As I was picking up coffee this morning for my roommates at Starbucks (yes, Starbucks, it was convenient) I notice yet another example of just how important thoughtful design plays in a business, and how in turn it affects the guest experience. See exhibit A below. At first sight, a humble quad cup holder, nothing to get excited about. Not nearly has glamorous as the iPhone, but let’s first think about the design considerations then the business impact of this humble cup holder:
Den ganzen Beitrag lesen…

I think I just read my favourite book. The Kite Runner has finally been displaced after 3 years at the top spot. The Last Moghul gripped me like a thriller, which you know is going to have a sad ending. At different times, it made me sad, angry, vengeful and just melancholic. I read the sad ending of a great empire in the words of a British author who seems to understands how deeply humiliating imperialism is for the vanquished. It made me savour that anwar rathol I had the week before, feeling guilty that the great Ghalib in this last days could not afford the fruit he so cherished. I felt sorry for Dehli, a city I’ve never seen. And felt blinding hatred for Theo MetCalfe who indiscriminately killed hundreds of Muslims in the Fall of 1857. What a time it was. The greatest challenge to imperialism in the nineteenth century fought over religion by a Hindu army under the patronage of the last mughal ruler, defeated by pagans using Muslim mercenaries.

I couldn’t recommend the book more highly. It’s history we haven’t read before.

-Adnan

There is irreducible complexity with every task, but the system should be designed to carry the maximum burden of the task. Communication is one where there is much reduction to be done. Phone numbers and address are obsolete. There should be one item, say your email address, or a new ‘unified address’ which connects to you. Phone, mail, email…whatever. So for example a person’s contact would ALWAYS be john.doe@anywhere.contact. On my phone, that is what I would dial. If I need to send a letter to John Doe, all I would have to write is that on the envelope..etc. The system is where the burden of figuring it all out exists. It is much much more efficient for me, as the address owner, to update the end address rather than for everyone of the the people I know to have to update their address books or phone book everytime I change something.

So in designing any application or system, the object should be to take as much of the burden of the task away from the user.

-Wynn