboration requires an alignment around a common goal and its' duration is only the length of time it takes to fulfill the purpose. Cooperation means that people have to work together or "co-labor," or see the project through to its' very end. One interesting point between challenge and value is how as the scale of the project gets larger, the slope of retreat for stakeholders becomes more steep. An economic situation is referenced where teams are able to exploit the gap of retreat, minimizing the slope to allow collaborators to complete the task.
Collaborating brings forth leverage between money and value. Each collaborator puts forth a fraction of capital and in return, more value is added, because each benefactor uses the system after it is rolled out. A few examples of the systems discussed were; Kuali, which is a administrative system, handling financial systems of universities, Sakai, which is a learning system for the students and Hathi Trust, which is a library book database resource. Many universities are now outsourcing systems to corporations, such as to Microsoft, who handles some universities email systems. The benefit to these systems is that it aggregates resources and enables coordination between stakeholders to achieve goals.
The governance of these systems is viewed as a cycle in which empowerment is given to the users. Decision rights are given to whomever has authority of the system, but the decisions are made because feedback is given from and accountability framework. The input rights are set by the decisions, which enable and empower users. The users can effect the decisions through the accountability framework.
The last of the challenges discussed were of the capacities of storage. Newly added jobs with the purpose of innovating existing storage practices or developing better storage management are such creations that combat this problem, but another possibility is the use of cloud computing. With cloud computing, contingency planning is highlighted. If disaster occurs, a system can still run live through this service. The challenge is creating an infrastructure, platform and the software as a service.
He speaks of the advances in computer technology that have enabled students, administration, and other users in higher education to effectively teach or learn more efficiently. Systems that allow these efficiencies in higher education are developed through collaboration amongst universities, they are expensive to develop and they are highly resource consuming, but the value as a result of implementation, allows universities to be competitive with other education providers. The driver of this collaboration is the capability of fast digital networks. The capability is present but the idea of collaboration is difficult amongst stakeholders.
He speaks about the words collaboration and cooperation. Collaboration requires an alignment around a common goal and its' duration is only the length of time it takes to fulfill the purpose. Cooperation means that people have to work together or "co-labor," or see the project through to its' very end. One interesting point between challenge and value is how as the scale of the project gets larger, the slope of retreat for stakeholders becomes more steep. An economic situation is referenced where teams are able to exploit the gap of retreat, minimizing the slope to allow collaborators to complete the task.
Collaborating brings forth leverage between money and value. Each collaborator puts forth a fraction of capital and in return, more value is added, because each benefactor uses the system after it is rolled out. A few examples of the systems discussed were; Kuali, which is a administrative system, handling financial systems of universities, Sakai, which is a learning system for the students and Hathi Trust, which is a library book database resource. Many universities are now outsourcing systems to corporations, such as to Microsoft, who handles some universities email systems. The benefit to these systems is that it aggregates resources and enables coordination between stakeholders to achieve goals.
The governance of these systems is viewed as a cycle in which empowerment is given to the users. Decision rights are given to whomever has authority of the system, but the decisions are made because feedback is given from and accountability framework. The input rights are set by the decisions, which enable and empower users. The users can effect the decisions through the accountability framework.
The last of the challenges discussed were of the capacities of storage. Newly added jobs with the purpose of innovating existing storage practices or developing better storage management are such creations that combat this problem, but another possibility is the use of cloud computing. With cloud computing, contingency planning is highlighted. If disaster occurs, a system can still run live through this service. The challenge is creating an infrastructure, platform and the software as a service.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Neural Networks in Manufacturing
Artificial neural networks are related to the biological neural network of the human brain. The model consists of neurons that send and receive messages once they reach a certain threshold of capacity. The artificial system is made up of 3 layers; the input layer, the hidden layer, and the output layer. The input can come from many sources and its' data is filtered into the hidden layer. In the hidden layer, an algorithm trains the data to match it to a certain specified result. Within the hidden layer, interconnected nodes are added as the solution gets closer to the desired answer. Once the model finds an answer that is suitable it delivers the result to the output layer.
Neural network applications are often found in error-detection systems for heavy machinery in manufacturing. For example, take a piece of machinery that makes several cuts a day. Over time the blade will become dull. What neural networks aim to do in this scenario is cut down the time it takes to change out a blade in the process, because the longer the machine is down, the more cost a company faces. The machine is equipped with special sensors that detect symptoms of a worn blade, so that operators can quickly understand and anticpate a change before it occurs.
Neural network applications are often found in error-detection systems for heavy machinery in manufacturing. For example, take a piece of machinery that makes several cuts a day. Over time the blade will become dull. What neural networks aim to do in this scenario is cut down the time it takes to change out a blade in the process, because the longer the machine is down, the more cost a company faces. The machine is equipped with special sensors that detect symptoms of a worn blade, so that operators can quickly understand and anticpate a change before it occurs.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Video on Marginal Difference
The Message
Motivation is what drives people to do their best, instead of doing the bare minimum.
Lessons Learned
The main goal is to obtain control and power over the way we think. Described in the video are certain attitudes assumed by members of organizations. They are what is "good enough" and what is "inspired". "Good enough" attitudes create stagnate work environments and negative outcomes toward innovation. Maybe organizations can get by through this train of thinking, but they will never grow beyond it. "Inspired" attitudes create an elevated work environment and positive outcomes toward progressive thinking. When an organization is collectively joined in this thinking, they will have advantages over other firms. The margin of difference between both attitudes, most of time is narrow, but can make a large difference in an organizations progress. There are 5 specific areas in which an organization can obtain the margin of difference. They are through social networks, social capital, conversations, engagement process and individual thinking.
Social networks are the platforms for sharing knowledge between people. Anyone who has a stake in the firm is connected to this platform. When there are problems, most people within a firm go to the social network to find information on solving it. If social networks are "inspired", then operations run smoother because information flows easily and is accessible.
Social capital refers to the pool of great rapport between individuals within a company. If the aspects of trust and respect are amongst co-workers, than the relationship between employees are enhanced. Conversations are also important to achieving "inspired" status of an organizations' performance. This ties into building social capital amongst each other. If there is harmony between employees, than the conversations that are built upon their experiences in working together, create synergy within the organization.
The engagement process has to do with the scenarios of learning, working together, and accomplishing goals. Engagement is the way interact with each other. It can either produce a positive outcome or a negative outcome. If the goal is understood, than the engagement process can bring out the best in each employee.
Individual thinking is building block of all the other areas of obtaining the margin of difference. It is up to the individual to make a decision as to how they will cope with the forces of collaboration in a positive way or a negative way. Empowerment of the individual's thinking is what creates this understanding of striving for the best instead of what is accepted. Positive energy is contagious. Making a decision every day to remain positive is a great step in changing your attitude and affecting other people in the right way.
Motivation is what drives people to do their best, instead of doing the bare minimum.
Lessons Learned
The main goal is to obtain control and power over the way we think. Described in the video are certain attitudes assumed by members of organizations. They are what is "good enough" and what is "inspired". "Good enough" attitudes create stagnate work environments and negative outcomes toward innovation. Maybe organizations can get by through this train of thinking, but they will never grow beyond it. "Inspired" attitudes create an elevated work environment and positive outcomes toward progressive thinking. When an organization is collectively joined in this thinking, they will have advantages over other firms. The margin of difference between both attitudes, most of time is narrow, but can make a large difference in an organizations progress. There are 5 specific areas in which an organization can obtain the margin of difference. They are through social networks, social capital, conversations, engagement process and individual thinking.
Social networks are the platforms for sharing knowledge between people. Anyone who has a stake in the firm is connected to this platform. When there are problems, most people within a firm go to the social network to find information on solving it. If social networks are "inspired", then operations run smoother because information flows easily and is accessible.
Social capital refers to the pool of great rapport between individuals within a company. If the aspects of trust and respect are amongst co-workers, than the relationship between employees are enhanced. Conversations are also important to achieving "inspired" status of an organizations' performance. This ties into building social capital amongst each other. If there is harmony between employees, than the conversations that are built upon their experiences in working together, create synergy within the organization.
The engagement process has to do with the scenarios of learning, working together, and accomplishing goals. Engagement is the way interact with each other. It can either produce a positive outcome or a negative outcome. If the goal is understood, than the engagement process can bring out the best in each employee.
Individual thinking is building block of all the other areas of obtaining the margin of difference. It is up to the individual to make a decision as to how they will cope with the forces of collaboration in a positive way or a negative way. Empowerment of the individual's thinking is what creates this understanding of striving for the best instead of what is accepted. Positive energy is contagious. Making a decision every day to remain positive is a great step in changing your attitude and affecting other people in the right way.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Video on Collaboration and Collective Intelligence
The panel was made up of diverse individuals with professions that focus on collective intelligence. This included; Mimi Ito, a cultural anthroplogist who studies media usage of young people in America and Japan, Cory Ondrejka, who is affiliated with Linden Lab, known for it's creation of an online 3D virtual reality collaboration tool called "2nd Life," and Trevor Scholz, an assistant professor and researcher at University of New York at Buffalo and creator of the Institute of Distributed Creativity.
After watching the video hosted by MIT, I have a more well-rounded perspective toward the collective intelligence topics that were discussed. Collective intelligence is described in the video as being a group of people forming together to make decisions. This collaboration between our kind is assumed to have been existent in some form or another as long as humans have inhabited the earth. However the video focuses mainly on the role that information technology has played in allowing collective intelligence to be fully harnessed and possibly abused. To harness collective intelligence, it requires successfully connecting the right people with computers.
One key point made is how corporations are able to monopolize through social networking websites. Social networking websites operate on a platform in which the user creates the content. Once a user creates their profile, they give up personal information that is aggregated to a population for the benefit of staying connected to their friends and families. Due to a site's volume of traffic, companies that run these websites gain ad revenue. The more eyes that are tuned in, the higher an ad price could be. An argument that is proposed is that the companies that run social networking sites should operate as a non-profit. If this cannot be done other things are suggested, such as; allowing users to exit easy, to increase the transparency of the terms and conditions and also give the public control over the content that they have created.
Another key point made is that of today's youth in collective imagination through social media. Because of social media, a small niche idea can become infectious. One example used is that of Japan's craze of the portable technology for kids, called Pokemon. With this highly interactive toy, in order to play, kids have to interact with each other. One comment that relates to collective intelligence is that the kids feel they can accomplish more as a group than as an individual. This game allows kids to do that. An argument made is that of it being a moral hazard for society due to the indifference in traditional ideologies. The retort is that esoteric knowledge is common that we all want to be involved in something or feel accepted.
The last key point discussed is that of the differences between professionals and amateurs and how information technology has allowed amateurs to gain professional insights. Because of the internet users have and now are able to compare their knowledge with professional knowledge. Now, the only difference between amateurs and professionals is their lingo.
After watching the video hosted by MIT, I have a more well-rounded perspective toward the collective intelligence topics that were discussed. Collective intelligence is described in the video as being a group of people forming together to make decisions. This collaboration between our kind is assumed to have been existent in some form or another as long as humans have inhabited the earth. However the video focuses mainly on the role that information technology has played in allowing collective intelligence to be fully harnessed and possibly abused. To harness collective intelligence, it requires successfully connecting the right people with computers.
One key point made is how corporations are able to monopolize through social networking websites. Social networking websites operate on a platform in which the user creates the content. Once a user creates their profile, they give up personal information that is aggregated to a population for the benefit of staying connected to their friends and families. Due to a site's volume of traffic, companies that run these websites gain ad revenue. The more eyes that are tuned in, the higher an ad price could be. An argument that is proposed is that the companies that run social networking sites should operate as a non-profit. If this cannot be done other things are suggested, such as; allowing users to exit easy, to increase the transparency of the terms and conditions and also give the public control over the content that they have created.
Another key point made is that of today's youth in collective imagination through social media. Because of social media, a small niche idea can become infectious. One example used is that of Japan's craze of the portable technology for kids, called Pokemon. With this highly interactive toy, in order to play, kids have to interact with each other. One comment that relates to collective intelligence is that the kids feel they can accomplish more as a group than as an individual. This game allows kids to do that. An argument made is that of it being a moral hazard for society due to the indifference in traditional ideologies. The retort is that esoteric knowledge is common that we all want to be involved in something or feel accepted.
The last key point discussed is that of the differences between professionals and amateurs and how information technology has allowed amateurs to gain professional insights. Because of the internet users have and now are able to compare their knowledge with professional knowledge. Now, the only difference between amateurs and professionals is their lingo.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Video on Zappos
Zappos is an online company that sells shoes, clothing, and various other consumer products. The company is not run like many traditional companies. With a modest approach, the company has been able to grow rapidly amongst competition through their extreme focus on their customer service by implementing core values to create a culture that revolves around a psychology of delivering happiness to their customers and employees. This approach has allowed the Zappos to stand out amongst other online companies.
One way they stand out amongst other online companies is through their oline ordering system. It creates convenience and value for customers on the front end. They provide free shipping both ways, allowing customers to try on outfits or shoes in the comfort of their own home and return the products they don't like under a 365 day return policy. This allows for increasing returns because not only does the unique service provide repeat business individually, they tell their friends, family and other coworkers about the experience. Rather than spending net profits on advertising and other means of growing the brand, they let the customers do the marketing for them through word of mouth.
To Zappos, there is not a codified means of creating a great customer experience. They feel that if the companies culture lines up right with their core values, creating a great customer experience is easy for their employees. Another way they remain competitive is through their call center, which is dedicated to providing excellent service to their customers. Whether it is to provide fashion help, redirect them to another company that has a product in stock, or give support on how the ordering and return process works, they strive for creating that unique moment with that customer, where they can deliver happiness.
The hiring process is detailed and ensures that each employee is a right fit for the company. First they are interviewed for skill sets, then they are interviewed for culture match. Candidates for the job are paid for their time of training, but for a means of weaving out bad candidates from good candidates, they are given the offer of a sum of money to quit at a certain point in training. If they take it then the company see this as progress, because they are finding the employees that want to be there and want to make their job not just a job, but a calling. This creates trust and long lasting bond beween the company and it's employees. The new hires destination is not definitive immediately. They start at the bottom level in the warehouse to learn packing, pulling, receiving, and sending. They are then moved up to the call center and classes are provided based special techniques with concentration of their core values. This creates a learning culture and allows for a knowledge sharing company.
The video on Zappos was very inspiring to me that I now consider taking a "Zappos" attitude and approach to my school, work, and life.
One way they stand out amongst other online companies is through their oline ordering system. It creates convenience and value for customers on the front end. They provide free shipping both ways, allowing customers to try on outfits or shoes in the comfort of their own home and return the products they don't like under a 365 day return policy. This allows for increasing returns because not only does the unique service provide repeat business individually, they tell their friends, family and other coworkers about the experience. Rather than spending net profits on advertising and other means of growing the brand, they let the customers do the marketing for them through word of mouth.
To Zappos, there is not a codified means of creating a great customer experience. They feel that if the companies culture lines up right with their core values, creating a great customer experience is easy for their employees. Another way they remain competitive is through their call center, which is dedicated to providing excellent service to their customers. Whether it is to provide fashion help, redirect them to another company that has a product in stock, or give support on how the ordering and return process works, they strive for creating that unique moment with that customer, where they can deliver happiness.
The hiring process is detailed and ensures that each employee is a right fit for the company. First they are interviewed for skill sets, then they are interviewed for culture match. Candidates for the job are paid for their time of training, but for a means of weaving out bad candidates from good candidates, they are given the offer of a sum of money to quit at a certain point in training. If they take it then the company see this as progress, because they are finding the employees that want to be there and want to make their job not just a job, but a calling. This creates trust and long lasting bond beween the company and it's employees. The new hires destination is not definitive immediately. They start at the bottom level in the warehouse to learn packing, pulling, receiving, and sending. They are then moved up to the call center and classes are provided based special techniques with concentration of their core values. This creates a learning culture and allows for a knowledge sharing company.
The video on Zappos was very inspiring to me that I now consider taking a "Zappos" attitude and approach to my school, work, and life.
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