Usability that saves lives - The Resus:Station

The BBC reports that a new cardiac response trolley design is saving patient lives: A team of designers at the Helen Hamlyn Centre (part of London's Royal College of Art) designed many improvements to the hospital trolleys that are used to carry equipment for emergency responses to heart attacks.

It seems that hospitals typically use trolleys that resemble the cabinets in a car-enthusiast's garage:

(graphic taken from www.bristolmaid.com - the company that now produces the new Resus:Station)

The newly designed Resus:Station features many improvements.

• It splits into three sections to allow equipment to be close to the doctors and nurses who need it -- and available in the order they require.
• All equipment is visible without the need to open drawers. There's a place for everything and everything in its place. (So doctors don't waste time looking for stuff, and hospitals can more easily ensure that the trolleys are always fully stocked)
• It has an advanced touch-screen guide that monitors and records the actions of the medical team -- so that they can subsequently get feedback to help improve performance.

It looks like this:

(This photo was copied from http://www.britishdesigninnovation.org/index.php?page=newsservice/view&news_id=5049)

Unfortunately, a photo doesn't do it justice. Take a look at this video, which shows how the trolley separates and how the monitor works. Do you see how the trolley issues a "low stock" or "expired" warning if equipment has been used or if drugs pass their expiry dates?

How did the design team achieve such a breakthrough in design? Fortunately for us, the designed methodologies are all described in the research paper that Jonathan West published. Crucially, the team started out by interviewing resuscitation personel and observing real-life resuscitation procedures:

The resuscitation procedures were initially explored through an extensive literature search. This was then expanded through input from practising resuscitation personnel. These clinicians were part of the collaborative team from the outset, and it was therefore ensured that their input was insightful and relevant. This is an important distinction from the ‘cold’ user input also used in this project (e.g. other resuscitation officers from different hospitals not part of the team from the start).
An Advanced Life Support (ALS) course was attended and documented through video to observe how clinicians learn resuscitation, and videos of actual arrests were also analysed. Crucially, the designers were able to observe actual resuscitation attempts on a hospital ward.

There's so much to learn from this story. In particular, I noted the importance of:

(1) Observing and interviewing real users in real-life situations where the product is used

(2) Exposing vital equipment to be visible without the need to explore

(3) Prioritizing the location of essential equipment

Is it necessary to do this even when you’re designing for expert users who already “know the ropes” -- for example, people who regularly use your Web site or your products?

Yes it is.

Nokia phones in Japan - Finnished

Various news sources confirm that Nokia will stop selling its phones in Japan -

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10109528-94.html  http://www.pcworld.com/article/154619/.html?tk=rss_news

I can't say that I'm very surprised.

When a consumer buys a phone from a non-Japanese maker, he discovers that ...

(1) He can't use most of the iMode or EZweb sites that most Japanese people are using to communicate, interact, find information etc.

(2) His phone service costs an arm and a leg if he uses the browser to view ordinary "PC-Web" style web sites. (My bill from Softbank was over 11,000 yen last month  -- and it's not even my primary phone. It transpires that I had to pay 2,700 yen for SMS messages that I received during the time I spent in Europe. What were those messages? Mostly "Welcome to XYZ" messages from the local carriers in the countries I visited).

(3) He has to learn an unfamiliar set of commands and ways of navigating to online services

(4) His phone doesn't have the built in features that matter - for example, no mobile wallet. (At least not one that he can use on the trains and in the stores in Japan).

... It's funny to see Japan described as the  "Galapagos" of the mobile world. But I think it might be appropriate. We're finally seeing mobile services become popular outside of Japan, but they're evolving in a very different direction.

NOV 28/ 2008 - EDIT - "NOKIA phones in Japan - Vertually Finnished"

A reader pointed out to me that Nokia plans to sell it's luxury Vertu phone in Japan, as an MVNO with docomo. So, it's not completely exiting the Japanese market.

However, I think that Vertu will struggle to find any customers among Japanese people. Even wealthy Japanese people who can afford the handset won't be satisfied unless it matches the functionality of existing phones in the market (and then exceeds the value of locally produced phones by adding in well-executed, globally available, premium services that justify a high price tag). Gen Kanai sums it up perfectly -

Unless Vertu has a whole new line of phones designed just for the Japanese market, they'll fail via product, as Vodafone did. And even if Vertu has a whole new line of phones for Japan, it's incredibly poor timing to launch a premium-anything in Japan.

Customer complaint by vendetta

Roger Browning in The Guardian describes the action he took to exact "sweet revenge" on Apple for treating him badly.

Bad Apple

Complaining about a misleading iPhone advert was sweet revenge for the terrible customer service I had received

What's interesting to me is that Roger seems to be a fan of Apple products, notwithstanding his anger at Apple's customer service:

...I still love my iPhone. But I can't help but wonder if Apple put as much effort into their customer service as they do their marketing, whether this situation might have been avoided in the first place.

I think this is a nightmare for a brand - a bad experience causes a disgruntled loyalist to get vengeful, like a spurned lover who turns stalker. And although I really believe that most companies could do a better job of tackling customer complaints before they escalate and irritate customers, I don't think it's possible to fully resolve every issue.

I wonder if Roger voiced his complaint to the CEO's office before taking the path of direct action.

Phacebook Pheels Phishy

When you receive an email pupporting to originate from a famous company that many people do business with -- like, say, Bank Of America, AOL, eBay or Facebook -- and the email comprises a short but ominous message and a hyperlink to a Web site ... the sensible thing to do is to immediately delete the message without clicking the link. Right?

After all, the chances are that it may be a Phishing attempt.

And if you run a company that many people do business with  -- like, say, Bank Of America, AOL, eBay or Facebook -- it would be in your interest to educate your customers about Phishing and to help them to recognize suspicious emails. Right?

With that in mind ... what do you think of this communication from Facebook?

"Unfortunately, the settings that control which email notifications get sent to you were lost. We're sorry for the inconvenience.

To reset your email notification settings, go to

http//:www.facebook.com/editaccount.php?notifications

Thanks,

The Facebook Team

I hardly paid it a thought. It wasn't addressed to me by name, there was no signature, it told a very unlikely sounding story that seemed designed to put the fear of Facebook into me and get me to reveal all sorts of passwords and stuff. Furthermore, it looked very unprofessional.

What a surprise to  discover later that it wasn't a hoax at all. When I visited Facebook, the same message was at the top of the notifications ..

Can consumers ever be expected to protect themselves against Phishing when real companies send out such Phishy emails?

And what's the deal with losing my email notification settings, and then switching to a default setting whereby I receive an email every time a facebook member blinks. That's not cool at all.

「GROUNDSWELL」の日本語版

フォレスター・アナリストが書いた「GROUNDSWELL」の日本語版が出版された。

日本語のタイトルは　「グランズウェル」。是非、アマゾンでご覧になってください。

ちなみに、複数のソーシャル・テクノロジーを　「マッシュ・アップ」　するという表現はよく聞きますね。さまざまなテクノロジーを簡単に統合することができたらいいですね。例えば、ブレンダーのような分かりやすい機械を利用して、マッシュ・アップが作れたらいいですね。想像したことありませんか？

その夢を持ってるあなたのために、グランズウェルを書いたアナリストが下記ビデオを作りました：

Forrester Consumer Forum in London - Customer Experience Track report 2

Last week I posted my impressions of the general sessions at Forrester's Consumer Forum in London (November 6-7, 2008). Today, I want to share some snippets from the Customer Experience track, which I moderated:

>> Dr. Nicola Millard (Customer Experience Futurologist - BT)

Nicola gave a very "high energy" presentation on the lessons that BT has learned from its experiences in operating contact centers -

We heard about:

- The voyage towards "appropriate automation" - using automated systems for tasks where it makes sense, but allowing humans to speak to humans when they need to. 

- The ever increasing complexity of communicating through the multiple channels that customers want to use. Just as companies get the hang of e-mail, a new generation of customers feels that e-mail is so 1999... It's time to start supporting channels such as mobile chat, online communities and so on.

- The benefits of listening to customers. BT has found that a community of its customers can identify problems with home broadband equipment faster than BT finds them. And not only do the customers find the problems, they also find the solutions.

- And finally, Nicola introduced some new initiatives in "Homeshoring" - contact center agents who work from home. WIth the high penetration of broadband access, this has become easier to realize than ever before.

- With a "homeshoring" solution, BT was able to create a network of experts for Boots (a high street drug store in the UK). Boots customers aren't interested in getting advice from a young call center agent who doesn't have any life-experience. But they're very interested in speaking to women of their own age, who have real expertise and experience to share. It turns out that you can get those people to  work at home, but you can't persuade them to commute to a call center. Unsurprising, but profound.

What did she say?: Many things... Here are my three favorites:

(1) Listen to your front line employees and act on what they tell you.

(2) The senior executives at BT today understand the importance of customer experience. The front line employees have always known. But it's still a struggle sometimes to get the "frozen middle" on board.

(3) Just because nobody complains doesn't mean all parachutes are perfect. (Benny Hill)

What should I do about it?: Systematically bring customer feedback to the attention of the people who can do something about it.

>> Lars Hemming Jorgensen(Chief Creative Officer - Story Worldwide) & Pernille Bruun-Jensen (Marketing Director - Johnson & Johnson)

When Johnson & Johnson discovered that diabetics felt embarrassed or inhibited about using their OneTouch device to measure blood sugar at mealtimes, they realized that they needed to rebrand. They worked with Story Worldwide to take the device in a completely new direction.

They took a multimedia approach - incorporating print ads, improved packaging and online communities to transform a useful but embarrassing product into something joyful.

Can you  spot the medical device among these fashionable items?

How about among these fine products. Do you see the equipment for measuring blood sugar?

The most impressive point for me was the online community. They created a place for diabetics to share experiences with each other.

First of all, the site is usable - which is hugely important. Some diabetics have poor eyesight, so the designers took pains to satisfy needs for legibility and clarity. (Sure it's white on black - but the typefaces are LARGE).

It turns out that diabetics have a lot of questions about lifestyle and health issues that they don't even want to discuss with their doctor or their real life friends and family. These may be issues related to sex, drugs and weight control etc.

The online community became a safe place to have those discussions and to get reliable, trustworthy advice.

Through this approach, Johnson & Johnson achieved engagement with their clients like never before. They got clients to register as members of the community - and with each impression, each interaction, they nudged their customers towards greater involvement with the brand.

What did they say?: DON"T KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID.

... but KISS is one of my favorite sayings, Lars ... why mustn't I do that?

Because "KISS" just repeats the same thing in every channel. Today's customers get bored with that. They expect new and evolving content. When they move from your print advertising to your web community, they want to see the story develop.

... so how can you achieve a high quality of engagement?

• Excite, motivate and delight 
• 1st touch…2nd touch…………3rd touch
• Will the audience find what they were looking for?
• Will they learn something new?
• •Will they re-engage?

What should I do about it?: Use personas to gain a deep understanding of the needs and preferences of my target customers. Design experiences that drive engagement and  involvement. Remember that even a "boring, practical, essential" medical device can appeal to customers on an emotional level. Good design and good experiences can help customers to feel confident.

I hope that you found my comments on the Forrester Consumer Forum in London to be helpful. If you're hungry for more Customer Experience insights from the forum, then I recommend that you read the summary by my colleague, Bruce Temkin (author of the Customer Experience Matters blog).

Bruce summarizes the Customer Experience insights from several major banks who presented at the forum - including Barclays, HBOS and Credit Suisse. You see, the Consumer Forum was held concurrently with the Financial Services Forum, so there was an embarras de choix, when it came to great Customer Experience stories to learn from. I'm still digesting it.

Out of Box Experiences are poor when you can't even get the product out of the box...

Japanese companies have developed some terrific packaging solutions, like the o-nigiri packaging that's easy to open, keeps the rice lovely and moist, and puts a layer between the rice and the nori until the time the package is opened, thus ensuring that the seaweed stays crisp and dry:

After living here so long, I've started to consider it "normal" that products are so considerately packaged, albeit often over-packaged. Whatever the product, there always seems to be an obvious string or tab to pull, or a corner cut out from the plastic to make it easy to tear open.

However, when I bought some skin-care products at Boots in London recently, I was reminded that packaging in Europe and the US is often designed to be impossible to open without special tools. So I was delighted to see Packages You Won’t Need a Saw to Open in the New York Times today.

“I shouldn’t have to start each Christmas morning with a needle nose pliers and wire cutters,” said Jeffrey P. Bezos, the father of four young children and founder of Amazon.com. “But that is what I do, I arm myself, and it still takes me 10 minutes to open each package.”

All of which is really just an excuse to share one of my favorite Alas Smith & Jones jokes with you. It's the "CD" joke - and it starts at about 5.05 minutes into this clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3OwvPzVRoA

Social Network Gree to go IPO

Asiajin reports that Gree will make a public offering - following in the footsteps of Mixi. You might recall that Charlene Li calculated that Mixi's value translated into $200 per user at that time.

Young Japanese people have adopted Social Networks in a big way. (But not quite as much as Koreans).

I took a look at Gree in August this year - for a report in which I compared the ease of sign-up at three social networks (Mixi, Gree and Cafesta). Using an abbreviated Web Site Review methodology, I found Gree to be very close to Mixi in terms of usability. (Just one point behind Mixi).

Back in August, I estimated that there were almost three times as many Mixi members (14.01 million) as there were Gree members (5 million) ... Today, Gree claims to have seven million members.

Imagine if Gree got the same value per user as Mixi ... multiply $200 X 7million ...  $1.4 Bn.

Not gonna happen!

Now is not the time to be GREEdy.

Forrester Consumer Forum in London - Customer Experience Track report

On Thursday and Friday last week I participated in Forrester's Consumer Marketing Forum EMEA 2008. I found it to be a truly inspiring event.

On Thursday I attended some of the general sessions. And on Friday, I had the honor of moderating an afternoon track, focusing entirely on Customer Experience topics. It was awesome.

Here are a few of my impressions from the general sessions. Tomorrow I'll blog about the Customer Experience track.

>> Jaap Favier (Forrester - Research Director)

Kicking off the event, Jaap spoke about overcoming the challenges to marketers in the economic downturn. We (marketers) are among the least trusted people in the world - at the bottom of consumers list of trusted professions with lawyers. (If you want to get to the top, you'd better become a doctor, a teacher or a fireman). In the 1930s, P&G started to exploit new media (radio) to deliver content that customers wanted to hear - soap operas. Now we need to thrive in a world of Web2.0 media.

Since nobody loves us... we'd better stop talking at them and start facilitating conversations that they can trust.

What did he say?: Run a bar. (Be the place that your customers gather and socialize. Facilitate the community).

What should I do about it?: Buy Jaap a beer.

>> John Micklethwait (Editor In Chief - The Economist)

Our first guest speaker -- I was impressed and terrified in equal measures by John Micklethwait's presentation on "The New Politics Of The World Economy". John Micklethwait is the Editor in Chief of The Economist... He paints a compelling and rather scary picture of what the future holds. I was impressed by his understanding of the challenges facing Asia (particularly China and Japan).

What did he say?: "Provocative paranoia is a good way to look at the world"

What should I do about it?: Learn Chinese.

>> James McQuivey (Forrester - Principal Analyst)

James introduced a major theme for the event - The four fundamental needs of consumers. Regardless of the progress of technology, people share four fundamental needs. They are:

- Connection

- Uniqueness

- Comfort

- Variety

Your product or service offers benefits to customers - but barriers to adoption. (Try getting an old dog to learn new tricks. Now try it with a few doggy treats at hand). Convenience = barriers - benefits.

What did he say?: People share a set of universal needs — satisfy those needs with convenience and you will win.

What should I do about it?: Buy Jaap a beer. And get ready for a new stream of research from Forrester. We’re developing Need Profiles for clients. 

We’ll report how Need Profiles vary — especially in an era of economic uncertainty. You’ll know which needs to be on the lookout for.

>> Marc Sands (Director of Marketing, The Grauniad)

Marc talked about the Guardian's strategy to move away from the old newspaper model (experts who come down from the mountain to give the news to an adoring public). These days you can expect to find little pieces of Guardian content in all kinds of places on the internet - and the readers are free to challenge and discuss the content on the Guardian site. It's a two-way street. But we're not yet at a stage where the public is fully engaged in the creation of the story. That's coming soon...

READ ALL ABOUT IT on James McQuivey's blog.

What did he say?: We media companies havee to give up control of the content

What should I do about it?: Be the facilitator for the omni-directional discussion between peers, professional journalists and niche topic experts. Be the validator and auditor for new ideas in this maelstrom.

Visit again soon - I'll be posting some highlights from the Customer Experience track.

Glans Swell ... (something to get excited about?)

My office just received a copy of the Japanese translation of "Groundswell". (The original English version was written by my Forrester colleagues, Josh Bernoff and Charlene Li).

This is great news. If you want to offer a resource of Social Technology advice to your Japanese colleagues, please recommend this book to them now. It is filled with pragmatic advice and examples to help companies to engage with their customers -- and Japanese companies really need to catch up with their customers in their use of social technologies. You can pre-order from Amazon Japan - it will be released in the next few days. It's a perfect stocking filler to buy for your Japanese clients and colleagues!

However, I have to say that my heart sank a little when I saw that the title has been translated as  グランズウェル. This comes out as "Granz Well" or perhaps "Glans Well" ... Ahem...

In my cursory examination of the first pages, I also noticed some typos in Japanese words (such as アイディあ！) and some mistakes in non-English names. Apparently, the translator is unaware that "Jaap" is a Dutch name. So it is rendered as JAP rather than YAAP. (I often see the same problems with proper nouns that have Spanish or French origins). It's a shame, but these problems often arise when content is localized for the Japanese market.

I contacted the publisher to ask why the book was titled "Granz Well" rather than "Guraundosueru" (a closer transliteration of Groundswell) . The publisher explained:

"Guraundosueru" does not produce results in online search and does not read well in Japanese. Furthermore, the title was chosen for the benefit of the Japanese readers for whom the book was translated -- not to satisfy the opinions of native speakers.

The genius of this response is that it kills two birds with one stone: It explains the need to break from the original English title and it disqualifies me from having an opinion...

But...

• The point about search results is untrue

In a Google search for "Graundosueru", the third search result is a Japanese explanation of the English term "Groundswell". The other top seven results all link to sites which show images of huge waves. (Click the image below for a full size view)

By contrast, a search for "Granz Well" produces mostly links to a brand of sweatshirts and skateboarder wear... and links to the Japanese translation of the Groundswell book.

• The "Granz Well" title is just as obscure to Japanese speakers

If one wanted to make things crystal clear to Japanese speakers, one could choose some familiar vocabulary... I can imagine that "The Social Computing Tsunami" or some other title that uses only Japanese vocabulary (without any katakana) would be quite effective. But of course, I am not a native speaker, so what do I know?

Is it a big deal? On balance, I don't think so. The book will allow Japanese readers to find valuable ideas and advice that they could not access without this translation. It's a great book, whatever title it's published under. But I dislike dishonest rationalizations for nonsensical decisions and I take umbrage at being told that my views don't matter.

Oh... and the cover design is crowded and fails to convey anything.

Hell hath no fury like an analyst scorned!

REQUEST --

I would love to hear your opinion of the title of the Japanese translation - feel free to disagree with me.

And if you find any typos etc. please post a comment below. I'll send all the feedback to the publisher. If we're lucky, the book may merit a second print run and there might be a chance to make a few corrections.