In our rush as product, service and experience improvers, it’s easy sometimes to get lost in the detail. We sprint out of the gate to do great research, draw experience maps, construct prototypes, test ideas and release pilots into the world. But it’s worth taking a moment to remember, albeit briefly, what Experience Design is, what it isn’t, and how it helps us make things better (and make better things).

Why are we at Cognitive Ink still avoiding significant use of auto-insight tools? It might seem like a contentious choice, but there’s a logic behind our choice. And it all comes down to getting in sync with what people share. 

Some time ago, I had the opportunity to shadow someone selling products directly to end-customers. While helping, I conducted some on-the-ground ethnography on how people interacted with what was being offered. The experience got me thinking about the significant planning and structure teams put into gathering feedback on products and services.

A service can radically alter how it’s experienced by changing how it communicates. Communicating kindly and clearly can make for a better experience, even in difficult moments.

In the world of product, service and experience design, we conduct research and run experiments to solve the right problem, for the right people and for the right reasons. Evidence exists to help us understand how and why something works, and therefore to make better and clearer decisions.

There’s never enough time, resources or attention to fix everything that can be fixed. So you have to prioritise. But with so many layers in a service, it's difficult to figure out where the service is strong, or where it is lacking. And then there’s the emergence. Something that might seem unimportant, taken out of context and improved, can lead to a worse overall experience outcome because of how it contributes to the whole.

I recently had an exceptional warranty experience with a company whose product I’ve had for decades. Specifically, I redeemed a 25 year warranty on my Leatherman, an Oregon-made multi-tool that has been part of my go-to toolkit for years. The experience was so complete that I just had to tell the story. Leatherman's product-support approach challenges traditional methods of building, selling, and supporting everyday products.

It’s also hard to ignore how many manufacturers are willing to outsource their post-purchase service provision with little thought to the varied experience customers encounter. I get the economics of outsourcing service provision, but I don’t think this lets organisations off the hook from trying to understand and improve on the long-tail experience that customers have with their product or services, long after they’ve left the factory floor.

On our quest to see the whole picture of a product, service or experience, it’s always worth taking time to peer down into the detail and find those handful of pivot points upon which the whole service might turn.

A while back, I had a really frustrating experience with a local telecommunications provider after my prepaid phone was suddenly disconnected. It took the better part of a week, several hours of online research and several long phone calls to find out what had happened and then resolve it. On one hand, once I explain, you might say, ‘That’s your fault.’ But on the other hand, I think it’s actually a good example of how service providers could do more work to protect people from mistakes. Let me explain…