Jared Spool wrote:
How does one show value for quality?
How does one show value for technology?
How does one show value for service?
Answer those questions and you'll know how one shows value for design.
Here's an example that's probably terribly uninteresting to most
designers: post-sales customer support.
Customer support is a huge cash suck for consumer electronics and
software companies. A call to customer support answered by a human can
easily cost $10, much more if that human has to be technically
sophisticated and do more than follow a script. Let's say you're
selling a video game or a monthly service for $50. A single call to CS
just zero'd any profit. Multiple calls put you in the negative. If you
end up having to "roll a truck" to the customer, you're probably in a
world of hurt.
If you can figure out a way to lower the cost of customer support using
better design, you will get attention from execs. Find out what
customer support is costing them across the board -- returned products,
customer retention, phone bank and web site costs -- and show how you
can lower those costs with better design. Maybe it's a better help
forum, maybe it's a better phone tree, maybe it's better scripts for the
CS reps. Sure, making the product better might lower costs in the
next release, but that's speculation and not easily measured.
Show that good design can cut costs in a well-understood and closely
watched area of the business and maybe it will be easier to convince
them of how good design can increase profits on the intake side of the
business.
--
J. E. 'jet' Townsend, IDSA
Designer, Fabricator, Hacker
design: www.allartburns.org; hacking: www.flatline.net; HF: KG6ZVQ
PGP: 0xD0D8C2E8 AC9B 0A23 C61A 1B4A 27C5 F799 A681 3C11 D0D8 C2E8
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