Agenda
Day One, 6th September
Day Two, 7th September
08:00 - 08:30
Registration and coffee
08:45 - 10:15
REDEFINING THE MOBILE USER EXPERIENCE
The term 'user experience' is frequently misunderstood within the mobile telecoms industry, its scope limited primarily to describing the interface layer of handsets. User experience touches all levels of the value chain and understanding the depth of this issue is key to developing an industry more responsive to customer needs.
- What are the key elements of the user experience? How do customers form an impression of a product: from point of sale to ongoing support and service?
- Does the customer really perceive the operator to have overall responsibility for their mobile experience? How can the industry evolve the value chain to deliver an experience that is greater than the sum of its parts without losing focus on the end customer?
- Are legacy systems preventing the industry from embracing a truly integrated approach to the mobile user experience?
Chairman: Marek Pawlowksi, Editorial Director, PMN
Keynote: Juha Christensen, CEO, Sonopia
Expert opinions from:
- Don Levy, Industry Entrepreneur (formerly President, SKY)
- Yves Christol, Head of Device Requirements, Orange
- Anthony Sheehan, Director, Business Development, Qualcomm Europe
10:15 - 10:45
Morning refreshments
10:45 - 12:15
UNDERSTANDING THE CUSTOMER AND DELIVERING THE REVENUE BENEFITS OF A CUSTOMER-FOCUSED EXPERIENCE
The first steps towards an enhanced user experience must begin with identifying the real requirements of diverse and over-lapping customer groups. The industry needs to evolve from today's model of usage patterns dictated by the availability of the latest technology to a business which understands different users will require different 'journeys' to reach their mobile services.
- What techniques can we use to gain better insight into what really drives customers?
- What are the current frustrations facing mobile users? How do these issues differ across cultures and market territories?
- How can operators ensure their customer service objectives and brand values are reflected throughout their organisational structure and customer touchpoints?
- Is the industry really aware of the cost of a bad user experience? How do you measure the results of enhanced customer experience?
Chairman: Will Harris, CEO, The Bank
Keynote: Charlie Dawson, partner and founder, The Foundation
Expert opinions from:
- Ulrich Leiner, Head of User Experience, Siemens Communications
- Dave Evans, CTO, SurfKitchen
- Peter Baldwin, CEO, MSX
12:15 - 13:00
INSIGHT: MEET THE CUSTOMERS
What will happen when real customers are given the opportunity to share their opinion of current handset designs with the MEX audience? Gus Desbarats, chairman of industrial design consultancy The Alloy, sets the scene with the results of an extensive research and product creation project which integrated real customers directly into the design teams. He is joined in an open debate by the real end users who provided the inspiration for the handset concepts.
Speaker: Gus Desbarats, Chairman, The Alloy + REAL USERS
13:00 - 14:00
Lunch
14:00 - 15:30
EXPLORING THE KEY TECHNOLOGY ENABLERS OF THE MOBILE USER EXPERIENCE
A wide range of software and hardware platforms are emerging to support the industry as it seeks a cost-effective path towards greater differentiation. The increasing availability of low-cost 'building blocks' for delivering mobile products is also lowering the barriers for new entrants from the media and consumer electronics industries.
- What are the key technology enablers of a customer-focused mobile user experience?
- Which elements of the user experience should reside on the network and which should be executed locally in a client application? How do over-the-air (OTA) update platforms change this equation?
- Which application and OS platforms offer a genuinely open and extensible solution for delivering customised mobile experiences?
- Does today's technology enable the industry to deliver the perfect customer experience?
- How much longer will the industry be able to differentiate products on the basis of technology and which customer segments will continue respond to this style of product development?
Chairman: Chris Jones, Director & Senior Analyst, Canalys
Keynote: Josh Ulm, Macromedia
Expert opinions from:
- Mats Nilson, Managing Director, Open Mobile Terminal Platforms (OMTP) Initiative
- Yoram Salinger, CEO, Red Bend Software
- John Forsyth, Head of Propositions, Symbian
15:30 - 16:00
INSIGHT: AUGMENTED REALITY CHECK
All around us inanimate things are slowly coming to life, veneered
with layers of digital information. From payments made by touching things, to street signs which broadcast messages, our belongings are developing behaviors of their own.
In this brave new world connected mobile tools will be at the centre of the
convergence of wideband wireless connectivity, RFID and GPS-enabled
applications. They will stop being purely at the receiving end of data streams and
become conduits, mustering bits from objects and infusing them into other
objects.
How will all of this impact the design of mobile experiences?
Are we moving towards a world of seamless transactions or
rather towards a permission-based reality, plagued by constant
confirm and cancel requests? What business scenarios will be driven by these innovations?
Fabio Sergio provides an overview on how embodied interaction and near field communication will soon be mainstream terms and why.
Speaker: Fabio Sergio, Mobile Design Interaction Strategist
16:00 - 16:30
Afternoon tea
16:30 - 18:00
INNOVATIONS IN SOFTWARE INTERFACES AND INDUSTRIAL DESIGN
Advances in underlying technology platforms are enabling a new generation of interfaces to take advantage of high resolution colour displays, 3D elements and new navigation techniques. At the same time, industrial designers are being freed to experiment with more creative form-factors. This session explores the range of interface solutions available, innovations in design and materials.
- What lessons can be learnt from the success of standalone media devices such as the iPod, Creative Zen, Nintendo Gameboy and PlayStation Portable? Does the industrial design of these devices translate into an effective mobile user experience or do telecom devices require a fundamentally different design approach?
- How can you effectively support data creation and data browsing in small form-factor devices?
- Can removing features from a device or service actually enhance the user experience?
- How are new materials changing the design of mobile phones?
Chairman: Gus Desbarats, Chairman, Alloy
Keynote: Sofia Svanteson, Head of Mobile Concepts, Ocean Observations
Expert opinions from:
- Matt Millar, CTO, Mobile Innovations
- Jacques LaPointe, Director of Product Management, Zi Corp
- Peter Molin, Vice President of Product Management, UIQ Technologies
- Kristoffer Aberg, Senior Interaction Designer, Sony Ericsson
18:00 - 19:30
All MEX participants are invited for relaxing drinks and chat in the Bishopsgate and Chancery Rooms of The Great Eastern Hotel.
Day Two
08:15 - 08:45
Coffee
09:00 - 10:30
DELIVERING MOBILE SERVICES AND BUILDING CUSTOMER TRUST
Seamless integration between the interface elements which interact directly with the user and the complex systems which drive a service are the key to building trusted relationships. Growth in mobile services requires a new level of co-operation between groups with responsibility for technology implementation and those managing the business processes.
- What are the key differentiators when designing content and applications for the mobile environment?
- Why has usage of transaction-based (SMS-style) services far exceeded that of applications built around a browsing experience? Which method is most effective and how does this differ across activities?
- How does customer trust change from service to service? Which brands give the customer sufficient reassurance to start spending money on additional mobile services?
Chairman: Mike Grenville, 160characters.org
Keynote: Ray Anderson, CEO, Bango.net
Expert opinions from:
- Sarah McVittie, CEO, Re5ult
- Matt Hooper, Vice President, Marketing & Strategic Alliances, Elata
- David Woollands, Senior Manager, International Consumer Propositions, T-Mobile
- Mikko Rontynen, Technology Platforms Manager, Nokia
- Scott Weiss, Principal, Usable Products Company
10:30 - 11:00
INSIGHT: PUSH TO PROMOTE CONTENT - A USER-CENTRED DESIGN APPROACH TO CREATING INNOVATIVE SERVICES
This session describes how Qualcomm's specialist user
experience team involved users in the UK and US in proof-of-concept
testing and prototyping to create non-intrusive push-to-promote content
campaigns - promotions designed to attract customers to purchase more
mobile content and services
- Creating a push-to-promote content service that will be successful and
not perceived as 'SPAM' by users
- Understanding mobile user behaviour through innovative UI prototyping
and user lab studies
- Enabling users to 'imagine' future concepts prior to launch in order
to capture their reactions and perceptions
- Integrating user lab findings directing into an innovative UI and
user-centred concept design process
- Understanding the impact of the major customer issues of 'intrusion',
'relevance', 'user context', 'user control' and 'frequency' on creation
of a new service
- Reaction to the results and a truly iterative design process
Speakers: Julian Harris, Senior Business Development Manager, &
Matt Davies, Product Manager, User Experience Consultant, Qualcomm
11:00 - 11:30
Morning refreshments
11:30 - 13:00
MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES, MVNO PARTNERSHIPS AND ALTERNATIVE BUSINESS MODELS
Media companies have held back on a more substantial commitment to the mobile channel until they can be assured of delivering a truly compelling offering which goes beyond ringtones and simple downloads. When the key asset of your business is an intangible entity like customer experience, delivering consistent quality across all your channels - whether those are theme parks or the screen of a mobile telephone - is of critical importance.
- How can you ensure a consistent service experience across mobile networks and devices, from graphical interface to billing process? Who is responsible for making this happen?
- Which brands are best positioned to pursue MVNO ventures? Will lowering the barriers to entry in the MVNO market alter the strategic relationships between operators and media companies?
- Does a good brand experience = a good user experience? How can large media brands leverage their assets in mobile services without swamping users with their corporate image?
- What effect will the additional capacity of 3G networks for delivering rich content have on the user experience? How can the industry evolve the user interface and handset design to support new media types, such as broadcast content?
- What lessons can the mobile industry learn from other sectors about understanding niche segments and responding to their requirements? Which industries offer relevant comparisons?
- Which business models - advertising, subscription or a combination of both - are evolving to support these services?
Chairman: Nigel Walley, Managing Partner and founder, Decipher
Keynote: Brad Rees, Managing Director, Mediacells
Expert opinions from:
- Pamir Gelenbe, Director of Corporate Development, co-founder, Flytxt
- Mike Kent, Vice President, EMEA, Action Engine
- Steven Trew, Head of Mobile Services, Financial Times
13:00 - 14:00
Lunch
14:00 - 14:30
INSIGHT: SCOTT WEISS, USABLE PRODUCTS COMPANY
Scott Weiss, author of "Handheld Usability," leads Usable Products Company. His team studies mobile phone use and designs engaging user interfaces that delight users.
Speaker: Scott Weiss, Principal, Usable Products Company
14:30 - 16:00
SUPPORTING USER-DRIVEN PERSONALISATION
Providing users with the tools to tailor their mobile experience to their individual tastes and usage patterns is the one of the most empowering moves the industry can make towards a better mobile user experience. However, it presents the dual challenge of delivering both highly usable personalisation technology and justifying the business strategy case for investing in an initiative which arguably reduces centralised control of the subscriber experience.
- Does true user-driven personalisation represent the 'end game' of the mobile experience? Do all users really want this level of control over their mobile devices?
- How can giving users greater control of their mobile environment lead to increased revenues for operators and content providers?
- What are the administration challenges involved in supporting greater personalisation?
- How does the user experience need to evolve when the mobile handset becomes the user's primary digital store for photos, audio and video content? How can it interface effectively with everything from the desktop PC to a home audio system?
Chairman: Julian Swallow, CEO, Mobrio
Keynote: Olof Schybergson, Partner, Fjord
Expert opinions from:
- Fabio Sergio, Mobile Interaction Design Strategist
- Mark Stalker, Head of Interaction Design, Cognima
- Mike Bell, Director of Business Development, RealEyes3D
16:00 - 16:30
Afternoon tea
16:30 - 18:00
ACCESS FOR ALL: THE INCLUSIVE MOBILE EXPERIENCE
Mobile communication is recognised as a key enabler for connecting previously excluded groups, ranging from those with physical impairments to rural communities in developing countries. These markets require a specialised approach to the mobile user experience, representing both a unique design challenge and a significant opportunity for the industry.
- What are the key groups which have been previously excluded from mobile communications by economic, geographical or physical factors?
- Can the industry meet the needs of these groups within its existing structure or is a new approach required?
- How do you make it cost-effective to develop products for comparatively small niches? Are accessories and after-market modifications to existing products the answer?
- Is a sense of corporate responsibility enough to bring these issues to the industry's attention or does it require legislative action?
Chairman: Ben Soppit, Director of Strategic Initiatves, GSM Association
Keynote: Charlotte Grezo, Director of Corporate Social Responsibility, Vodafone
Expert opinions from:
- Aditya Dev Sood, founder and CEO, CKS
- Vincent Fontaine, CEO, Acapela Group
18:00
Close of conference. We look forward to welcoming you next year to MEX 2006.
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