Was Uber Really the Result of Experience Design?
Have you ever been in New York City, watching the clock, just waiting for your opportunity to escape to the airport for your flight home?
I have - too many times to count.
A certain percentage of those times turned into disasters when it began to rain. I couldn’t find a taxi. They were all tied up with everyone else who suddenly didn’t want to walk a few blocks in the rain. I’ve missed flights. I’ve gotten soaked. I really despised going to NYC for work.
That problem has been solved - at least partially (nothing is perfect).
I recently saw a video presentation that purported to demonstrate how Uber’s emergence was a result of an experience design workshop, a double-diamond and a pinwheel designed to accommodate sticky notes. The output? Wall posters.
This was a #JTBD presentation. 🤦🏻
I’m sure this is exactly the kind of evidence that this new business model was funded on. I’m absolutely certain … because of all the data!
While Uber may very well have been conceived of in the minds of a few, and expressed as ideas, an experience design workshop is an unlikely vehicle (no pun intended) to reproduce such insights at scale - in other words, repeatedly.
Why?
Primarily because there is no control over the initial position of the exercise … thus resulting in chaos (chaos theory - check it out). These wall hanger production methods are not a true system. They are simple theater that puts the facilitator or designer on stage, front and center - right where they want to be.
These are great for certain, limited exercises in the solution-space, but are not a solid replacement for more robust problem-solving methods specifically designed for the problem-space. No, not design problems.
The problem-space requires the prioritized inputs from customers, or end users... or Job Performers, not internal stakeholders.
Let’s look at some of the elements involved in this Uber thing that took off. The scenario in-focus is city-dwellers or city visitors who need to get from point A to point B…
The table above is a good start, but it doesn’t have market data to support it (as a simple table). These are just random thoughts that occurred to me. You want real market data before investing time and money into a new business model, right?
Drivers
✅ It is possible to determine the size of the population that would participate (making it viable)
✅ It is possible to identify and prioritize their needs as ride-share assets
✅ It is possible to determine what level of compensation would be required (even though they may not get it)
Riders
✅ It is possible to identify the scenarios in which they are underserved
✅ It is possible to quantify the volume of those scenarios
✅ It is possible to quantify the attraction to competing scenarios
✅ It is possible to quantify willingness-to-pay in these scenarios
WWW - Whiteboards & Wheels that WOW you
⛔ Based on ideas and opinions, not facts
⛔ The data is generally not designed to build a value model (one that can be prioritized in a consistent way)
⛔ Is not reproducible or predictable - it depends on a handful of random participants and facilitators (see chaos above)
⛔ Sticky notes could fall off the wall (or get deleted, digital) and get lost, leading to a disastrous gap in the solution 🤣
⛔ Might lead to short-term excitement, but will have no impact on long-term strategic decision-making
If you're going to go through the trouble of qualitative research, shouldn't the output be in a format that is designed to be prioritized by real people, that pay real money (in conjunction with people who provide a service)?
Ultimately, Uber was not the result of a perfect workshop. Yes, I’m sure there were workshops. Or, it's also quite possible the entire thing was conceptualized by a bunch tech bros getting high and bitching about the fact that they couldn’t get a taxi the other day.
But, this was not about #cx solely, at least not the way I define it. No one went from “I want a cleaner taxi, darn it all!” or "I wish the driver would not talk to me" to a business model that addressed such fundamental and systemic problems, in so many contexts and situations.
The architecture of this solution is completely different
The process may not have been transparent; nor were the inner workings of the mind of Steve Jobs. But, in order to be reproducible you need a system that can be understood and used by many - not just a savant. In other words, average people like us.
And design workshops are no replacement for a system to build new business models.
Welcome to Practical Jobs-to-be-Done thinking.
If I upset you, please comment below ... and explain how I'm wrong. No comments will lead me to believe I'm right, just sayin'.👇🏻
Note: this post has been up on LinkedIn for a few months and so far no comments. #challenge
If you'd like to learn more...
I do offer end-to-end consulting if you’re just not ready to do it all your own. I’m 20x faster and at least 10x cheaper than your alternatives. Big Brands: This means you can get many more problems solved with your existing budget (I work with a global team of experienced practitioners)
I also offer coaching, if you’d like to know someone’s got your back and you want to do the heavy lifting and get some knowledge transfer, I'm there!
I can help you get your qualitative research done in 2 days for mere budget scraps.
I’ve also got a new version of my JTBD Masterclass where you can find evolving and expanding and much deeper content for a do-it-yourself experience. It includes portfolio of AI prompts that eliminates the pain of learning how to perform proper qualitative JTBD research. It also includes an in-depth guide that is being developed live in front of an audience, will get into the deep, dark secrets of JTBD research and strategy formulation. You will see the experiments and watch a stale method evolve over time.
Finally, I've recently opened up a JTBD community that is completely FREE! It's still early days and it's where I work with clients - in private spaces - and where I hang out to answer questions or just blather on. I hope you'll join us! There will be more, and more free stuff, and there will also be some premium stuff eventually. I wonder what that will be? 🤔