From the category archives:

ethnography

Solution in Search of a Problem

by Pete Abilla July 26, 2010

Most view innovation a big bang type of exercise – or an “aha” moment that came out of nowhere. Indeed, cogito ergo sum – an invention akin to “out nothing, something”. A look back in history will tell us that this notion is completely false. In fact, looking at the components of the iPhone, you’ll [...]

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Unappetizing Spaghetti Diagrams

by Pete Abilla August 9, 2009
This entry is part 18 of 28 in the series Lean and Six Sigma

A Spaghetti Diagram is a simple visual tool to demonstrate the flow of material, flow of information, and flow of money in a process. The word “spaghetti” is descriptive because it describes flow that is not easily understood, can’t easily be followed, or if the flow is literally all over the place.  Indeed, a Spaghetti [...]

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Elegance and Encapsulation

by Pete Abilla June 19, 2009

Hiding unnecessary information from a customer is good business. Have you ever had an interaction with a business, where your goal was to get served, but instead the business shares their problems with you? Were you left thinking “I’ve got problems of my own, I don’t need or care to know yours. Just give me [...]

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Purposeful Simplicity, Unthoughtful Complexity

by Pete Abilla April 15, 2009

Most people or organizations do not, by design, create a product or service with the goal of “making the most complex product that nobody can use”.  In other words, rarely do we see purposeful complexity but instead we see much unthoughtful complexity. i am going to create the most complex product or service and nobody [...]

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On Queueing, Oil Change, and Customer Experience

by Pete Abilla April 2, 2009
This entry is part 2 of 28 in the series queueing theory

Earlier this week, I went to Jiffy Lube to get my oil change. I once worked for a person responsible for the redesign of many waiting rooms in various industries, so I went with an observant eye, looking for the items that he taught me about in his ethnographic work.   It was a very [...]

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My Experience with Twitter, Part 3

by Pete Abilla January 26, 2009

A few weeks ago, I posted on my experience with Twitter, Part 1.  That post was retweeted by Robert Scoble, the traffic came, got a bunch of new followers on Twitter (welcome folks), and a flurry of passionate comments on the post, including 3 comments from Guy Kawasaki.  Then, I posted on my experience with [...]

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Maintain Forward Tension

by Pete Abilla July 20, 2008

One principle in Wing Chun is the maintaining of forward tension.  To explain, I’ll draw the distinction between Tension and Energy and show how this principle in Wing Chun can be applied to Change Management. Tension is a type of Energy A Wing Chun maxim goes as follows: soft and relaxed strength will put your [...]

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On Customer Obsession

by Pete Abilla April 15, 2008

I’d venture to say that most products and services are bloated with features that customers most likely don’t care for;  I’ve been part of product development teams where the focus is on features, with an implicit goal to stuffing as many features as possible — in consumer packaged goods and in software.   This is the [...]

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Visual Mismanagement

by Pete Abilla March 12, 2008
This entry is part 8 of 8 in the series Visual Management Principles

A few months ago we adopted our baby girl, Mylie.  During that hospital experience, I had an encounter with a faucet fraught with featuritis and one that wasn’t humane and, during that same time, I noticed a piece of visual management in the hospital room that wasn’t effective in its intention to provide or share [...]

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