Edge Cases
One of my favorite things to discover is the edge case. It’s finding the people who are misusing a product or service beyond what it was designed for. In prescription medicine, it’s the off-label use of a drug.
I love discovering these because it points to potentially opportunities and unmet needs. These can be used to create new versions of the product or new offerings altogether.
When I was a teenager and spent the summers overseas, I bought a membership to a science museum because they had two computers on display with direct access to the Internet. I’d come to the museum in the morning and camp out on the computers writing emails and researching how to win at SimCity 2000. I was an edge case for the museum.
Years later, I’d be an edge case again use Air Canada’s unlimited pass to do a daily commute between Boston and Toronto. Edge.
When we were working on the Ubi, there were a few individuals who contributed to 99% of the requests coming through. They configured the device to make voice announcements every few seconds.
Edge cases communicate an unmet need. The person or group pushing at the edge might be an early adopter or innovator willing to go the extra mile to solve a need that is also unmet for others but for each those others aren’t willing to push to resolve.
Engaging with the edge might be the best way to create something remarkable.
