The What → How → Why cycle of every new technology wave

Editor’s Note: This article nails the typical cycle of adoptions for every new technology wave. UX and Design Thinking help break this cycle and provide clearer pathways to success in the hyper-changing digital economies.

The article below was published on UX Collective on February 11, 2019 by Fabricio Teixeira

Every time a new technology wave starts to get traction amongst designers and developers, the same pattern happens.

First, we get excited about the ‘what’

It has happened with pretty much any major technology, technique, framework, or methodology that we heard about in the last couple years: chatbots, artificial intelligence, design sprints, augmented reality, responsive design, react native, hamburger menus, design thinking, designops — you name it.

As early adopters of everything that is new and shiny, we tend to get really excited whenever we hear about a new technology wave (usual pitched as some new method or technique) that has the potential to change the way we work.

There’s a bit of a survival instinct at play; as professionals, we are trying to catch up, afraid that we will be left behind if we don’t fully understand what that shiny new thing is. After all, this new thing is a game-changer.

Quickly, technology sites and blogs are all over it.

• “Responsive design will change the way you work”
• “Augmented Reality: the future of mobility is here”
• “Chatbots will disrupt 2MM jobs by 2020”

Because we want to seem smart on social media, we share those articles about _____ with everyone we know. After all, we are the specialists in our field. We are at the forefront. We not only know what the future will look like, but we want to be the first ones to tell the rest of the world. They better click and learn more about _____, before it’s too late.

_____ (insert any new technology in the blanks, really)

Suddenly, _____ starts popping up in the schedule of well-known design conferences around the world.

It’s the gold rush to own _____.

Industry gurus can’t wait to share their estimates on how much ROI _____ will bring to companies by the end of the decade.

Companies want to be the first ones in their category to launch a _____-powered product that proves to world how innovative they are.

Designers want to be the first ones to add a _____ case study to their portfolios, and finally get that promotion they’ve been fighting for.

Then, we realize we need to learn the ‘how’

Oh wait.

Someone has to actually learn how to design and build _____. Or how to apply a _____ workshop with stakeholders. Or how to manage a _____ project.

Suddenly, every blog you know will start sharing a different type of article:

• “10 best practices for designing responsive websites”
• “Augmented Reality: how to create immersive AR experiences”
• “Building chatbots that feel human and natural”

We are nerds. We not only want to learn all the specifics on how to create a great _____, but we want to be the best ones at it. You suddenly get an invite to a Facebook/Slack group specialized in _____. Online forums are now populated with endless debates on whether _____ should be built with technology A or B, and who in the team should own the _____ process. As a community, we get territorial pretty fast.

Faster than we imagined, our competitors start launching _____ products, and proudly writing on Medium about how they used _____ to improve their design process — while we still struggle to sell the value of _____ within our own company.

Some _____ are a huge success, and gets a lot of awards in Creativity festivals. Other _____ fail miserably. One thing they have in common, though: none of them generate any tangible business value in that first year other than buzz and hype.

To only then ask ourselves about the ‘why’

Hmm… So maybe there are certain use cases where _____ are more suited for. Or maybe not all websites should be built with _____. Or maybe the _____ methodology only works when you are at early concepting phase, but not all the time.

The headlines:

• “Responsive web, or dedicated mobile version: which one should you pick, and why?”
• “Why Google Glass failed, and what that means for the future of AR”
• “The 3 best use cases for building a chatbot for your brand”

At this point, you can sense a bit of negativism surrounding the term _____.

People don’t seem as excited as they were before when talking about _____, and companies are now starting to re-evaluate their budget dedicated to improving their _____ in the next year. You don’t see as many Medium articles about _____ on the homepage of your favorite design blog.

The industry has a _____ hangover.

As a designer, you feel powerless, but you go through all the expected stages of grief anyways:

“All those hours put into learning _____, and now this?!”

“Maybe if we tried using _____ in a different way…”

“Honestly, I never really bought into the idea of _____. Too much hype.”

A few months later, you barely remember that _____ was a thing.

Until the next technology wave comes in.

Because the next one, for sure, will be a game-changer.