Scheer's Law
SPHERE OF INFLUENCE, INC.– software studios and services
Thad Scheer
Scheer's Law
A product truthfully echoes the core values of the company that produced it, primarily in the customer experience. Product design is inseparable from company culture; the connection cannot be disguised or faked.
Company values are deeply embedded in products. To improve customer experiences with a product you must begin with company culture and core values. A veneer of style or design is easily spotted as a fake.
Design is cultural.
Is innovation part of that culture? Are designers throwing fits during development when it doesn’t feel quite right, or if a menu is difficult to understand, or if steps to make it work are confusing, or if the stylization sends the wrong message, or if it doesn’t work as a novice might expect? Are they taking pride in myriad little things that on their own are insignificant but accumulate to make the customer experience positive?
A company’s value statement is the least illuminating portal into its culture. Value statements say things like “putting customers first in everything we do”. Such statements can be put to the test by experiencing one of their products to confirm or reject the truth of that statement.
Did they really put the customer first? Does their product put the customer first?
A minority of products offer customers a designed experience, the mere existence of which is evidence of certain core company values and self discipline. By examining the quality of a product experience one can tell a lot about the company’s values.
