Get the right things done the right way. By design!
We have created a digital culture in which value creation is key. Agile and Design Thinking are all about that. Creating value and including the customers throughout the process. Testing concepts and ideas as soon as possible. Demos and prototypes to generate customer feedback and also to get confirmation for the unknown.
There is however a significant challenge in the bias of customer selection. Which customers are included in these processes? The ones who are underrepresented in our society are hardly seen in these sessions and do not get a chance to influence these processes. The high volume consumers and highly represented customers are the ones who set the tone.
That means that for example people with disabilities are hardly involved and as a result accessibility continues to be an afterthought. The fancy flashy color schemes are still in the forefront because the people who are excluded by such color combinations are never asked for their opinions. The look-and-feel outweighs the readability and those who depend on text to speech have to sort that out for themselves. Simply because they are not considered in the chain of value creation decisions.
With more than 1 billion people with disabilities and the development towards 2 billion expected long before the turn of this century, we need to urgently redesign our design processes. Retrofitting essential design objectives into launched products is either very expensive, or in many cases even impossible. Cybersecurity, accessibility, and inclusion require us to get the right things done the right way. By design!
Dr. ir Johannes Drooghaag – CEO Spearhead Management
Together we will be included – Billion Strong!