blogs.conchango.com

After many stories of laptops going missing with sensitive Government information, it is mildly amusing to hear that in Italy the outgoing Government there actually published the declared earnings of each individual including tax liabilities on a website.

 You can just imagine the suspicious/envious looks people get in downtown Milan whilst downing the first espresso of the day.

 Sadly the site has been closed down, but I did wonder if you could sort the results by geography/income/degree of tax evasion, etc.?

Sometimes it is the little stuff that makes for a memorable user experience beyond the accepted view of what constitutes a ‘user journey’ or a ‘transaction process’ for example.  Recently a colleague sent round an email explaining about the great experience she had received using a US clothing retail site.  Yes she could browse for clothes, select a size, order and pay and was delighted when the item promptly arrived but it was the ‘other stuff’ that contributed greatly to the whole experience and made it so memorable for her, such as live chat help and a personalised, friendly confirmation email.

Then, I read Jamie Thompson's 'Conchango Blogging on the Upturn' about 'things we are good at' in Conchango in terms of technical capabilities, user experience, BI and all the other work-type stuff that fit neatly into a blogging tag cloud.  Putting the two together  got me thinking about what makes a good ’organisational’ experience which often extends beyond core capabilities into the ‘other stuff’ -  the stuff that doesn’t necessarily fit in a pitch document but yet is an inherent part of the ‘experience’ of working within an organization.   

Now I've passed the one year on stage at the company, and without trying to sound like an enthusiastic recruitment ad, I thought I'd write an alternative 'things we are good at' that have influenced my own ‘organisational experience’ here.

·        Making company updates entertaining

·        Getting good, interesting people…and keeping them!

·        Not being reliant on employment agencies

·        Creativity

·        BLOGGING! (OK, well, we are improving)

·        Providing lots of fruit and the odd cake now and again

·        Not feeling like an anonymous ‘corporate’

·        A flat hierarchy (is that an oxymoron?)

·        Willingness to try new things

·        Developing and running the Consultancy Skills training course (if you haven't gone on it yet, book yourself on it)

·        Evangelising about Agile and applying it (someone I met recently on an external training course had heard of Conchango with reference to Agile – what surprised me though was that they were from Brazil)

·        Creating great relationships with industry analysts (thanks Forrester)

·        Diluting the distinction between skill sets in teams

·        Free physio sessions

·        Variety - type of work, project teams and people

·        Using IM

·        Resisting the temptation to reply to all in emails;)

·        Raising money (cycle ride, 3 peaks and more)

·        Getting everyone's photo on the Intranet so you can see who everyone is

Of course, everyone will have their own list of 'stuff we are good at' based on their personal ‘Conchango experience’ - if they didn't then that would be missing the point about what makes an organisation such a dynamic and experiential entity - a collection of a variety of individuals doing a variety of work in a variety of ways.

Now that I have your attention, I thought I'd blog about telling people what to do (groan!) inspired by a current campaign that Transport for London is running on bus stops and also on their site www.tfl.gov.uk.

I was surprised (and a bit saddened) to see that there was a poster telling people how to behave on public transport - not only about giving up a seat but also telling people to say thank you...

...with a colourful character set of people who pledge not to shout on their mobile or eat smelly food, and to keep their temper down:

There's also a film you can watch to learn to be considerate too:

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/corporate/projectsandschemes/communityandeducation/asb/film.aspx

However, it was interesting to note that other people (whether we like it or not) are also part of the user experience of travelling on public transport - not just the seat (if you can get one!), journey duration and route.

But maybe we all do need a good talking to now and again?  Recently, a colleague recently spoke to a heavily pregnant friend of hers who asked a fellow female passenger to vacate her seat as she was feeling rather faint, to be promptly rebutted with the reply 'PROVE IT!'.

A mate of mine from overseas always knows when he has arrived at Heathrow as there is a plethora of 'Don't do this/that' signs all over the place - some are required for health and safety.  This instructional overload reminds me of a scene from the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy where a reluctant hero presses a button next to a 'Don't press this' sign which illuminates a screen saying 'Please do not press this button again'.  But I do wonder whether careful design can reduce all this visual instructional clutter?  For example, at the British Airways HQ at Waterside in Harmondsworth, there are no 'authorised personnel only' signs at reception but there is an actual stream of water that you can only cross via a manned bridge - back to nature simplicity, but it works!

Fortunately in the online world we are moving on from shouting 'CLICK THIS BIG BUTTON HERE TO BUY THIS ITEM' to more subtle, conversational ways of instructing users - building links into a grammatically correct sentence or encouraging more exploration and play rather than restricting users to a predetermined route. 

 Maybe there is still a childish element in all of us whereby the degree of action is inversely proportional to the amount of instruction we receive.  So maybe the solution is more positive instructional messaging - 'please explore', 'you may find it easier to carry your trolley on the lift instead of the escalator', or even 'to make yourself deeply unpopular with fellow travellers, please shout into your mobile'?