Comments on: Never Underestimate the Ingenuity of Fools http://mobhappy.com/blog1/2006/07/13/never-underestimate-the-ingenuity-of-fools/ Russell Buckley and Carlo Longino on mobile technology. Tue, 22 May 2012 09:13:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Marc http://mobhappy.com/blog1/2006/07/13/never-underestimate-the-ingenuity-of-fools/comment-page-1/#comment-20752 Marc Tue, 25 Jul 2006 13:53:33 +0000 http://mobhappy.com/blog1/2006/07/13/never-underestimate-the-ingenuity-of-fools/#comment-20752 Great article! I'd be willing to bet that many of the phones reported as faulty were reported as such, just because the owner had to give a reason for the return. In many of the cases, the phone was probably just so hard to use that the owner finally gave up on the thing. Usability is a huge problem with almost every electronic device on the market right now. The more these devices become mainstream appliances (and not just the toys of techno-philes) the more these usability issues will hurt the companies that makes them. Great article! I’d be willing to bet that many of the phones reported as faulty were reported as such, just because the owner had to give a reason for the return. In many of the cases, the phone was probably just so hard to use that the owner finally gave up on the thing.

Usability is a huge problem with almost every electronic device on the market right now. The more these devices become mainstream appliances (and not just the toys of techno-philes) the more these usability issues will hurt the companies that makes them.

]]> By: Anders Borg http://mobhappy.com/blog1/2006/07/13/never-underestimate-the-ingenuity-of-fools/comment-page-1/#comment-18699 Anders Borg Wed, 19 Jul 2006 10:20:16 +0000 http://mobhappy.com/blog1/2006/07/13/never-underestimate-the-ingenuity-of-fools/#comment-18699 I started writing a very long note about why this is so, as I've worked as a product manager and CTO at an embedded mobile application ISV, but I concluded the reasons behind it don't really matter, as attitude changes need to be made fresh. Digging into all the "dirty laundry" probably doesn't help anyone. It's better to wash it. Part of my responsibilities was to get a common look-n-feel for all products provided by the ISV, and for that we wrote an extensive UI Guideline and acted inhouse "UI police" (via usability testing etc) to get what we wanted. Note though that this was for our own applications only. Getting this right for a complete phone was outside our jurisdiction, but a similar approach is needed also at operators and manufacturers. Some are of course better than others at this. Comments on MMS in Sweden: E.g. 3 Sweden charges 0 SEK for SMS and MMS sent to other 3 users (in certain plans). That's cheap enough to me :). Even when sending to others it's humane: 10 cents for SMS and 20 cents for MMS. Not all operators have this attractive pricing though, but they feel the pressure. A secondary driver for more MMSs is in my opinion blogging and social network services, as SMS is still sufficient for most user-to-user messaging, but as both SMS and MMS are inexpensive in Sweden I believe more will send photos etc to others as well. I started writing a very long note about why this is so, as I’ve worked as a product manager and CTO at an embedded mobile application ISV, but I concluded the reasons behind it don’t really matter, as attitude changes need to be made fresh. Digging into all the “dirty laundry” probably doesn’t help anyone. It’s better to wash it.

Part of my responsibilities was to get a common look-n-feel for all products provided by the ISV, and for that we wrote an extensive UI Guideline and acted inhouse “UI police” (via usability testing etc) to get what we wanted. Note though that this was for our own applications only. Getting this right for a complete phone was outside our jurisdiction, but a similar approach is needed also at operators and manufacturers. Some are of course better than others at this.

Comments on MMS in Sweden:

E.g. 3 Sweden charges 0 SEK for SMS and MMS sent to other 3 users (in certain plans). That’s cheap enough to me :) . Even when sending to others it’s humane: 10 cents for SMS and 20 cents for MMS. Not all operators have this attractive pricing though, but they feel the pressure.

A secondary driver for more MMSs is in my opinion blogging and social network services, as SMS is still sufficient for most user-to-user messaging, but as both SMS and MMS are inexpensive in Sweden I believe more will send photos etc to others as well.

]]> By: Lifeblog http://mobhappy.com/blog1/2006/07/13/never-underestimate-the-ingenuity-of-fools/comment-page-1/#comment-18292 Lifeblog Mon, 17 Jul 2006 09:37:58 +0000 http://mobhappy.com/blog1/2006/07/13/never-underestimate-the-ingenuity-of-fools/#comment-18292 <strong>MobHappy on: Never Underestimate the Ingenuity of Fools...</strong> I had a boss who would always said to me that one never can never underestimate the ways someone can screw something up (he meant scientists in the lab) - one of his many great managerial suggestions. So, it is... MobHappy on: Never Underestimate the Ingenuity of Fools…

I had a boss who would always said to me that one never can never underestimate the ways someone can screw something up (he meant scientists in the lab) – one of his many great managerial suggestions. So, it is…

]]> By: Russell Buckley http://mobhappy.com/blog1/2006/07/13/never-underestimate-the-ingenuity-of-fools/comment-page-1/#comment-17886 Russell Buckley Fri, 14 Jul 2006 11:01:07 +0000 http://mobhappy.com/blog1/2006/07/13/never-underestimate-the-ingenuity-of-fools/#comment-17886 BigBerries - Uniform standards might be the best idea in the history of the universe, but it's not going to happen, so there's little point in speculation. Consistency in models isn't really practical. Different phones do different things and have different features, so a flexible approach is required. They're also getting better at navigation all the time, so they need the flexibility to adapt. And yes, things are going to get a lot worse before they get better. Simon - I'm pleased someone thinks that mms can be kickstarted :-) Having said that, while usability is an issue for MMS, when I'm Marketing Director for the Day of MMS, my main priorities would be pricing (decrease and transparency - and a fixed price data plan), consistency of delivery (a message sent must be a message delivered) and then usability, but more in terms of making it template driven and easy to use, not so much HOW to use it. I'm also not convinced that this incremental improvement is what's needed to improve usability - incrementalism is the enemy of innovation, after all. A really radical approach is needed here. I'm not sure I have the answer, but then, hell, no one is paying me to focus on what it might be! I think a start would be for the Board of the handset manufacturers to have a new position - Champion of Customer Service, Usability and Product Experience. It's the most important function in the company, but one that frequently gets overlooked and key issues drop through the cracks. BigBerries – Uniform standards might be the best idea in the history of the universe, but it’s not going to happen, so there’s little point in speculation. Consistency in models isn’t really practical. Different phones do different things and have different features, so a flexible approach is required. They’re also getting better at navigation all the time, so they need the flexibility to adapt. And yes, things are going to get a lot worse before they get better.

Simon – I’m pleased someone thinks that mms can be kickstarted :-) Having said that, while usability is an issue for MMS, when I’m Marketing Director for the Day of MMS, my main priorities would be pricing (decrease and transparency – and a fixed price data plan), consistency of delivery (a message sent must be a message delivered) and then usability, but more in terms of making it template driven and easy to use, not so much HOW to use it.

I’m also not convinced that this incremental improvement is what’s needed to improve usability – incrementalism is the enemy of innovation, after all. A really radical approach is needed here. I’m not sure I have the answer, but then, hell, no one is paying me to focus on what it might be!

I think a start would be for the Board of the handset manufacturers to have a new position – Champion of Customer Service, Usability and Product Experience. It’s the most important function in the company, but one that frequently gets overlooked and key issues drop through the cracks.

]]> By: simon andrews http://mobhappy.com/blog1/2006/07/13/never-underestimate-the-ingenuity-of-fools/comment-page-1/#comment-17885 simon andrews Fri, 14 Jul 2006 10:20:00 +0000 http://mobhappy.com/blog1/2006/07/13/never-underestimate-the-ingenuity-of-fools/#comment-17885 We've been talking to a number of people about how to deal with this sort of issue.Imagine if the operator (or the handset manufacturer?) sent owners of new handsets a mms each day with a couple of did you know tips. Supported by a website where people can share their tips on how to get the best out of a phone. And/or have the handset pre loaded with content on how to get the most from the phone - video or even a mobizine This approach would increase satisfaction, get people using more of their phones capabilities and may even kickstart MMS We’ve been talking to a number of people about how to deal with this sort of issue.Imagine if the operator (or the handset manufacturer?) sent owners of new handsets a mms each day with a couple of did you know tips. Supported by a website where people can share their tips on how to get the best out of a phone. And/or have the handset pre loaded with content on how to get the most from the phone – video or even a mobizine
This approach would increase satisfaction, get people using more of their phones capabilities and may even kickstart MMS

]]> By: Tommi Vilkamo http://mobhappy.com/blog1/2006/07/13/never-underestimate-the-ingenuity-of-fools/comment-page-1/#comment-17880 Tommi Vilkamo Fri, 14 Jul 2006 06:51:51 +0000 http://mobhappy.com/blog1/2006/07/13/never-underestimate-the-ingenuity-of-fools/#comment-17880 Good post. I think this is a hugely important problem. And as smartphones are becoming ever more complicated, it might get even worse. Two days ago, I read similar thoughts - though from a different perspective from Pip Coburn's article "Non-Geeks are Not Morons: The Change Function Model for Adopting Technology". http://www.changethis.com/pdf/24.02.NonGeeks Quote: "Maybe folks find your product hard to learn. Moments ago I received an email from a friend describing a study that showed half of all returned electronics products in the U.S. that were claimed to be faulty actually worked but users tend to give up figuring them out in 20 minutes! Think maybe those fat user manuals or long call lines listening to Barry Manilow is enough to scar them forever?" Good post. I think this is a hugely important problem. And as smartphones are becoming ever more complicated, it might get even worse.

Two days ago, I read similar thoughts – though from a different perspective from Pip Coburn’s article “Non-Geeks are Not Morons: The Change Function Model for Adopting Technology”.
http://www.changethis.com/pdf/24.02.NonGeeks

Quote:
“Maybe folks find your product hard to learn. Moments ago I received an email from a friend describing a study that showed half of all returned electronics products in the U.S. that
were claimed to be faulty actually worked but users tend to give up figuring them out in 20 minutes! Think maybe those fat user manuals or long call lines listening to Barry Manilow is
enough to scar them forever?”

]]> By: BigBerries http://mobhappy.com/blog1/2006/07/13/never-underestimate-the-ingenuity-of-fools/comment-page-1/#comment-17741 BigBerries Thu, 13 Jul 2006 20:43:41 +0000 http://mobhappy.com/blog1/2006/07/13/never-underestimate-the-ingenuity-of-fools/#comment-17741 Thanks for the read. I have a few questions. Do you think uniformity and standards in mobile will help resolve the situation? Do you think it would help if manufacturers has consistency with product navigation from the cheapie prepaid models all the way up to the most expensive release? Do you think that with the push for "smart" phones that this will become an even greater problem? I know it is a lot of questions but I am hoping you are open to them. - BigBerries Thanks for the read. I have a few questions. Do you think uniformity and standards in mobile will help resolve the situation? Do you think it would help if manufacturers has consistency with product navigation from the cheapie prepaid models all the way up to the most expensive release? Do you think that with the push for “smart” phones that this will become an even greater problem?

I know it is a lot of questions but I am hoping you are open to them.

- BigBerries

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