New Book about applying personas in Japan

Here's another book on personas and user centric design for you to recommend to your Japanese colleagues and friends. The Japanese title roughly translates as:

After you've made a persona, what's next? Designing User-centric web sites.

It was written by Hiroki Tanahashi - He and I are both members of the Persona Consortium, which seeks to promote the use of personas in Japan. He writes an excellent blog and various other articles about marketing and web design.

The book hasn't been released yet - but I've already placed my order with amazon...

The purpose of the book is to explain specifically how personas can be applied in Japan, with concrete case studies. 

ペルソナ及びユーザ中心デザインについての本

そろそろ出版される見込みのペルソナについての本を紹介したいと思います。

作家はペルソナ・コンソーシアムのメンバー棚橋弘季さんです。（私もペルソナ・コンソーシアムのメンバーです）

ペルソナ作って、それからどうするの? ユーザー中心デザインで作るWebサイト

内容紹介
『日本型』ユーザー中心Webデザインの技法

アメリカで注目を浴びるペルソナ手法を“日本向け”に変換+Webサイト構築に応用したテクニックを解説。ペルソナの価値だけでなく、ペルソナ作成後の具体的なデザイン方法についてケーススタディを通じて紹介します。

価格：	￥ 2,940 （税込）

前から棚橋さんのブログ、又はペルソナ・スクエアのコラムを読んでいる方が多いと思います。彼の本を読むことを楽しみにしています。今日はアマゾンで予約しました。

Monetizing Twitter - Advertising on your feed

I never caught the Twitter bug. I admit it. I'm square.

Oh sure, I tried it out. But I discovered that my usual response to twitter's perenial question "What are you doing?" was "What's it to you?" On the rare occasions when I am seized by an urge to update my twitter feed, I invariably write that I'm "updating twitter"... Forgive me.

Every now and then, I get a request from someone who wants to subscribe to my Twitter feed. Goodness knows what value they might derive from my feed. One of these days one of my subscribers will ask for his time back....  (Hint: You're never getting it back).

Still, there's no denying that some people are devoted to Twitter. And if Japanese mobile phone users can be persuaded to join in, then you'll be seeing 24hour Twitter updates from every street corner.

Today Japan's Digital Garage launched the Japanese language version of Twitter. (It must have been fairly easy to localize). But there's one twist -- They've created space on the twitter interface for advertising. That's right... As you inflict your stream of consciousness onto an unsuspecting world... the world will generate a stream of advertising revenue from it. I wonder how Twitter users around the world will feel if this is launched into their markets. As I recall, Social services like Facebook often suffer massive backlash from their communities if the owners are too heavy handed in trying to monetize the service.

Once again, Akky Akimoto was quick to report this news.

(*But actually, my colleague pointed it out to me first).

And now you're five minutes older than you were when you started reading this post. Time to update your Twitterfeed...

How not to talk to your customers - The eMail hall of shame

I am a pretty satisfied customer of First Direct bank. Their 24 hour telephone and online service is very convenient for me, since I live a long way from the UK. In my experience, First Direct call center agents are very good communicators and unfailingly helpful. Their online service is usually pretty straightforward too...

But yesterday, First Direct sent me this message:

Faster Payments as mentioned in Section 4.7.5 of our Account Terms is now due to come into effect on 27 May 2008, although this is subject to change.

Please note: After this message has been viewed it will be removed from your inbox and is not retrievable.

Yes. That's the entire message. It was in the "Secure Inbox" on my account page. (If it had been sent as an ordinary email, I would have assumed it was a phishing attempt and instantly deleted it).

Well, I wrote a snarky complaint. First Direct promptly responded with an explanation - The cryptic message that I received was a "reminder" of something that First Direct had announced in October 2007. (And I'm supposed to remember that?). It seems that "Faster Payments" refers to a new system that will enable same day money transfers to accounts at participating banks in the UK. So everything is clear now... My bank and I are friends again.

Some of the things that I liked about First Direct's response to my complaint:

(1) The message began with "Dear Mr. Browne" (Dear Jonathan would be fine too)

(2) The message was "signed" by a real person (I have his name and title)

(3) It mentioned my complaint at the start - So I had no doubt what this was about

(4) It was free of company specific jargon and industry jargon. (There was no mention of "Section 4.7.5")

(5) The explanation of "Faster Payments" was clear, concise and to the point

Email communication is a hugely important channel -- both for marketing to customers and for offering support to them. Companies who focus on providing valuable, well presented, trustworthy email communication will see returns on the effort they make. And those that ignore these essential rules will find that consumers simply ignore them.

Last year, my colleague, Moira Dorsey wrote a report: "Best And Worst Of Email Interaction Design, 2007" which outlines 10 criteria for effecive communication via email. Don't forget that email may be just one customer touchpoint out of many -- Customers who visit the web site, may also contact the call center or send an email request etc.

Japanese Systems Engineers - Too busy firefighting to do jury duty?

I want to thank Akky Akimoto of Asiajin for pointing out a story in Japan's Mainichi newspaper about Exemptions for Jury Duty in Japan (article in Japanese). Akky points out that "Systems Engineer" is one of the jobs in a special list compiled by Japan's law courts; a list of people who have valid reasons to be exempted from jury duty ...

Background: From May 2009, Japan will introduce a "lay judge system" in which ordinary citizens will help decide the outcomes of trials. Japan's supreme court anticipates that some citizens will try to dodge jury duty with excuses ranging from "I'm a beautician. New graduates are relying on me to style their hair and kimonos for the graduation ceremony season" or "I'm currently the top favorite hostess at the bar where I work."

In order to provide guidance to district courts regarding which excuses should be viewed with sympathy, the supreme court conducted some research and came up with ten examples of jobs and circumstances that may qualify as worthy excuses for declining to do duty as a "lay judge".

Some of the examples in the list are the kind of "traditional" jobs that require tremendous dedication and happen to be quintessential elements of Japanese culture.  For example -

- Toji. (Master Brewers). During the season for brewing Japanese sake, master brewers must attend closely to their vats of fermenting rice to monitor how the fermentation is progressing and make minute adjustments.

- Ryokan Okami (Landladies of Japanese Inns). The general managers of Japanese inns oversee the entire operation from the start of the working day to the early hours of the following morning. Their presence is the "soul" of the inn.

There are some other curious inclusions which are very specific to certain locations or events:

- Hiroshima Oyster Cultivators. Their oysters may spoil if there is one day of delay.

- Residents of Tanegashima island in Kagoshima, Kyushu. During the local festival, festivities would be dampened by their absence

All of this provides a very picturesque image of a nation of devoted artisans. If Norman Rockwell had been Japanese, these are the people he would have painted. So... what on earth are "Systems Engineers" doing in this list? The Mainichi article explains that they are included because "they may be needed to respond in the event of a problem"

What should we infer from this?

- Japanese Systems Engineers are in short supply. They're stretched - working long hours and with little or no spare capacity. Japan's Ministry of Technology and Industry has acknowledged "There is a lack of skilled IT engineers, in terms of both quality and quantity." (2007 ASOCIO conference in Tokyo -- Katsuhiko Kaji, director, Information Service Industry Division).

- Japanese Systems Engineers are tied up with "fire fighting". There have been some very high profile disasters with corporate IT systems in recent years. Most famously, the Tokyo Stock Exchange was brought to a comlpete stop on a few occasions because of bugs in the computer system created by Fujitsu. (And it's not the busiest stock exchange in the world - by a long shot). Many Japanese companies are struggling to cope with IT systems that have been cobbled together over the past few decades. When Forrester interviews Japanese IT executives, we find that too few are taking steps to make their IT infrastructure more flexible and more manageable (as I explained last year in my report: Japan Technology Investments And Priorities).

I have heard business leaders comment that it's hard to attract young Japanese people to work in IT. Jobs in IT are perceived as the modern day equivalent of "3K" jobs. ("3K" originally refered to jobs that were "kiken, kitsui and kitanai": dangerous, hard and dirty). Because of the long hours, tough conditions, and lack of glamour, few Japanese graduates dream of becoming Systems Engineers.

But who knows, maybe a jury duty exemption will put the sparkle back into the IT career track....

Join Forrester's Customer Experience Research Panel

Would you like to help Forrester to understand customer experience trends?

If so, I'd like to invite you to join Forrester’s customer experience research panel and contribute to our research by taking periodic surveys:

Click here to join the panel.

フォレスター・リサーチのカスタマー・エクスペリエンス・パネルのメンバーになってくれませんか?

フォレスター・リサーチでは定期的なアンケートなどを行っています。そのため、カスタマー・エクスペリエンスや製品及びウェブ・サイトのデザインを考えている方に様々な質問を聞きたいのです。

パネル・メンバーになりたいと思ったら、下記リンクにクリックしてください。

フォレスター・リサーチ・カスタマー・エクスペリエンス・パネルの登録サイト

ありがとうございます。

Keep It Simple award #1 - Gucci Ad. with NFC tech.

Today I am introducing an award for services and products that I consider delightful and simple.

I have decided to call it the K.I.S.S. Award. (K.I.S.S. = "Keep It Simple Stupid")

Disclaimer: Please understand this award merely reflects my opinion. There are no objective evaluation criteria. This award in no way reflects the opinion of Forrester Research. Treat it as a bit of fun.

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And the first winner is: The Gucci handbag advertisement in Omotesando subway station

What does it do?: It lets you get a Gucci coupon just by touching the handbags with your cell phone

Tell me more: As I walked past the Gucci poster, I noticed that the handbags on the wall stand out from the poster by about two centimeters . On closer inspection, there's a symbol representing a mobile phone and the word "TOUCH!"

So, I held my mobile phone next to the poster... and within seconds, the phone flashed a green light and gave me a message that I had received a Gucci coupon. Sure enough, my phone memory now holds a URL for a mobile site -- "Gucci Joy" -- which invites me to explore the Gucci Joy range of handbags and accessories. The site also allows me to register as a member:

http://guccijoy.jp

Unfortunately, you cannot view this site from a PC. (You need to be using the browser on a Japanese mobile phone, I think). Basically, it's a content site - no retail function. It allows me to see handbags and find out where the Gucci stores are in Japan. If I register as a member, I assume that I will receive some newsletters and perhaps some special offers. (I'm sorry. I'm not a handbag fan -- I haven't explored this site in great detail).

How does it do that?: I guess that the handbag that I touched with my mobile phone contains a Near Field Communications device. I'm not sure if the handbag sends data directly to my mobile phone or if it identifies me from the NFC chip in my phone and then sends a signal over the network. I will try to find out...

So what?: Well, I think this is a good demonstration of a technology that will help companies to connect the physical world with the virtual world, using the mobile devices that are already in our pockets.

In 2007, I wrote a research document ("How Japanese Companies Guide Their Customers To Mobile Internet Experiences") in which I explained QR codes. Well, QR codes are very nice ways to help your customers to reach your mobile web sites -- but they require a few manual steps on the part of the customer. It's not always easy to scan the QR codes. By contrast, the Gucci poster required almost no effort at all.

Don't you agree that this is simple and delightful?

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Well, if you don't agree... perhaps you will tell me about something even simpler or even more delightful. Just leave a comment on my blog with a short description of your favourite "simple and delightful" service, product, web site etc. If I agree with you, I will post some photographs of the product and a KISS award logo in a subsequent blog post.

In addition, I'll be looking out for delightfully simple products and services in Tokyo and at any events that I attend. If you're demonstrating a delightful and simple product somewhere, don't recoil when you hear someone say: "I'd like to give you a KISS."

ペルソナコンソーシアム連載開始のお知らせ ＜ペルソナスクエア＞

ご無沙汰しております。三月は忙しくてブログを書かなかったことお許しください。

実は、私が個人的に好むウェブ・サイトやサービスに与える「Ａｗａｒｄ」（賞）を計画していたけど．．．　まだ考え中です。近い内に、その賞についてのことを発表します。（軽い感じのアワードです。あまり期待しないでください）。

ご存知かもしれませんが、このブログ以外フォレスターのレポートを書いています。そしてウェブ担当者フォラムのコラムにも時々コラムを書いています。そして、今日は新しいコンテンツ・サイトを紹介したいと思います。ペルソナ・スクエアというサイトです。

http://www.personadesign.net/square/

上記サイトでは「ペルソナデザインコンソーシアム」という団体（私が一員）がペルソナの作り方、使い方などについてのアドバイスや情報を発表します。コンソーシアム参加企業のメンバーが様々な視点から別々にペルソナを語り、連載をしていくというパラレルな形で、ペルソナ手法の基本情報から、事例、応用まで多くの情報が発信される予定です。

是非ご覧になってください。

Japanese companies pick up on personas

As I mentioned in my December 2007 post, I've given presentations at events in Tokyo and Osaka, organized by the Persona Consortium. Next up is Nagoya (Feb 15 - this Friday).

http://www.personadesign.net/consortium/2007/12/post_15.html

What was the response?

- Rooms filled to capacity

In Tokyo we squeezed 90 people into the lecture hall at the Mitsubishi Research Institute. In Osaka we filled CSK's 50-person presentation room. There's no doubt that people in marketing and web design roles are interested in learning about how personas can help them.

- Lots of questions

I underestimated the time required for my presentation in Tokyo, so I wasn't able to take questions at the end. However, I was delighted to find that audience members brought me some great questions and suggestions during the breaks. I think I spoke to a dozen people from different companies. Some of them were household brands and some were design companies.

- But not much momentum behind personas yet

Several people who came to speak to me during the breaks in Tokyo were just kicking off the first ever persona initiatives within their companies. Similarly, in Osaka, CSK gave a presentation about a pilot project to try out personas. They decided to use personas to guide the redesign of their company's internal portal -- with great results.

I get the impression that most of these initiatives are skunkworks projects - a bit home-made, very underfunded and totally under-the-radar. A handful of people in the company may have a dream of using personas and achieving a user-centric design for their web site or product but they struggle to get the  budget to do it. Similarly, the design companies who tell me they'd like to design personas for their clients have a hard time persuading their clients to allocate resources to interview and observe customers.

- So what next?

There's a need to prime the pump -- to create an awareness of personas in Japan -- which is what the persona consortium is doing.

In addition, the topic of personas is now appearing in magazines (Nikkei Communications is currently running a series of articles on the topic) and books. Today, I was delighted to hear from my friend Nobuya Sato at Business Architects. He has just released a Japanese translation of this book:

The User Is Always Right: A Practical Guide to Creating and Using Personas for the Web (VOICES) (Paperback)
by Steve Mulder (Author), Ziv Yaar (Author)

http://www.amazon.com/User-Always-Right-Practical-Creating/dp/0321434536

Sato-san's Japanese version is here:

Webサイト設計のためのペルソナ手法の教科書
~ペルソナ活用によるユーザ中心ウェブサイト実践構築ガイド~
http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/switch-language/product/4839922349/ref=dp_change_lang/503-1607681-9034349?ie=UTF8&language=en_JP

Please promote this to any of your Japanese friends who want to know more about personas.

I think I will soon have collected enough Japanese persona success stories to write a short report. Some are from professionals and others are "home-made" efforts, put together by a few evangelists as pilot projects to show the value of personas to their colleagues. As such, the final products often look rather less polished than the examples that I see from my colleagues in the US. But it's quite exciting to see the enthusiasm with which the early adopters are describing their successes.

Why aren't my customers reading the content on my web site?

... Well perhaps it's the miniscule font you're using.

I saw a funny poster advertising the Mainichi newspaper large print edition in the subway yesterday (see the photo in the Japanese blog post below). It says "Large type is easy to read" (in characters that gradually become harder and harder to make out).

Most newspaper web sites do a pretty good job of using legible text. (Large enough and well contrasted). Is it that hard to understand why this is important?

In a future blog post, I'm going to present some "day in the life" scenes from a person with crummy eyesight (me). Maybe it will be an "eye opener" for the 20/20 folks who design things that the rest of us can't use.