Put it Together With Design for Ease of Use

Design for Ease of Use (DFEU) is the idea that both our product and our process should be designed as simply as possible, so that anyone can use and understand it.

Truly, the more people that can use your product, the more opportunities you have to sell it.  And the more employees that can perform your process, the easier it will be to find quality, capable staff.

It is no mistake that an average two year old can find their way around an Apple iPad, and that Apple as a result has been an immensely successful company.

This is why Design for Ease of Use is so very important.

The first step is asking our customer, “What is it you are trying to do?”  The reason we ask, is because value is always determined by the customer (1.1).  Whatever their answer is, we can ensure that our process gets them to that outcome more easily, by answering for ourselves the DFEU questions below:

1.  How many steps are in the process?

Can these steps be reduced?

2.  Is Value added at each step?

Can we remove non-value added steps?

3.  How many wasteful activities take place at each step (3.1)?

Can we remove this waste?

4.  How long should each step take?

Can we make them faster, and does it meet customer demand?

5.  Why is the step necessary?

What would happen if it was eliminated?

6.  Are there any queues or stops?

How long does the process stop for, and can we remove these queues?

7.  What can go wrong at each step? Is it possible to make a mistake?

Can we use Error Proofing (4.2) to avoid mistakes?

8.  If the mistake cannot be prevented, can it be detected before it goes to the next step (4.2)?

And finally, the big one:

9.  Would customers be willing to pay for this step if they knew about it?

To quote a phrase that is attributed to Albert Einstein – “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.”  Making things easy to use is the pillar behind any great product.

Selected chapters from the story within Five minute Lean:

• Lean Parable – Where Lisa Makes a Change
• Lean Parable – Where Lisa Discovers a New Way
• Lean Parable – Where Lisa Performs a Balancing Act
• Lean Parable – Where Lisa Pulls the Trigger
• Lean Parable – Where Lisa Sets a New Standard
• Lean Parable – Where Lisa Becomes a Leader

Check out these selected chapters from the teachings within Five Minute Lean:

• Five Minute Lean – Use Feedback to Fix and Guarantee
• Five Minute Lean – The Power of Incentives – What is Measured and Rewarded Improves
• Five Minute Lean – Solve the Real Cause of the Problem
• Five Minute Lean – Introduction
• Five Minute Lean – Organise Your Process with Five S
• Five Minute Lean – Heijunka: Level the Workload when Demand Fluctuates
• Five Minute Lean – Map the Value Stream to Reveal Opportunities
• Five Minute Lean – Value is Determined by the Customer
• Five Minute Lean – Build in Quality with Error-Proofing and Autonomation
• Five Minute Lean – Use Pareto to Find Where to Start
• Five Minute Lean – Collect and Measure Feedback With the Net Promoter Score
• Five Minute Lean – Use Kaizen and Kaizen Events to Help Stakeholder Buy-In
• Five Minute Lean – Implement With Agile for Fast Iterations and Feedback
• Five Minute Lean – Get Your Map Started with a SIPOC
• Five Minute Lean – Create a Future State Value Stream Map
• Five Minute Lean – Present and Manage Your Change Using an A3 and LCA
• Five Minute Lean – Create a New Standard Procedure and Checklist for Quality Control
• Five Minute Lean – Eliminate the Eight Wastes to Improve Flow
• Five Minute Lean Summary
• Five Minute Lean – Gather Direct Feedback and Indirect Feedback