Johannesburg, 20 Jul 2022
While technology tends to get the plaudits, the fact is that the human element remains vital in moving from the germ of an idea to a well-implemented solution. Everything begins with the formulation of an idea by somebody, somewhere, who fosters it, plans it, researches it and develops it into a tangible offering.
Keith Knott, senior manager: sales at Altron Document Solutions, points out that this is the essence of research and development (R&D), which is a critical part of the process of developing customer-focused solutions.
“It’s important to recognise the necessity of the research part of the equation, since without proper research, you won’t know what you need to develop and why. There have been many occasions where vast amounts were spent on developing products that turned out the users weren’t interested in. Research is how you determine the user requirements and what the consumers want,” he says.
“During product development, customer feedback is an obvious tool to help you more clearly understand the customer’s demands. After all, the more rapidly you can identify what they want, the more quickly you can identify additional needs and eliminate design errors. This is why the need exists, to place beta test models with the customers in order to obtain direct feedback that can be leveraged to improve on the products.”
In this way, explains Knott, you are able to listen directly to the voice of the customer and ensure their requirements are incorporated into the latest product design. Xerox understands the importance of beta test sites in effectively developing technology in this manner.
“This is more important than ever; due to digital transformation, technologies are evolving far more quickly and thus it becomes easier for mistakes to creep into the design process. The real challenge is if the problems only come to the fore once the device is on site with customers. Problems arising at this stage will create unhappy customers, reputational damage to the supplier and additional work for the service department.
“Although launching a new product is never an absolute science, the likelihood of success increases exponentially as you undertake more R&D, as the growing base of knowledge helps you to more effectively calculate the risks and deliver according to requirements.”
Research, for example, is vital in determining whether a large enough number of customers will make use of a product you plan on launching. It is about balancing the potential demand with the potential risk.
“Remember too that with certain devices, such as standard office printers, the goal may not be a product with a range of new features, as much as it is to design and place a device offering simplicity and ease of use. Research around the human element remains key here in order to achieve these.”
Knott suggests that there is often talk of a paperless office, but we remain a long way from achieving this. Paper remains vital for a multitude of reasons – exam papers, study books, citizenship papers and travel documents, to name a few – are all examples of why the need for printed papers continues to grow.
“Considering the importance of print in today’s world, there can be little doubt that print device design needs to take into account the human element, developing it in a way that enables people to more easily and affordably leverage it. Paper remains a vital aspect of any business, and as long as it does, we will need to continue to improve the technology and make it more accessible to people through ongoing R&D,” he concludes.
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