Do next generation interfaces present more problems than they solve or are entirely worth the learning curve they introduce? Video of this presentation available here: http://www.madpow.net/mad-pow-our-company-events.html

1. NEXT GEN INTERACTION PARADIGMS: USEFUL OR NOVELTY?
Prepared by:
Amy Cueva – Founder and CXO
603.436.7177
May 28, 2008

2. My Objective
Chat next gen.
Introduce process.
Show some samples.

3. Mad*Pow Clients

4. What is a Next Gen Interaction Paradigm?
What is a Next
Gen Interaction
Paradigm?

5. What is a Next Gen Interaction Paradigm?
A notably new or uncommon approach
within a given domain
Quack.

6. Next Gen Examples: Common News Browsing

7. Next Gen Examples: Un-common News Browsing – Useful or Novelty?
common

8. Next Gen Examples: Common Coffee Shopping

9. Next Gen Examples: Un-common Coffee Shopping - Useful or Novelty?
common

10. Next Gen Examples: Common Shoe Shopping

11. Next Gen Examples: Un-common Shoe Shopping - Useful or Novelty?
common

12. What’s the Difference?
The design is nice on all.
The creativity behind the interaction
and the synchronization of visual design
and technology is evident in the
“un-
“un-common” approaches.

13. Why Next Gen?
Senior Leadership may be
yearning for something different:
Web 2.0 Bug. If you don’t do
something different, you might
die. Competitors may be dabbling.
You want to create a buzz.
Creativity, Innovation, and/or
Experience are your brand.

14. Useful or Novelty?
Did the innovation improve usefulness
or ease of use?
Did it create “stickiness”?
Did it create value for the business?
Did it help with viral referrals?

15. How is Next Gen Interactions Born?
Getting to the quack.
Quack.
What is creativity? I define creativity is the act of turning new and
imaginative ideas into reality. Creativity involves two processes:
thinking, then producing. Innovation is the production or
implementation of a creative idea. If you have ideas, but don't act on
them, you are imaginative but not creative.
Creativity is a core competency for leaders and managers and one of
the best ways to set your company apart from the competition.
Creativity is characterized by the ability to perceive the world in new
ways, to find hidden patterns, to make connections between seemingly
unrelated phenomena, and to generate solutions.
Linda Naiman

16. Experiment in Connecting the Un-Related: And why I enjoy Next Gen
Related:
How’s my da
lookin’?
lookin’?

17. Experiment in Connecting the Un-Related: And why I enjoy Next Gen
Related:
Wow, that’s
pretty.

18. Experiment in Connecting the Un-Related: And why I enjoy Next Gen
Related:
Should Microsoft shift it’s focus into life
enjoyment or stick with productivity?
This connection could change the way people look at
business systems (in a good way).
Or
It could make people angry and nauseous.

19. Experiment in Connecting the Un-Related: And why I enjoy Next Gen
Related:
Design is Human Expression.
Next Gen interfaces have freedom to find
and exploit both random and meaningful
connections a little more.

20. How are Next Gen IP’s Created?
Suggested Process:
- Business Objectives Refresher
- Focus on Key Flows & Metrics
- Determine Propensity for Next Gen
- Cross Industry/Medium Research
- User Research
- Multi-Disciplinary Team Collaboration
- Multiple Approaches
- Narrowing & Evaluation
- Sell It
- Measure Success

21. How are Next Gen IP’s Created?
Business Objectives Refresher:
This [project] will be successful if…
Get a strong indication of desired results
from core team.

22. How are Next Gen IP’s Created?
Focus on Key Flows & Metrics:
- What flows will help meet objectives?
- What user behaviors are we trying
to change?
- What metrics will indicate success?

23. How are Next Gen IP’s Created?
Determine Propensity for Next Gen:
Propensity Scale: In the box or miles from the box?
- How will a new approach be received?
- Who are your allies?
Users, Design, Tech, Biz?
- Plan for the risk.

24. How are Next Gen IP’s Created?
Cross Industry/Medium Research:
Go for a complete change of scenery.
- In insurance? Look at shoes.
- In shoes? Look at mobile.
- In mobile? Go to the movies.
- In movies? Go to church.

25. How are Next Gen IP’s Created?
User Research:
Determine what they want to get out of the experience.
- What are users expecting? Not expecting?
- My experience will be a good one if…

26. How are Next Gen IP’s Created?
Multi Disciplinary Team Collaboration:
Who will come? User
Participants come prepared.
Brainstorm protocol.
Sketch approaches to flows. Business
Design
Whiteboard frenzy.
Candy given for ideas. Technology

27. How are Next Gen IP’s Created?
Multiple Approaches:
Don’t put all of your creative eggs in one basket.
- Explore variations inside and outside of
your propensity range.
- Waste little time on fidelity.

28. How are Next Gen IP’s Created?
Narrow & Evaluate:
- Narrow, then walk through. (JS)
- Or walk through, then narrow. (BB)

29. How are Next Gen IP’s Created?
Sell It (But not too much):
- Words Count.
- Build a Business Case.
- Partner with Design.
- Partner with Technology.
- Cite User Research.
- Start Small.

30. How are Next Gen IP’s Created?
Measure Success:
- How is the Next Gen Paradigm doing?
- How can the process be improved?
- Do any project scraps have potential for the future?

31. How are Next Gen IP’s Created?
What could happen?
- Your propensity scale could be wrong.
Wanted -> Don’t Want [or] Didn’t Want -> Want
[or
or]
- People could become insane with desire.
- Risks & unknown factors could bubble up.
- Time, budget, or technology could be unavailable.
- The process could yield a small change, perhaps
setting the stage for a next gen future.

32. Next Gen Samples: Aetna SmartSource
Project Goal:
Provide a central point
of access to Aetna’s
health management
tools and information.
Bubble up relevant
programs and cost
savings information.

33. Next Gen Samples: Aetna SmartSource
Next Gen
Propensity:
High - wanted to
exploit the capabilities
of the technology, and
were open to
exploration.

34. Next Gen Samples: Aetna SmartSource
Target Audience:
Those recently
diagnosed with a
chronic health
condition.
Those preparing for
surgery.

35. Next Gen Samples: Aetna SmartSource
Key Flows:
Explicit: Search and
browse health
information.
Implicit: Become
aware of topics that
you didn’t “think” to
search for.

36. Next Gen Samples: Aetna SmartSource
Method:
- Review of health
searches
- Review of info and
geo map UI’s
- Contextual inquiry
- Different approaches
- Options narrowed
with the core team
- Usability testing

37. Next Gen Samples: Aetna SmartSource
Difference
Inspiration:
- Users need to
understand the
breadth and depth of
information.
- They need context.
- Informational map
could function like
geographic map.

38. Next Gen Samples: Aetna SmartSource
Surprises &
Challenges:
- Less web savvy
users used map faster.
- Map couldn’t be too large.
- Text on map had to be
legible.

39. Next Gen Samples: Aetna SmartSource
Results:
- Increase in health info and
program views.
- Good PR.
- Competitive
differentiation, enhanced
sales story.

40. Next Gen Samples: Aetna SmartSource
Was Next Gen
Useful?
“Newness factor” helped:
- Win budget
- Enhance sales story
- PR interest
- Usability issues were
overcome.
- Technology will be
enhanced.

41. Next Gen Samples: Timberland Global Creative Services Portfolio
Project Goal:
Feature Timberland
GCS work in an easy
to navigate, visually
compelling fashion.

42. Next Gen Samples: Timberland Global Creative Services Portfolio
Next Gen Propensity
High – This piece was
to represent the
department’s creative
and innovative
capabilities.

43. Next Gen Samples: Timberland Global Creative Services Portfolio
Target Audience:
Timberland Sr.
Creative Leadership
and employees

44. Next Gen Samples: Timberland Global Creative Services Portfolio
Key Flows:
- Present best work.
- Select portfolio
samples most
relevant to the
conversation.
- Find past works.
- Find inspiration.

45. Next Gen Samples: Timberland Global Creative Services Portfolio
Method:
- Review of Portfolio
sites, Music Sites, and
Timberland’s work.
- Multiple approaches
- Options were narrowed
with the core team,
and refined into
storyboards.

46. Next Gen Samples: Timberland Global Creative Services Portfolio
Difference
Inspiration:
- Visual display of
search results.
- Communication
of range, depth,
history and quality.
- Power in numbers.
- “Page-less Design”

47. Next Gen Samples: Timberland Global Creative Services Portfolio
Surprises &
Challenges:
- Visual display of
search results has
many applications
elsewhere.
- Internal tools
can be a “safe”
place to innovate.

48. Next Gen Samples: Timberland Global Creative Services Portfolio
Results:
- Timberland’s GCS
team has a piece
which does their
creative justice.
- Users are able to
use the tool with
only very little
interface exploration.

49. Next Gen Samples: Timberland Global Creative Services Portfolio
Was Next Gen
Useful?
Yes, Next Gen was truly
the only option, but
couldn’t be so far out
that people couldn’t
intuitively use the tool.

50. Next Gen Samples: Autodesk Green Build Demo

51. Next Gen Samples: Autodesk Green Build Demo
Project Goal:
Demonstrate the
potential for green
building innovation in
a futuristic fashion.
Product is concept only and is not
planned to be produced.

52. Next Gen Samples: Autodesk Green Build Demo
Target Audience:
- Politicians
- Green architects
- Press

53. Next Gen Samples: Autodesk Green Build Demo
Key Flows:
Scripted flows:
- Predict a building’s
energy efficiency in
certain categories.
- Test how the
introduction of
different products
will effect efficiency .

54. Next Gen Samples: Autodesk Green Build Demo
Next Gen
Propensity:
Off the charts -
Wanted the demo to
be built on a large
multi touch screen the
size of a whiteboard.

55. Next Gen Samples: Autodesk Green Build Demo
Method:
Multi-disciplinary team
collaboration.
Options narrowed with
core team and refined
into a storyboard.

56. Next Gen Samples: Autodesk Green Build Demo
Difference
Inspiration:
Minority Report,
iPhone, Mac,
Mash Ups.

57. Next Gen Samples: Autodesk Green Build Demo
Inspiration:
Minority Report,
iPhone, Mac,
Mash Ups.

58. Next Gen Samples: Autodesk Green Build Demo
Surprises &
Challenges:
- Screen res and
information density.
- Height of the people.
- Multi-touch
whiteboards and
meeting software
convergence will be
super cool.

59. Next Gen Samples: Autodesk Green Build Demo
Results:
Standing Ovation
Industry Notice

60. Next Gen Samples: Autodesk Green Build Demo
Was Next Gen
Useful?
Yes. The interaction
paradigm not only
helped sell the idea of
green building
innovation, it almost
became the idea itself.

61. Want a Copy?
Drop your card or visit:
www.madpow.net

62. Questions?
Questions, comments, war stories, and
verbal tomatoes are all welcomed.