Rapid prototyping is a product development practice anyone can try.

We happen to have folks who really enjoy 3-dimensional printing to get their prototypes done.

Last Friday evening, we met to discuss our designs and to bounce ideas on what worked with the first print and what might be improved.

Giving people an opportunity to discuss how a product is evolving to meet client and customer needs is important. It helps a business or organization to realize its full value over a long horizon.

For high-cost products, we want to be assured that it will last long after the last payment is made.

Allowing stakeholders and people who will use the product to express their needs, wants, and desires based on a prototype can be a powerful experience that galvanized the product team and refines the team’s vision.

As well, it can create a learning experience that may assist the product team from making costly mistakes as the product evolves.

P.S. What have your experiences been like with prototype products?

Can you guess where I was this past weekend?

OK, aside from shopping, which is the easy answer.

I was getting inspiration for posts on product development.

For me, I need to look at products differently, to see the creative ways they solve problems.

This ongoing learning journey takes me into stores that might seem “blah” or “meh” to most people.

Choosing to see shopping as a way to anchor a user experience (#ux) is what I bring to the teams I coach.

Fixed, physical products go through manufacturing processes to get them into users’ hands.

Software is more like water in that it can change rapidly based on any number of forces or constraints.

Learning how to balance clients’ or customers’ needs in software products takes looking at the development process differently.

Reconnecting the human experience to building working software is a struggle I’m willing to go through on my weekends.

Orienting on peoples’ disappointment, frustration, or pain is tough, but worth the effort. Solving problems that make those experiences less stressful or resolve the issues completely is what I am for.

Have you done a product walk through a store recently? How was that experience?

I struggled with a concept last week.

How to improve engagement in communities of practice (CoP).

Realizing I needed help, I asked some colleagues in the Dallas Improving office for their thoughts.

The photo below shows a conversation we had and how CoPs actually work versus how they might work.

I like to think of the image a community of practice focus map. It at management support, education, thought leadership, best practices, and community.

In product development, work is constantly evolving. Skills or ways of working that helped deliver delightful products and customer experiences can change quickly.

As a result, a CoP should address the needs of the community. It should be a place that is warm and inviting.

I get a sense this is not the case.

Something tells me that some CoP demand their members attend, that they conform to the shared learning the leaders provide, and that they are driven by egos rather than care, concern, and kindness toward the members.

Creating a generative environment where members can share their experiences and learning is at the heart of the CoP concept.

Helping to create a safe place where members are free to speak about their concerns should be fiercely guarded.

In high functioning CoPs, ego should be left at the door as we enter the room to learn and grow with each other and from each other.

A CoP should be the place where teamwork is learned, modeled, and spread throughout the organization.

P.S. Please share how you maintain engagement and participation in your CoP?

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