Same Lucent: The Ethnographer

From the June 19 edition of Business Week…For Lucente, the ethnographer, consumer observation has been a big route
out of HP’s dilemma. Until recently, HP’s merger with Compaq Computer
had produced an unintegrated company with hundreds of isolated
businesses and thousands of products. To help build a unified, creative
culture and reconnect with HP’s customers, Lucente launched a major
research project. He involved members from all departments — design,
marketing, R&D, even outside consultants — to immerse themselves in the
lives and homes of 28 families around the world. The goal was to make
sure that HP was “living and breathing with the customer,” Lucente says.

What the trips showed was that families across the globe were deluged
with information from their phones, computer screens, cameras, and
social networking connections. They were lost, with no idea how to
navigate through the information. To Lucente, the obvious answer was a
steering wheel.