Solving problems, instead of creating apps
It seems that perfection is attained, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing more to take away.— Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
A tool close to perfection? Regular hammer. All its features result only from its function. Such a tool is transparent in a sense. When you hammer a nail, you just hammer a nail — you do not operate the hammer.
We decided to make a journey towards a tool of similar simplicity. In this case, the word ‘journey’ is not accidental here. I did not mean to move from A to B. Covering path is a value in itself.
I will tell you about it.
Let’s get wise!
Two things are the cause of misery and evil: correcting what worked well and getting used to what is wrong.
And what does it mean to do wisely? That is, to be able to distinguish between what doesn’t need to be improved and what needs to be refined.
You can learn to act wisely. I’ll show you how we do it in Eyedea. Let’s use an application that we work on for some time as an example. I will try to show you whole path — more or less.
Does this problem exist at all?
Let’s sketch the situation: we have a cool, functional office in a good location. We share it with few other companies, there are also several freelancers here — thanks to this, one can create an atmosphere of creative, unconventional thinking and just nice cooperation.
But there are also inconveniences: each of us sometimes needs a quiet place to talk. One has to meet with the client, organize a meeting of project members, or talk to a job candidate — all this requires calm and some discretion. And how many conference rooms do we have?
Three.
What really works here?
It generates — it must generate — difficulties. This question arises in most offices I know — how to check which room is free? Just walk from door to door knocking? And how do you see when a room with the projector will be finally unoccupied? And if there are more people — when and where can I meet them without crowding? How do you book one of the rooms?
In my previous job (a large company) there were some paper forms and you could write in when you need a room. It worked poorly. Here, in Eyedea, we use the google calendar — it’s basically ok, but it lacks functionality, especially the intuitive interface.
Only several rooms, but the trouble is real! Maybe the fate of the planet does not depend on its solution, but everyday irritation with trifles is completely unnecessary.
What to do with this?
It all starts with the question “what for?” Why did we want to improve something that somehow worked? Come on — we are not a corporation, we will manage to share these rooms after all…
Brand sprint answered quite well on this question (and on the few more).7
First of all — time. Of course — taping the room is just a moment, but synchronizing calendars of all interested parties and matching them to the timetable of the room is quite a bit of gymnastics. It should be much easier to do!
In addition, the eternal struggle with pressing chaos. Our work environment is very fluid. A certain amount of chaos is imminent. Therefore, we can not afford to mess up where it can be avoided. Previewing the occupancy of rooms, scheduled meetings and their participants gives the possibility of better planning.
Thinking more broadly — this type of tool allows you to better adjust your resources to your needs. What equipment do users need most? In which room would a projector be useful? All this kind of information will be served like on a plate.
There is still an important issue that arose during the brand sprint — that is, fun. Although it is difficult to expect explosions of ecstatic laughter while reserving a room for a meeting, it is important that this process is not a complicated path through torment. In other words — we are looking for a transparent tool.
What now?
Since we’ve already tracked the problem, and we even know what to expect from a potential solution, it’s time to think about how it would look like. The classic solution using the form at the door dropped out at once — to say that they can not be viewed remotely, it is not saying anything.
Swapping those paper forms for tablets? When we will have shares in some tablet manufacturing company — maybe, who knows?
There’s no app for that!
Okay, there’s no use to pretend anymore — it’s known that in a technology company, an app is always the solution to all problems. But come one, in this case, it’s a really good idea!
Imagine a simple system — a small sticker with a QR code at the door of the room, and your phone where you have all the information — when the room will be occupied, which room is equipped with a projector or computer or printer, where the twenty-member team will fit and so on.
At any time, you can reserve what you need, for as long as you want. And everyone can easily check what meetings are scheduled for today and where they are held. Or which of the rooms will be released in the first place and when exactly will it take place — all in an easy to use, well designed and free-as-air application.
Sounds good, right?
