When the product dies, the feeling of Internet product design

Article Description: Network product designer does not die.

Guo Jianrong, a columnist for NetEase Science and technology

Youa's death reminds me not of the so-called decision-makers, but of its designers and developers. This team is the most effort, the most difficult, but the most helpless group of people.

When there's a death, there was. Chief designer Dongbao posted a microblog on the internet, and I asked, "How are you doing?" What mood?

He answered in less than two minutes: I am in the mood, but looking at the last period of time, know that the wrong route, but is already an outsider.

I asked again: what level of problem is it? As a designer, is there a sense of powerlessness?

This time he never answered.

Perhaps I asked too no skill, too direct, to arouse his disgust. But I do want to know, a person to spend painstaking efforts in the design of the results, when he had to face the failure of the product, what is the mood?

In my mind, there are few professions as the network product designer as solemn and stirring, the other people's work is not right or wrong, not responsible, and network product designers will design a lot of products, but due to the Internet high-speed changes in the characteristics of most products will eventually fail, disappear.

If a company launches a successful product, it will often correspond to 10 failed products.

When we look at the glory of those successful products, we should also see that the designers of those failed products are also great. Now, Dongbao has arrived at another company, joining another team, and showing that when the product dies, the designer dies, they are heartbroken while insisting.

Dongbao

Youa just appeared, people are waving their arms to judge, I also was ordered to interview there AH. My request is very simple: empty words do not, I need to interview the core development team.

After contact, Baidu's PR, straightforward Zhang Xi also have no reservations, introduced to me Dongbao.

Dongbao is the chief designer, can say, in addition to have AH manager Li Mingyuan outside, for have ah most sentimental is him.

However, standing in front of me is a very young person, if you encounter in the street, must think is a not graduated college students, and in fact he is already a veteran of the designer, inside Baidu is very famous, so that Baidu is ready to launch C2C platform, will find him. To know, the original Baidu has AH positioning for strategic products, has an independent domain name independent division, and independent general manager.

Until he spoke, the confidence revealed in Dongbao's tone of voice made it clear that he was not so young as he was outwardly, and that he was actually quite experienced. In the analysis of the problems of the various platforms appear to be confident, the voice of speech is full of determination. In order to design a platform, his experience is also quite legendary.

In the initial investigation, he and his colleagues on Taobao also opened the shop, became undercover. Open shop process, there have been returned, there have been customer complaints, in short, Taobao on the small shopkeeper all the ups and downs of his taste.

He will treasure the problem summed up as: The credit evaluation system has brought great drawbacks, in order to maintain credit, so that businesses hurt the brain, only to run the shop to know the real trouble merchants. In addition, Alipay and Taobao connection problem also often make buyers headache unceasingly.

It can be said that Taobao and Alipay is a natural development of the structure, with a very deep spontaneous traces, so that the use of later, with a lot of ill-considered brought inconvenience.

I believe that by virtue of Dongbao serious, even if the transformation as a small shopkeeper, also must be small achievements. But once the study was through, he began to design his own system.

Youa is from scratch, can be done more succinctly, and pay attention to the docking between c2c and payment tools. In the design of Dongbao, there is the refreshing style of the page, ease of use, all give people a good impression.

If from the design point of view, I appreciate more, but not Taobao.

Dongbao also told me about the product when the soul-stirring, in fact, at this time is the most able to cultivate colleagues unity and affection of the moment. Everyone in life, in addition to sleeping and on the road time, from the morning until late at night are spent in the company, to the critical period, and even often play overnight clock.

At the end of the development, and began the national tour, from Zhongguancun to each city, asked asked the user's needs, and asked them to join there AH.

Perhaps the greatest gain in life, not in the time of success, but in the process of struggle, in the struggle of the friendship is the most lasting, but also because of this, even after each other, Dongbao still in the conversation with me that the time is the most memorable.

The helpless designer

However, the problem is precisely how many factors are the designers can grasp in the success and failure?

There is the ultimate failure, who is to take responsibility?

In China, the designer is only tactical level, that is, when the superior decided to do a project, the designer is responsible for planning and implementation. And often the success or failure in strategic decision-making, it has been doomed. This is like war, if the highest decision-making error, a teacher no matter what tactics, is to send his soldiers into the meat grinder.

Baidu and Taobao contrast, it is like two cities. One is slowly developed, it seems that the pattern is not good, chaos, but such a city is often full of popularity and vitality. This is Taobao.

And another city after careful design, clean, neat, but because too new, it became the Ordos-style empty city.

Youa if you want to avoid the Ordos-style fate, you need to attract popularity. However, although policymakers decided to get on the horse, Dongbao's design was also first-rate, but at the end of the decision makers were unable to bring traffic to the new website.

When there is a new life, it is widely believed that Baidu will use its own flow advantage to nurture it, but the end result proves that such support is too limited.

Coupled with the establishment of a separate business unit, but there is AH general manager Li Mingyuan decision-making power is still not enough, so that when there is a problem, the public said that the rational woman, but not solve the problem.

Of course, the most important, perhaps the nature of the Internet monopoly, will not allow the second shopping platform to be bigger. When Robin Li decided to make a platform similar to the C2C, it was doomed to the final fate.

In the end, have AH instead become the tomb of Baidu technical personnel, usually to do have ah, to the end all the gang, chose to leave, Dongbao to Shanghai, general manager Li Mingyuan also chose to leave, even impetuous woman Zhang Xi also gone. When the popularity dispersed, there is ah distance to die is not far.

At this time, who still remember the high-spirited Dongbao? He designed a good product, but the product failed to end, all the efforts, but became a Chinese internet history of a footnote.

The designer bears the burden of not commensurate with his power, but in the end must bear the pain of failure, which is more intense than others.

Of course, the failure is not only negative. Baidu to do the video site when the odd art, it has learned a lot of ah lessons. First of all, it is hatched in vitro, the establishment of independent operations of the company, and recruit a dedicated management team to give maximum autonomy. Second, although independent operation, Baidu is no longer ignore people's gossiping, also do not believe what search engine neutrality, the massive flow of traffic into the odd art, bring a large number of users. Third, sword walk slant, avoid with youku and potatoes head-on collision, take genuine, Brand road. All these experiences are the opposite direction of the year, if there is no failure of Ah, Li will be so resolute?

Winners are out.

and Dongbao as I sigh, there are sogou input method of the Father Mazhankei.

Dongbao belong to the army of Baidu Culture, and Mazhankei is fluke outsider. Dongbao's products have failed, and Mazhankei's products have achieved great success. However, their final outcome is similar, Dongbao alone away from Beijing to go to Shanghai to continue to fight, and Mazhankei also left Sohu, to other companies. In their case, the same point between winners and losers is far greater than the difference, and in the end, it is inevitable that the heartbreak of the fate.

The fate of Mazhankei is also quite legendary. After graduating from college, he went to a local state-owned enterprise, completely ignorant of programming, and people could not see any hope for the young man to have a foothold in the internet industry.

However, it is precisely because of this, he is more able to from the user perspective to discover the current Internet products deficiencies. He found that the input Word library is fixed, and search engines can search learning, find a lot of new vocabulary. For example, "to power", "God horse are clouds" this kind of new words appear soon after, search engines are included, if these words into the input method, can save users a lot of time.

Mazhankei with his ideas to Beijing, first to Baidu sent a few letters, expounded their own ideas, but did not receive attention, so turned to Sohu. Sohu hired him, is not like the idea of his input method, but because he aimed at the search engine proposed 100 small ideas, finally moved to Sohu.

But soon after entering Sohu, Mazhankei again put forward to do the input method of creativity, and after discussion gained through. Sogou Input Method was born. Due to the accuracy of its vocabulary, the rapid occupation of most of the land. Zhang has always wanted to occupy the desktop side, but often find no way out, did not expect to be a completely ignorant of the technology of young people made.

However, once the Sogou input method is born, it is also out of the control of its founder. At this time it is a product of Sohu, its future decision is already the market and management layer, although the designer has a certain right to speak, but is not the biggest.

Sogou launched a search-type input method, Google and Tencent also launched the product separately. Google integrates one-click search into the input function, and Mazhankei the idea, but was vetoed by the leadership.

Finally, Sogou input method in the initial to the market share of lightning, and gradually by Tencent grabbed the market. When his suggestion was no longer accepted, he chose to leave.

I know his depression, because after he left Sohu, a conversation, he still fondly and I remember the birth of Sogou input method, even to me to see those letters to Baidu. From his attitude, I feel that he is not willing to leave, but he can no longer grasp the situation. Perhaps in his life, even if there are many successful products, there is no product weight can exceed Sogou input method, it is his legend. But as a Chinese designer, he is destined to leave his child.

When this article close to finish, Dongbao finally answered my question, he wrote: The problem has been precipitated into the experience ~ there ah for me is not only a product, but also a group of comrades such as the team, a from scratch of the painstaking effort.

His answer reassured me that he was not angry with me.

Through his answer I also know that he will never forget his comrades, but also will continue to fight, and ultimately beyond. Just people focus on the success of the project, yearning for Nasdaq moving bells, and how many people have noticed the success of the depression and hesitation.

(This source: NetEase Technology Report)