Technologists Just Want to Have Fun

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Technologists Just Want to Have Fun

• Renu Chipalkatti
• Executive Director
• Information Technology Strategy Innovation

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New Technologies Continually Change our Lives
Communication/Collaboration
Biggest technological changes that have impacted
our lives
Digital Media IPod/Cameras/ DVR/ITV
Internet/Web
Cell Phones
GPS
Technology Surrounds Us
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Who Invented These ? Geeks ?

• OR
• People with a vision and deep understanding of
  Technology
• ...and many are Billionaires today

Jerry Yang David Filo (Portal)
Tim Berners-Lee (The Web)
Marc Andreessen (Internet Browser)
Steve Jobs (IPod, Macs)
Most importantlyThey had lot of fun!
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First there is an Idea
Ideas can come from anybody
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Is there Product in the Idea?
Product Idea

• Build Prototypes to prove the idea is workable
• Many tweaks are frequently made to the idea
  before it becomes a workable one
• Many ideas might also fail!

Prototype
Will it work, wont it work!
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Taking a Product to Customer

• Market
• Who will you sell it to?
• Teenagers, Women?
• What price will you sell at?
• What are people willing to pay?
• How will you sell it?
• On the web, stores?
• How will you promote it?
• On the web, TV, word-of-mouth

• Product
• What does it look like?
• How do people interact with it?
• How do you design/engineer it?
• What will it cost
• How will it perform, e.g. battery life, response
  times of websites?

• Operations
• What happens when something goes wrong?
• How do you fix it?

Think from all Angles
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Building a Product
Product Design
Product Construction
Product Testing
Product goes Live
Diverse set of skills are necessary
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Product Design is very Critical

• Examples of highly successful products in market
• Reasons for success of the products
• Simple, elegant, and intuitive to use
• Take the Geek-factor out
• It works !
• It does what it is supposed to every time you
  want it to

Engineering is an Art
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What are the Skill Sets e.g. Web-based Product

• Product Design
• Specify in detail the building blocks of the
  Software, E.g. for IM
• Best way to store buddy list
• Fast and efficient methods to update all the IM
  Buddy List that contain Amy when Amy comes on
  line.
• Skill set
• Engineers, Software Developers

Make the Product Work
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What are the Skill Sets e.g. Web-based Product

• User Interface Design
• How will the product look?
• How will a user interact with product?
• Skill set to design a user-centric product
• Artists Develop the color schemes, Graphics,
  Layout,
• Human Factors Engineer/Psychologist Analyze
  design for appeal and usability
• Testers Perform Usability Testing, and function
  testing

Take the Geek-Factor Out of the Product
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What are the Skill Sets e.g. Web-based Product

• Construction Phase
• Develop the software code that makes the product
• Skill Sets Science/Engineering, software
  development
• Testing Phase
• Test the product under every condition
• good, bad and really ugly!
• Skills Ability to use product, deep
  understanding of product, deep understanding of
  the usage of the product

Make the Product Work
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What are the Skill Sets e.g. Web-based Product
Product Design
Product Construction
Product Testing
Product goes Live
Project Managers Tie pieces together, ensure
product developed on time and on budget
communicate status, and facilitate Skills
Organizational skills, communications skills,
technology understanding
Make sure Product delivered on time
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Diverse Skill Set Needed

• Multitude of Skill Sets required to build product
• Not all skill sets are technical in naturebut
  need strong understanding of technology
• Diverse Skill Sets required to launch product in
  market
• Deep technical understanding allows creative
  marketing and business methods
• E.g. provide book recommendations based on user
  browsing pattern, Google Ads

Understanding of Technology is a Bonus
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Technology Today.

• Is remaking the world at a faster and faster pace
  
• Has created a virtual canvas
• You can dream of ideas and make them into reality
• Has enabled a single persons ideas to reach and
  change the lives of majority of people on earth
  at a rate never before
• Is fun and lucrative

Join the fun.build cool new products that will
continue to better our lives