When Innovation Doesn’t Matter
The QWERT keyboard.
Perhaps it's as important to the life of our technology, the computer and smart phones as the microprocessor!!
But there much more to this story. The QWERT keyboard was designed back in the 1870's to accommodate the slow mechanical movement of early typewriters. When it was designed, touch typing literally hadn't even been thought of yet! It's hardly an efficient design for today's use. In fact, the purpose of the traditional keyboard WAS TO SLOW TYPING DOWN! The mechanical keys were limited and (as most remember) these keys would get stuck! By contrast, the Dvorak (pronounced "duh-VOR-ack", not like the Czech composer!) keyboard was designed with emphasis on typist comfort, high productivity and ease of learning -- it's much easier to learn! There were several variations in the Dvorak's design in its first few decades, but these were settled when the American National Standards Institute approved a standard for the layout of the Dvorak in 1982. The diagram above shows the standard layout as adapted (but hardly used) for today's digital technology.
So, where are we now? I'm typing this blog entry on my "old-fashioned" QWERT keyboard. Yet I certainly think of myself as an early adopter of technology.
The problem isn't innovation at all! But the path innovation must take to achieving adoption...and interestingly, innovation is only the first step!
The 5 key steps are essential to the entire process.
| Factor | Definition |
|---|---|
| Relative Advantage | How improved an innovation is over the previous generation. |
| Compatibility | The level of compatibility that an innovation has to be assimilated into an individual’s life. |
| Complexity or Simplicity | If the innovation is too difficult to use an individual will not likely adopt it. |
| Trialability | How easily an innovation may be experimented with as it is being adopted. If a user has a hard time using and trying an innovation this individual will be less likely to adopt it. |
| Observability | The extent that an innovation is visible to others. An innovation that is more visible will drive communication among the individual’s peers and personal networks and will in turn create more positive or negative reactions. |
And while this innovative keyboard did have a RELATIVE ADVANTAGE, the existing typewriters and typewriting experience were too strong barriers for adoption to take place. People already owned typewriters and weren't willing to change. And to add insult to injury, the physical mechanics of typing fosters a signification resistance to re-learning a task, particularly later in life. Ask yourself if you would be willing to change to a new keyboard today? Would ergonomics drive your change? How about health reasons and the potential for carpel tunnel syndrome? It seems likely not.
So while innovation is essential, the application of innovation into everyday life is just as key--pardon the pun.
Reference: Rogers, Everett M. (1962). Diffusion of Innovations. Glencoe: Free Press. ISBN 0612628434
February 22nd, 2012 - 13:28
Great article, John! One of thing at play that should cause a new look at keyboards is how keyboards are applied in different situations. I type on a Blackberry with my thumbs. There’s no physical experience to overcome in that situation since they didn’t teach us to type with just thumbs in high school typing class all those years ago. Tablets as well provide a different experience that could rightly challenge even the visual layout of a keyboard. Here’s hoping….
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February 25th, 2012 - 14:44
Thanks Mike!!!
A bunch of posted earlier I wrote of the emergence of “e-ticulation” as a new gesture associated with the iPad and tablets. I guess we are thinking along the same lines…
Regards! John
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