With innovation, less can be more.
If your technology solution turns out to be more complicated than the actual problem you’re trying to solve then you’ve probably fallen into the “over-engineering” trap. The temptation to try to be all things to all people, or to cram in as much functionality as possible, can be the death of many technology-based projects.
In the world of innovation, interesting things happen if you train yourself to “think lean”. In the examples below, less is not only more – it’s the secret to success. Google looked at rivals and stripped back their home page, leaving the one vital component – the search box. Blogger, originally a component of a much larger information management platform called Pyra, was spun out after it proved the most useful feature. And Twitter took one small part of Facebook – the status update – and revolutionised how many of us communicate online.
Search engines
From: Yahoo!’s “all things to all people”
To: Google’s simple search
Management/publishing
From: Pyra’s holistic project management platform
(ValleySpeak screenshot indicative only)
To: Blogger’s simple publishing tool
Social media
From: Facebook’s rich timeline
To: Twitter’s simple status update
The lesson? Strip back your idea, get to the essence of what it is you’re trying to do, and drop the clutter. Focus is king.
17 comments
->@kiwanja: With innovation, less can be more. http://t.co/hrAMGUf5
"With innovation, less can be more". For these three it certainly is. http://t.co/bfqnMnRR #innovation #socent
Less can be more…(indeed it can) @kiwanja on innovation http://t.co/qdeGHlwq
"With innovation, less can be more". For these three it certainly is. http://t.co/anb3GBLT by @kiwanja #innovation #socent
#anthro blog post: With innovation, less can be more.: If your technology solution turns out to be more complica… http://t.co/p7gv9d0V
With innovation, less can be more-Great point! @frontlinesms http://t.co/8W9vhKJx #ict
With innovation, less can be more-Great point! @frontlinesms http://t.co/8W9vhKJx #ict
With innovation, less can be more-Great point! @frontlinesms http://t.co/8W9vhKJx #ict
With innovation, less can be more-Great point! @frontlinesms http://t.co/8W9vhKJx #ict
When building a product or service, remember less can sometimes be more. See how #Google, #Blogger and #Twitter did it. http://t.co/yWm8sQkC
When building a product or service, remember less can sometimes be more. See how #Google, #Blogger and #Twitter did it. http://t.co/yWm8sQkC
When building a product or service, remember less can sometimes be more. See how #Google, #Blogger and #Twitter did it. http://t.co/yWm8sQkC
When building a product or service, less can be more. See how Google, Blogger and Twitter did it. http://t.co/GIyBGKaO thx @kiwanja
When building a product or service, remember less can sometimes be more. See how #Google, #Blogger and #Twitter did it. http://t.co/yWm8sQkC
When building a product or service, remember less can sometimes be more. See how #Google, #Blogger and #Twitter did it. http://t.co/yWm8sQkC
With innovation, less can be more. http://t.co/dx593544 via @kiwanja
Less can sometimes be more! http://t.co/dlcIhH30
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