Building for everyone, with everyone

Narrator: In this garage, Larry and Sergey launched Google, with the mission to organise the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.

Annie Jean-Baptiste (Head of Product Inclusion): We wanna think about product inclusion as a value and something integral to how we do business.

Narrator: Oh, hey, Annie.

Annie: When we think about our mission of organising the world’s information and making it universally accessible and useful, it’s the universal piece that we’re leaning into. So no matter where you are in the world, who you love, how much money you make, or what colour your skin is, or any of the dimensions that make you who you are, you should feel that Google’s products and services are helpful to you in the moments that matter most. There’s also a huge amount of evidence for the business case for inclusion. When we think about innovation, when we have more voices at the table, it leads for better outcomes for everyone. We also wanna make sure that there’s access and opportunity for those groups that have historically been underrepresented in the product design process. It’s tough to do this on products that are used by billions of people all over the world, but that’s why we have The Three Respects.

Narrator: The Three Respects?

Liane Aihara (Program Manager, Product Inclusion): A few years back, our company mission was complemented with a written set of values called the Three Respects.

Narrator: All right, Liane, let’s hear ’em.

Liane: Respect the user, respect the opportunity, and respect each other. As far as product inclusion goes, the Three Respects mapped to some very simple but really important principles. “Respect the user” means addressing the user and building universally accessible and useful products. A problem isn’t solved if it’s not solved equitably and for everyone. The second respect, “respect the opportunity,” means that there’s a bigger business opportunity when we centre on groups that are historically underrepresented, and purposefully expanding the surface area of what we will care about. The resulting product is better for everyone. The third respect, “respecting each other,” means that we create space for these underrepresented users to have a seat at the table as we ideate, design, and then really building in time to actually respond to their feedback, and, you know, not just pushing it off until the next release. It’s especially critical that we carry this perspective throughout our entire development process and continue to refine and learn, even after we ship. We like to call this idea “Building for everyone with everyone.”

Annie: So that’s how product inclusion stems from our company mission and is informed by our company values. But there’s one last piece that’s still missing: the people. Product inclusion is about balancing the business and the human case for inclusion. We wanna make sure that we’re not unintentionally alienating potential users by bringing those voices to the table at key points in the product design process. A key way to do this is to make sure that our teams reflect the diversity of the world around us. But we also wanna make sure that while teams are working toward getting toward that representation, they’re being intentional about bringing voices that have historically been at the margins into the centre throughout critical phases in the product design process.