We live and work within systems, systems that connect things. One way or another everything is connected. That sounds like psycho-babble, so let me give you an example: Legislation leaves swans starving The In the far north of England on the border with Scotland is the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed. In 1994 the flock of swans […]
Do You Design Against Demand?
Here is a very simple 2 step improvement idea for you: Understand the customer demands that are placed on your organisation Design your infrastructure and processes to meet those demands. Or, to put it a little less managerially, find out why your customers call you, then work out the best way to give them what […]
Does the Small Stuff Matter?
How you set your stall out matters. Even the small things make a huge difference to what your customers think and the way they act. The design critic Donald Norman made the point beautifully in his book The Design of Everyday Things discussing domestic cookers… Are the controls and gas rings arranged like this: […]
Process Design and Human Nature
Mothers were dying In 1840’s Vienna they were dying of “childbed fever”. In one hospital the death rate was alarming, roughly 1 in 10 mothers perished after childbirth, some months this statistic climbed to a horrific 30%. A young doctor, Ignaz Semmelweis, working in the maternity hospital noticed that in a neighbouring hospital death rates were a far […]
Clear Work Instructions, an Eight Point Plan
When writing work instructions, you get points for clarity, not style. Instead of waxing lyrical about the customer journey and decisive moments, just make your point. Here are eight ways to do that: Use a clear heading to explain the task If you can’t explain the task succinctly what chance do people following the instructions […]