Product design is in a moment of profound change and redefinition as technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and spatial computing significantly impact computing experiences. AI in particular may have only minor impacts on interface design but will significantly impact the holistic product or ecosystem experience. Spatial computing, on the other hand, will change human-computer interactions and change our understanding of what a computer is.
For successful products and businesses, innovation is here to stay. There’s a never-ending search to find the next new thing that improves user experience, expands product reach, increases revenue, or all three at once. Product design makes innovation less daunting and increases the chances of success because it is a multidisciplinary process with structures and frameworks to catalyze innovation. Technologists have a role in the process that goes beyond their traditional responsibilities of validating the technology or concept. Before discussing nontraditional ways for technologists to engage in product innovation, let’s examine innovation and product design conceptually.
The word innovation has a simple meaning – introducing something new or introducing a new way of doing something – but we often inflate it to mean something magical, grandiose, and world-changing. Innovation can just as easily be mundane and simple. The key to innovation is to be “new”. It can be localized to a “new” team, product, process or business unit. “New” can be well-known and established practices that have not been incorporated into your workflow or product. Sometimes innovation comes from closing small gaps and isn’t always a major breakthrough.
Product design is a process, not a discipline or deliverable. It’s (understandably) easy to limit the scope of product design to color choices, content layout, and aesthetics. Too often, design is reduced to the mere act of beautifying user interfaces. Product design is much deeper and broader than visual design assets. For example, product design can guide and focus a business strategy, user experience strategy, or technology research.
The process creates a guide rail throughout any innovation initiative. The essence of product design is decision making with an intelligent instinct to make the best decisions at the most appropriate time. Product design helps reduce risk and leads to more effective innovation through quality decision-making.
A progressive role for technologists
Technologists play a strategic role in product innovation and must bring a metaphysical perspective as well as being meticulous. Our job is to explain the essence of technology and think strategically about the application of technologies to problem areas. We are very constructive when we translate “how X will do Y” techniques into “these are the types of products and services that can be realized with X technology.”
For most technical leaders and software developers, this is a reversal of the mode of our traditional tactical and direct interaction with technology. Context change from everyday build-operate is challenging but crucial to developing successful and innovative products. We are uniquely positioned to generate strategic insights transformed from intense technical details that drive innovative business cases and product experiences.
A technology innovation must solve a business problem, such as improving operational efficiency, growing existing revenue streams, or creating new ones. The problem space may be customer-facing (e.g., how can we introduce a new feature?) or internal (e.g., how can we make a process more efficient?). The problem is of major concern. The specific technologies or innovations used to solve the problem are often less critical. We cannot lose perspective on business needs; otherwise the activities become too academic or a paid hobby.
An ordinary house analogy is hanging a picture. As long as the picture is on the wall and flat, it doesn’t matter the hole size, bracket or tools used to hang the picture. The characteristics of the process and technologies matter only because they relate to how well they solve the problem, the cost of doing so, and the overall end-user experience.
The current hype cycle in AI serves as a great concrete example. For technology or product executives, the challenge is how to do more than check the AI box — it’s about how to meaningfully incorporate AI into a product. Instead of forcing a technology onto a product, the design process flows to the technologies. In this way, the technology becomes a natural solution.
As experts on a technology or technology stack, we can communicate abstract insights or contribute in more conceptual contexts. Technologists add value to the product design process by sharing their expertise on a technology’s characteristics. Designers use this information to shape and exploit technologies in the visual and interaction design process. In this way, technologies inform new interaction models, interface metaphors, and product channels. This involvement gives confidence and conviction to the promises of design.
Think of digital technologies as a material like paint, stone, or wood. For artisans to create with materials, they must understand the material’s ontology and phenomenology. An artist must know the differences between oil, acrylic, or watercolor paints because each material has different properties that affect how and what can be created. Technologists must “find the grain” of a technology. In this way, they become an intermediary between the abstract nature of design and the pedantic nature of technology. This philosophical perspective is especially important when a product is in a growth stage or when using emerging technologies.
Regardless of whether your product is growing or in a stable stage or employs established or emerging technologies, integrating technologies into the product strategy and design process enriches the final outcome. There is a technology perspective extending beyond the operations and mechanics of the code “factory floor,” which provokes innovation. Sometimes this leads to small, impactful moments of innovation — and sometimes it is a brilliant revolution.