Museum of Failure
The Museum of Failure is a virtual and physical museum of failed products and services from around the world.
Innovation needs failure
“Innovation needs failure”: this sentence opens the museum’s website. Behind every successful solution there are many that were over-engineered, poorly tested or launched at the wrong moment.
How to use the museum in class
- 1Browse the collectionSee how a brand regarded as an innovation leader can still launch a solution that misses.
- 2Ask where it went wrongWas the idea over-engineered, poorly tested, or launched at the wrong moment?
- 3Name the test that would have helpedGerber Singles, food for adults in jars that brought baby food to mind, shows that good tests with the target group reveal such flaws.
Examples
Nike MagnetoGlasses without arms
They were meant to stay on the face thanks to magnets at the temples, and users judged the idea a miss.
Sony Google TV Pilot88 buttons
An attempt to merge television with the internet ended in a remote that was hard to use.
Microsoft BobA virtual room in place of the desktop
It was meant to make computers easier for beginners, and turned out confusing and childish.
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