From connected bananas and beyond, IoT gets a new robe – “Interaction over Technology”

Mohan Krishnaraj

Today, our world has traversed beyond connected cars and smart cities to connected toothbrush and connected cows.

Connected devices are eating the world, with its number likely to grow tenfold by 2019.

(Holy connected cow, right?!)

Internet of Things is no more a futuristic aspirational trend, it has become the new given shaping this uber-cool, hyper connected world.

Thriving the IoT Upheaval by prioritizing “Interaction over Technology”

With the world of software, cloud and mobile joining forces with advanced predictive analytics, we’re already forgetting to think about the humans interacting with those technologies.

These distinct yet increasingly intertwined technology trends together are creating an unstoppable force for change. A force that places Interaction over Technology - one that is less about the interaction on a particular device or product, and more about the holistic experience on the “network of things”.

Ultimately, when the digital and physical worlds blur, humans along with technology are potentially on the path to becoming a “super powers” capable of influencing and enabling a broad spectrum of new behaviors. This calls for a greater emphasis on understanding the user’s needs in a particular context of use and designing the interaction accordingly.

Navigating This New Normal with “Design Led Engineering”

Now, more than ever, businesses stand at the cross roads – design with purpose or perish. Only the ones that define the parameters of and sculpt the interactions between man and technology, survive the IoT upheaval and dominate industry value chain.

Over two decades of implementing the practice of user experience in various organizations has taught me that, Design Led Engineering can truly be the savior in the time of unprecedented flux in consumer behavior, customer expectations and company business models created by technologies.

The IoT journey can be chaotic. While we design products or services for the connected customer, we live or die by the ability to stay ahead of this chaos and delight the customers. Here are a few pointers I’ve found helpful during my journey,

Prioritize Interaction Over Technology (Re-emphasizing!)

Prioritizing Interaction over Technology goes to the very core of every business - creating a product, system or service that meets the known and (unknown) needs of your customer.

By focusing on user-centered goals and embracing behavior-based input methodologies, it is easy to create products and services that simplify lives, enable users, and shape behavior in ways never before possible.

Enable Interaction Design as the Arbiter

The companies that are thriving in this age of digital disruption at the convergence of IoT, are the ones who are using this intersect of Design and Technology to build a rich, seamless and secure connected lifestyle for their customer.

This paradigm shift demands moving from design as facilitation, shaping the interface and workflow, to design as the arbiter, driving the creation of the technology itself.

Promote an audacious culture of User-Empathy

Take the time and effort to holistically develop an ethos where “designing for the user is on everybody’s mind” - the one that involves designing behaviors and personality into products, services and digital experiences.

Popularize design thinking within the organization to develop a holistic approach to design that takes inspiration from real people, understands market trends, is grounded to solid engineering practices and considers every product touch-point as an opportunity to surprise, delight and deliver benefits to users.

A solid proof that demonstrates the significance of Interaction over Technology is Amazon’s new Dash button that enables automatic reorder of home goods straight from the devices. This transformational step by Amazon is burgeoning the Internet of Things world.

When your business and engineering efforts are entirely focused on designing for the end user, you compete and thrive through products and services that have a radical new approach to solve a known or often-times unknown need of the customer.

By focusing on Interaction over Technology, you can build an unbeatable and sustainable competitive advantage through innovations that do not always come from the same market but rather create new markets.

The author is the global head – user experience,  Symphony Teleca