I’m organizing a panel at the Business School’s Futurtech conference on users as partners in the product development process. Here’s a draft of my proposal:

The internet has transformed the way user communities organize themselves. Firms can directly interact with their customers, gauging interest, getting feedback on early betas, and seeking direct input for product features. For better or worse, customers and users are now much more integrated partners in the product development process, and how a firm interacts with their user communities has a direct impact on their success or failure.

Some industries have been dealing with these issues for a long time. Software platform vendors, like Sun, Microsoft, and Apple, have a long history partnering with their developer communities to ensure a rich application eco-system and benefit from network effects. Others, like video game publishers, are realizing the importance of monitoring user activity as their products become more social and their users more organized. Many studios, like Bungie, Nintendo, and Blizzard have seen major product shifts based on community feedback, and have dedicated community managers who interact with, excite, empower, and pacify users regularly. Finally, there are those who are new to this level of customer involvement in the creative process. Movie studios have recently started to produce films based on on-line petitions (serenity), change scripts based on internet buzz (Snakes on a Plane), and even solicit input for upcoming films (Transformers).

All of this brings up a number of questions. What is the roll of the user in the creative process? How can firms keep hardcore users happy without alienating the vast majority of customers? Who owns community-generated product contributions? What can companies do to empower their user community? How can they control them when they run amok? What is the best way to track what’s on the community’s mind?

Any comments, suggestions, or criticisms are welcome. Feel free to drop me an e-mail or leave it in the comments.

Categories: Futurtech, Incentive Centered Design, Information Economics, Social Software, Users as Partners