Sociomedia UX Strategy Forum 2015 Spring - UX Management as the Key to Innovation

May 28th, 2015 Station Conference Manseibashi (Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo)

In recent years, the network environment has developed remarkably and globalization has caused product prices to drop. These factors are forcing businesses to change their management strategies. They must shift from improving products and services to innovating products and services—not only in the technological sense, but also aim at “user-centered innovation.”

What is required of business managers and leaders today is the ability to capture the user-perspective and invent new ways of connecting products and services. This creates new added value; we are in the age of “UX (User-Experience) Strategy.” UX Strategy is a business strategy that focuses on proactive management of customer experience values, administration, operation and upon implementation in corporate structure and activities to place UX at the center of an organization’s strategy.

Our first forum this year, Sociomedia UX Strategy Forum 2015 Spring, will focus on UX strategy as the key to innovation. It will offer insight into the means of strengthening and establishing the implementation of UX as an important aspect of management, going into depth about the implementation process and the positive spin-off effects. This will be an excellent opportunity to learn why UX is essential for an organization’s success, and gain good understanding of the methods of UX.

Two guest speakers and the president of Sociomedia will be making presentations on UX management and innovation.

The first speaker is Hiroyuki Arai of Stylish Idea. Arai translated the much talked-about book—The Innovator’s Method: Bringing the Lean Start-up into Your Organization (Japanese Title—What’s Different About Successful Innovations? by Shoeisha publishing, February 2015), which describes the UX approach as a method for innovation, highlighting many successful examples and case studies. The title of his presentation is “Innovative management in this era of uncertainty—how to innovate in a way that is acceptable to customers,” laying out the practical methods as well as giving the audience the full spectrum of actualizing innovation.

The second speaker, Takashi Asaoka of Dentsu, amplifies the UX approach to brand experience, presenting it as an innovative approach for marketing in his book, Experience-Driven Marketing (Firstbreath May 2014). He will give a presentation on the title “Experience-driven marketing—the renewal of the marketing process through managing customer brand experience,” in which he will discuss the challenges and practices of UX management such as visualizing the economic effect of UX to turn the PDCA cycle, and elevating UX as an internal and external branding activity.

President of Sociomedia, Toshikazu Shinohara will be introducing the UX Strategy Framework. He will present the four themes which form the basis of the UX Strategy Forum series. After the short presentation, the three speakers will conduct a panel discussion, giving the audience the full picture of UX as an innovation method, presenting UX as the driving force for branding activities, and proposing ideas for UX strategy management.

Event Details

Time Table

May 28th (Thu.), 2015

• 13:00 Doors open
• 13:30 – 13:40 Welcome speech by host
• 13:40 – 14:40 “Innovative management in this era of uncertainty—how to innovate in a way that is acceptable to customers—“ Hiroyuki Arai
  “Innovation” has been trumpeted loud and long. Did it seem like the methods you tried weren’t received well by your clients and customers? The problem often lies in management as well as in the choice and timing of methods. In this lecture, Arai will introduce the Innovation Realization Method described in the book he translated, What’s Different about Successful Innovations? (English title—The Innovator’s Method: Bringing the Lean Start-up into Your Organization).Learn how to truly innovate your company in this era of uncertainty.
• 14:50 – 15:50 “Experience-driven marketing—the renewal of the marketing process through managing customer brand experience” Takashi Asaoka
  Maturation and homogeneity of products and services has led to an increase in awareness of the importance of brand experience as the key to brand differentiation. In this lecture, Asaoka will cover the methods and processes of designing the customer journey, going through the PDCA cycle, and elevating UX as an internal branding activity that involves company staff from various divisions and ranks.
• 16:05 – 16:20 “Introducing the UX Strategy Framework” Toshikazu Shinohara
  UX Strategy is a business strategy that focuses on proactive management of customer experience values, administration, operation and upon implementation in corporate structure and activities to place UX at the center of an organization’s strategy. Outlining the framework of UX Strategy, Shinohara will define the four main themes: management, methods, metrics and leadership.
• 16:20 – 17:40 Panel Discussion—“Rethinking Management for Effective Implementation of UX Strategy” Hiroyuki Arai, Takashi Asaoka, Toshikazu Shinohara
  The Spring Forum will close with Arai, Asaoka and Shinohara’s panel discussion on “Rethinking Management for Effective Implementation of UX Strategy.” The panel will offer specific ideas for UX strategy management as the speakers focus on the following topics: What’s new about the innovation method UX, and how effective is it? How much potential does UX have as a driving power for internal and external branding activities for the ultimate goal of attaining good “brand experience value?”
• 17:45 Close Forum

Speakers

Hiroyuki Arai

President, Stylish Idea
http://www.stylishidea.co.jp/

After gaining expertise at SAP Japan and InfoCom Research, Arai became a consultant specializing in business and structural innovation, applying concepts from product management and scenario planning. With a desire to raise up innovative individuals and organizations, Arai presents information coupled with his knowledge and expertise through mail magazines, blogs, and seminars.

Arai received his Master’s degree at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, and completed the Saïd Business School Oxford Scenarios Programme. His published books include New Trends in the Connected Homes Business (pseudonym) (Impress publishing), and his translation of The Innovator’s Method: Bringing the Lean Start-up into Your Organization, The Product Manager’s Handbook--the Complete Product Management Resource--, Rapid Transformation: A 90-day Plan for Fast and Effective Change, and Uptime (all Shoeisha publishing).

Takashi Asaoka

Deputy Director General of Marketing Solutions Division, Dentsu
http://dentsu-ho.com/people/54

Asaoka works with top managers of client companies providing solution services such as business and brand consulting by equipping clients with the design experience perspective and presenting breakthrough ideas.

Since 2011, Asaoka has served as Marketing Master Course Meister for Japan Marketing Association. His most recent book is Experience Driven Marketing—From Brand Experience Value to Service Design (Firstbreath publishing, May 2014).

Toshikazu Shinohara

President, Sociomedia
https://www.sociomedia.co.jp/

As president of Sociomedia, a user experience design consulting company, Shinohara has broad experience as a consultant for business teams and organizations, and in running an IT start-up company. He continues to employ his comprehensive expertise in UX, IT and design as a UX strategy consultant committed to helping businesses innovate.

Shinohara has served as a board member of Human Centered Design Organization, and as president of UXPA Japan. He recently supervised the Japanese translation of the book: Measuring the User Experience: Collecting, Analyzing, and Presenting Usability Metrics (published in Japan in November, 2014).