Chief Technology Officer, Forrester Research
Search every verified Michael Facemire interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Michael Facemire, Chief Technology Officer at Forrester Research, has spoken at industry events in 2015 and 2016 about the shift toward customer-centric digital experiences. In a 2016 keynote, he argued that businesses must build great customer experiences rather than simply digitizing existing data, citing USAA's mobile check deposit as an example of focusing on customer needs. He noted that users spend most of their mobile time on a few major apps and generally do not want to open additional apps, and he emphasized that connecting traditional back-end systems to new front-end experiences is the primary challenge in building digital solutions. Facemire also highlighted JavaScript and Node.js as key technologies for coordinating modern systems, and he pointed to web components and service workers as important standards for enabling offline capabilities and cross-platform development. In a 2015 presentation, Facemire discussed the need to move from a data-driven to a customer-obsessed mindset, advocating for a feedback-driven development lifecycle that delivers minimum viable products quickly and iterates based on analytics. He described composition as the future of development, arguing that teams must assemble reusable components rather than writing new code from scratch. Facemire also pointed to embedded experiences like Google Now and Siri as the next step in composability, where devices proactively stitch together information for users. He noted that delivery timelines have compressed from 12–18 months to 2–4 months, and he encouraged organizations to adopt open-source tools from leading companies rather than viewing themselves as behind.
“Welcome to year five of the age of the customer. We need to build great customer experiences to succeed in our businesses, not just create a representation of our data.”
“USAA figured out that instead of shrinking their web experience to mobile, they focused on what customers really want, like depositing checks through mobile by taking a picture, which advanced their business by creating a great customer experience.”
“Folks spend about 50 hours per month on their phones, looking at about six unique apps per day, with the majority of time spent on Google, Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft apps. Generally, customers don't want to open your app.”
“The biggest challenge in building digital experiences is connecting traditional back-end systems, which power our business, to the new front-end experiences on mobile devices and web.”
“JavaScript and Node.js are the coordinators and choreographers of many systems today, driving a third of the world's internet traffic, including Netflix.”
“The future of mobile is the web because it provides a ubiquitous way to deliver data over transport channels and view it with web browsers and containers, enabling cross-platform development.”
“Composition is the future of development. We don't have time to write new lines of code for everything; instead, we need to compose reusable components to build faster.”
“Two key web standards to watch for are web components and service workers, which will make the web a very viable choice for building digital experiences, including offline capabilities.”
“Most companies aren't like Netflix or Walmart, but we can look, listen, learn, and adapt their open-source tools to improve our own digital experiences.”
“Success in today's Digital World in both mobile and web is how do we present just what our customers want just when they want it and then get out of the way.”
“The time frame in which we're being asked to deliver solutions is decreasing dramatically; from 12 to 18 months down to 2 to 4 months, and soon businesses will expect delivery 'today' or they will go elsewhere.”
“We have to change from a data-driven mindset to a customer-obsessed mindset, starting top-down with systems of engagement and then federating data and insights to personalize experiences.”
“Composition is the future; we don't have time to build software line by line anymore. We must compose flexible, adaptable solutions to meet ever-changing customer needs.”
“Embedded experiences like Google Now, Siri, and Cortana are the next step in composability, helping users by stitching together solutions without distracting them from their current tasks.”
“We need to switch from a requirements-driven development lifecycle to a feedback-driven lifecycle, building minimum viable products quickly, collecting analytics, and iterating rapidly to avoid costly failures.”
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