Carrot Centralization — Postlight — Digital Product Studio

Not long ago, one of our more enlightened clients, part of a big organization, said to us, “Look—let people ask for workflow after you launch this.”

​

What you need to do, and we’ve found this over and over, is sit down with the people who are using the systems today and get them to show you how they work.

​

Then act on what they tell you. Build something really little that helps them. Just one little tool that lets them do things more quickly.

​

Go back and show it to them. You’ve never seen a faster turnaround than when that person gets just a little love.

​

You have to build a system that works for the people who use it daily, and for the people who like dashboards, too.

​

it’s really worthwhile, as you’re deciding what to build and how to build it, to ask yourself: Is this going to be a carrot or a stick?

​

Computers can’t make people do things. They have to want to do things. As a product studio, we try to play it down the middle: To listen to the people doing the work as well as the folks at higher altitudes, and fit it into the larger goals of the organization.

​

Maybe instead of trying to automate every process so that it all works and looks the same, assume that people just want good tools to do a good job, and help them do it faster so they can go out and have a beer with their friends.

​

Posted on August 12, 2019