id8

Show them where you came from!

Thursday February 9, 2012

Sometimes we move so fast on a project, iterating within the prototype every week, that I often feel we forget how far we’ve come.

I personally always like to remind people on my team the amount of ground we’ve covered, and how much work we have completed to this point.

One way to do this is to simply say: “Remember when we first started this project…. remember all we had was a box with three buttons in it…. now look at where we are…”.

However, I’ve tried that method many times and I don’t think it’s very effective. In the moment it’s cool, but as soon as you move on to another topic it’s forgotton.

So recently I’ve been thinking about a better way to convey this. I always try to go back to our core principle – visualize. The best example of that I could find is time-lapse cameras. See a months worth of work in 2 minutes. I love these things. It might have something to do with the fact that I have a short attention span, but none-the-less I love watching the whole experience from start to finish.

Here is a classic example:

And then this one:

These are great, but I want to convey a prototype changing over a short period of time. So I think this is a better example of what I’m looking for:

 

So with those examples in mind, I decided to take screen shots of the prototypes we build over time, and then, for now, put them into presentations to show the team before we get into any major discussion or decision making.

Here is an example – it’s a start:

Over time I will try to improve them and make them more interactive, maybe even create a little movie with some cool music.

So far I found it to be a very helpful technique. It helps relax the people in the meeting, it also helps remind them how much work we’ve covered thus far.

I love doing it, and I will continue to do it. It takes a bit of time and effort, but I feel it’s worth it and when you look back at the ideas you started with, it can be pretty funny as well!

 

Have fun… and request it of your vendors!

Tuesday January 31, 2012

This is a series of posts about how consultants (vendors and services providers) can help our clients by making projects more “engaging.” All too often we meet vendors who are way too serious for my liking.

A lot of times we are dropped into situations where the project is in trouble, the teams are frustrated, and general morale is at a low, or at a concerning point. As a consultant, I believe it is extremely important to have as much fun as possible with your team and the people you are working with. It rubs off, trust me. It will lift the mood of the team, and it will also show everyone on the project that no matter how bleak the situation looks, it’s always better to have the glass half full!

Some companies have this encouraged into their corporate culture, and therefore it becomes second nature. Other companies only learn about it on a motivational poster. Nonetheless, I have yet to meet a team that has told me to calm down, turn off, or stop the fun.

How do you do this? There are many ways, but below is an example of one I recently used.

Presentation surprises…

I always like to start a presentation with a light joke, normally on myself, but every once in a while I get to land a gem like this one.

It occurred to me that Eric, id8 Partner and Founder, looked like this guy:

I thought it would be a good idea to pass that on?

And, led me to beg the question:

Tell me that is not spooky close – he could be his double!

How did it work? The clients loved it! We took what could have been another boring meeting, and set the tone for what became an engaging session to share ideas, feedback, and laughter.

The key thing to note is that it must be collaborative. Do not keep it within your company, or just to your friends, or only after hours. Share and surprise the whole team. The work we do is serious and very complex. However, I have yet to work on a project where the people did not appreciate having a laugh with the team.

Give it a try. You will be surprised at the outcome. But please don’t try to figure out who my celebrity double is.