Stop. Hammer Time!
Now that I’ve got your ear with that attention-grabbing title, I want to share something new that you’ll see at the Esri Developer Summit (DevSummit) this year. This may throw you for a loop, but stick with me - it will all make sense in the end! By “hammer time,” I am referring to the malleus (Latin for hammer), the second smallest bone in the human body. Partnered with two other small bones, the incus (anvil) and stapes (stirrup), the malleus is the first bone in the middle ear that receives vibrations from the tympanic membrane (the eardrum), and kicks off the transfer of those vibrations through the middle ear to the inner ear where the auditory nerve senses the vibrations and connects them to the brain.
Sirens… getting louder… stop… whew, glad I stopped so that I didn’t get run over by that fire truck!
This makes this group of three small bones, collectively known as the ossicles, a critical component of conveying environmental queues to the human brain for interpretation, decision-making, and learning.
While Esri conferences have always been about creating opportunities for face-to-face time with our customers and partners, the Customer Experience team is striving to elevate customer listening at conferences, making it a highly visible celebration of how we synergize with you - our partners and users - to create amazing products, services and experiences.
Using interactive wall activities and customer interviews as our medium of engagement, the Customer Experience team provides a platform where we can hear from you, learn more about your needs, be a champion of your voice, and continue to strengthen an already strong culture of listening at Esri. We gather this feedback, analyze it, and share it with relevant stakeholders across the company to drive improvement.
Our first foray into this type of activity was just a couple of weeks ago at the FedGIS Conference in Washington, DC. It looked like this…
And this...
TL;DR Your voice matters and is music to our ears, the good vibrations to our ossicles. When you’re at DevSummit this year, come talk to us. The Customer Experience area will be set up smack dab in the middle of the Primrose Lobby and open for your participation during the following times:
Wednesday, March 11th from 7:30 am – 6:30 pm
Thursday, March 12th from 7:30 am – 4:00 pm