Yes, over-reliance on data-driven incremental design (DDID) is ill-
advised.
- Customers who use more than one of a company's products tend to be
the most valuable customers in the long run. DDID usually optimizes
one product at a time. The resulting inconsistencies may make each
product a bit more profitable but can make it less likely for a heavy
user of one to become a casual user of another.
- DDID is an effective way to climb a little higher on a profit hill.
It will never get you off the current hill onto a taller mountain.
- Changing shades of blue and line widths can nudge a product higher
on its current hill. But an organization that makes choices based
solely on the basis of performance data won't learn why a certain
shade or width works better, and is unlikely to apply the lesson to
the next project. Revenue is foregone, costs mount and precious
resources are tied up while each new product is gradually optimized.
But many managers love DDID. It a systematic, replicable, and
inherently measurable. Delight in the experience and passion for the
product line are much harder to measure. The non-mathematical way that
designers go about evoking such emotions isn't something that the
staffing and training departments can reliably replicate.
These days, great success usually emerges from a smart combination of
analytical thinking and design thinking, a combination that requires
mutual respect and cooperation as equals among the various
practitioners.
Larry Tesler
When a company is filled with engineers, it turns to engineering to
solve problems. Reduce each decision to a simple logic problem.
Remove all subjectivity and just look at the data. Data in your
favor? Ok, launch it. Data shows negative effects? Back to the
drawing board. And that data eventually becomes a crutch for every
decision, paralyzing the company and preventing it from making any
daring design decisions.
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