Bad product design is everywhere

I used to not think much about product design. Sure, I thought about the design of shoes, which I love, and even more so when I worked at Nike. I didn't pay much attention to the design of the every day things interact with. That's until I started building software in 2010. The software industry is, rightfully, obsessed with good user experience. They design for it. They do so because technology products are used by so many, especially software. Build once, get used by billions. What a departure from the days of physical products that differed in each region, where users had little visibility into how good things could be.

With technology making so many more products available to us, and with smart companies showing us what good user experiences can look like, its easier to notice when bad product design happens. Turns out, poorly designed products are everywhere! These days, I quickly notice when products put a button in an inconvenient place, when the visual they want me to see is covered up, or when there is an unnecessary step or barrier that prevents me from completing the task I want to complete, in a timely fashion.

My favorite example of this is when users are asked to select what type of credit card they are using, followed by the credit card number. You may not know this, but there is absolutely no reason to ask software users to tell the web site what credit card you want to use. Credit cards have standards. Visa cards always start with a 4. American Express will start with a 34 or 37. Mastercard with 51 through 55 or 2221 through 2720. Go ahead, check our cards, I'll wait.

See, its a totally unnecessary step, yet just about every web site you purchase from will require you to do it (there are some good ones that don't, thank you). Why don't we make products easier to use?

Recently, I found another example of poor product design, this time with a physical product. My office has a few coffee makers, just like every other American office. One of them is a fancy coffee + espresso drinks machine. The user experience design on this thing is absolutely terrible!

Coffee machine with a terrible user experience, and my favorite coffee mug

I am guessing you are looking at the above picture, wondering what could possibly be wrong with it. Allow me to explain. There are 3 examples of terrible user experience design in this one product.

First, notice the coffee bean hoppers at the top of the machine. They hold 2 different types of beans, labeled #1 and #2. As most English speakers would expect, #1 is on the left, #2 is on the right. However, there is a 3rd hopper for beans, which my company uses for decaf. Its inside the machine, with no easy external access like #1 and #2. As such, we had to place a label on the front of the machine to let users and servicers know that there is in fact a 3rd option. The lack of uniformity and the hidden option are both failures in product design and user experience.

A close up of the 3 coffee bean hoppers

The second problem comes when its time to brew a cup (lets be honest, thats the worst time for a caffeine junky). Remember, the coffee beans are labeled left to right, one, two, and three. So what happens when you are presented with a menu to selection your option? Have a look for yourself.

Since when did 2 come before 1?

Coffee #2 is on the far left, followed by coffee #1 and coffee #3. They couldn't even stay consistent with their inconsistency. The following three options are extra strength #2, followed by extra strength #1, ending with extra strength decaf, instead of calling it extra strength #2.

Our poor user experience doesn't end there, and at this point this shouldn't be any surprise to you. Once the brewing starts, the screen that displays while the user waits for a dark, steaming mug of energy, offers more confusion. My go-to coffee #1 is now referred to as coffee A. You can't make this stuff up.

This list actually goes on from there. This machine has 2 spouts where mugs can be filled from, but for the life of me and my colleagues, we can't figure out how to use the spout on the right. Therefore, don't even try to use the second spout when someone else is waiting for their coffee to finish brewing, you'll just have to wait!

In closing, if you have anything to do with taking a product (or feature) to market, whether you are an engineer, a software developer, product designer, product manager, or anything else, please do right by your users. Take a moment to stop and review your products design. Remember that design isn't just about visuals and color, its about the experience a user has. Ask if you can remove steps, make things easier, or make things faster. Ask a customer, a friend, or a colleague to look at your work and point out any inconsistencies or oddities that you may not have noticed. A little bit of time spent here can have a small impact on the daily life of thousands, millions, or even billions of people.

A big opportunity for Amazon's Alexa powered Echo devices

Update: On May 9th, 2017, Amazon announced the release of Alexa Calling, their device-to-device communication feature. While the feature appears to allow the equivalent of a phone call from one device owner to another, as I hoped they would do, it does not appear to offer the intercom like functionality I propose below.

The Amazon Echo, and Echo Dot come in white and black, and are powered by Alexa. The larger Echo offers music quality sound.

I love my Amazon Echo. I first bought the device because I wanted a small but good music speaker for my small studio apartment, and I liked the idea that I could play music from my Amazon music library. The Echo solved that need beautifully, and I soon fell in love with Alexa, the voice/AI software that powers Echo. I now also own an Echo Dot for my bathroom, and I use both of my Echo devices to do things like set a morning alarm, hear the news, get the weather, call an Uber, create shopping lists, get live updates on sports scores, assist me when cooking, hear my schedule for the next day, listen to recent tweets, and so, so much more. I believe we are still in the early days of what Echo/Alexa can do, we'll see an exponential addition of capabilities over the next couple of years.

This Christmas, I bought my parents an Echo Dot, and my sister received one for her home as well. I quipped to her that she'll love the Echo Dot so much, she'll soon end up with an Echo device in every major room of her house. I know I'd have more than 2 if I didn't live in a studio apartment!

The thought of my closest family members all having Echo devices, and the idea of my sister having one in each room of her bustling family home gave me an idea. Echo devices could do for voice-based communication what Apple's FaceTime did for video calling. In a world where we have an increasing reliance on text based communication such as SMS (texting) and Email, Amazon has the opportunity to usher in a new age of the telephone with device-to-device communication.

I'd love the ability to call my parents by simply speaking to my Echo and telling Alexa to connect me with them. On the other end, their Echo could tell them that I'd like to talk, and they could command their Echo to answer or take a message. As ridiculous as it sounds, removing the friction of dialing and holding the phone to my ear would lead me to more voice communication with my family, and less texting.

Anyone alive in the 70s, 80s, or 90s will recognize this!

Another device-to-device application is as an instant home intercom system. With Echo devices in each room of my sister's home, she'd have a network of devices that she could use to communicate with her children and husband, no matter where they are in the house. Using her voice to call the kids down from the playroom for dinner, or asking her husband to bring a screwdriver in from the garage, at just $49.99 for the Echo Dot, the Echo family of products could inexpensively and less obtrusively do what so many electronics companies and home builders did in the 80s and 90s with ugly, in-wall intercom systems.

Amazon has a lot of opportunity ahead with Echo/Alexa, and a lot of tough decisions to make about what to/not to build. I'd love to see them add device-to-device voice communication, would you? Like this post and share on social media if you agree!

Solve problems with "why"

In my last post, I talked about the importance of having a "hair on fire, pay anything to solve" problem when you are building a product or business. For a lot of entrepreneurs, this is hard to get to. You'd think it would be easy, but it's not and I get why. Entrepreneurs have passion, they have ideas, they have drive. All important qualities and a great way to start, but those qualities often lead to blinders that keep you from focusing externally on the customer and the problem you can solve faster/better/cheaper.

There is actually a very simple technique to help you find the real problem customer's will pay you to solve. It's a technique that comes from conflict resolution/problem solving. The technique is called "5 whys" and it's the idea of asking why 5 times. The theory goes, within 5 questions of "why," you'll get to the root of the problem or issue.

Let's look at an example that is common is many of your personal lives:

Your significant other (S/O): "I'm mad at you."

You: "why?"

S/O: "Because you didn't take out the trash."

You: "Why does that make you mad?"

S/O: "Because I shouldn't have to ask you to do some of the work around the house."

You: "Why is that a problem now when it hasn't been before?"

S/O: "Because you know I am working long hours this week at work, and the kids started school again this week so there is so much to keep up on."

Based on that interaction, with just 3 questions, you've learned that the problem isn't that you didn't take out the trash, the problem is that you didn't recognize your significant other's need for more help. They don't necessarily need you to take out the trash, they need you to have some empathy, understand the situation and be proactive.

If your significant other was a customer, they wouldn't pay you to take out the trash, but they would pay you to have empathy, understanding, and be proactive. The problem isn't the trash! Had you not asked why, you'd think it was the trash. Had you not asked why 3 times, you wouldn't know the real problem is empathy, understanding, and being proactive.

At this point, you might think I'm a bit crazy with this example, but it does have a direct relationship to you and your customers. The first problem you discuss is probably NOT the problem they'll pay you to solve. The problem they'll pay you to solve is often deeper, and understanding the real problem will lead to significant business and financial success.

The best way for me to drive this point home is to share a real life example. I'm lucky to be called an advisor to an exciting startup named TalentIQ. They are in the big data space, and can be described as a "people intelligence" company. They keep databases about people up-to-date with current and relevant information that can't be easily found, verified, or understood otherwise. They sell this value to talent recruiting, sales, and financial organizations. The product that customers pay for today is not the product the founders started with.

Sean and Henry originally recognized that hiring top talent is hard, in part because the best talent already has a job and isn't applying for a new one. So they built a sourcing tool, a search product that recruiters could use to easily find the best talent based on specific criteria, regardless of employment status. They had success with this product and dozens of customers, some household names, started using the software.

The sales were coming in, but not at the rate they wanted. So they continued to interview their customers, and asked "what makes your job as talent recruiters difficult?" When they got an answer, they continued to ask "why?" They dug deeper. Then they learned that while customers did indeed have a need for their original software, they actually had a bigger problem. They had stale databases with thousands of past applicants, and the perfect candidate for a new role may be in that database. However, the information in that database was likely wrong...if for no other reason than it was old...out of date. Even better, TalentIQ's technology could easily solve that problem, it was an easy shift and was inline with their original vision.

Sean and Henry had their "ah-ha" moment, because they had the perseverance and humble nature to go beyond the surface, and dig deeper. They asked why. Over and over again. The sales started rolling in, at a rate even greater than they had imagined. Today they enjoy a rapidly growing business, with mind-blowing revenues that most companies would envy for the first year of their existence.

What Sean and Henry did may seem simple, but it's hard. Really hard. As entrepreneurs, we have to be open to changing the original product we envisioned, in order to meet our customers needs. We also need to remain unsatisfied with initial traction. It's easy for a few people, a few customers, to say our product is good. Great business aren't built on a few customers, they are built on hundreds, thousands, even millions. You won't get to that level unless you are willing to ask "why," over and over again. Get out of your own way, dig deep, and get to the real problem.

Don't just take my word for it, or the example of TalentIQ. Look at other companies. Uber's most popular product is UberX, but their original idea was town cars/limos driven by professional drivers (Uber Black). Twitter started out as a group text messaging concept, but I doubt anyone uses their text messages features today. These examples go on and on, as do the examples of companies that were never smart enough to dig deeper. Which category will you be in?

The startup problem

Recently, I had the rare and exhilarating opportunity to meet with 7 different startups in a single day. I heard seven product pitches. Seven teams of entrepreneurs so passionate about their companies, they are wiling to risk it all. Do you know what I didn't hear? Seven problem statements. Seven reasons the world needed what they were building. Seven reasons that the risk was worth it.

Its not that none of the seven were solving a problem, its that some of them didn't (or couldn't) articulate it. Instead, they focused on the solution. The cool new thing they were building. The software that would make something happen. Frequently jumping right into the what and how, without the why.

If you are a startup entrepreneur, your #1 job is to passionately and convincingly explain the problem you are solving. Can't do that? Stop everything you are doing, and obsess over this requirement. Your goal should be a 1-3 sentence problem statement. So clear that someone not familiar with the industry you are in, can understand it. I don't care if you are in the nuclear physics or open source software industries, you should be able to clearly explain the problem to the average person you encounter in your life.

Why does it matter? Because as an entrepreneur, you are always selling. Not just selling to your customers, selling to everyone. Selling the opportunity to investors and potential employees. Selling board members, mentors, and advisors on helping you. Selling your spouse on why its worth the risk to put it all on the line for this. Sell your friends on the reason you haven't seen them in ages. Selling the stranger at the cocktail party on the fact that you actually do important work, and aren't crazy.

Now, if you are a high growth startup entrepreneur, knowing the problem you are solving and passionately telling everyone about it is just the first step. The next step is to make sure you are solving a 10x problem. A 10x problem is one you can solve 10 times better than the alternatives, or solve the problem for 1/10th the cost of your competitors. You sell your product for 20% less than the competition? So what, thats not enough. Your product is 30% faster than the competition? Get out of here, not good enough.

Your customers have an alternative to your product. Maybe its not a direct competitor, but at the very least the alternative is the status quo. Doing nothing or continuing the way they've always dealt with the problem.

Now, you are asking them to make a change, to switch to your product instead.  The price of your product isn't the only cost to the customer. There is a switching cost. Not just the real costs to switch, but the inferred costs as well. The cost associated with taking a chance on you, the risk that you'll actually deliver on what you say you will. That you'll be around in the future and be able to grow with them. That you'll be the partner they need.

Customers won't switch to a startup for 20% cheaper or 30% faster. You need to be 10x better.

In my next post, I'll share with you a crazy simple technique to help get past the surface an opportunity, and down to the 10x problem.

Build better products by vacationing more

Throughout my life, I've been lucky to do a moderate amount of travel. In the last couple years, my travel has increased significantly, including international destinations for work and play. In fact, over the past 12 months, I've traveled to Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Thailand, Mexico (x2), and even a small town on Canada's Vancouver island (via float plane, of course!).

While traveling, I can't help but notice the differences in the lives of the locals compared with mine back home. I'm talking small things, not the obvious things like income or weather differences. Lately, I can't stop thinking about these differences and how they should change the way I build products. They should change the way you build products. They should change the way everyone builds products.

Below are some of the small observations I've made while traveling this year and thoughts on how they might impact how products are built.

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Transportation

Do you have a manual or automatic transmission vehicle? If you are reading from the US or Canada, you likely have an automatic transmission. About 95% of new cars sold in the US have an automatic transmission. An automatic sure makes it easy for us to do other things in the car, like pull up Waze and get directions to our destination, or accept a new passenger in the Uber Partner app for those of you that drive for the transportation company.

However, outside of the US and Canada, I've observed manual transmissions dominating markets. From old, beat up, compact taxis to large, luxury, 10 person vans, manual transmissions are the norm in many countries (Thailand, Mexico, etc).

Now, think about using Waze, Uber's Partner app, Spotify, or any other mobile app you use in the car. Think your usage would be the same if you almost always have 1 hand on the stick shift? I bet not.

Differences in transportation go beyond that. I noticed in Barcelona and Bangkok, scooters and motorcycles are everywhere! Its possible that there are more scooter riders than car drivers in these cities. Knowing that, if your product was used for or during transportation, would you build it the same for scooter riders as car drivers? I wouldn't.

Also in Thailand, Tuk Tuks are the way to get around! Scooters modified to have seating for 2 behind or next to the driver! However, for those that do drive cars in Thailand, they all have these small, sharply curved mirrors at the very front corners of their hoods. What for? Turns out, Thai's drive through some VERY tight spaces, and this mirror helps the driver know how close they are to hitting another car, a wall, or a tree. They drive within centimeters of obstacles on a regular basis. If you are a car designer who's product will be sold into Asia, you probably should think about this before adding that bubbly fender design!

Finally, while Uber has made getting around a breeze in most cases, I experienced a problem recently that doesn't happen to me in the US. While in Mexico City earlier this month, I relied on Uber to get where I needed to go. It was easy, specific, cheap, and crossed the language barrier. There was one problem though: many of the destinations I wanted to go to where not in Uber's mapping database. I've taken for granted that every business or home that I want to go to in the US can be looked up quickly in the Uber app, pinpointing my drop-off location. Not true in Mexico City. Want to go to that great taco stand you read about on TripAdvisor? Don't expect to type the name into Uber and have a pin dropped in the perfect location! This happened to me about 3 times on during my long weekend there and appears to be common. Time to brush up on my Spanish!

Phones & Communication

If you live in a major metropolitan area in the US, especially on the west or east coasts, you are surrounded by iPhones. About 64% of American adults own smartphones, and about 47% of them use an iPhone. Now zoom out and look at the entire world. Less than half of mobile phone users around the world use a smartphone, and of those that do, Android dominates!

In fact, on a trip to Mexico City recently, I don't think I saw a single iPhone in the hands or vehicle of a local. Samsung/Android phones were the norm. In Thailand, outside of Bangkok, it was rare to see a smartphone at all. What the industry calls Feature Phones were the norm (in-between a basic phone with no advanced features, and a full on smart phone with fast web browsing, apps, etc). Building a mobile product for use outside of the US? You better think about these numbers and make sure you are building a product that your intended user can actually use.

Paying for things

Until I began traveling more internationally, I took for granted my reliance on credit/debit cards. At home, I almost NEVER have cash or change on me. This habit had to change when I began traveling internationally more. Go ahead, try to pay for something with a credit card on an island in Thailand. Almost impossible.

Cash is king in many destinations outside of the US, Canada, and Europe. In fact, even in Europe I am required to us cash more often than in the US. Most cabs in Barcelona have credit card machines, but some literally don't! Its nice to know that before you take a ride somewhere :)

In Thailand, I found that many cab and Tuk Tuk drivers didn't have change! Don't try to take a 30 baht ride and try to pay with a 1,000 baht bill. I did this once, and the Tuk Tuk driver had to take me to a 7-11 where I bought a water bottle and got change in smaller bills.

Even when you can pay with a credit/debit card, there are differences. Until recently, none of my debit/credit cards had chips in them. When paying for something in Europe, I found myself having to show the cab driver or restaurant employee how to run a credit card with a stripe instead of a chip. Seriously, it was foreign to them! Think about this if your product accepts physical credit cards and you want to sell your product outside of your home country/region.

This knowledge isn't just valuable when conducting a transaction. If you make wallets, pants and other personal items, remember that in some countries, your user is typically caring around currency. Paper bills, often pockets full of coins. What can you do to make their lives easier? Reinforce pant pockets to handle the change people carry? Provide more room for cash and less room for credit cards in a wallet? These are obvious ideas, I bet one of you out there has a much more brilliant idea!

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These are just a few of my observations, and while small, they could make or break the success of your product. So, what differences have you observed while traveling? What have you done to make your product more accessible to users in regions outside of your own? Let me know on Facebook or Twitter using the links at the bottom of this page!