On Tuesday, February 23, Electronic Ink founder and CEO Harold Hambrose enjoyed a warm reception at his alma mater, Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). Hambrose was back at the Pittsburgh-based institution to take part in the Carnegie Mellon School of Design Lectures series.
Speaking to an audience gathered at Giant Eagle Auditorium, Hambrose displayed his trademark enthusiasm and humor as he continued his campaign for Design’s rightful place in the development of new, usable technology and business systems.
Sharing both anecdotes from his 20 years growing Electronic Ink, and observations from his recent book, Wrench in the System (Wiley 2009), Hambrose pointed out that industry now turns to design as a source of innovation – in business operations and in the tools that support the execution of business. His message was warmly received by CMU’s latest batch of aspiring designers as well as their colleagues from many other of the University’s departments.
This isn’t Hambrose’s first trip back to Carnegie Mellon. In 2005, he was on campus to receive the Carnegie Mellon Merit Award from the university’s Alumni Association for his leadership and contribution to the technology industry. The award acknowledged that Hambrose and his company have pushed the influence of designers and the design process from the visual design of early computer desktops, through leadership in user centered design practices, to the modeling of complex business operations and the systems that will be the backbone of business transformation.
Hambrose and Electronic Ink continue to cultivate their relationship with CMU students, graduates and faculty. This is just one of many ways, Hambrose says he keeps Electronic Ink on the cutting edge.
I would like to believe that when pilots are locked into the cockpit of a commercial airline and we’re thousands of feet above ground traveling hundreds of miles an hour that these folks are focused completely on the task at hand. Recent developments with a flight bound for Minneapolis have revealed a disturbing picture not just of momentary distraction – but rather of complete off-the-job behavior that had the aircraft over-shoot its destination by more than a hundred miles.
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I’d like to share my response to comments on my interview with CIO.com:
Thank you for your passionate responses to this subject. Upon reflection, I probably started off my interview painting with too broad a brush. The definition of a business analyst deserves more discussion and analysis than I offered. Maybe I can clarify my position and we can continue the conversation. I take your point – “business analyst” means different things to different people, and on top of that, it’s a continually evolving role.
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For a long time, software developers have been under the impression that usability practices constitute “good design.” Although usability is a necessary outcome of any successful design exercise, excellent design cannot be guaranteed from the execution of usability practices alone. Usability must be done within the design process and early enough to influence and guide development.
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No matter how you cut it, an assembly of displays presenting data and application features represents a product. As a product, SaaS (Software as a Service) applications possess a certain physical form that either enhances or inhibits a human end user’s ability to perform a certain task. Read more »
I just want to put out a quick call for participation to everyone. I am going to be posting my thoughts about design and business to this site periodically, in hopes of starting a conversation about the topics in the book.
But the beauty of a blog is that it needn’t be one-sided. I hope you’ll post your own comments and thoughts here, too. After all, the book is just a starting point. Let’s continue the discussion.
– Harold Hambrose
