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A product development tip - from a measuring cup
I love OXO products - those easy-to-use kitchen tools with the handy rubber grips. The vegetable peeler and apple corer are in constant use at my house.
Product developers everywhere could learn a lesson from OXO's angled measuring cup (shown at right), which was born out of some very simple, very smart research.
In the video below, the president of OXO International, Alex Lee, tells about how his researchers observed ordinary consumers using their (non-angled) measuring cups. Users would fill up the cup part way, then bend over to check the level - then fill some more, then bend over again to check the level. This pointed the way for OXO's innovation: showing the amount-markings at an angle, so users can easily read the amount as they fill the cup.
But here's the thing about the research: customers never said they wanted an angled measuring cup. In fact, users weren't even aware that there was a problem to be solved. Consumers didn't say, "I wish I could read the markings more easily." They muddled through without complaint. And yet the innovation came directly from observing customers. How?
Simply by observing the customer experience. The job of any product developer, any innovator, is to identify an unmet need - a pain point - a market opportunity - and the best way of doing that is by observing customers. Which means their actual real-world behavior - what they do, not what they say they do. This reveals the genuine customer experience.
Good research like this doesn't ask customers leading questions, and it doesn't have to ask customers to design a solution. It simply requires watching and listening. Once you observe that "customers seem to spend a lot of extra energy to read the amount," the stage is set for the solution.
Here's Alex Lee, talking about research, product design, and other processes at OXO - highly recommended:
Truly inspiring. Great video. Talk about hitting the next curve every time!
I was chuckling as I read this as I was bending over this morning as I measured the water for the oatmeal...
Phenomenal reminder to look for the small things and explore our metrics on customer usage to seek opportunities to surprise them.
Inspiring and right on! We've created several dozen products by watching how our customers use the old tried-and-true products. They accepted the problems until we fixed them -- and that creates loyal and responsive customers!
Users may not be aware of what solutions they need, but they certainly are aware and can articulate what jobs they are trying to get done and how they measure success in getting those jobs done. Observing users getting jobs done is one way to collect the inputs needed to drive innovation. However, the key is understanding the users' measures of success. The method for collecting inputs is less important. In this example, if we were working with OXO to help them drive innovation, we could certainly talk to users about the job of "measuring ingredients while cooking." By breaking this job down into discreet steps and talking to users about their desired outcomes, we certainly would uncover the needs of having to bend down to read the measurement of the ingredient and the risk of adding too much ingredient into the cup. Then, by asking users to prioritize all the uncovered needs, OXO would know with certainty which ones to focus on. Using this approach, there is no such thing as latent needs, only latent solutions.
... wish they made a glass one. Now maybe they will :)
I still remember the first thing that popped into my head when I first saw OXO's angled measuring cup sitting on a product shelf a few years ago: "Man I'd love to work there."
I ended up buying a handful of them and giving a few out as stocking stuffers.
The people at OXO are brilliant and their products are outstanding.
I think they actually 'borrow' their ideas from Pampered Chef (a brilliant company). They modify them slightly sometimes or straight up copy them at others.
I'll give you this though - that measuring cup is awesome.
I've seen these and held them and still would not buy one. I give them a lot of credit for what they have observed, designed, and accomplished. But they don't work in the microwave, that I know of, and they're kind of ugly and I just find I don't need it. But I can't live without my OXO whisk or my peeler.
I, too, would buy a glass one. Good design let down by cheap manufacturing.
Innovation based on observation comes with a fixed range of conclusions.
Interesting video, same for the artcile. I'm a UX designer, these same principles apply very well to web & application design.