IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 16

A New Toolkit
BOTTOM

IDEO Method Cards,
Image courtesy of IDEO

The needs of customers and workers are evolving.
Now that most shopping takes place online, what
should a store look like? What kind of workplace is
best for attracting and retaining young talent and
generating good ideas? Answering these questions
involves an array of research methods, including
surveys, interviews, workshops and observations.
It also demands an interdisciplinary approach,
with expertise from ethnographers, statisticians,
digital developers and engineers. One reason
innovation consultancies have excelled is because
they've equipped themselves with the tools and
expertise necessary to answer these kinds of
questions.
Many have unconventional methods for getting
both designers and clients to think about their
projects in new ways. IDEO is known for
illustrating these approaches in its "Method Cards":
a pack of 51 different tactics for design-based
problem-solving. For example, one card
recommends a "Fly on the wall" approach for
observing and recording behavior in context, a
technique IDEO used to observe how surgeons
treated transplant organs in operating rooms in
order to design a better organ-transport box.
Though IDEO is unique in selling their cards for
public use, other firms use similar techniques, such
as rapid prototyping, scenario testing and flow
analysis, which involves mapping the flow of
information or activity through an entire system.

16

To ensure a firm adopts a fresh and nimble
approach to design problem-solving, it is essential
to hire workers with different backgrounds, says
Mike Clare, head of user-experience design at
Intersection, an innovation consultancy based in
New York. The firm, formed by the recent merger of
Control Group, an engineering and design firm,
with Titan, a municipal media and advertising
company, employs staff with a diverse array of
skills, including coding, engineering, design
strategy and digital developing. "That holistic point
of view is really important for the kinds of solutions
we come up with for clients," says Clare.
Intersection is now working on redesigning the
lobby of an unnamed museum, which wants not
only a more welcoming entrance, but also solutions
to certain user-experience obstacles, such as
overlong lines for the coat-check. To better
understand the problems at hand, Intersection
spent a week in the museum's lobby, interviewing
members and guests, and observing employees at
work. This research yielded new strategies for
helping guests feel like they were wasting less time
in line. For example, the firm found that people are
less likely to grow frustrated or anxious when they
know how long a wait will be, regardless of how
long the wait is. By displaying wait times openly
and plainly, the museum not only informs and
reassures guests, but also helps museum
administrators know when to deploy more workers.
Another solution is to transform the queueing
space into an engaging artistic environment,
which shifts the visitors' attention away from the
fact that they are waiting.



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015

IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015
Contents
From IIDA
Behind the Issue
Contributors
Viewpoints
The Innovation Insurrection
Lens Flare
The Once and Future King of Commerce
Point/Counterpoint
All Around the World
Inspiration
Colophon
Design Buzz
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - Cover2
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 1
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - Contents
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 3
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 4
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - From IIDA
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - Behind the Issue
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 7
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - Contributors
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 9
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - Viewpoints
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 11
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - The Innovation Insurrection
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 13
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 14
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 15
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 16
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 17
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 18
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 19
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - Lens Flare
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 21
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 22
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 23
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 24
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 25
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 26
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 27
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 28
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 29
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - The Once and Future King of Commerce
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 31
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 32
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 33
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 34
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 35
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 36
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 37
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 38
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 39
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - Point/Counterpoint
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 41
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 42
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 43
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 44
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 45
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - All Around the World
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 47
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 48
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 49
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 50
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 51
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - Inspiration
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 53
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - 54
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - Colophon
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - Design Buzz
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - Cover3
IIDA Perspective - Fall/Winter 2015 - Cover4
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