Good design may come from small steps, but important design comes from giant leaps.
Too true. Without considering radical new solutions, product innovation becomes stifled – if the iPhone hadn’t been introduced, I hate to think where we’d be.
The absolutely best phrase in this article is this:
“Achieving this means developing a strong product vision and making sure everyone knows it by heart, and writing up a set of design criteria–specific, actionable guidelines that describe the eventual experience of using the design–that help you envision a product that pushes the boundaries established by your competitors (and likely even yourself). Setting up those criteria isn’t about laying out what you know is possible, but laying out what you want. The proof will be in the execution, of course, but great execution starts here.”
As mentioned before , and even earlier, innovation needs to be part of the company culture, and is an output of this – you can’t demand an innovative product without providing the support.
And I really like this idea:
“…keep designing wilder ideas until you’ve reached so far into the abyss you’re not sure the thing is actually possible. Most of the time, it is–you just haven’t yet pushed your team far enough to discover they can accomplish it.”
Creating a company culture where people feel comfortable challenging assumptions is fundamental to this working.