Random Articles

• Consumer Software is the New Enterprise Software Recently, a colleague asked for a recommendation on an enterprise asset management system. Frankly, I’ve only had bad experiences with enterprise level software. My major complaints have been; Too hard to use Too expensive Doesn’t map to existing business culture and processes I ask what this system will be used for; sharing digital photos remotely. There’s a requirement to
• Picky Password Policy Pet Peeve Back a few years ago, I was setting up some web apps for a friend and needed his password.. “Oh, try my non-sensitive password: ‘basketball’” Sure enough, ‘basketball’ got me in. That exchange was a reminder that there are different degrees of security and different comfort levels of risk associated with each of those degrees. One persons’
• Usability Not Usable? - Part 2 “People are usually not receptive to a newcomer waltzing in and telling them they’ve been doing their jobs wrong.” Usability departments exist in a number of our client organizations. Unfortunately, their organizational structural frequently instills an adversarial relationship between the project teams and usability group. The usability group is considered an outside agency - ony evaluating
• Kayak and PinPoint Changing the Face of Online Travel A couple years back, I helped Orbitz.com redesign their shopping process. During that time, if you wanted to book travel the major players were Expedia and Travelocity, with Orbitz aiming to be the more usable, better-looking alternative. Today, those three players are equally mature and equally less than compelling. They don’t capture all airlines and have
• Usability Not Usable? Part 1 Conventional wisdom states that websites and other new products should be evaluated with non-tech savvy participants. With 63% of American adults accessing the Internet regularly, 83% of teens, and 20% of adults actively avoiding the online world we are a nation of tech-savvy or tech-avoidant. Conventional recruiting strategies not longer apply. Rather than pursue an audience