Designing for the Digital Age: How to Create Human-Centered Products and Services

Chapter 2. Assembling the Team

Creating a market-leading digital product or service is extraordinarily difficult. You have to get so many things right: a great idea at the right time, desirable design, technically sound and cost-effective implementation, effective sales and marketing, and decent support all come together to determine how well your product will do. A terrific design of a bad idea, a buggy implementation of the world's best design, or poor marketing of even the most outstanding product can result in failure.

The most consistently successful teams involve a set of clearly defined roles that complement one another.

This need not mean that every new product is a roll of the dice, because most of the risk factors can be controlled. Certain conditions lead to success more often than others, regardless of whether you're working for a Fortune 100 behemoth or a brand-new start-up. Good process reduces risk and increases the likelihood of coming up with the right answer. A healthy work environment fosters creative thought. The right combination of skilled people can accomplish more in less time and with better quality.

Although a seemingly random collection of smart people can do great things, the most consistently successful teams involve a set of clearly defined roles that complement one another. Effective teams don't bog down the process and compromise the quality of decisions ...