I've had numerous careers. Problem is, each time I start a new one, I keep going with the old. Here are the activities that occupy most of my time this year. First, and occupying most of my time, is co-directing the MMM joint MBA/Engineering degree program at Northwestern University that teaches MBA students operations and design. Think of design as the out-facing part of a product or service and operations as the in-facing part. Innovations only succeed when the in-facing and out-facing components are properly configured, perfectly matched, and synergistically coupled.

The second demanding set of activities is executive consulting with the Nielsen Norman Group, and lecturing at companies, universities and conferences around the world. Third, I am an author (The Design of Everyday Things, Things that Make Us Smart, The Invisible Computer, and most recently, Emotional Design: Why we love (or hate) everyday things.). My latest book is The Design of Future Things, in particular the role of smart and intelligent devices in our everyday lives. I live in Palo Alto, California and Evanston, Illinois (USA).

Biographical sketches are available as a Microsoft Word file, and as an academic curriculum vitae (an Adobe PDF File), which includes a complete list of my publications.

NN/g: User Advocacy is the Passion, Human-centered Design the Means

Jakob Nielsen and I formed the Nielsen Norman group in 1998 to help companies create better products, services, and websites. Bruce Tognazzini (Tog) joined us a bit later: in the photo, the three of us are lined up in this order: Tognazzini, Norman, and Nielsen.

We are user advocates. We help companies move toward human-centered products and internet interaction, the better to play a major role in the new world of customer-centered goods and services.

Jakob works on websites and other internet products and applications. I am most interested in consumer products first, computer applications second, and everything else third (and I am indeed interested in almost anything else). Still, my focus is the design of memorable artifacts. I help companies make products that appeal to the emotions as well as to reason. The well-rounded product will enhance the heart as well as the mind, being a joy to behold, to use, and to own.

My experience ranges from household goods to human error and safety -- I have worked on nuclear power plant control rooms, aviation, and hospital systems (especially in the OR). I bring to bear considerable practical experience plus a theoretical grounding in cognitive science, computer science, and design.

The Nielsen Norman group shares a common goal: by focusing upon people, we create products and services that enhance customer satisfaction, that maintain relationships, and increase sales. We are on the cluetrain.

Success in human-centered design requires giving equal weight to user experience, marketing and technology: The result is increased customer satisfaction, coupled with lower costs and rapid time to market. The major barriers to success are not technological: they are social, political, and organizational.

In 2000 we added Bruce "Tog" Tognazzini as our third principal: I worked with Tog when we were both at Apple Computer: Nielsen worked with Tog when they were both at Sun Microsystems. Nielsen is the guru of websites and Tognazzini of human/computer interaction design.

My major activities are strategic: helping a company focus, helping it define its products, its customers, and how best to enter the marketplace. Consumer products are the hardest of all products to develop for the vast majority of consumers are slow, conservative adopters of technology (late adopters). The trick is to make the new look like a simple variation upon the familiar, slowly invoking changes while continually reassuring the customer.

How to Contact the Nielsen Norman Group and its Principals

NN/g Corporate Web Site

Silicon Valley, California USA
info at nngroup.com
http://www.nngroup.com

NOTE: This is the corporate address. To send physical, postal mail to me, email me first (norman at nngroup.com) to get the correct mailing address. Physical (post office) mail and packages sent to the corporate address will be forwarded to me, but it may add between a few days to a month to the delivery. (We all work out of our homes: I almost never go to the “corporate office.”)

Don Norman

Palo Alto (San Francisco), California USA
Evanston (Chicago), Illinois USA
norman at nngroup.com
http://www.jnd.org

Jakob Nielsen

Fremont, California USA
nielsen at nngroup.com
http://www.useit.com

Bruce "Tog" Tognazzini

Woodside, California USA
info at nngroup.com
http://www.asktog.com