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A manual for new product development management

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Written and designed by Ingvild Sundby

Part of master thesisNorwegian University of Science and Technology, 2007

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Contents

Introduction p. 4An overview of the six principles p. 5

Part 1: The six principles explained p. 9Involving p. 10Guided p. 16Visible p. 22Hands-on p. 28Focused p. 34Trusting p. 40

Part 2: An evaluation system p. 48

Part 3: Kick-off week p. 53

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Introduction

This manual outlines and explains six principles for projects in larger R&D departments, as well as an evaluation system and a guide for a kick-off week involving all project participants. All principles are complemented with cases from different high-tech companies, and a section with specific tips and techniques for successful principle implementation. The main purpose of the manual is to provide specific tools as well as inspiration for project participants and managers. If made use of properly, the principles should create a basis for a fun, efficient and quality-conscious development process.

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Involving

Hands-on

Visible

Guided

Focused

Trusting

An overview of the six principles

The purpose of the six principles outlined in this manual is giving project managers a tool for creating an effec-tive and quality-conscious process. The six principles are Involving, Hands-on, Trusting, Guided, Visible and Focused. Each principle is described in detail in the manual’s first section.

For successful use, the principles have to be worked with simultaneously. For instance, a Focused project in the shape of existent milestones and planned deliver-ables is useless without making it Visible to the project team. Trusting members to be able to do their work according to plan is difficult without initial Involving, and following the Hands-on principle by making prototypes

and mock-ups can be quite aimless without making the effort somewhat Guided. Such dependencies can be found between all principles, and are easily visualized in a spiderweb diagram. By measuring the presence of each principle and plotting these into the spiderweb, one achieves a quick understanding of the project’s strengths and weaknesses. How to perform an evalu-ation of the project this is explained in the manual’s second chapter.

The manual will not explain how to conduct a process from a to z, but is to be used as a help for implementing the principles throughout a project. Figure 1 shows how the principles can be used practically at each stage of a

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development process. The basis for successful use of the principles is however mostly laid at the first stages of the concept development phase when participant num-ber and complexity increases in the project. Chapter 3 outlines a kick-off week aiming to secure all principles at this critical project stage.

The project wallThe project wall should be the heart of any project, acting as the hot spot for information, inspiration, com-munication and creativity. All principles are represented by using the wall proposed on the next page (see colored lines). The wall should be complemented with some chairs, making it the natural place for the project group to meet and hang out. Through visualization of project progression, the wall will also work as a project

evaluation in itself as the source of eventual delay is quickly discovered. The project wall owner is the project storyteller whose responsibility is to structure and visual-ize all necessary information (more about this role on page 33). The wall should be as visual as possible, all deliverables should in accordance with the principle of Hands-on be tangible, and the storyteller needs to docu-ment these through photos and drawings. Ideas and challenges emerging during the project are mounted so that non-project members also can contribute with solu-tions, thus ensuring knowledge transferal across teams. The wall is simply made out of large pieces of cardboard and paper mounted on a wall at a place most project members walk past each day.

Pre-project Concept Feasibility Development

Make process visible by through the project wall

Involve all stakeholders in a kick-off week.

Involve team man-agers, technical teams with project preparation.

Trust technical teams for project preparation

Trust technical teams with separate concept develop-ment

Arrange short workshops with relevant stakeholders when needed.

Adjust/create guide-lines for project.

Crude, fast mock-ups

Decide market positioning, pricing, volume.

Find storyteller

Testable models Prototype-iterations

Present guidelines at kick-off, consult guidelines during concept evaluations

Decide visions and goals based on pre-project research.

Consult guidelines when evaluating

Crude, fast mock-ups

Trust technical teams with separate feasibility testing

Trust technical teams with separate development

Keep vision, goals, mile-stones, deliverables visible to all project members

Figure 1: Principles in relation to the development process

Involving

Guided

Hands-on

Visible

Focused

Trusting

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Mechanics

Software

Ind.design

UX

Audio

Hardware

Approvals

Project name- project vision

Pre-project Concept Feasibility Development

Progress

Deliverables

Project Plan

Ideas

Results

Eco

Design

Latest summary

Latest diagram

delivery delivery delivery

Milestones

The project wall - the heart of the development process

The storyteller is responsible for documenting the process

All results from each phase are visualized through draw-ings, photos of prototypes and short summaries.

All activities, deliverables and milestones are colored in when done.

Ideas and challenges emerging during the process are mounted here, and transferred

to the results section if decided on.

Specific deliverables for each technical group at each milestone. Deliver-ables are to be visualized.

Delays are colored red

Guidelines are mounted on the wall as reminders

Principle evaluation is shown as accessible evaluation of the project.

All meeting summaried are gathered for easier access to the decision-making process

The project wall is a living document where anyone can contribute. A pen is therefore mounted to the wall as a

request for contribution.

Description planned deliverables

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Part 1: The 6 principles explained

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You know you are managing an involving project when....project members feel like they know the reasons behind their work...project members have a common understanding of project goals...project members know the main user challenges of the product...project members know the main development challenges of the previous project.

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Involving all project members from an early start, including users, manufacturers and sales personnel, is a common trait of an integrated product development process. The method, also called concurrent engineering (CE), is inspired by the Asian way of working, and gained popularity in the US in the 1980s. Despite using up to ten times as much time on the early phases, the level of integration makes the further work run more smoothly and with little miscommunication. Also, getting together early lays the basis for a fun project with a strong element of ownership.

Involving

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Why involve?By establishing a common understanding and coordination of tasks from an early start, the process will avoid misunderstandings and remodeling in its later phases. This does not only lead to reduced time to market (Figure 2), but also increased ownership, fun and learning.

Who to involve?As a project manager, you want to involve as many interests as possible in order to avoid surprises later on. More specifically:

Interests ReasonManagement Securing management support for further progressionOther project managers Coordination with other projectsMembers of previous project Knowledge transferalAll technical groups Technical feasibility, dedicationUsers Revealing ergonomic, cognitive, cultural, technical user issues Manufacturers Manufacturability from start, avoiding remodelingSales personnel Facilitating for easy sellMarketing Facilitating for easy marketing

What does involving mean?‘Involving’ means physically gathering all relevant parties early and throughout the process to work together with project challenges.

When and where to involve?Involving is especially important in the early phases of the project when there are more variables to take into consideration. Involvement is also important in the later phases, but might not require the same amount of time. Having a permanent project room makes involvement easier, and can be used for spontaneous gatherings throughout the process.

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A story about collaboration in product development

As a reaction to the increased competition from Japa-nese car manufacturers in the early 80s, American car manufacturer Ford chose to try out a new method in their development process of the Ford Taurus. The method, very much inspired by the Asian holistic think-ing, was characterized by the use of cross-functional teams from an early start and geographical collocation. The result was a highly integrated product which turned out to be the most sold car of its time in the US, giving the manufacturer a much needed financial boost. The project manager, Lewis C. Veraldi later remarked:

“The auto industry is constructed with “chimneys” — en-gineering, marketing, suppliers. The prevailing attitude has been, “Don’t touch my field.” Design would pass its ideas to manufacturing, then manufacturing would claim that the design didn’t work. You have to get everything together working toward a common objective. If you don’t have teamwork, then the work isn’t devoted to the good of the product.” (1988)

A study from 1987 by the American Department of Defence, showed that if handled properly, gathering people early could reduce time-to-market by up to 40% (see figure 2). It was believed that this was related to the avoidance of the “over-the-wall”-problem characterized by time-consuming patching up of previous department’s work in order to fit with the current team’s own tasks - before “throwing it over the wall” to the next group (aptly

described by Veraldi). By meeting up early, the teams gain understanding for each other tasks and the orga-nization benefits by less suboptimization and increased efficiency. The method enjoyed wide recognition in both US private and governmental sectors throughout the 90s, the possible most known example being NASA. Other success stories include:

Hewlett Packard: 42% reduction in manufacturing cost, instrumental division

Deere & Co: Apprxm. 30% reduction in develop-ment cost for construction equip-ment

AT&T: At least 40% reduction in cost of re-pair for new circuit pack production

Cisco System: Revenue increased from $27 mil-lion in 1989 to $70 million in 1990

Figure 2: Time difference between sequential engineering (SE) and Concurrent Engineering (CE)

SE

CE

3% 27%

33% 22%

45% 15%

45% 8%

40% time savingsPlanning

Design

Process Design

Manufacturing

Read more!

J. Liker: The Toyota product development system, 2006J. Liker: Concurrent Engineering Effectiveness, 1997

Source: S. Skalak, Implementing Concurrent Engineering in Small Companies. New York, NY: Marcel Dekker Inc, 2002

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Sucess factorsTime is especially important in early involvement. Hasty gatherings do not create a sound basis for interdepartemental understanding, and should thus be avoided. Also, thorough preparation by the project manager is decisive for workshop progression and results.

What involving is NOTInvolving is not the same as informing - that is only consulting groups after decisions affecting their work are made. This is not involving in its true sense, and will probably only alienate the non-includ-ed groups, reducing ownership and project dedication.

3 ways to make a project involving1. Arrange an early workshop with all project members, users, sales, management (see part 3).2. Make sure that all decisions involves the ones being affected by them3. Arrange a trip to a customer or manufacturer for the whole project group

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The importance of user involvement

User involvement in the product development process is necessary for ensuring a usable and success-ful product. User involvement comes in many forms: Ethnographical observations, observations in a controlled environment, testing of ergonomics and cognitive factors and including the user directly in the developing process. By observing and testing users, one accomplishes several things:

1. Retrieving specific facts about user preferences, avoiding time-consuming guessing within the team2. Gaining mutual understanding of the main user challenges3. Revealing needs and challenges not visible to the super-users of the project team

User involvement is thus important for both an effective process and a high-quality end result. Letting the team see and experience the main user challenges for themselves is an effective way of unifying and focusing the team. The workshop guideline in part 3 of this manual contains a description of how to arrange for a customer field trip with included user observations.

For more detailed user issues, like ergonomics and cognitive preferences, one needs to make use of experts in the form of ethnographers, interaction designers and/or psychologists. These have to be involved in the pre-project so preliminary user testing on relevant issues can take place in advance of project launch. Main findings should be documented and used on the same level as other project guidelines.

Tips and techniques

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You know you are managing a guided project when..: .. there is little time spent on discussing personal preferences... there are no surprises regarding international standards etc. late in the process... there is minimal confusion about required ecological measures.

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Gui

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Even though involving groups for mutual discussion is paramount for overall project efficiency, certain decisions are best left to the few. Especially subjective issues, like styling, ecology and user preferences, and issues demanding high technical knowledge should be included in guidelines from an early start and not left open for much discussion. If followed, the principle will hinder everlasting discussions about personal preferences as well as inconvenient surprises in the late phases of the process.

Guided

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Why guide?Having some guidelines in the process is crucial for project progression. Lack of guidelines can easily throw the process into an aimless landscape of personal preferences and taste, leaving the process lengthy and frustrating.

What to guide?There are several issues which the project manager should consider establishing some overall guidelines for. Involving the right knowledge is crucial for their design, and the creators of the guidelines should brief the team about them on the first project workshop - in accordance with the principles of involving and trusting:

Guidelines What CreatorsTechnical Audio, mechanical, hardware, soft-

ware standardsTechnical teams

Design Product finish, style, looks, packaging Industrial designUser Experience Ergonomics, interface User ExperienceEcological Materials, paint, recycling, manufac-

turing, packagingEco-design responsibles

What does guiding mean?A guided project makes use of some well founded guidelines on relevant project issues. These are to work as landmarks to navigate by for all project participants.

When and where to guide?The project guidelines should be presented at the first project meeting and be visible to the whole team throughout the process.

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Hewlett Packard’s eco-guidelinesHewlett Packard established its Design for Environ-ment (DfE) program in 1992. The program includes a set of guidelines aimed at helping the develop-ers achieving the company’s goals of reducing the energy needed to manufacture and use the solu-tions, reducing the amount of materials used, and designing products that are easier to upgrade and/or recycle. HP’s DfE guidelines include the follow-ing recommendations:

- Place environmental stewards on every design team to identify design changes that may reduce environmental impact throughout the product’s life cycle.

- Eliminate the use of polybro-minated biphenyl (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame-retardants where applicable.

- Reduce the number and types of materials used, and standardize on the types of plastic resins used.

- Use moulded-in colours and finishes instead of paint, coatings or plating whenever possible.

- Help customers use resources responsibly by minimiz-ing the energy consumption of HP’s printing, imaging and computing products.

- Increase the use of pre-and post-consumer recycled materials in product packaging.

- Minimize customer waste burdens by using fewer prod-uct or packaging materials overall.

- Design for disassembly and recyclability by implement-ing solutions such as the ISO 11469 plastics labelling standard, minimizing the number of fasteners and the number of tools necessary for disassembly.

Apple’s interface guidelinesApple has created a set of guidelines for developers designing new applications. The manual is divided in Application Design Fundamentals, The Macintosh experience and The Aqua Interface and aims to secure consistent user experience for all products. The guide-lines are highly specific, concerning everything from icon design to number of mouse-clicks to how to perform user observations.

Two examples of project guidelines

Read more!

developer.apple.comwww.hp.com/hpinfo/globalcitizenship/gcreport

Extracts from Apple’s manual

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What guided is NOT:Treating the guidelines as law is not real guiding. The guidelines are there to help out the project team when there are uncertainties in the process, but are not supposed to be followed at any cause at all times.

Success factorsIt is important that the creators of the guidelines have enough time before project start to investigate the relevant issues. Some of the guidelines are not project specific, and should be created in a separate project for the whole product portfolio. Others need more specific handling, such as user preferences for the current product type. It is also important to make sure the guidelines are fre-quently updated and adjusted to current situations and needs. Furthermore, the guidelines should be to the point, and easily understood for all technical groups.

5 ways to make a project guided1. Inform all project members about the existing project guidelines at the very start of the project.2. Mount the guidelines by on the project wall to ensure visibility throughout the project.3. Refer to the guidelines when there are uncertainties or conflicts within the team.4. Create ownership by involving and trusting technical teams with preparation of project guidelines5. Make sure guidelines are understandable, practical and specific

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Tips and techniques

The language of guiding

Guidelines are the result of much work, often leading to extensive amounts of data. Even though these data might make up an interesting read, project members who were not involved in their development will probably not make use of them if kept too complex. Briefings and formulations of guidelines should therefore be conveyed through short, to the point and specific statements. “Think about the user” might work well as an overall vision, but will most probably be overlooked by members who don’t have com-petence about user involvement. Guidelines should be more in the direction of:

“All actions are to demand not more than three mouse clicks.”“No varnish on large surfaces”“All products in the new product portfolio are to have an element of extruded finish”

It is important that members know some of the underlying reasons for the guidelines, and these can be briefed about at the very start of the project. If members need to know more about the issues, the original data in the shape of manuals should be made easily accessible to the team.

Guide issue

1. Main guideline 1 - Specific action - Specific action

2. Main guideline 2 - Specific action - Specific action

3. Main guideline 3 - Specific action - Specific action

Example guideline layout for project wall

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You know you are managing a Hands-on project when.....you are failing sooner rather than later...there is understanding of main product challenges across technical fields. ..there are several concept iterations in every phase.

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Hands-on, characterized by small amounts of documents and bureaucracy lay-ers and high degree of engineery know-how is a typical trait for high-tech R&D departments. The principle leads to efficient developing and helps reveal prob-lems early by the use of early mock-uping and prototyping. As design thinker Mark Dziersk writes: No one’s life was ever changed by a Power Point presen-tation.

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Why hands-on?A Hands-on project is an effective project. Through the use of mock-ups and prototypes, information is rapidly conveyed in a way that a thousand written words cannot. Making early mock-ups and pro-totypes help reveal issues that are not visible on a drawing or in someone’s head, and gives project members from different technical teams a better understanding of the common issues. Also, prod-uct iterations are dependent on the making of hands-on prototypes. Ideas being kept in people’s heads and in time-consuming discussions will not be able to go through clear iterations which might subsequently lead to unfortunate surprises later on in the process.

What to hands-on?The Hands-on principle can be applied to a variety of different aspects:

What Reason HowLooks, finish, size Identifying issues in external

layout and finishMock-ups with correct size and/or material finish

Technicals Fast alignment between tech-nical tasks

Mock-ups, prototypes made of wood, metal or anything else which fits the needs.

User interface Identifying user challenges early

Paper mock-ups

What does hands-on mean?Hands-on means producing models and mock-ups instead of just talking about them. In a wider context, one can claim that Hands-on is the opposite of bureaucracy because of its fast and flexible nature.

When and where to hands-on?Mock-ups should be made all through the process. Even though there are remaining decisions to be made, mock-ups should be created early as this will give the project members insights possibly affecting the further process. The principle of Hands-on is related to the principle of Focus since project managers should make sure that all deliverables throughout the project include physical models.

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The importance of prototypingWhen Apple decided to develop an mp3-player, team leader Anthony Fadell made sure to create a number of mock-ups and prototypes. The team made the models out of foam-core boards and used fishing weights for obtaining just the right feel of their new product. The prototype helped to reveal issues not seen on a drawing board or on a computer screen. Other famous products with a trail of prototypes behind them include the Dyson vacuum, the Concorde, the bikini, Mickey Mouse and the Fender guitar.

Source: Design Council Magazine, Issue 2, 2007

Read more!

Tom Kelley: Art of Innovation, 2001Tom Kelley: The ten faces of innovation, 2005

Director of strategic design company Prospect outlines five rules about prototyping:

1. Begin earlyThe sooner you materialise ideas and get them in front of people, the richer your final design will be.

2. Beat it upMake a modifiable prototype so you can easily adopt it, even on the spot.

3. Don’t bother with perfection The prototype exists to get information, not to show how brilliant the design is.

4. Do just enoughA little data goes a long way. Figure what you need to test and focus on getting those answers.

5. Record the testIf you don’t have a record, it didn’t happen.

Cardboard prototypeApple

Prototype of different materials, Dyson

Take-what-you-got prototypeIDEO

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What hands-on is NOTThat a project is hands-on does not mean never documenting anything in written documents. Writ-ten documents are important for eventual deeper analysis of the processes and can consequently help creating better projects in a longterm perpective. This information is best handled by the proj-ect storyteller (see page 33).

Success factorsEarly mock-uping is key for succesfull principle use. It might be tempting to create the model when all decisions are made, but this will most likely only reveal issues leading to remodeling and possible delay. Another success factor is making a number of mock-ups in each round. This is important for investigating different alternatives and giving both management and project group a sense of ownership through active choice. Lastly, knowing which type of prototype to make when is important for project progress. A prototype which looks more thought through than what is the case might create a basis for bad decision-making. More on when to make what type of protoypes on the next page.

3 ways to make a project hands-On:1. Integrate requirements of making several mock-ups in all deliverables2. Provide all project members with equipment of making fast mock-ups3. Plan for several iterations in each phase.

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Tips and techniques

Which prototype technique when?

Even though prototypes should be made at all stages of the process, wrong use of techniques can dam-age the progress. A too fancy prototype at an early stage might give the impression that all aspects are well thought through - when they really are not. Decisions based on such models can lead to surprises and delays later in the process. The illustration below gives an idea of prototype complexity at different project stages.

Project start Project finish

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Level 4Working prototype with right finish and style.

Mock-ups made out of paper, cardboard or anything else at hand.

Testable prototypes of individual parts

Testable functional prototypes.

Model complexity

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You know you are managing a visible project when.. ..all project members are fully aware of pre-project research and decision-making...all project members are fully aware of guidelines, milestones, deliverables and time-frames...there is trong project focus because of transparent task structure...sources of eventual delay are early identified and handled.

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Visi

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Making the project progression visible is an important factor for understanding the context one works in, thus making it easier to get the job done. In a small organization there is automatic visibility as employees easily see what’s going on around them. For a bigger company such lucidness is hard to provide natu-rally. Through certain measures of visibility one can however try to simulate the transparency and information flow of a smaller company, making the process leaner and more efficient.

Visible

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Why visibility?Visibility is decisive for the understanding of the process for project members and consequently for project progression and efficiency. Project participants who know the context they work in are more likely to feel ownership towards the project and thus be more dedicated. Visibility makes it also easier to identify and prevent eventual delay, and gives all involved parties a better chance to fix the problem before it’s too late.

What to make visible?The best way to make process progression visible is gathering all relevant information on one spot in the building, namely the project wall, complemented with verbal briefings by the storyteller at each team session.

What Reason HowProject name and vision Keeping focus Project wallProject plan Knowing time-frame, milestones

and deliverablesProject wall, verbal briefing

Project story Easy evaluation of project execu-tion and progress

Project wall, verbal briefing

Current challenges/ideas Cross-functional problem solving Project wall, verbal briefing

Guidelines Keeping track of guidelines at all process stages

Project wall, verbal briefing

Project evaluation Accessible evaluation Project wall, verbal briefing

What does visibility mean?Visibility is keeping all important aspects of the process known to the project group and manage-ment; goals, milestones, deliverables, current ideas and challenges, decisions, meeting summaries, project guidelines and eventual delays.

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Thomas J. Allen: The Organization and Architecture of Innovation, 2006Tom Peters: In search of excellence, 1987

The link between physical layout and visibility

The connection between organizational physical layout and ability to innovate has been known for a long time. Being able to meet across departmental borders create a flexible and knowledgeable organization. Thomas Allen, a researcher at MIT, has studied the interaction between people in relation to their physical position. It turns out that if people are more than 10 meters apart, the probability of communicating at least once a week is only about 8 or 9 percent (versus 25 percent at 5 meters). Figure 3 shows the so-called Allen curve, depicting strong correlation between distance and communication.

In larger organizations where not everyone can sit in the same room, ac-tive initiatives for increasing the visibility in the building are needed. Some companies have tried to meet the challenge by incorporating so-called flex-ible team workspaces within their buildings, such as The Decker Engineer-ing Building in New York, the Steelcase Corporate Development Center in Michigan and BMW’s Research Center in Germany. Creating hot spots with project walls, blackboards and perhaps a coffee machine are all important ingredients of this work.

Read more!

IDEO’s headquarters is an example of a flexible workspaces

Source: Tom Peters, In search of excellence, Profile Business, 2004

Probability of communicating in a given time period.

Physical distance between people

Figure 3: The Allen curve

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3 ways to make a project visible:1. Make a project wall (see page 7)2. Appoint a project storyteller to make all important information visible3. Brief about previous work at all project gatherings

What visible is NOTToo much information can easily transform into noise, and it is thus important to keep the visible information to the point and relevant for the project. Cluttering the project wall with all sorts of things taking place at different project levels will most probably harm the information flow more than boost it. Also, important project information made visible only after clicking through 5 web pages is not visibility in its true sense, and should be avoided. It is the storyteller’s responsibility to decide what information to make visible, and what to store for later processing.

Success factorsSince visibility does not happen by itself, a principle success factor is appointing a dedicated person for project visualization, a so-called storyteller. If this is not secured, important documentation, infor-mation and knowledge transferal might be lost. The storyteller role is more thoroughly explained on the next page.

When and where to make visible?Visibility is important throughout the project, but possibly more important when members don’t work together. As the amount of information and complexity increases, it is important that all members have a clear understanding of decisions, actions and project progression. The storyteller is respon-sible for ensuring that project members have the relevant information through active use of the project wall and verbal briefings.

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An important ingredient for successful visibility: The storyteller

Ideally, all project members should be present on all meetings, decision-making and research. This is however hard to accomplish, and that is why all projects should appoint a storyteller with the main tasks of knowing, documenting and communicating the project story. This is important for securing consistent and easy information to all project members. Large piles of documents will, like it or not, not be read, and the storyteller ensures that everyone still has the relevant information in order to keep focus and develop a high-quality result. The storyteller should be appointed before project start, in order to document research and decisions being made in the pre-project phase. The storyteller role should not be limited to a specific department, but be held by members from all technical teams. This secures knowledge transferal and help reduce suboptimization within the organization.

Storyteller qualifications:- Structured- Interested in project management and processes- Good presenter

The storyteller is to:- Sum up and document all activities done by the project group- Sum up and document all activities done before project start- Sum up and document all decisions made throughout the project- Document all deliverables by photo, drawing or short summaries

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You know you are managing a focused project when.... there is little frustration as all members know what they are to deliver at what times...project members feel motivated as a result of clear and challenging goals... the project team works towards the same goals.

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Focus is as any experienced project manager knows decisive for efficient proj-ect progression. Time frames, milestones, deliverables and goals are all ingre-dients of this principle. Even though Focus might be associated with control, most people actually enjoy and even need some frames in order to be creative. Unfocused processes make participants frustrated because they have to spend time figuring out time frames and deliverables. Establishing a clear focus limits developers’ work to the actual project and even adds some fun in the shape of performance and challenge.

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Why focus?Focus leads to efficiency and quality because it gives project members some specific goals to work towards. By having clear focus, the members can spend less time figuring out what they are sup-posed to deliver, and more time on development.

Who decides on focus?Ownership of focus elements is decisive for compliance. It’s the project manager’s responsibility to create a focus framework of major milestones and deliverables, and the project team’s responsibil-ity to fill the space in between with actions and deliverables. By involving members in the decision-making process, compliance of the goals through self-justice and ownership is more likely to occur.

Elements Who decides? ReasonLaunch date Project management

+ Team managersLaunch date should be decided by the ones who have a clear view of organizational capability.

Vision Project team Creating a project vision is a great exercise for establish-ing a common understanding of the overall goals for the project team.

Market, tech, user goals

Project management + Project team

Project Team should have a say as these issues, espe-cially tech and user, are expertise areas within the team.

Deliverables Project management Project management should have an overall outline of deliverables at each stage.

Specifications Project team + Project management

Project management might have an overall idea about which competitive spec’s the final product should exceed, but should always involve the developers in the detailed description.

Milestones Project management + Project team

A project team who is involved in deciding what to deliver when is more likely to respect and comply to the demands at the right time.

What does focus mean?The focus ingredients include of all the traditional elements of a project; vision, goals, specifica-tions, time-frame, milestones, and deliverables. It is the project manager’s task to make sure that the project team stays focused throughout the process.

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Read more!Scott Berkum: The art of project management, 2005Clark A. Campbell: The one-page project manager, 2006

Boeing’s 9 project rules

Boeing makes some of the most complex products in the world, thus demanding top project performance in all tasks. The following nine rules don’t only apply to the development of new aircrafts, but to all projects within the organization. Use it as inspiration for your own project!

A Compelling ChallengeTeams must pursue attainable goals -- end results that are neither vague nor so far beyond reach that they ap-pear unattainable. At the same time, a team has to feel as though it’s being called upon to do something that takes a stretch. People won’t engage or feel motivated to excel if they don’t consider a project compelling.

Clear Performance GoalsEveryone on the team -- engineers, designers, suppli-ers, administrative assistants -- must understand what’s expected of them. We specify who will do what at all levels within the team structure before we start a proj-ect. This prevents people from getting tangled up.

One PlanEveryone must own a copy of the plan -- the timing, the expectations, the responsibilities. Each team member must be able to march through the organization and be-yond -- to suppliers and to vendors, for example -- and explain who does what, when, and why.

Everyone IncludedWe make sure everyone on the team -- from the senior-most designer to the junior administrative assistant

-- knows how he or she fits into the plan, and why each person’s contribution is important.

No SecretsGood news, bad news, whatever -- people need to know they can and should come forward if they need help.

The Data Sets Us FreeIf there’s a conflict between team members, we don’t debate the issue endlessly or let the situation get personal. Instead, we sit down together with the data. If you have the right information, it will tell you what to do.

Propose a Plan and Find a WayA certain amount of frustration is understandable. And there’s nothing wrong with venting. We’ll all listen. But once you’ve vented, it’s time for all of us to find a way past whatever is bothering you.

Demonstrate Emotional ResilienceRecognize that you’re under pressure, and that the people around you are under pressure as well. Try to be resilient in the face of that pressure.

Enjoy the Journey and Each OtherWe think we’re lucky because we’re working on excit-ing, impressive machines. It’s something we take time to enjoy.

Source: FastCompany, Sept 2000: Boeing’s Rules Take Flight

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3 ways to keep a project focused:1. Letting the project group create a project vision and goals for user experience, market positioning and technological advantage2. Make all deliverables and milestones visible for the project group3. Create ownership to the deliverables and milestones by involving and trusting project members in the decision-making process.

What focus is NOTFocus does not mean dictating how developers create their solutions. The individual developer’s technical know-how have to be trusted. A project which leaves no room for personal initiative, flexibility and creativity will most probably lead to lack of team ownership and dedication, possibly risking delay and loss of innovation opportunities.

Success factorsSuccessful focusing is a balancing act between facilitation and ruling. A project manager needs to know when to focus on goals and time-frames and when to open up for personal initiative and cre-ativity. A major success factor for keeping focus is involving members when deciding on visions and goals. This will make the group focus by itself without constant reminders from the project manager. Ownership is in other words decisive for keeping focus in a project.

When and where to focus?Establishing focus early makes it easier to keep it when deadlines are approaching. Goals and deliverables should furthermore be made visible to all members throughout the project.

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The project vision - a source of focusA project vision is a great way for ensuring understandable and consistent focus throughout the process. The vision is best made by the whole project group and should be based on briefings about market, user and technology. The project manager ensures direction by deciding what these briefings should focus on, but involves the project team in creating a vision for the project based on the briefings (see p. 62 for suggestion on how to do this). A successful vision is short and to the point and gives the project members a goal to work towards.

Examples of a vision might be:‘Project name’ is to become the globally leading telepresence system for board rooms, catering to the executive user and making use of leading technology within audio and video.‘Project name’ will be the easiest desktop teleconferencing system to use in the world.‘Project name’ will become a company flagship of design and functionality.

The vision creates a basis for the creation of goals for each technical group which again should result in specific project objectives. These are characterized by SMART, that is Simple, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound, and should be made in collaboration with the relevant groups. Objectives are delivery-related, and will be more specific in the later phases of feasibility and development than in the concept phase. Both vision and objectives have to be made visible to all project members throughout the process.

Deliverable 1

Deliverable 2

Deliverable 3

Deliverable 4

VISIONMarket Technology User

Audio Hardware Software UX Mechanics Ind.design

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Objectives each technical group per delivery

Goals for each technical group

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You know you’re managing a trusting project when......project members feel like they have influence on the final product....project members feel like their competence is valued and respected....project members are excited about contributing with their knowledge.

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By establishing trust between management and team and among team mem-bers, the need for time-consuming monitoring and micro-managing will be reduced. Members who are trusted with responsibility will not only experience a greater sense of ownership, but will probably also contribute to faster and better decisions in the process, creating a basis for knowledge-based flexibility.

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Why trust?Trust is one of the main factors for a flexible and fast process. With trust, project members will feel a greater sense of ownership to the process, thus making the progression fast and open to new solutions and ideas. Trusting members to work in smaller groups is also beneficiary for project pro-gression as such sessions lead to higher group activity and consequently more results.

What to trust?Project members should be trusted on their technical know-how. A project manager can instruct the developer when and which requirements the solution should fulfill, but not how these are achieved. As a rule, project focus should always be on deliverables, not actions. Also, trust might include:

Initiative ReasonUser observation Reducing number of information layersGuideline preparation Creating ownership to the guidelinesManagement briefings Reducing layers between development and

management

When and where to trust?Trust is important throughout the project. In the beginning, trust is important when involving mem-bers in the preparation of guidelines and briefings, and when working in smaller groups during workshop sessions. Later, trust is central when members work separately in their own technical teams.

Success factorsA major factor for successful trusting is early involvement. Without it, trusting members when work-ing separately is not only difficult, but might also contribute to harmful miscoordination between tasks. Strong involvement also leads automatically to increased trust within the project group, tear-ing down misconceived notions about other teams opinions and needs.

What does trust mean?Trust means relying on the project members’ technical competence, decision ability and interest for contributing positively to the project, plus actually giving them the freedom to do so.

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Read more!

Trust at Google

Source: T. Archibald, How Google grows..and grows..and grows (Fast Company, March 2003)

Google is the source for the perhaps most well-known initiative of trust - the 20% rule. At Google, all develop-ers are free to spend one day a week doing what they feel is important, fun or necessary. It might be a whole new product or fixing something in a current project. According to Vice President of User Experience Marissa Mayer, half of all new Google products originate from the initiative, including Gmail, Google News, Orkut and AdSense.

The company also believes that “Great people can manage themselves”. The company goes intentionally after young risk takers who are willing to go off the beaten track in search of something new, as well as stars who have the com-petence of identifying failures early. Failing fast and early is a Google mantra, and the company is therefore relying on their developers to identifying what doesn’t

work just as much as what does. In 2001 however, the company consisted of a number of management layers, which according to Wayne Rosing, head of Google’s engineering ranks, lead to a structure tending to tell people “no, you can’t do that”. Google got rid

of the managers and replaced them with teams usually consisting of three people, with team leadership rotating among the members. At one point, Rosing had 160 direct reports, some-thing which he says worked just fine: “It worked because the teams knew what they had to do. That set a cultural

bit in people’s heads: You are the boss. Don’t wait to take the hill. Don’t wait to get managed. If you fail, fine. On to the next idea. There’s faith here in the ability of smart, well-motivated people to do the right thing.”

“There’s faith here in the ability of smart, well-motivated people to do the right thing.”

AdSense, Gmail and Google News are said to originate from the 20% rule

T. DeMarco & T. Lister: Peopleware, 1999D. Vise & M. Malseed: The Google Story, 2006

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5 ways to make a project trusting:

1. Let the project group decide on a project vision and name.

2. Give project members responsibility for researching and briefing the rest of the group on issues like market situation, environmental aspects and international standards.

3. Give all project members a day to investigate an issue of their choice, with the task of communicating their findings through a prototype, a story or a film at the end of the day.

4. Eliminate the number of links from project group to management decision by letting team members themselves do the briefing.

5. Inform the project group about all financial aspects of the project, and give an open task of reducing costs in their area of choice.

What trust is NOTTrust is not giving all project members responsibilities without requirements or regular meetings. Use of 15 minute stand ups is an effective tool for keeping focus and coordination when working separately.

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The standupIn order to give the project members as much developing-time as possible while at the same time en-suring coordination between tasks, there should be held 15 minute stand-up meetings when members work separately. The meeting should be held every day by the project wall. This gives the project team a tangible reminder of past decisions and future goals and deliverables. The meeting is usually done (as the name suggests) standing up, but can also take place in an informal sitting group by the project wall - whatever the team prefers.

Answers to three questions are to be prepared by all participants:- What did I accomplish yesterday?- What will I do today?- What obstacles are impending my progress?

The storyteller documents all answers, while the project manager assesses the major current project issues originating from the meeting. Some chal-lenges might be solved on the spot, while others might require management consulting or a team workshop.

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What Why Success factor

Involving Physically gathering project mem-bers.

Ownership, task-coordination. Enough time, thorough preparation.

Guiding Well founded guidelines on relevant project issues.

Avoiding time-consuming guessing. Thorough guideline preparation, updated and to-the-point language.

Hands-on Producing models, mock-ups at all project stages.

Failing fast and early, rather than slow and late

Making and sharing the mock-up despite not knowing the solutions to all issues. Not making too fancy prototypes early in the process.

Visible Making all important project as-pects known to all participants.

Project member understanding of project and decision-making process, identification of source of delays.

A dedicated storyteller for structur-ing and documenting important information and keeping the project wall alive.

Focused Milestones, deliverables, goals, vision

Reduces frustration and increases efficiency as all members get com-mon goals to work towards.

A project manager who knows when to instruct and when to trust.

Trusting Relying on the project members’ technical competence for making sound decisions on how best to reach project goals.

Creates a flexible and efficient process.

Early involvement, frequent standup-meetings.

Principle summary

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Part 2:Evaluation tool for your project

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Performing a project evaluation is a good way of detecting any principle weak points (and strong ones!), and thus be able to improve. Some principles are less tangible than others and might therefore be harder to identify in the project. This is why the evaluation tool described in this chapter consists of two parts: a check-list for the tangible elements, like the project wall and use of storyteller, and a questionnaire for the somewhat more intangible issues, like if members feel trusted in the project.

Questionnaires and check-lists are downloadable from Sharepoint, as well as the evaluation spread sheet which combines and calculates the answers into a

spiderweb-diagram. The spiderweb diagram can be mounted on the project wall in accordance with the principle of visibility.

Arranging a project meeting with everyone involved to go through the evaluation is advisable. The group is then free to come with suggestions of improvement and discuss openly if there are any grave project problems. Such talks might be hard to achieve in other project fora where there is stronger focus on develop-ment. Even though such a meeting can seem a bit daunting at first, it is a sometimes necessary for further project progression.

A dual evaluation method

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Check list Questionnaire

“I was satisfactory involved in the project from an early start”“I feel a strong sense of ownership to the project”

Involving Preparing team leader meeting

Kick-off week

Product ownerProduct management Industrial designMechanicsUser ExperienceHardwareSoftwareApprovalsOperationsUserNon-userPM of former/similar projectSalesMarketing

Guided Guidelines “I am full aware of the project guidelines of ecology, design and...”“The guidelines help the process stay focused and effective.”Mechanics

AudioHardwareSoftware Ind. DesignUser ExperienceEcological

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Hands-on Prototypes in all deliverablesClear iterations in all phases

“The project makes use of prototypes at all stages”“The project is good at detecting product problems early”

Visible Storyteller “I am full aware of all project milestones and time frames”“I have a clear understanding of all decisions made regarding the project”

Project wall

Project plan Milestones Project guidelines Delays Project story Summaries

Focused Project visionProject goals- Market- Technology- User

“I think there is strong focus in the project”“I know what the overall goals (market, user, technology) of the project are”

Trusting Project members trusted with: “My suggestions and knowledge are respected and implemented in the project”“I think I have strong influence on the resulting product.”

- User observation- Management briefings- Defining project goals, name and vision

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Involving

Hands-on

Visible

Guided

Focused

Trusting

Involving

Hands-on

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Involving

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Examples of project evaluationsBelow are examples of possible evaluation results of three different projects.

Guided suboptimizationThis project is characterized by strong guiding and focus, but little in-volvement, visibility, trust and hands-on. The result is probably a project where tasks are not coordinated sufficiently, leading to unfortunate suboptimization. When not involved, members will also most likely feel less ownership, which affects project dedication and participation.

Involved guessingThis project has a strong presence of involvement, trust and visibility, but lacks focus, guiding and elements of hands-on. The result might be a lot of time-consuming guessing - both about deliverables and time frames as well as product related issues like ecology, style, ergonomics and international standards. This project might also suffer from miscoor-dination as members are not informed about what to focus on when.

Balanced creativityThis project is characterized by a balance between all principles, creat-ing a strong basis for coordination and ownership within the project team.

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Part 3:Kick-off week - a guide

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A kick-off week of fun and focus

The perhaps most critical time for implementing good project culture is in the early stages of the concept phase when all project participants are introduced to scope and pre-project research. Ownership, project progress and final product quality are all dependent on how this stage is handled by the project manager. The following section aims to give some help with the facilitation of a kick-off week which main purpose is to establish a solid foundation for further project progres-sion, as well as the first specific product iteration. As seen from the case from Ford on page 13, investing in early involvement gives plenty back in time and quality.

The project manager is of course free to adapt the suggestion to his or her current project, like choos-ing to make use of certain elements and drop others. Spreading the days over a longer time period is also

possible, as long as one understands the need for increased efforts to keep focus and dedication when project members work separately. One week might seem tight for creating a full product concept, but research shows that people work better and faster when put under a challenging time frame. By involving all stakeholders in active participation, one achieves efficient task coordination, fun through challenge and a strong element of ownership and project dedication. Trust in project members and their ability to deliver is decisive for a successful kick-off week.

Feasibility DevelopmentConceptPre-project

Kick-off week

Kick-off week takes place at the early stages of the concept phase.

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Preparation

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PeopleGuidelinesProject time frameProject wall

OwnershipProject specifications and goalsProject name and visionCommon understanding of project goals

Common understanding of user needsIdeas for meeting needs

Ideas related to technical issues in rela-tion to project goals

Day 1

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Day 5

Unification

User Need

Ideas

Solutions

Concept

Goals/deliverablesDescription

This day is dedicated to securing project team dedication and ownership. The group is informed about all relevant issues, and is involved in creating goals, vision and a name for the project.

The project group identifies the main needs through observations and interview-ing of users, and produces ideas based on these.

Technical ideas related to project goals are explored. Technical challenges of all teams are identified and given as sepa-rate tasks for all members for next day.

Members work separately with defined technical tasks. Presentation at the end of the day.

Project management merges solu-tions into three concepts, of which they recommend one. Presentation to all stakeholders at the end of the day.

Suggested technical solutions

One recommended concept

Project manager invites kick-off partici-pants, prepares briefings, chooses a story-teller and fixes practical issues.

Project manager is responsible for securing fast conclusions from product owner and product management on what to take fur-ther from the kick-off week. Regular stand ups and new workshops are arranged accordingly.

Kick-off week takes place at the early stages of the concept phase.Continued project dedication

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Deliverables: - People - Guidelines - Project time frame - Project wall

Thorough preparation is one of the major success factors for a well executed workshop. The workload on the project manager might seem heavy, but is repaid in better results.

Pre-decisionsSome decisions are to be made before the start of kick-off week and presented on the first day:- Market positioning- Concept phase time frame- Price and volumeOther issues, like technological solutions and final launch date should be decided on after involving the project team who is best qualified for assessing these issues.

ParticipantsInvolving all relevant parties is important in order to coordinate tasks and establish common goals and under-standing (see Involving). There are different ways of ensuring the participation of different groups:

Preparation

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Participants How to ensure participationProject groupMechanics All technical groups should be secured by consulting the team managers

who have control over the team’s resources. Meet with team managers separately or together in a meeting to prepare for full developer coverage throughout the process

Industrial designAudioHardwareApprovalsSoftwareUser ExperienceOperationsOthersProduct owner Talk directly to product ownerProduct management Talk directly to PMSales personnel Contact Sales departmentA user Contact User Experience for an eligible userDeveloper from former simi-lar project

Identify the project which resembles the current project the most, contact the project manager for names and talk to the individual’s team manager.

An in-house non-developer Contact reception or training departmentA re seller Contact SalesManufacturer Contact Operations

The project manager should have consulted all team managers before sending invitations, which should take place at least two weeks ahead of kick-off week.

StorytellerThe project manager is responsible for finding a storyteller to structure, document and communicate the project story on the project wall.

Briefing pointsOn the first day of kick-off week, there are several issues that the project group has to be briefed about. This is important for ensuring early understanding of the basis for the project, thus securing a strong common basis for further work. Involving the relevant parties in the preparation creates dedication and is in accordance with the principle of Involving.

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Pre-projectThe pre-project group should brief the new participants about the work which has been done. This might include user perspectives and market situation.

Project guidelinesIdeally, guidelines about design, ecology and technical standards should exist within the organization at the start of the project. If these do not exist, the project manager should involve the designers, the ecology-committee and the relevant technical teams to identify some key issues for each of the subjects. If guidelines do exist, they would still probably need adjustment to fit with the current project. The project manager should involve the appropriate groups to prepare a summary of the most important points to present at the first workshop day. The points should be concisely communicated on posters throughout the project in accordance with the principle of visibility.

MarketThe market situation might be covered in the pre-project briefing, but if not, it is still important to inform the project about the overall market situation the product is to fit into. The briefing should be made by management, market or sales, and focus on sales numbers of existing products, competitive products and emerging trends.

User issuesUser Experience needs time to prepare, arrange and analyze user tests before project start. If this is not secured in a pre-project, the project manager needs to inform the team well ahead of time about the issues he/she wants to focus on in the project. Even though there is great chance of new user issues during the project, it is important to create a basis to work with from the very start. This might include ergonomics and interface needs. The findings should be summarized in some concise points and used on the same level as the defined guidelines.

Former projectIt might be beneficial to involve a member from a former project to inform about the main challenges and learning points. Ask the project member to hold a short briefing at the first day of the week.

PracticalitiesA number of practicalities have to be prepared beforehand kick-off week, like a detailed itinerary, room reserva-tion, technical setup, flip overs, cameras and writing utensils.

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Preparation check-list

GuidelinesDesignEcologyInternational standards

BriefingsPre-projectMarketUser issuesFormer project

PracticalitiesInvitationsItineraryRoom reservationTechnical setupMock-up materialFlip oversCamerasWriting utensils

Pre-decisionsConcept phase time frameMarket positioningPrice and volume

ParticipantsStorytellerMechanicsIndustrial designAudioHardwareApprovalsSoftwareUser ExperienceOperationsProduct ownerProduct managementSales personnelA userDeveloper from former similar projectAn in-house non-developerA re sellerManufacturer

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Day 1: Unification

Deliverables: - Project specification and goals - Ownership - Project name and vision - Common understanding of market, user and technological issues

The goal of the first day of kick-off week is to establish a common basis for further work by including all project members in previous decisions and research. Knowing the reasons behind the project is decisive for ownership and dedication to one’s tasks. It is important to secure this as soon as possible since involvement will be increas-ingly costly and time-consuming as the project progresses. The principles of Focus, Guiding and Involving are at the center of this day.

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ITINERARY DAY 1Time What Who How Preparation Follow-up Principles

1. Introduction

09:00-09:05 Welcome Project manager

09:05-09:15 Presentation All Everyone says who they are, what their role is

Name tags Storyteller notes attendance

2. Project frame

09:15-10:00 Project plan Project manager

Presentation of project wall, what is decided, what needs to be researched further? Presen-tation of storyteller

Project WallStoryteller

3. Project Story

10:00-10:15

10:15-10:30

Market

Pre-project experi-ence

Product management

Pre-manager

Market researchFormer product performance

Main learning points from last time

Power pointFlip over

Main points mounted on project wall

10:30-10:45 Ecology Eco-responsible

Presentation guidelines Guidelines

10:45-12:00 Technical guidelines

All tech teams Presentation all tech guidelines Guidelines

Design Ind.design All groups present their respec-tive guidelines with emphasis on relevant issues for the current project.

Guidelines

Audio Audio

User Experience UX

Hardware Hardware

Software Software

12.00-12:30 LUNCH

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Time What Who How Preparation Follow-up Principles

4. Project specification

12:30-13:15 Group session:What should the project goals (tech, user, market) be?

All Small groups, one note taker

Rooms, flip overs, pens

Suggestions are re-corded and evalu-ated by project management. Final goals have to be directly originating from suggestions! Decided goals are presented on day 3.

13:15-13:45 Presentation of ideas

All groups

13:45-14:00 Voting All All ideas on the wall, members vote by putting stickers on their favorite ideas

Stickers

5. Vision and Name

14:00-14:10 Summary and briefing

Storyteller What are the preliminary conclu-sions regarding project goals? What happens next?

Summary

14:10-14:20 Break Storyteller makes quick notes of main conclusions regarding user, market and tech for hand-out to all groups.

Goal templates; user, market, tech

14:20-15:00 Group session:Create a name and vision for the project

All Based on spec, what would the best name and vision be?

Rooms, flip overs, pens

Summary

15:00-15:15 Presentation All groups 2 minutes each, what and why?

15:15-15:30 Voting All All ideas on the wall, members vote by putting stickers on their favorite ideas

Stickers Name and vision is written on top of project wall.

15:30-16:00 Name and vision All Direct voting: Most votes wins!

16:00 Wrap up All Applause

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Day 2: Need

Deliverables: - Common understanding of the user’s needs - Ideas for meeting needs

Meeting the user is a very efficient way of ensuring a common understanding of the issues at hand. By seeing oneself what the user struggles with, the group will gain a deeper understanding which no power point presenta-tion is able to provide. Important principles of the day are Involving, Trusting and Hands-on.

In order to getting the most out of the day, it is important to try focusing on the actual needs without heading straight for technical solutions. This might be hard for problem-solving engineers, and it might be wise to put a member from User Experience or Industrial Design in charge of the field trips and group work as they have broad experience of user testing and observation. At this stage, the team should be encouraged to open up for ideas which might seem far-fetched at first, but which can be built into actual solutions later.

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Time What Who How Preparation Follow-up Principles

1. Field trip

09:00-09:15 Briefing Project manager

Verbal briefing: Main tasks for the day, tips, time frame, goals

Main group tasks See part 2.

09:15-12:00 Group field trip to customers

All project members, one designer or UX leads each group.

Project members divided in four groups, each visiting one customer.All groups talk to and observe users at the customer. (See guide on p.62)

Make customer ap-pointmentsInvolve UX, IDTransportationCameras, note pads, interviewing guide

12:00-12:30 LUNCH

2. Group work

12:30-14:30 Group work Groups All groups work with defined tasks:- Define three main user needs- Create a product meeting these needs using mock-up techniques

Rooms, pens, mock-up materials

Storyteller and product manager documents all ac-tivities, ideas and solutions through photos and notes. Main conclusions are posted on project wall. New insights can surface which interferes with the previous day’s conclusions. That is ok - inform the group if chang-es are made!

14:30-15:30 Briefing Groups All groups present their findings and proposed product.

15:30 Finish All Summary, applause

ITINERARY DAY 2

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A guide for the field trip

Preparation- Involve User Experience, Industrial Design and Sales in finding and preparing a trip to 3-4 customers.- Appoint people from User Experience and Industrial Design to work as managers for each group- Provide a list of wanted deliverables for the trip, leave the rest to the group managers.

Deliverables:- User needs independent of existing products- User challenges with existing productsDocumentation: Photos, notes, video

The managers should be able to figure out how to meet these demands themselves, but might be shown a list of examples they can work from:- One observation of use of a company product- Two single interviews with users: - What sort of communication needs do they have? - What would be the perfect product? - Any major challenges with existing products?- One group meeting with several users

It is important to note that the trip is not meant to work as strict user testing, but as a way to get an impression of some of the overall user needs and challenges. Detailed issues with ergonomics and interface are better left to the User Experience team.

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Day 3: IdeasDeliverables: - Technical ideas in relation to project goals

After focusing solely on the specifications and needs, it is finally time to get down to the technicalities. Stay focused by reminding everyone of the main goals of the project and building on the findings from the previous day.

The project manager needs to define 4-8 technical issues the team is to focus on in the cross-functional sessions. These issues are related to the product at hand (see page 70 for examples), and are to be looked at in relation to earlier defined goals, like the user’s perspective, market goals, price, ecology or looks. If there have emerged new radical ideas during the days, these should also be integrated into this work. The team is divided in four groups with one issue to focus on each. For the ecology group, a technical issue of cabling might result in ideas of limiting the amount of materials used. The guidelines are not necessarily needed at this stage, but should be reminded of when voting later on.

At the end of the group session, there will hopefully be a large number of new ideas. In accordance with Trust, the team should now vote on their favorite ideas - a quick way of structuring and evaluating the results. The ideas will create a range of different issues to investigate further for each of the technical groups represented. The project manager together with the storyteller choose the technical issues for each member to focus on. The developers should however to be free to suggest new solutions in accordance with the defined specifications. Where pos-sible, solutions should be showed by tangible models, in accordance with the principle of Hands-on.

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Time What Who How Preparation Follow-up Principles

1. Summary

09:00-09:15 Presentation of main project goals based on last days work

Project manager

Photos, drawings Decision on user, market and tech goals.

Summary for project wall

2. Problem solving

09:10-11:00 Cross-functional group session

All 4 groups, each focusing on user, market, price or ecology (or other important goals) in relation to defined specific technical task.One notetaker

Defining 4-8 spe-cific technical tasks to focus on.Rooms, flip overs, pens, mock-up materials

All ideas recorded and analyzed in relation to each technical group.

11:15-11:45 Presentation All groups Note taker presents ideas

11:45-12:00 Voting All All ideas on the wall, members vote by putting stickers on their favorite ideas

Stickers

12:00-12:30 LUNCH Project manager and storyteller defines technical issues for each team to focus on for the next two days.

Template (see page 68)

3. Technical

12:30-13:00 Briefing Project manager

Verbal: What are the main issues for each technical group?

See ‘LUNCH’

13:00-15:00 Separate work All All members work separately on ideas based on the work

15:00-16:00 Presentation All All present their work so far Work is recorded, structured and docu-mented on project wall.

ITINERARY DAY 3

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Useability group Market group Price group Ecology groupTechnical issue 1

Technical issue 2

Technical issue 3

Technical issue 4

Technical issue 5

Technical issue 6

Technical issue 7

Technical issue 8

Checklist group sessionProject team is divided in four groups, each to focus on either user, market, price or ecology issues in relation to a set of defined technical tasks. The storyteller is to record all suggestions in a scheme similar to the one presented here.

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Task 1 Task 2 Task 3Mechanics

Industrial design

Audio

Hardware

Operations

Software

User Experience

Tasks technical groupsAfter the smaller group session, project manager and storyteller need to sit down and figure out which solutions should be explored further by the represented technical teams. Each representative might be given up to three issues to research and produce solutions for within the next two days. All solutions should be encouraged to be communicated through mock-ups and/or physical prototypes (see page 25 for examples).

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Day 4: Solutions

Deliverables: - Suggested technical solutions from all teams

All members get half the day to keep exploring their task from the previous day, before presenting their recom-mendations after lunch. The goal of the day is to produce several technical solutions for different product issues, giving the project manager a range of ideas to merge into three suggested concepts.

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Time What Who How Preparation Follow-up Principles

1. Stand up

09:00-09:15 Stand up Project groups 15 minutes meeting: - What has been done?- What’s today’s plan?- Main challenges

Summary of last days work

All issues are recorded, structured and documented on the project wall by storyteller.

2. Separate work

09:15-13:15 All technical groups work separately

All participants As people see best Project manager walks by all teams for coordination and identification of potential problems.

3. Presentation of solutions

13:30-15:30 Presentation All technical representa-tives

All representatives present their solutions, 15 minutes each, some room for comments and deliberation.

Mock-ups, drawings All solutions are recorded, structured and documented by storyteller.

15:30-16:00 Voting All Members vote on their favorite solutions, to be used as help for project management’s further work.

Stickers Project manage-ment evaluates all solutions, makes selection for final presentation.

ITINERARY DAY 4

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Day 5: Concept

Deliverables: - Three suggested concepts, one recommendation

In order to get quick feedback of the work done, there should be made a decision at the end of the week concern-ing what to move forward with. There should be as few links from developers to management decision so that no information gets lost along the way. The whole group should thus be present at the concept presentation, securing ownership, transparency and a common basis for understanding of the decision-making process. Having involved a representative from management throughout the week is extremely important for establishing trust with the final decision-makers.

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ITINERARY DAY 5Time What Who How Preparation Follow-up Principles

1. Stand up

09:00-09:15 Stand up All 15 minutes meeting, project man-ager informs about plan for the day. New ideas are welcome.

Summary last days work

Meeting summary

2. Preparation

09:15-12:30 Structuring of last days work

Project man-ager, storyteller

Taking all solutions, merging into a limited number of complete concepts, evaluating against de-fined project goals. Drop-ins by project members are welcome!

Room reservation Documenting on project wall.

3. Presentation

12:30-13:30 Presentation Project manager and storyteller to project team, product owner and product management.

- Project story so far - Project goals - Project vision - Last days actions- Main concepts- Evaluation of main concepts- Recommendation of one concept

Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Room reservation, technical setup

Product owner should

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Follow-up

Deliverables: - Continued project dedication

Follow-up is important for securing lasting dedication to the project. If the project members don’t hear anything after kick-off week, it might be difficult to keep consistent focus and ownership within the group.

A follow-up meeting should be held about a week after the workshop. This should contain a summary of the conclusions from kick-off week, as well as briefings from everyone on the last week’s actions. People might have come up with new ideas as a result of the individual working, and these should be welcomed at this stage when remodeling still is not too costly.

Probably the most important principle after the kick-off week is the one of visibility. When people work separately, the storyteller has to make sure that all work and decisions are documented on the project wall, and the project manager has to arrange short and frequent stand-ups to inform all involved parties about developments. Shorter workshops should also be arranged for in order to deal with emerging issues during the process. The goal is to quickly identify problems and secure lasting ownership and dedication.

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