The Skycouch: A lesson in User Centred Design

2:30pm 16 September 2010

Trent Mankelow
Trent Mankelow

Co-founder and CEO, Optimal Usability

New Zealand has some of the most innovative and intelligent entrepreneurs and development teams in the world, but what differentiates a great product or service from a good one? Why do some companies struggle despite providing the best technology while others leap ahead?

When comparing the success of different products and services the answer starts to become clear. We now live in a time where innovation comes from user-centred design, and embracing this concept is often what propels companies on to global success.

In this presentation Optimal Usability co-founder and CEO Trent Mankelow will outline the successfully focussed approach taken with Air New Zealand’s new lie-flat Skycouch plus other user-centred products and services, in doing so outlining some of the essential usability secrets in the context of software.

About Trent Mankelow

Trent Mankelow is the co-founder and CEO of Optimal Usability, New Zealand’s largest usability consultancy company.

Since 2002 Optimal Usability has observed over 4,500 people interacting with technology and have worked with some of New Zealand’s leading organisations including ASB, Westpac, Vodafone, Telecom, and more than a quarter of all New Zealand public sector agencies.

Trent regularly speaks and writes about user experience and is on the international board of the Usability Professionals’ Association.