archive for July, 2009

Can a recommender choose what’s best?

7 July 2009 | Ellen Isaacs

While doing a user experience evaluation of a mobile recommendation system, I noticed how the list-based design implied that there was a single best choice, with 'goodness' decreasing in even increments. This made me wonder whether it makes sense to try to identify the one Best option when you're choosing among options that vary across many dimensions. Making choices might be easier if we assume that there is rarely one single Best.

Building innovation teams

2 July 2009 | Jennifer Ernst

I recently enjoyed moderating an almost rowdy dialogue on Building World-Class Innovation Teams, as part of a Frost & Sullivan Executive MindXChange event. For someone immersed in innovation at PARC, it's always intriguing to hear the viewpoints from those who aren't as lucky.

Serving shoppers’ needs in physical stores: Responsive Mirror

1 July 2009 | Bo Begole

We've found that there are certain types of information that shoppers need but still cannot get online. Certain kinds of tactile and physical information cannot easily be communicated electronically: texture, fit, drape, flow, movement, light refraction, heft, etc. So, people still visit stores to find out how things feel. But we can still help shoppers by supplementing their decision-making processes with electronic information.