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Besides that I have spent a lot of time\n    investigating the general nature of\u0026nbsp;design.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n\n    \u003Ch3\u003Emaking a splash\u003C\/h3\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003ESo I jumped in and joined the twitter discussion. After a false start (oh,\n    the joys of social media) the heart of the matter\n    \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MrBrezina\/status\/876691100572016644\"\u003Ecame to light\u003C\/a\u003E:\n    \u0026#8216;It is about problems that typefaces solve, not about the problems of\n    typeface design practice, i.e. the categories of reasons why to draw.\u0026#8217;\n    So I addressed it there, have been thinking about it quite a bit more since\n    then, and now I am going to address it\u0026nbsp;better.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003ELet\u0026#8217;s start with a smooth aikido move to get this discussion positioned\n    where it belongs. When a font is to be used by many (i.e. more than 100)\n    people, then it is a product. The type designer is the product designer; the\n    design process is the act of product realisation. The process starts with a\n    product definition; methodical research and design follows. Eventually a set\n    of design drawings is created, to be engineered into shippable\u0026nbsp;fonts.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EThis insight rebases the discussion. \u003Cstrong\u003EIt is a product issue, not a\n    design issue.\u003C\/strong\u003E Asking what problems type design can solve today, is\n    asking: are there any product definitions left that aim to bring useful,\n    valuable font solutions to\u0026nbsp;users?\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EWell, allow me to make some suggestions.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch3\u003Ethink big, really big\u003C\/h3\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EIf you write using Latin script, then it seems that you have 100.000 fonts\n    to choose from. If you write in another script, you are suddenly scraping the\n    barrel; 100 usable fonts is then super luxurious. Does this impact just some\n    tiny minorities? Well, here is a handy list:\n    \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/List_of_writing_systems#List_of_writing_scripts_by_adoption\"\u003Ewriting scripts sorted by usage\u003C\/a\u003E.\n    If I skip Latin and add up the populations that actively use the next ten\n    scripts, then I end up with \u003Cstrong\u003E3.41\u0026nbsp;billion\u0026nbsp;people\u003C\/strong\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThe ten scripts are: Chinese, Arabic, Devanagari, Bengali\u0026#8208;Assamese,\n    Cyrillic, Kana, Javanese, Hangul, Telugu and Tamil. Right after these on the\n    list there is a group of six modestly used scripts (Gujarati, Kannada,\n    Burmese, Malayalam, Thai and Sundanese) that nonetheless serve another\n    205\u0026nbsp;million\u0026nbsp;people.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EHere is my suggestion: Want to do something useful? Pick a popular Latin\n    font (family), say from the top\u0026#8208;1000 in use, and pick one of the\n    big\u0026#8209;10\/modest\u0026#8209;6 scripts listed above. Your product definition is\n    to design a font in that script that \u003Cem\u003Egoes together seamlessly\u003C\/em\u003E with\n    the Latin font. That does not mean that your new font has to play second\n    fiddle to the Latin one; just that they get along famously.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EI can tell you from experience that it is \u003Cem\u003Every\u003C\/em\u003E rewarding to design\n    something this relevant; with the knowledge that tens, if not hundreds, of\n    million of people are waiting out there for the results. Of the\n    3.615\u0026nbsp;billion people mentioned above, a good chunk owns a smartphone or\n    will own one soon\u0026#8212;you cannot stop commodity Android. It\u0026#8217;s their\n    access to the internet. They inform and express themselves using text.\n    They\u0026nbsp;need\u0026nbsp;fonts.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch4\u003Efit for purpose\u003C\/h4\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003ERead a book on typography and one discovers that non\u0026#8208;philistine\n    typesetting starts with using proper numbers (oldstyle vs. lining, \u0026c.), small\n    caps, and so on. Now check 10\u0026nbsp;random fonts on the device you use to read\n    this post. Do they contain a full set of numbers and small caps? It is going\n    to be hit and miss. Personally, I\u0026nbsp;am \u003Cem\u003Estill\u003C\/em\u003E waiting for oldstyle\n    numbers for my favourite Swiss\u0026nbsp;sans.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EWhile typesetting got more efficient (hot lead, to photo, to digital),\n    typography support got thrown overboard. Today, typography is banned to the\n    graveyard called OpenType features. Yes I know, \u003Cacronym\u003EOT\u003C\/acronym\u003E features\n    UI is a world of hurt, but someday someone is going to do something about it\n    (if that is you, ping me). Meanwhile, it is 2017 and fonts that just support\n    the skimpiest of Latin glyph set feel very \u0026#8216;ms\u0026#8209;dos\u0026#8217; to me;\n    primitive, with a touch of nostalgia, but surely past due\u0026nbsp;date.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003ESo my second suggestion is to start doubling down on OpenType features. Go\n    through the top\u0026#8208;1000 list of fonts and start extending them to make them\n    useful, and valuable, for typographers. I\u0026nbsp;realise there are some barriers\n    of entry, like intellectual property and access to source files (so that they\n    can be extended). Maybe you can pitch the company that owns them and get the\n    gig. A straightforward case is open source fonts, you can get started\n    right\u0026nbsp;now.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch4\u003Efit for authors\u003C\/h4\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EBold and italic are not just a good idea, they are (by default) the way to\n    express certain conventions in text, e.g. emphasis, or denote publication\n    titles. The defaults of html \u0026 css are an example of how enshrined this is. A\n    week ago I was trying to select some typefaces for a new website, and it was\n    an uphill struggle, littered with missing italic and\/or bold font variants.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EMy third suggestion: there are plenty of holes in the top\u0026#8208;1000 fonts\n    where it comes to bold and italics. Your product definition is to fill some of\n    these, where you think it matters most. Designing a bold for someone\n    else\u0026#8217;s regular can be a drag. But italics can be worthwhile design work,\n    because they start with a clean sheet and a different skeleton than the\n    regulars. I\u0026nbsp;suspect the amount of true\u0026#8208;design work involved is the\n    reason italics got skipped in the first\u0026nbsp;place.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003ESpeaking of, here is a bonus product definition: real italics to be used\n    seamlessly with that famous Swiss sans\u0026#8212;to replace them obliques. Again a\n    clean\u0026#8208;sheet project which solves a typographer\u0026#8217;s problem. And an\n    ambitious, high\u0026#8208;profile one too. You can call it Helvetalics, if\n    you\u0026nbsp;like.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch4\u003Efit for a new medium\u003C\/h4\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003ELast year I was involved in an internet\u0026#8208;of\u0026#8208;things project.\n    After a methodical start, it became immediately clear that for our combination\n    of display (size, resolution), use (viewing distance, information density) and\n    goals (not end up being cheap junk slapped together by engineers) we needed a\n    font to make it work. Yes work; life or\u0026nbsp;death.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003ENew media to display text, with new properties\u0026#8212;and new contexts for\n    old ones\u0026#8212;pop up regularly. These events naturally trigger product\n    definitions for fonts to make new media\u0026nbsp;work.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch3\u003Eaesthetics, schm\u0026#8217;sthetics\u003C\/h3\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EIn this blog post I have not gone into aesthetics, because I didn\u0026#8217;t\n    need to. All I have done is look beyond the glyph shapes and spot\n    ocean\u0026#8208;sized holes in the font product landscape. Just following up on my\n    first suggestion will keep the global type designing community busy for\n    decades with work that is 100% non\u0026#8208;frivolous. Suddenly today\u0026#8217;s\n    \u0026#8216;glut\u0026#8217; of type designers looks like it could use some serious\n    reinforcement\u0026nbsp;troops.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EA business coach once told me: \u0026#8216;this design work you do is political,\n    isn\u0026#8217;t it?\u0026#8217; She meant that my design clearly impacts society and\n    that my design decision make the world better, or worse. That starts with the\n    decision \u0026#8216;what project do I\u0026nbsp;work\u0026nbsp;on?\u0026#8217;\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote\u003EIf you get to decide the product definitions at your font shack,\n    then your work is political.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cul\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003EYour choice of scripts is political; how many of 3.615+\u0026nbsp;billion\n    people are you gonna throw under the\u0026nbsp;bus?\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003EYour choice of OT features is political; a font for typographers, or only\n    for simple business administration?\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003EYour choice of including a bold and italic is political; is your font\n    going to be a drop\u0026#8208;in solution for those who just want to\n    communicate?\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003EYour choice of targeting new display media is political; are you going to\n    leave their new users out in the\u0026nbsp;cold?\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003C\/ul\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EIf you scour the font landscape, looking for pockets of\n    \u003Cem\u003Euser\u0026#8208;felt\u003C\/em\u003E hurt (\u0026#8216;what, \u003Cacronym\u003EXYZ\u003C\/acronym\u003E simply\n    doesn\u0026#8217;t exist?\u0026#8217;) and then do something about it by creating, or\n    updating, a font product, then your work is political, useful and valuable.\n    And I salute\u0026nbsp;you.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    "},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/comment.g?blogID=28919981\u0026postID=6836888635915454252","title":"5 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/28919981\/posts\/default\/6836888635915454252"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/28919981\/posts\/default\/6836888635915454252"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2017\/06\/the-world-needs-more-fonts-honestly.html","title":"the world needs more fonts, honestly"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Anonymous"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/13344735552467622739"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"5"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28919981.post-8217135244120990968"},"published":{"$t":"2016-09-14T10:25:00.000+02:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2016-09-14T10:25:13.568+02:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"infrastructure"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"lecture"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"practical"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"top story"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"bicycle, node, network, design"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan id=\"teaser\"\u003EThis Monday \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/igniteberlin.com\"\u003Eignite berlin\u003C\/a\u003E\n    took place and I did a fun, five minute, pecha kucha talk that also contained some\n    systems analysis and a design insight.\u003C\/span\u003E For a full transcript, read\u0026nbsp;on.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch3\u003Ering ring\u003C\/h3\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EThere are two things that you need to know about me. The first is that I am\n    dutch and the second is that I am becoming a sentimental old fool. I\u0026nbsp;combine\n    the two when I do cycling holidays in\u0026nbsp;Holland:\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cimg class=\"cited\" src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog16\/ontour.jpg\"\n    alt=\"cycling in the dutch fields\" width=\"380\" height=\"214\"\/\u003E\n    \u003Ccite\u003Emy partner Carmen leads the\u0026nbsp;way\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EFor this we use the \u003Ci\u003Efietsroutenetwerk\u003C\/i\u003E, the \u003Cstrong\u003Ebicycle route\n    network\u003C\/strong\u003E of the Netherlands. This was designed for recreational\n    cycling in the countryside. It was rolled out between 2003 and 2012. The\n    network is point\u0026#8208;to\u0026#8209;point:\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cimg src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog16\/point2point.png\"\n    alt=\"two points connected by a line, arrows pointing both ways\"\n    width=\"380\" height=\"187\"\/\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EBetween two neighbouring nodes there is complete signage\u0026#8212;with no\n    gaps\u0026#8212;to get you from one to the other. And this in both directions.\n    Here are some of these\u0026nbsp;signs:\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cimg class=\"cited\" src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog16\/signage.jpg\"\n    alt=\"several roadside routing signposts\" width=\"380\" height=\"214\"\/\u003E\n    \u003Ccite\u003Esources: \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/fietsenopdefiets.wordpress.com\/fietsen-langs-knooppunten\/\"\u003Efietsen op\u0026nbsp;de\u0026nbsp;fiets\u003C\/a\u003E,\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.hetgroenewoud.com\/applications\/hetgroenewoud\/files\/afbeeldingen\/Website_apr_2014\/Foto_pagina_-_Bewegen_-_Fietsen.jpg\"\u003Ehet\u0026nbsp;groene\u0026nbsp;woud\u003C\/a\u003E,\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/forum.gps.nl\/viewtopic.php?t=2469\u0026start=90\"\u003Egps.nl\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThe implicit promise is that these are nice routes. That means: away from\n    cars as much as possible. And scenic\u0026#8212;through fields, heath and\u0026nbsp;forrest.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EUsing the nodes, local networks have been designed and\u0026nbsp;built:\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cimg src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog16\/localnet.jpg\"\n    alt=\"a network of nodes on a local map\" width=\"380\" height=\"214\"\/\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThese networks are \u003Cstrong\u003Epurely infrastructural\u003C\/strong\u003E; there is no\n    preconception of what is \u0026#8216;proper\u0026#8217; or \u0026#8216;typical\u0026#8217;\n    usage. They accommodate routes of any shape and any\u0026nbsp;length.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EAt every node, one finds a local map, with the network:\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cimg class=\"cited\" src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog16\/nodemap.jpg\"\n    alt=\"on-location display of the local map\" width=\"380\" height=\"214\"\/\u003E\n    \u003Ccite\u003Esource: \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Maasbracht_(Maasgouw)_knooppunt_10_fietsroutenetwerk.JPG\"\u003Ewikimedia commons\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EIt can be used for planning, reference and simply reassurance. Besides\n    that, there are old\u0026#8209;fashioned maps and plenty of apps and websites\n    for planning and sharing of\u0026nbsp;routes.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThe local networks were knitted together to form a national network:\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cimg src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog16\/nationalnet.jpg\"\n    alt=\"a dense network covers the whole country\" width=\"380\" height=\"214\"\/\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003ELooking at this map I see interesting differences in patterns and\n    densities. I\u0026nbsp;don\u0026#8217;t think this only reflects the geography, but also\n    the character of the locals; what they consider proper cycling infrastructure\n    and scenic\u0026nbsp;routes.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThe network was not always nation-wide. It was rolled out over a period of\n    nine years, one local network at the time. I\u0026nbsp;still remember crossing\n    a province border and (screech!) there was no more network. It was back to\n    old\u0026#8209;fashioned map reading and finding the third street on the\u0026nbsp;left.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch4\u003Enot invented here\u003C\/h4\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EI was shocked to find out that the Dutch did not invent this network\n    system. We have to go back to the 1980s, north\u0026#8208;east Belgium: all the\n    coal mines are closing. Mining engineer Hugo Bollen proposes to create a\n    recreational cycling network, in order to initiate economic regeneration of\n    the region. Here\u0026#8217;s\u0026nbsp;Hugo:\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cimg class=\"cited\" src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog16\/Hugo.jpg\"\n    alt=\"Hugo Bollen rides a bike in nature\" width=\"380\" height=\"214\"\/\u003E\n    \u003Ccite\u003Esource: \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.toerismelimburg.be\/nl\/mijnverhaal\/as\"\u003Etoerisme\u0026nbsp;limburg\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EHe designed the network rules explained in this blog post. The Belgians\n    actually had to build(!) all of the cycling infrastructure, so it took\n    them to 1995 to open the first local network. It now brings in 16.5 million Euro\n    a year to the\u0026nbsp;region.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch3\u003Ehow many?\u003C\/h3\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EI got curious about the total number of network nodes in Holland.\n    I\u0026nbsp;could not find this number on the internet. The net is really quite\n    short on stats and data of the cycling network. So I needed to find out by\n    myself. What I did was take one of\u0026nbsp;my\u0026nbsp;maps\u0026#8212;\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cimg src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog16\/mymap.jpg\"\n    alt=\"a traditional cycling map that covers a part of holland\"\n    width=\"380\" height=\"214\"\/\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EAnd I counted all the nodes\u0026#8212;there were 309. I\u0026nbsp;multiplied this\n    with the number of maps that cover all of Holland. Then I took 75% of that\n    number to deal with map overlaps and my own over\u0026#8208;enthusiasm. The result:\n    I\u0026nbsp;estimate that the dutch network consists of 9270\u0026nbsp;nodes.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch4\u003Ein awe\u003C\/h4\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EThe reason I got curious about that number is that every time I use the\n    network, I\u0026nbsp;am impressed by a real\u0026#8208;genius design decision \u003Cem\u003E(and I\n    don\u0026#8217;t get to say that very often)\u003C\/em\u003E. It makes all the difference, when\n    using the network in\u0026nbsp;anger.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EAll these nearly\u0026#8208;ten\u0026nbsp;thousand nodes are identified by a\n    two\u0026#8209;digit number. Not the four (or more future\u0026#8208;proof, five) one\n    would expect. All the nodes are simply numbered 1 through 99, and then they\n    start at one again. And shorter is much\u0026nbsp;better:\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cimg class=\"cited\" src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog16\/02.jpg\"\n    alt=\"cycling route signage with direction for node 02\" width=\"380\" height=\"214\"\/\u003E\n    \u003Ccite\u003Esource: \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.recreatieschapwestfriesland.nl\/projecten\/fietsroutenetwerk-westfriesland\"\u003Erecreatieschap westfriesland\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003ETwo digits is much faster to read and write down. It is easier to memorise,\n    short\u0026#8208;term. It is instant to compare and confirm. Remember, most of\n    these actions are performed while riding a bike at a nice cruising\u0026nbsp;speed.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch4\u003Ebut…\u003C\/h4\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EPushing through this two\u0026#8209;digit design must have been asking for\n    trouble. Most of us can just imagine the bike\u0026#8208;shedding: \u0026#8216;what if\n    cyclists really need to be able to uniquely identify a node in the whole\n    nation?\u0026#8217; Or: \u0026#8216;will cyclists get confused by these repeating\n    numbers?\u0026#8217;\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThis older cycling signpost system has a five\u0026#8209;digit identification\u0026nbsp;number:\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cimg class=\"cited\" src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog16\/mushroom.jpg\"\n    alt=\"a clycling signpost showing directions to nearby villages and towns\"\n    width=\"380\" height=\"214\"\/\u003E\n    \u003Ccite\u003Esource: \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.dirkdebaan.nl\/nooit-meer-fietsend-de-weg-kwijt.html\"\u003Edirk\u0026nbsp;de\u0026nbsp;baan\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThis number takes several steps to process. \u003Cstrong\u003ETwo\u0026#8209;digit numbers\n    are humane numbers\u003C\/strong\u003E. They exploit that way\u0026#8208;finding is a very local\n    activity\u0026#8212;although one \u003Cem\u003Ecan\u003C\/em\u003E cover 130km a day on\u0026nbsp;a\u0026nbsp;bike.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch3\u003Ewhatchamacallit?\u003C\/h3\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EWrapping up, the cycling network is a distributed network:\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cimg class=\"cited\" src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog16\/nets.jpg\"\n    alt=\"three graphs: a centralised, a decentralised and a distributed network\"\n    width=\"380\" height=\"259\"\/\u003E\n    \u003Ccite\u003Esource: \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/j4n.co\/blog\/progressive_enhancement\"\u003Ej4n\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EAll nodes are equal and so are all routes. Cyclist route themselves.\n    In that way the network works quite like… the\u0026nbsp;internet.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EWe could call it the democratic network, because it treats everyone as equals.\n    Or we could call it the liberal network (that would be very dutch). Or\u0026#8212;in\n    a post\u0026#8208;modern way\u0026#8212;we could call it the atomised network.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EI simply call it the bicycle route network of the\u0026nbsp;Netherlands.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cimg src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog16\/calf.jpg\"\n    alt=\"a vista over dutch fields with a calf and two cyclists\"\n    width=\"380\" height=\"214\"\/\u003E\n    \n    "},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/comment.g?blogID=28919981\u0026postID=8217135244120990968","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/28919981\/posts\/default\/8217135244120990968"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/28919981\/posts\/default\/8217135244120990968"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2016\/09\/bicycle-network.html","title":"bicycle,\u0026nbsp;node, network,\u0026nbsp;design"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Anonymous"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/13344735552467622739"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28919981.post-3884777523057421402"},"published":{"$t":"2016-05-30T20:08:00.000+02:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2016-05-30T20:09:54.995+02:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"design stage"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"lecture"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"metapolator"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"practical"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"product phase"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"top story"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"designing interaction for creative pros \/4"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan id=\"teaser\"\u003EThis is the fourth and final part of my \n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/libregraphicsmeeting.org\/2015\/\"\u003E\u003Cacronym\u003ELGM\u003C\/acronym\u003E\u0026nbsp;2015\u003C\/a\u003E\n    lecture.\u003C\/span\u003E\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2015\/05\/designing-interaction-for-creative.html\"\u003EPart one\u003C\/a\u003E\n    urged to make a clear choice: is the software you\u0026#8217;re making is for creative\n    professionals, or not?\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2015\/05\/designing-interaction-for-creative_12.html\"\u003EPart two\u003C\/a\u003E\n    was all about the rally car and the need for speed.\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2015\/06\/designing-interaction-for-creative.html\"\u003EPart three\u003C\/a\u003E\n    showed the need to support the free and measured working modes of\u0026nbsp;masters.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan id=\"teaser\"\u003EToday\u0026#8217;s topic is \u003Ci\u003Ehow to be\u0026nbsp;good\u003C\/i\u003E in\n    creative\u0026#8208;pro interaction.\u003C\/span\u003E We start by revisiting the cars of\n    part\u0026nbsp;two.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch3\u003Eparty like it\u0026#8217;s…\u003C\/h3\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EIt is no coincidence that I showed you a 1991 family car and a 1991 rally\u0026nbsp;car:\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cimg class=\"cited\" src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog14\/1991cars.jpg\"\n    alt=\"pics of the two cars\" width=\"380\" height=\"125\"\/\u003E\n    \u003Ccite\u003Esource: \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/netcarshow.com\/audi\/1991-100\/\"\u003Enetcarshow.com\u003C\/a\u003E\n    and \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/imgbuddy.com\/audi-quattro-rally-wallpaper.asp\"\u003Eimgbuddy.com\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EI did that because our world\u0026#8212;that of software for creative pros\u0026#8212;is\n    largely stuck in that era. And just like 1991\n    king\u0026#8208;of\u0026#8209;the\u0026#8209;hill cars (even factory\u0026#8208;mint examples\n    found in a time capsule), this software is no longer competitive.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cimg class=\"cited\" src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog14\/pants.jpg\"\n    alt=\"a pair of yellow, y-front underpants\" width=\"380\" height=\"343\"\/\u003E\n    \u003Ccite\u003Eyes, it\u0026#8217;s pants! source:\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.charliepants.com\/product\/y-fronts-sunflower-yellow-main-white-trim\"\u003Echarliepants.com\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003E It is my observation that in this field there is an abundance of\n    opportunities to do better. If one just starts scratching the surface, on a\n    product, workflow, or interaction level, then today\u0026#8217;s software simply\n    starts to\u0026nbsp;crumble.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch4\u003Etesting, testing, one\u0026nbsp;two\u003C\/h4\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EFor instance, while doing research for the Metapolator project, I\u0026nbsp;asked\n    some users to show me how they work with the font design tools of today. They showed me\n    the glyph range, the central place to organise their work and get\u0026nbsp;started:\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cimg src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog14\/glyphrange.jpg\"\n    alt=\"a font editor's table view of all the glyphs in a font\"\n    width=\"380\" height=\"280\"\/\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThey also showed me the curve editor, where the detailed work on each\n    glyph is\u0026nbsp;done:\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cimg src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog14\/curvedit.jpg\"\n    alt=\"a big window with a glyph outline editor\" width=\"380\" height=\"231\"\/\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EBoth of them need the whole screen. In a short amount of time I saw a lot\n    of switching between the both of them. I\u0026nbsp;sensed wasted time and broken flows.\n    I\u0026nbsp;also saw tiny, slow handles in the editor. And I thought: \u003Cstrong\u003Ethis\n    cannot\u0026nbsp;be\u0026nbsp;it\u003C\/strong\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EThey also showed me, in another program, designing in\u0026nbsp;context:\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cimg src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog14\/intypo.jpg\"\n    alt=\"editing a glyph in the context of a few others\" width=\"380\" height=\"236\"\/\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EI immediately sensed this was a big deal. I\u0026nbsp;saw that they had pushed the\n    envelope\u0026#8212;however, not broken through to the other\u0026nbsp;side.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EBesides that, I observed that editing was done in outline mode (see the\n    \u0026#8216;y\u0026#8217;, above), but evaluation is of solid black glyphs. Again I\n    sensed broken flows, because of switching between making and evaluating. And I\n    thought: \u003Cstrong\u003Ethis cannot\u0026nbsp;be\u0026nbsp;it\u003C\/strong\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch3\u003EFrank sez…\u003C\/h3\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EEnough of that; let\u0026#8217s zoom out from my field report, to the big issue\n    at hand. To paraphrase\u0026nbsp;Zappa:\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cblockquote class=\"hang solo\"\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u0026#8216;How it has always been\u0026#8217;\u003C\/em\u003E may not be\n    quite dead, but it sure smells\u0026nbsp;funny.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EThe question is: how did we get to this situation? Let me dig through my\n    experience to find some of the\u0026nbsp;causes.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EFirst of all we can observe that each piece of creative\u0026#8208;pro software\n    is a \u003Cstrong\u003Evertical market product\u003C\/strong\u003E; i.e. it is not used by the\n    general population; only by certain masters. That means \u003Cem\u003Ewe are in\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2008\/09\/armpit-of-usability_20.html\"\u003Earmpit of usability\u003C\/a\u003E\n    territory\u003C\/em\u003E. Rereading that blog post, I\u0026nbsp;see I was already knee\u0026#8208;deep\n    into this topic: \u0026#8216;its development is driven by reacting to what users\n    ask for \u003Cem\u003E(features!)\u003C\/em\u003E and fear of changing \u0026#8220;like it has always\n    been\u0026#8221; through innovation.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch4\u003Ego on, have another\u0026nbsp;cake\u003C\/h4\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EThe mechanism is clear: users and software makers, living in very different\n    worlds, have a real hard time communicating. Where they\n    manage, they are having the wrong conversation: \u003Cem\u003E\u0026#8216;gimme more\n    features!\u0026#8217;\u003C\/em\u003E \u0026#8212;\u0026#8216;OK,\u0026nbsp;if\u0026nbsp;that makes\n    you\u0026nbsp;happy.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EWhat is happening today is that users are discussing software\n    made yesterday. They are not able to communicate that their\n    \u003Cem\u003Eneeds\u003C\/em\u003E are so lousily addressed. Instead, they \u003Cem\u003Ewant\u003C\/em\u003E some\n    more cherries on top and this cements the position of this outdated software.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EConstantly, users are telling software makers, implicitly and explicitly,\n    \u003Cstrong\u003E\u0026#8216;add plenty of candy, but don\u0026#8217;t change\n    a\u0026nbsp;thing.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EThis has been going on for decades\u0026#8212;\u003Cem\u003Elost decades.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch3\u003Ebond of pain\u003C\/h3\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EA second cause that I want to highlight is that both users and software\n    makers have worked for years to get on the \u003Cem\u003Einside\u003C\/em\u003E and it has been a\n    really painful experience for all of them. This unites them\n    against\u0026nbsp;change.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EThus users have been fighting several frustrating years to\n    get \u0026#8216;into\u0026#8217; software that was not designed (for them; armpit of\n    usability, remember), but instead made on terms favourable to the\n    software\u0026nbsp;makers.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003ESoftware makers spent year after year trying to make something useful.\n    Lacking any form of user research, the whole process has been an exasperating\n    stab\u0026#8208;in\u0026#8208;the\u0026#8208;dark marathon.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThus a variant of the Stockholm syndrome spooks both parties. They are\n    scarred\u0026#8208;for\u0026#8208;life victims of the general dynamic of the\n    pro\u0026#8209;software industry. But now that they have gotten this far, their\n    instinct is to sustain\u0026nbsp;it.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch3\u003Ethe point\u003C\/h3\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003ETwo decades of experience shows that there is a way out of this misery; to\n    become competitive (again). There is no incremental way to get there;\n    you\u0026#8217;ll have to snap out of it. What is called for is innovation\u0026#8212;of\n    your product, workflow, your interaction. A way that unlocks\n    results\u0026nbsp;is:\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Col\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Euser research\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E Experienced researchers cut straight\n    past the \u003Cem\u003Ewants\u003C\/em\u003E and get the user \u003Cem\u003Eneeds\u003C\/em\u003E on the table.\n    \u003Ci\u003E(Obligatory health \u0026 safety notice: market research has nothing to do with\n    user research; it is not even a little bit useful in this context.)\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Edesign\u0026#8208;driven innovation\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\n    When user needs are clear (see point 1), then a designer can tell you any\n    minute of the project\u0026#8212;first to last\u0026#8212;what part of \u0026#8216;how it has\n    always been\u0026#8217; is begging to be replaced, and which part is the solid\n    foundation to build upon. Designer careers are built on getting this right,\n    every\u0026nbsp;time.\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003C\/ol\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003ESkip either point\u0026#8212;or doing it only in a superficial, or\n    non-consequential, way\u0026#8212;and I\u0026#8217;ll guarantee you\u0026#8217;ll stay\n    stuck\u0026nbsp;in\u0026nbsp;1991. Making it happen requires\u0026nbsp;action:\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cblockquote class=\"solo\"\u003ESoftware\u0026#8208;makers: enthusiastically seek out user\n    researchers and designers and start to sail by them. Stop considering adding\n    features a good thing, stop being a captive of \u0026#8216;how it has always\n    been\u0026#8217; and trust the accomplished.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch3\u003Epicture show\u003C\/h3\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003ETo illustrate all this, let\u0026#8217;s look at some of my designs for\n    Metapolator. To be able to solve these problems of contemporary font design\n    tools that I mentioned above, I\u0026nbsp;had to snap out of the old\u0026nbsp;way.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EFirst of all, I\u0026nbsp;pushed \u003Cstrong\u003Edesigning in context\u003C\/strong\u003E a\n    lot further, by introducing in\u0026#8209;specimen editing:\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cimg src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog14\/incontext.jpg\"\n    alt=\"a pangram type specimen is displayed in a window\"\n    width=\"380\" height=\"313\"\/\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EEvery glyph you see above is directly editable, \u003Cstrong\u003Eeliminating\n    switching\u003C\/strong\u003E between overview and editing. The size that the\n    glyphs are displayed in can be adjusted any given moment, whatever suits the\n    evaluate\/edit balance.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;OK, that\u0026#8217;s great\u0026#8217; you say, \u0026#8216;but every\n    once in a while one needs a glyph range to do some gardening.\u0026#8217; To\n    address that, I\u0026nbsp;used a handy trick: the \u003Cstrong\u003Eglyph range\u003C\/strong\u003E is just\n    another specimen:\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cimg src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog14\/inrange.jpg\"\n    alt=\"the glyph range organised as a specimen\" width=\"380\" height=\"312\"\/\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EEverybody in the Metapolator team thought I was crazy, but I was dead set\n    on eliminating \u003Cstrong\u003Eoutline mode\u003C\/strong\u003E. I\u0026nbsp;sensed there was chance\n    to do that here, because the focus moves from working at the edge of the\n    glyph\u0026#8212;the high\u0026#8208;contrast black\u0026#8211;white transition\u0026#8212;to the\n    center line\u0026nbsp;within: \u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cimg src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog14\/bighandles.jpg\"\n    alt=\"center line displayed within a full-black glyph, the points\n    on it connected to large handles outside the glyph area\"\n    width=\"380\" height=\"277\"\/\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThen there was the matter of offering users \u003Cstrong\u003Egenerous handles\u003C\/strong\u003E\n    that are fast to grab and use. After brainstorming with Simon Egli, the design\n    shown above was born: put them \u0026#8216;on sticks\u0026#8217; outside, so that they\n    do not impede visual evaluation of the\u0026nbsp;glyph.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch3\u003Epep talk\u003C\/h3\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIn closing:\u003C\/strong\u003E \u003Cem\u003Eto be good\u003C\/em\u003E in\n    creative\u0026#8208;pro interaction, I\u0026nbsp;encourage you\u0026nbsp;to\u0026#8212;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cblockquote class=\"solo\"\u003EDo not ask how the past can guide you.\n    Ask yourself what \u003Cem\u003Eyou\u003C\/em\u003E can do to guide your software for\n    creative pros into the 21st\u0026nbsp;century.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    "},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/comment.g?blogID=28919981\u0026postID=3884777523057421402","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/28919981\/posts\/default\/3884777523057421402"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/28919981\/posts\/default\/3884777523057421402"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2016\/05\/designing-interaction-for-creative.html","title":"designing interaction for creative\u0026nbsp;pros\u0026nbsp;\/4"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Anonymous"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/13344735552467622739"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28919981.post-7161669225486288424"},"published":{"$t":"2016-02-15T12:01:00.000+01:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2016-02-15T12:01:51.533+01:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"fundamental"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"product phase"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"top story"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"war and peace"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"punters vs. society, an illustrated guide"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan id=\"teaser\"\u003ERecently I\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2015\/08\/war-and-peace-5th.html\"\u003Ewrote about\u003C\/a\u003E\n    how all users act like selfish \u003Cem\u003Epunters\u003C\/em\u003E when you talk to them. And\n    that only user research delivers insight into their diversity and needs,\n    looking at them as a \u003Cem\u003Esociety\u003C\/em\u003E. I\u0026nbsp;will illustrate that in this\n    blog\u0026nbsp;post.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch3\u003Ebrownie snaps\u003C\/h3\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EBelow, we see the users of a product\u0026#8212;e.g. a piece of software, an\n    (internet) service, a\u0026nbsp;device:\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cimg src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog16\/punters.png\"\n    alt=\"32 people distributed in a loose formation.\"\n    width=\"380\" height=\"380\"\/\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EAll users are different. Above we see the diversity of this user society\n    depicted in two dimensions; no two are in the same spot. In reality this spread\n    happens in dozens of dimensions. Even for very specialised user groups like\n    \u0026#8216;font designers for indochinese languages,\u0026#8217; there is plenty of\n    diversity in many dimensions.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EWe all act like selfish punters; you, me, everyone.\u003C\/em\u003E And\n    when we are individually engaged in \u003Cem\u003Etalk\u003C\/em\u003E about a product,\n    we will offer self\u0026#8208;centred opinions on what matters most and\n    self-serving feature requests, i.e.\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003Eour\u0026nbsp;wants\u003C\/strong\u003E:\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cimg src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog16\/wants.jpg\"\n    alt=\"every single person pushes a want that is very different from everybody\n    else’s.\" width=\"380\" height=\"380\"\/\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThe dynamic we see illustrated above is very common in the software industry.\n    You will find it in\u0026nbsp;99%\u0026nbsp;of\u0026#8212;\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cul\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003Ecustom software projects for companies, \u003Cacronym\u003ENGO\u003C\/acronym\u003Es or the\n    government, during requirements gathering;\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003Esmall and medium\u0026#8208;sized software companies where the boss, sales, support\n    and\/or consultants talk to customers and\u0026nbsp;users;\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003Eany kind of user forum, online or otherwise;\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003Etake (a variant of) the second point above and combine it with the\n    third, that\u0026#8217;s \u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cacronym\u003EF\/LOSS\u003C\/acronym\u003E, all\u0026nbsp;of\u0026nbsp;it\u003C\/strong\u003E;\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003Eanywhere where market research is deployed.\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003C\/ul\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch4\u003Ewrite write, scribble\u0026nbsp;scribble\u003C\/h4\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EIt is also very common in the software industry to earnestly administrate\n    user\u0026nbsp;wants:\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cimg src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog16\/periphery.jpg\"\n    alt=\"the wants solidify at the edge of the picture.\"\n    width=\"380\" height=\"380\"\/\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003ECommon forms of this are\u0026#8212;\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cul\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003Elists of use\u0026nbsp;cases;\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003Euse cases in sheep\u0026#8217;s clothing: user\u0026nbsp;stories;\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003Ebug trackers; not necessarily as an enhancement or a feature request, it\n    may be dressed up as a bug, or a usability problem;\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003Efeature roadmaps;\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003Ea lingering pressure, guilt, or fear in the minds of those in\n    charge\u0026#8212;boss, product manager, or maintainer;\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003Ea consensus among (part of) the crew: \u0026#8216;people keep asking for\n    \u003Cacronym\u003EXYZ\u003C\/acronym\u003E, we could hack something basic in a couple of\n    days\u0026#8217; \u003Ci\u003E(yeah\u0026nbsp;sure)\u003C\/i\u003E.\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003C\/ul\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003ENow we can compare this administration of wants to the user society:\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cimg src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog16\/inside.jpg\"\n    alt=\"the group of people is framed by the wishes.\"\n    width=\"380\" height=\"380\"\/\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote class=\"solo\"\u003EWe see that \u003Cem\u003Eat best\u003C\/em\u003E, wants are good at\n    describing the fringe of the society, but 80% of them are downright\n    far\u0026#8209;out and esoteric.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003ESince wants are so overwhelmingly used in the industry to drive products\n    and projects, there is overwhelming evidence that this leads to awful results.\n    It is completely normal that a majority of time and talent is spent on adding\n    far\u0026#8209;out and esoteric features that are instant\u0026nbsp;bloat.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EAnd thus everybody loses: makers, users and financial\u0026nbsp;backers.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch3\u003Edoing it right\u003C\/h3\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003ENow we are going to stop flirting with disaster.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EUser research avoids all what has been described up to now in this post.\n    The focus\u0026nbsp;is\u0026nbsp;on\u0026#8212;\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cul\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003Efinding out \u003Cstrong\u003Ewhat users\u0026nbsp;need\u003C\/strong\u003E;\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003Equality and depth of these findings;\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003Eunderstanding the mechanisms at\u0026nbsp;play.\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003C\/ul\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EInstead of listening to everbody and their dog, researchers accompany a\n    selection of representative participants on a \u0026#8216;journey\u0026#8216; through\n    the pertaining activity, while constantly picking their\u0026nbsp;brain:\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cimg src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog16\/interview.jpg\"\n    alt=\"six paths run through the group of people, mostly concentrated in the\n    middle, some parts fly further out.\" width=\"380\" height=\"380\"\/\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EAbove, we see depicted that when users still \u003Cem\u003Einsist\u003C\/em\u003E on pushing\n    their wants (i.e. go far out), researchers reel them in by questioning;\n    peeling away layers of rationalisation in order to understand the\n    underlying\u0026nbsp;needs.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThese needs are not exotic, they are basic human needs (e.g. control,\n    overview, feedback, organisation, a stable environment, a simple rule book)\n    that form the center of the picture\u0026#8212;and are central to making it work\n    for\u0026nbsp;users.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EResearchers and designers collaborate on constructing a model\u0026#8212;an\n    understanding\u0026#8212;of the user society. The centre of the picture is where one\n    finds the commonalities in the (analysed) research material:\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cimg src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog16\/heart.jpg\"\n    alt=\"a cloud coincides with the density of the six paths.\"\n    width=\"380\" height=\"380\"\/\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThis is \u003Cem\u003Ethe heart of the matter\u003C\/em\u003E. It is surrounded by the diversity\n    in needs as found by the research. Note that there is a hard edge to this\n    model: what is outside is certainly out\u0026nbsp;of\u0026nbsp;scope.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThe qualitative aspect of research (e.g. taking into account the tone of\n    voice or facial expression when something is stated) makes a world of\n    difference. It is this richness of information that makes user research so\n    effective. We see above that some outliers have been ignored in the user\n    model. This is done with full confidence, based on the research.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch4\u003Ecore, non\u0026#8209;core\u003C\/h4\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003ENow we can compare the needs\u0026#8208;based user model to the user\n    society:\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cimg src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog16\/coverage.jpg\"\n    alt=\"the could of needs hides most of the people.\"\n    width=\"380\" height=\"380\"\/\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThe coverage of the model works out so well, that it is difficult to see\n    the actual users. This is especially true for the heart of the matter. Note\n    that some users at the very fringe of society may \u003Cem\u003Efeel\u003C\/em\u003E left out; they\n    are covered a little bit or not\u0026nbsp;at\u0026nbsp;all.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EIn a design\u0026#8208;driven approach, the needs\u0026#8208;based user model is used\n    to decide which features to add (cover the diversity, but nothing beyond the\n    edge) and where to focus design and development effort (on the heart of\n    the\u0026nbsp;matter).\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch3\u003EA\/B testing\u003C\/h3\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EZooming out, we now can compare the two approaches:\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cimg src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog16\/compare.jpg\"\n    alt=\"the frame of wants around the cloud of needs\"\n    width=\"380\" height=\"380\"\/\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EWhen compared to the results of user research, the bog standard, wildly\n    popular method of \u003Cstrong\u003Elistening to users and\n    their\u0026nbsp;wants\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026#8212;\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cul\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003Efails to record the heart of the\u0026nbsp;matter;\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003Efails to record the diversity of user\u0026nbsp;needs;\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003Eis a list of disparate wishes, instead of a coherent, nuanced insight;\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003Ehighlights the fringe, the far\u0026#8209;out, the esoteric;\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Egets you completely the wrong\u0026nbsp;picture.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003C\/ul\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch4\u003Epostscript\u003C\/h4\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThis past semester I discussed all this with my students at the\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.btk-fh.de\/en\/\"\u003E\u003Cacronym\u003EBTK\u003C\/acronym\u003E design school\u003C\/a\u003E.\n    To get the point across about the dangers of talking to users, I\u0026nbsp;asked them\n    \u0026#8216;do you remember these creatures in mythology that always give you the\n    wrong answer, so that you get\u0026nbsp;lost?\u0026#8217;\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;Yeah\u0026#8217;, they said, \u0026#8216;they are\n    called\u0026nbsp;trolls.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    "},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/comment.g?blogID=28919981\u0026postID=7161669225486288424","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/28919981\/posts\/default\/7161669225486288424"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/28919981\/posts\/default\/7161669225486288424"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2016\/02\/punters-vs-society-an.html","title":"punters vs. society, an\u0026nbsp;illustrated\u0026nbsp;guide"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Anonymous"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/13344735552467622739"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28919981.post-2109137439449880667"},"published":{"$t":"2015-08-21T10:22:00.000+02:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2015-08-21T10:22:24.937+02:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"design stage"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"fundamental"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"top story"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"war and peace"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"war and peace—the 5th column"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan id=\"teaser\"\u003EBuilding out the\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/search\/label\/war%20and%20peace\"\u003Ewar and peace series\u003C\/a\u003E,\n    this second instalment focusses on acts of sabotage performed by users\n    against… users. For those in a hurry, there is a\n    \u003Ca href=\"#inshort\"\u003Eshort, sharp summary\u003C\/a\u003E at\u0026nbsp;the\u0026nbsp;end.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n     \u003Ch3\u003Ecuckoo\u003C\/h3\u003E\n     \n     \u003Cp\u003ELast week my friend \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jancborchardt\"\u003EJan\u0026#8209;C. Borchardt\u003C\/a\u003E\n     \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jancborchardt\/status\/630744332836950016\"\u003Etweeted\u003C\/a\u003E:\u003C\/p\u003E\n     \n     \u003Cblockquote class=\"solo hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;Stop saying »the user« and referring to\n     them as »he«.\u0026nbsp;Thanks!\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n     \u003Cp\u003ETo which I replied:\u003C\/p\u003E\n     \n     \u003Cblockquote class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;\u0026#8220;They\u0026#8221;; it is always a group,\n     a\u0026nbsp;diverse\u0026nbsp;group.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n     \u003Cblockquote class=\"solo hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;But I agree, someone talking about\n     \u0026#8220;the user\u0026#8221; is a tell\u0026#8208;tale sign that they are part of the\n     problem, not the solution.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n     \u003Cp\u003EAll that points at a dichotomy that I meant to blog about for a long\n     time. You see,\n     \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2013\/10\/war-and-peace-abridged-ui.html\"\u003Epart one\u003C\/a\u003E\n     of the war and peace series looked at all four parties involved\u0026#8212;product makers,\n     users, developers and designers\u0026#8212;as separate silos. The logical\n     follow\u0026#8209;up is to look at \u003Cstrong\u003Ehybrid actors\u003C\/strong\u003E: the\n     user\u0026#8208;developer, the product maker\u0026#8208;developer, et\u0026nbsp;cetera.\u003C\/p\u003E\n     \n     \u003Cp\u003EWhile working to provide a theoretical underpinning to 20+\u0026nbsp;years of\n     observation of performance \u003Cem\u003Ein practice\u003C\/em\u003E of these hybrid actors,\n     I\u0026nbsp;noticed that for \u003Cem\u003Eall\u003C\/em\u003E user\u0026#8208;\u003Cacronym\u003EXYZ\u003C\/acronym\u003E\n     hybrids, the \u003Cem\u003Euser\u003C\/em\u003E component has not much in common with the\n     \u003Cem\u003Eusers\u003C\/em\u003E of said product. In general, \u003Cstrong\u003Eindividual users are in\n     conflict with the user group they are\u0026nbsp;part\u0026nbsp;of\u003C\/strong\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\n     \n     \u003Cp\u003EThat merits its own blog post, and here\u0026nbsp;we\u0026nbsp;are.\u003C\/p\u003E\n     \n     \u003Ch3\u003Espy vs. spy\u003C\/h3\u003E\n     \n     \u003Cp\u003EFirst we got to get away from calling this \u0026#8216;user versus\n     users.\u0026#8217; The naming of the two needs to be much more dissimilar, both to\n     get the point across and so that you don\u0026#8217;t have to read the rest of\n     this post with a magnifying glass, just to be sure which one I am\n     talking\u0026nbsp;about.\u003C\/p\u003E\n     \n     \u003Cp\u003EDuring the last months I have been working with the concept of\n     \u003Cstrong\u003Einhabitants vs. their city\u003C\/strong\u003E. The inhabitants stand for\n     individual users, each pursuing their personal interests. All of them are\n     united in the city they have chosen to live in\u0026#8212;think photoshop city,\n     gmail city, etc. Each city stands for a bustling, diverse user\u0026nbsp;group.\u003C\/p\u003E\n     \n      \u003Ch4\u003Einner city blues\u003C\/h4\u003E\n     \n     \u003Cp\u003EWith this inhabitants \u0026 city model, it becomes easier to illustrate the\n     mechanisms of conflict. Let\u0026#8217;s start off with a real\u0026#8208;life example.\u003C\/p\u003E\n     \n    \u003Cp\u003EOver the next years, Berlin needs to build tens of thousands units of\n    affordable housing to alleviate a rising shortage. Because the tens of\n    thousands that annually move to Berlin are (predominantly) looking for its\n    bubbly, relaxed, urban lifestyle, building tower blocks on the edge of town\n    (the modernist dream), or rows of cookie\u0026#8208;cutter houses in suburbia (the\n    anglo\u0026#8208;saxon dream) won\u0026#8217;t solve anything.\u003C\/p\u003E\n     \n     \u003Cp\u003EWhat is needed is development of affordable housing in the large urban\n     area of Berlin. A solid majority of the population of Berlin agrees with this.\n     Under one condition: no new buildings in \u003Cem\u003Etheir\u003C\/em\u003E backyard. And thus almost\n     nothing affordable gets\u0026nbsp;built.\u003C\/p\u003E\n     \n     \u003Cp\u003EWhat can we learn from this? \u003Cstrong\u003ENaturally reactionary inhabitants\n     take angry action to hinder the development that their city really needs.\u003C\/strong\u003E\n     I\u0026nbsp;am sure this rings a bell for many a product\u0026nbsp;maker.\u003C\/p\u003E\n     \n      \u003Ch4\u003Eyee\u0026#8209;haw!\u003C\/h4\u003E\n     \n     \u003Cp\u003EThe second example is completely fictional. A small posse of inhabitants\n     forms and petitions the city to build something for their \u003Cem\u003E(quite)\u003C\/em\u003E\n     special interest: a line\u0026#8208;dancing facility. At first they demand that\n     the city pays for everything \u003Cstrong\u003Eand\u003C\/strong\u003E performs all the work. When\n     this falls on deaf ears, the posse organises a kickstarter where about\n     150\u0026nbsp;backers chip in to secure the financing of the\n     building\u0026nbsp;work.\u003C\/p\u003E\n     \n     \u003Cp\u003EBeing petitioned again, the city asks where this line\u0026#8208;dancing\n     facility could be located. The posse responds that in one of the nicest\n     neighbourhoods there is a empty piece of grassland. The most accessible part\n     of it would be a good location for the facility and its parking\u0026nbsp;lot.\u003C\/p\u003E\n     \n     \u003Cp\u003EThe city responds that this empty grassland host events and community\n     activities on about 100 days a year, many of which are visited by folks from\n     all over the city. And all other days of the year the grassland serves the\n     neighbourhood, simply by being empty and semi\u0026#8208;wild nature; providing a\n     breather between all the dense and busy urbanisation, and a playground\n     for\u0026nbsp;kids.\u003C\/p\u003E\n     \n      \u003Ch4\u003Erepeat after me: yee\u0026#8209;haw!\u003C\/h4\u003E\n     \n     \u003Cp\u003EThis angers the line\u0026#8208;dancing posse. They belittle the events and\n     activities, and don\u0026#8217;t know anyone who partakes in them. The events can\n     be moved elsewhere. The land just sits there, being empty, and is up for\n     grabs. Here they are with a sack of money and a great idea, so let\u0026#8217;s\n     get a\u0026nbsp;move\u0026nbsp;on.\u003C\/p\u003E\n     \n     \u003Cp\u003EThe city then mentions one of its satellite towns, reachable by an\n     expressway. At its edge, there is plenty of open space for expansion. It would\n     be good to talk to the mayor of that town. The posse is now furious. Their\n     line\u0026#8208;dancing facility, which would make such a fine feature for the\n     heart of the city, being relegated to being an appendix of a peripheral\n     module? \u003Cem\u003EImpossible!\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n     \n     \u003Cp\u003EWhat can we learn from this? \u003Cstrong\u003EInhabitants will loudly push their\n     special\u0026#8208;interest ideas, oblivious to the negative impact on their\n     city.\u003C\/strong\u003E Again this must also ring a bell for many product\u0026nbsp;makers.\u003C\/p\u003E\n     \n     \u003Ch3\u003Eleaving the city\u003C\/h3\u003E\n     \n     \u003Cp\u003ENow that the inhabitants \u0026 city model has helped us to find these\n     mechanisms, I\u0026nbsp;must admit there are also some disadvantages to it.\n     First, cities do not scale up or down like user groups do. I\u0026nbsp;have worked\n     on projects ranging from a handful of users (hamlet) to 100\u0026nbsp;million\n     (large country). And yes, the mechanisms hold over this\u0026nbsp;range.\u003C\/p\u003E\n     \n     \u003Cp\u003ESecond, I\u0026nbsp;suspect that many, especially those of a technological\n     persuasion, will take the difference between inhabitants and their city to be\n     that the former are the people, and the latter the physical manifestation,\n     especially buildings and infrastructure.\u003C\/p\u003E\n     \n      \u003Ch4\u003Eno escape\u003C\/h4\u003E\n     \n     \u003Cp\u003EThus we move on for a second time, picking a more generic route, but one\n     with \u003Cem\u003Eattitude\u003C\/em\u003E. For \u003Cem\u003Eindividual users\u003C\/em\u003E I have picked the term\n     \u003Cstrong\u003Epunter\u003C\/strong\u003E. If that smacks to you as \u003Ci\u003Eclientèle\u003C\/i\u003E that is\n     highly opinionated, with a rather parochial view of their environs, then you\n     got my\u0026nbsp;point.\u003C\/p\u003E\n     \n     \u003Cp\u003ENow you may think \u0026#8216;is he picking on certain people?\u0026#8217; No, on\n     the contrary: \u003Cstrong\u003Ewe all are punters\u003C\/strong\u003E, for everything we use:\n     software, devices, websites, services\u0026#8212;hell, all products. You, \u003Cem\u003Eme\u003C\/em\u003E,\n     everyone. We are all just waffling in a self\u0026#8208;centred\u0026nbsp;way.\u003C\/p\u003E\n     \n     \u003Cp\u003EThere is no single exception to the \u003Cem\u003Epunter principle\u003C\/em\u003E, even for\n     people whose job is centred on getting beyond the punter talk and to the\n     heart of the\u0026nbsp;matter. It is simply a force of nature. The moment we\n     touch, or talk about, a product we use, we are a\u0026nbsp;punter.\u003C\/p\u003E\n     \n      \u003Ch4\u003Egreater good\u003C\/h4\u003E\n     \n     \u003Cp\u003EFor the \u003Cem\u003Euser group\u003C\/em\u003E I have picked the term\n     \u003Cstrong\u003Esociety\u003C\/strong\u003E. This works both as a bustling, diverse populace and\n     as a club of people with common interests (the photoshop society, gmail\n     society, product\u0026#8209;\u003Cacronym\u003EXYZ\u003C\/acronym\u003E society). Some of you,\n     especially when active in \u003Cacronym\u003EF\/LOSS\u003C\/acronym\u003E, will say \u0026#8216;is not\n     community the perfect term here?\u0026#8217; It \u003Cem\u003Ewould\u003C\/em\u003E be, if it\n     wasn\u0026#8217;t already squatted.\u003C\/p\u003E\n     \n     \u003Cp\u003EAfter almost a decade in\n     \u003Cacronym\u003EF\/LOSS\u003C\/acronym\u003E I can say that in practice,\n     \u003Cem\u003E\u0026#8216;community\u0026#8217; boils down to a pub full of punters\u003C\/em\u003E (i.e.\n     chats, mailing lists and forums). In those pubs you will hear punters yapping\n     about their pet feature (line dancing) and loudly resisting structural change\n     in their backyard. What you won\u0026#8217;t hear is a civilised, big\u0026#8208;picture\n     discourse about how to advance their society.\u003C\/p\u003E\n     \n      \u003Ch4\u003Eit differs\u003C\/h4\u003E\n     \n      \u003Cp\u003EOne thing that last week\u0026#8217;s exchange with Jan\u0026#8209;C., and also a follow\n     up \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/+petersikking\/posts\/Zv4uQCtF3WX\"\u003Eelsewhere\u003C\/a\u003E,\n     brought \u003Cem\u003Eme\u003C\/em\u003E is the focus on the \u003Cstrong\u003Ediversity\u003C\/strong\u003E of a\n     (product) society. This word wonderfully captures how in dozens and dozens of\n     dimensions people of a society \u003Cstrong\u003Eare\u003C\/strong\u003E different, have different\n     needs and different approaches to get stuff\u0026nbsp;done.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n     \u003Cp\u003EI can now review my work over the last decade and see that diversity\n     is a big factor in making designing for users so demanding. The challenge is\n     to create a compact system that is flexible enough to serve a diverse society\n     (hint: use the common interests to avoid creating a sprawling\u0026nbsp;mess).\u003C\/p\u003E\n     \n     \u003Cp\u003EI can also think of the hundreds of collaborators I worked with and now\n     see what they saw: diversity was either \u0026#8216;invisible,\u0026#8217; in their\n     mono\u0026#8208;cultural environment, or it was such an overwhelming problem that\n     they did not dare tackle it (\u0026#8216;let\u0026#8217;s see what the user asks\n     for\u0026#8217;). \u003Cstrong\u003ETalking about \u0026#8216;the user\u0026#8217; is the\n     tell\u0026#8208;tale sign of a diversity\u0026nbsp;problem.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n     \n     \u003Cp\u003EThe big picture emerges\u0026#8212;\u003C\/p\u003E\n     \n      \u003Cblockquote class=\"solo\"\u003EIf you want to know why technology serves society\n     so badly, look no further than the tech industry\u0026#8217;s problem to acknowledge,\n     and adapt to, the diversity of\u0026nbsp;society.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n     \n     \u003Cp\u003EYes, I can see how the tendency of the tech sector to make products that\n     only its engineers understand has the same roots as the now widely publicised\n     problem that this sector has a hard time being inclusive to anyone who is not\n     a male, \u003Cacromnym\u003EWASP\u003Cacromnym\u003E engineer; \u003Cem\u003Eit is a diversity\n     problem.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n     \n     \u003Ch3\u003Ebut why?\u003C\/h3\u003E\n     \n    \u003Cp\u003EBack to the punters. That we all act like one was described ages ago by \n    \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Tragedy_of_the_commons\"\u003Ethe tragedy of the commons\u003C\/a\u003E.\n    This\u0026nbsp;is\u0026#8212;\u003C\/p\u003E\n     \n     \u003Cblockquote class=\"solo hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;[…] individuals acting\n     independently and rationally according to each\u0026#8217;s self\u0026#8208;interest\n     behave contrary to the best interests of the whole group by depleting some\n     common resource.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n     \n     \u003Cp\u003EIf you think about it for a minute, you can come up with many, many\n     examples individuals acting like that, at the cost of society. The media\n     are filled with it, every\u0026nbsp;day.\u003C\/p\u003E\n     \n      \u003Ch4\u003Ewhat a waste\u003C\/h4\u003E\n     \n     \u003Cp\u003EWhat common resources do punters strive to deplete in (software) products?\n     From my position that is easy to\u0026nbsp;answer\u0026#8212;\u003C\/p\u003E\n     \n     \u003Col\u003E\n     \u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Emakers\u0026#8217; time\u003C\/strong\u003E; both in proprietary and\n     \u003Cacronym\u003EF\/LOSS\u003C\/acronym\u003E, the available time of the product maker, the\n     designer and developers is \u003Cem\u003Escarce\u003C\/em\u003E; it is not a question of money, nor\n     can you simply throw more people at it\u0026#8212;larger teams simply take longer to\n     deliver more mediocre results. To make better products, all makers need to be\n     focussed on what can advance their society; any time spent on punter talk, or acts\n     (e.g. a punter\u0026#8217;s pull request), is wasted time.\u003C\/li\u003E\n     \u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Einteraction bandwidth\u003C\/strong\u003E; this is, loosely, a combination\n     of UI\u0026nbsp;output (screen space, sound and tactile output over time) and input\n     (events from buttons, wheels, gestures), throttled by the limit what humans\n     can process at any given time. Features need interaction and this eats the\n     available bandwidth, fast. In good products, the interaction bandwidth is\n     allocated to serve its whole society, instead of a smattering of punters.\u003C\/li\u003E\n     \u003C\/ol\u003E\n     \n     \u003Cp\u003EThe tragedy of (software) products is that it\u0026#8217;s completely normal that in\n     reaction to punters\u0026#8217; disinformation and acts of sabotage, a majority of\n     maker\u0026#8217;s time and a majority of interaction bandwidth gets\u0026nbsp;wasted.\u003C\/p\u003E\n     \n     \u003Cp\u003EActs of sabotage? \u003Cacronym\u003ESME\u003C\/acronym\u003E software makers of specialised\n     tools know all about fat contracts coming with a list of punter wishes. Even\n     in \u003Cacronym\u003EF\/LOSS\u003C\/acronym\u003E, adoption by a large organisation can come with\n     strings attached. Modern methods are trojan horses of punter\u0026#8208;initiated\n     bounties, crowdfunding or code contributions of their\u0026nbsp;wishes.\u003C\/p\u003E\n     \n     \u003Ch3\u003Ethe point\u003C\/h3\u003E\n     \n     \u003Cp\u003EThis makes punters the\n     \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fifth_column\"\u003Efifth column\u003C\/a\u003E in the\n     UI\u0026nbsp;version of war and peace. Up to now we had four players in our\n     saga\u0026#8212;product maker, users (i.e. the society), developers and the\n     designer\u0026#8212;and here is a fifth: \u003Cstrong\u003Ea trait in all of us\u003C\/strong\u003E\n     within society to say and do exactly that what makes (software) products\n     bloated, useless, collapse under their own weight and burn to the\u0026nbsp;ground.\u003C\/p\u003E\n     \n     \u003Cp\u003EIt is easy to see that punters are the enemy of society and of product\n     makers (i.e. those who aim to make something really valuable for society).\n     Punters have an ally in developers, who love listening to punters and then\n     build their wishes. It makes the both of them feel real warm and fuzzy.\n     \u003Ci\u003E(I\u0026nbsp;am still not decided on whether this is deliberate on the part of\n     developers, or that they are expertly duped by punters offering warmth and\n     fuzziness.)\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n     \n     \u003Cp\u003EThat leaves designers; do they fight punters like dragon slayers? No, not\n     at all. Read\u0026nbsp;on.\u003C\/p\u003E\n     \n      \u003Ch4\u003Ethe dragon whisperer\u003C\/h4\u003E\n     \n    \u003Cp\u003ERemember that punters and society are one and the same thing. The trick is\n    to attenuate the influence of punters to zero; and to tune into the diversity\n    and needs of society and act upon them. Problem is, you only get to talk to\n    punters. Every member of society acts like a punter when they open\n    their\u0026nbsp;mouth.\u003C\/p\u003E\n     \n     \u003Cp\u003EThere is a craft that delivers insight into a society, from working with \n     punters. It is called \u003Cstrong\u003Euser research\u003C\/strong\u003E. There are specialist\n     practitioners (user researchers) and furthermore any designer worth their\n     salt practices this. There is a variety of user research methods, starting\n     with interviewing and surveying, followed up by \u003Cem\u003Econtinuous analysis\u003C\/em\u003E\n     by the designer of \u003Cem\u003Eall\u003C\/em\u003E punter\/society input (e.g. of all that\n     \u0026#8216;community\u0026#8217; pub\u0026nbsp;talk).\u003C\/p\u003E\n     \n       \u003Ch4\u003Ethe billion\u0026#8208;neuron connection\u003C\/h4\u003E\n     \n    \u003Cp\u003EWhat designers do is maintain a model of the diversity and needs of the\n     society they are designing for, from the first to the last minute they are on\n     a project. They use \u003Cem\u003Ethis\u003C\/em\u003E model while solving the\n     product\u0026#8208;users\u0026#8208;tech puzzle, i.e. while designing.\u003C\/p\u003E\n     \n     \u003Cp\u003EWhen the designer is separated from the project (tech folks tend towards\n     that, it\u0026#8217;s a diversity thing) then the model is lost. And so is\n     the\u0026nbsp;project.\u003C\/p\u003E\n     \n     \u003Cp\u003E\u003Ci\u003E(Obligatory health \u0026 safety notice: market research has nothing to do\n     with user research, it is not even a little bit useful in this context.)\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n     \n     \u003Ch3\u003Ebrake, brake\u003C\/h3\u003E\n     \n     \u003Cp\u003EAt this point I would like to review the conflicts and relationships that\n     we saw in\n     \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2013\/10\/war-and-peace-abridged-ui.html\"\u003Epart one\u003C\/a\u003E\n     of war and peace, using the insights we won today. But this blog post is already\n     long enough, so that will have to wait for another\u0026nbsp;day.\u003C\/p\u003E\n     \n     \u003Cp id=\"inshort\"\u003EInstead, here is the short, sharp summary of this\u0026nbsp;post:\u003C\/p\u003E\n     \n     \u003Cul\u003E\n     \u003Cli\u003EUsers groups can be looked at in two ways: as a congregation of \u003Cem\u003Epunters\u003C\/em\u003E\n     and as a\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003Esociety\u003C\/em\u003E.\u003C\/li\u003E\n     \u003Cli\u003EWe all are punters, talking in a in a self\u0026#8208;centred way and acting in\n     our self\u0026#8208;interest.\u003C\/li\u003E\n     \u003Cli\u003EWe are also all members of (product) societies; bustling, diverse populaces\n     and clubs of people with common interests (the photoshop society, gmail\n     society, product\u0026#8209;\u003Cacronym\u003EXYZ\u003C\/acronym\u003E society).\u003C\/li\u003E\n     \u003Cli\u003ENaturally reactionary punters take angry action to hinder structural\n     product development.\u003C\/li\u003E\n     \u003Cli\u003EPunters will loudly push their special\u0026#8208;interest ideas, oblivious to\n     the negative impact on their society.\u003C\/li\u003E\n     \u003Cli\u003EThe diversity of societies poses one of the main challenges in designing\n     for\u0026nbsp;users.\u003C\/li\u003E\n     \u003Cli\u003EThe inability of the tech sector to acknowledge, and adapt to, the\n     diversity of society explains why it tends to produce horrible,\n     tech\u0026#8208;centric products.\u003C\/li\u003E\n     \u003Cli\u003EIn a fine example of \u0026#8216;the tragedy of the commons,\u0026#8217; punters\n     behave contrary to the best interests of their society by depleting\n     makers\u0026#8217; time and interaction bandwidth.\u003C\/li\u003E\n     \u003Cli\u003EPunters act like a fifth column in the tri\u0026#8209;party conflict between\n     product makers, society and developers.\u003C\/li\u003E\n     \u003Cli\u003EYou only get to talk to punters, but pros use user research methods to\n     gain insight into the diversity and needs of a\u0026nbsp;society.\u003C\/li\u003E\n     \u003Cli\u003EEveryone gets bamboozled by punters, but not designers. They use user\n     research and maintain a model of diversity and needs, to design\n     for\u0026nbsp;society.\u003C\/li\u003E\n     \u003C\/ul\u003E\n     \n     \u003Cp\u003EInterested, or irritated? Then (re)read the whole post before commenting.\n     Meanwhile you can look forward to part three of war and peace, the\n     UI\u0026nbsp;version.\u003C\/p\u003E\n     \n"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/comment.g?blogID=28919981\u0026postID=2109137439449880667","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/28919981\/posts\/default\/2109137439449880667"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/28919981\/posts\/default\/2109137439449880667"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2015\/08\/war-and-peace-5th.html","title":"war and peace\u0026#8212;the 5th\u0026nbsp;column"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Anonymous"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/13344735552467622739"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28919981.post-4002596778798703909"},"published":{"$t":"2015-08-07T13:31:00.002+02:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2015-08-07T13:31:43.740+02:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"act to succeed"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"top story"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"why products fail"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"wishful thinking; ignite the shirts"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan id=\"teaser\"\u003EA week ago I presented about my\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/search\/label\/why%20products%20fail\"\u003Ewishful thinking\u003C\/a\u003E\n    and\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/search\/label\/act%20to%20succeed\"\u003Eact to succeed\u003C\/a\u003E\n    series at \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/igniteberlin.com\"\u003EIgnite Berlin\u003C\/a\u003E. That led to\n    some unforeseen developments, with the result that you can look forward to\n    some real cool t\u0026#8209;shirts.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch3\u003Ekaboom!\u003C\/h3\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EThe Ignite format is pretty demanding. I\u0026nbsp;better let them explain it\n    themselves:\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;Each speaker gets 5\u0026nbsp;minutes on stage.\n    20\u0026nbsp;slides, which auto\u0026#8208;forward every 15\u0026nbsp;seconds, no going back. So\n    it\u0026#8217;s pretty brutal, although nothing that a rehearsal\n    can\u0026#8217;t\u0026nbsp;fix.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \u003Ccite\u003Ethe Ignite format, from\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/igniteberlin.com\/briefly-ignite\/\"\u003Etheir about\u0026nbsp;page\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EYes, this is really different than presenting 20 to 45\u0026nbsp;minutes at your\n    own rhythm, which is what I am used to. A strategy, careful planning of the\n    20\u0026nbsp;slides and a generous helping of rehearsal are asked for. What I\n    regularly see at conferences\u0026#8212;some (recycled) slides banged together the\n    night before and winging it during showtime\u0026#8212;is bound to have a 99.99%\n    fail rate at\u0026nbsp;Ignite.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch4\u003Ebang, you win\u003C\/h4\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EThe upside is that the audience wins. All the speakers are an order of\n    magnitude more prepared than they normally would be. There is no time for\n    waffling and even single\u0026#8208;issue talks are engaging for five minutes.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EAt this event there were fourteen talks, two runs of seven each, which\n    sounds like a \u003Cem\u003Elooong\u003C\/em\u003E marathon to sit through. In praxis, one run of\n    seven talks takes 35\u0026nbsp;minutes of pure talk time, plus some for applaus and\n    changeover (everything is pre\u0026#8208;sequenced on a single laptop). Thus in\n    38\u0026#8211;40\u0026nbsp;minutes, seven engaging topics have passed and then it is\n    time for a break, to digest and discuss.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003ESince my talk was scheduled almost at the end of the event,\n    I\u0026nbsp;expected to be too preoccupied to enjoy all these talks before mine. On\n    the night, \u003Cem\u003Eall\u003C\/em\u003E of the talks engaged and entertained me, which put me\n    in a good mood for mine. \u003Ci\u003E(When is the last time you could say that about\n    a\u0026nbsp;conference?)\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch3\u003Eshow and tell\u003C\/h3\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EIn my Ignite talk I showed a selection of wishful\u0026#8208;thinking issues,\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/search\/label\/act%20to%20succeed\"\u003Etogether with the positive action\u003C\/a\u003E\n    that \u003Cstrike\u003Ecan\u003C\/strike\u003E must be taken to remedy them. Meanwhile, I\u0026nbsp;told\n    the back\u0026#8208;story, for instance, that\u0026#8212;\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cul\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003EI have \u003Cem\u003Eseen\u003C\/em\u003E all of this wishful thinking in practice;\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003EI wanted to expose a destructive streak that runs through the\n    \u003Cacronym\u003EIT\u003C\/acronym\u003E\u0026nbsp;industry;\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003Eit was more work to make issues and remedies fit a single tweet, than to\n    come up with\u0026nbsp;them;\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003EI felt that I could go on \u0026#8216;forever\u0026#8217;, but called it\n    quits at\u0026nbsp;fifty;\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003Ebeing in interaction design\u0026#8212;which is essentially product realisation\n    and involves seeing \u003Cstrong\u003Eall\u003C\/strong\u003E dimensions (product, users,\n    tech)\u0026#8212;makes it easy to see the damage from wishful thinking;\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003Eit is a real shame to see the right people, with the right intentions,\n    run projects into the ground through wishful thinking;\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003Ethis is not valid only in \u003Cacronym\u003EIT\u003C\/acronym\u003E, but in any industry;\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003Eplease, it is difficult, but resist the wishful thinking when you believe\n    in what you are working\u0026nbsp;on;\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003Ewhat is needed is process change, which is also difficult, introducing a\n    design process that from the first to the last minute of the project shapes\n    and runs all product realisation, including manufacturing or fixing that\n    final\u0026nbsp;bug.\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003C\/ul\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch4\u003Eaftermath\u003C\/h4\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EI had plenty of interesting discussions after the talks were through, but\n    one really took me by surprise: fellow speaker\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/igniteberlin.com\/2015\/07\/20\/onika-simon\/\"\u003EOnika Simon\u003C\/a\u003E of\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/spokehub.org\/\"\u003ESpokehub\u003C\/a\u003E said something along the lines of\n    \u0026#8216;why don\u0026#8217;t you put this wishful thinking on t\u0026#8209;shirts?\n    There are plenty of people who deserve to\u0026nbsp;get\u0026nbsp;one.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EDuring my talk I had admitted that I am not a product maker and that never\n    in my life I\u0026#8217;ve had a good product idea. Thus it did not surprise me that I\n    never had thought of wishful\u0026#8208;thinking t\u0026#8209;shirts. But now that the\n    genie was out of the bottle, how difficult could\u0026nbsp;it\u0026nbsp;be?\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch4\u003Esnakes and ladders\u003C\/h4\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003ESome parts \u003Cem\u003Ewere\u003C\/em\u003E really straightforward. The content was already\n    there. Deciding what should go on front and back, and picking some\n    free\u0026#8208;as\u0026#8208;in\u0026#8208;speech fonts (right, no pirated components in\n    \u003Cem\u003Emy\u003C\/em\u003E products) was no big deal. Neither was typesetting\n    the\u0026nbsp;texts.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EMaking \u003Cacronym\u003EEPS\u003C\/acronym\u003E files already involved jumping through one hoop\n    (why not accept pdf? It is just about the same tech). Dealing with spreadshirt\n    was a three\u0026#8208;ring circus. Spreadshirt is suppose to make it easy to open\n    your own merchandising outlet, but forget about the easy\u0026nbsp;part.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EI could go on and on, about requiring flash \u0026lt;spit\u0026gt;, crashes, usability\n    disasters, the pervasive \u0026#8216;how do I get that done?\u0026#8217; and \u0026#8216;how\n    do I know it did it?\u0026#8217; anxiety, and only finding out what you will get when\n    you get there. But let\u0026#8217;s say that unless you are a spreadshirt executive,\n    I\u0026nbsp;won\u0026#8217;t bother (you\u0026nbsp;with\u0026nbsp;it).\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch3\u003Elift\u0026#8209;off\u003C\/h3\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EAgainst these odds, I\u0026nbsp;did manage to put up\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/shop.spreadshirt.de\/mmiworks\"\u003Ea t\u0026#8209;shirt shop\u003C\/a\u003E\n    in less than a week. \u003Cstrong\u003EThere is one \u003Cacronym\u003EMVP\u003C\/acronym\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E: a\n    limited\u0026#8208;edition t\u0026#8209;shirt (available one month \u003Cem\u003Eonly\u003C\/em\u003E) in\n    female and male cuts, and two variants, dark and\u0026nbsp;bright:\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/shop.spreadshirt.de\/mmiworks\"\u003E\n    \u003Cimg src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog14\/4shirts.jpg\"\n    alt=\"the bright female, dark female, dark male and bright male wishful\n    thinking shirts\" width=\"380\" height=\"89\"\/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EI found out at the \u003Cem\u003Every end\u003C\/em\u003E, when I got to check it out\n    (typical,\u0026nbsp;eh), that you can change the shirt colour in the shop.\n    Suits me fine; a simple \u0026#8216;menu\u0026#8217; to choose from and then freedom to\n    customise, a\u0026nbsp;bit.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EWhen I checked the\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/search\/label\/why%20products%20fail\"\u003Ewishful thinking\u003C\/a\u003E\n    topic page, I\u0026nbsp;noticed how hard\u0026#8208;hitting these are by themselves, so it\n    was clear that these go, solo, on\u0026nbsp;the\u0026nbsp;front:\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/shop.spreadshirt.de\/mmiworks\"\u003E\n    \u003Cimg src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog14\/shirtfront.jpg\"\n    alt=\"the text on the front of the shirt: the hardware specs are fixed, now\n    we can start with the software design\" width=\"380\" height=\"425\"\/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThis is the wishful thought for August\u0026nbsp;\u0026#8217;15 and you can see that\n    I plunged for the first one I saw. Each month I will pick a different one (no,\n    not in the order on that page) and change the \u0026#8216;bright\u0026#8217;\n    colour\u0026nbsp;scheme.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EOn the back we ensure that everyone gets the\u0026nbsp;point…\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/shop.spreadshirt.de\/mmiworks\"\u003E\n    \u003Cimg src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog14\/shirtback.jpg\"\n    alt=\"the text on the back: wishful thinking breeds failed products\"\n    width=\"380\" height=\"428\"\/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003E…just in case the beholder wishfully thinks the statement on the front\n    \u003Cstrong\u003Eis\u003C\/strong\u003E best\u0026#8208;practice.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch4\u003Epostscript\u003C\/h4\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EAnd out of the blue m+mi\u0026nbsp;works offers a hardware product. It will be\n    fun offering these and I hope spreadshirt cooperates a bit more to keep it\n    that way. I\u0026nbsp;look forward to seeing one of these t\u0026#8209;shirts being worn\n    in\u0026nbsp;the\u0026nbsp;wild.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    "},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/comment.g?blogID=28919981\u0026postID=4002596778798703909","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/28919981\/posts\/default\/4002596778798703909"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/28919981\/posts\/default\/4002596778798703909"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2015\/08\/wishful-thinking-ignite-the.html","title":"wishful thinking; ignite the\u0026nbsp;shirts"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Anonymous"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/13344735552467622739"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28919981.post-4257026074631742462"},"published":{"$t":"2015-06-23T09:24:00.000+02:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2015-06-24T09:25:25.619+02:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"design stage"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"fundamental"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"infrastructure"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"openType"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"practical"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"process"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"product phase"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"product vision"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"top story"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"designing openType‐features UI \/intro"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan id=\"teaser\"\u003EThis blog post kicks off my involvement with bringing\n    openType features to \u003Cacronym\u003EF\/LOSS\u003C\/acronym\u003E (typo\u0026#8208;)graphical\n    software. I\u0026nbsp;will explain why this is a special, complicated project,\n    followed by the approach and structure I will apply to this design project\n    and finish with what to expect as deliverables.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch3\u003Ea bit of a situation\u003C\/h3\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EFirst things first. It is quite likely that when you are reading this, you\n    know what openType features in fonts are. But just in case you don\u0026#8217;t,\n    here is a \n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/typofonderie.com\/font-support\/opentype-features\/\"\u003Efriendly, illustrated explanation\u003C\/a\u003E\n    of \u003Cem\u003Esome\u003C\/em\u003E of the features, without putting you straight into\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/partners.adobe.com\/public\/developer\/opentype\/index_tag3.html\"\u003Ecorporate specification hell\u003C\/a\u003E.\n    The reason I said \u0026#8216;some\u0026#8217; will become clear\u0026nbsp;below.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EWhat is interesting is that \u003Cem\u003Ethere is a riot going on.\u003C\/em\u003E The\n    800\u0026#8209;pound gorillas of (typo\u0026#8208;)graphical software\u0026#8212;the\n    adobe creative suite applications\u0026#8212;have such bad and disparate UI for\n    handling openType features that a grass\u0026#8208;roots protest movement started among\n    typographers and font designers to do something about it. What followed was a\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/ilovetypography.com\/2014\/10\/22\/better-ui-for-better-typography-adobe-petition\/\"\u003Ea petition\u003C\/a\u003E\n    and a hasty promise by adobe to do better\u0026#8212;in the\u0026nbsp;future.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch4\u003Emeanwhile in Toronto…\u003C\/h4\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EThese events prodded Nathan Willis into action, because\n    \u0026#8216;open\u0026#8208;source applications aren\u0026#8217;t any better in this\n    regard.\u0026#8217; He organised a openType workshop at\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/libregraphicsmeeting.org\/2015\/\"\u003Ethis year\u0026#8217;s \u003Cacronym\u003ELGM\u003C\/acronym\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\n    to get a process started to change that. I went there because this is smack\n    in the middle of one of my fields of specialisation: interaction for creatives. As you can read in\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.freesoftwhere.org\/2015\/05\/07\/opentype-workshop-lgm-2015\/\"\u003ENathan\u0026#8217;s report\u003C\/a\u003E,\n    I\u0026nbsp;got immediately drawn into the UI\u0026nbsp;discussion and now we have a\n    loose\u0026#8208;knit project.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EThe contents and vibe of the questions, and my answers, in the\n    UI\u0026nbsp;discussion all pointed in a certain direction, that I was only able to \n    name a day later: harmonised openType features for \u003Cem\u003Eall\u003C\/em\u003E\n    \u003Cacronym\u003EF\/LOSS\u003C\/acronym\u003E (typo\u0026#8208;)graphical applications definitely has\n    an \u003Cstrong\u003Einfrastructure component\u003C\/strong\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch3\u003Ethe untouchables\u003C\/h3\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EPure\u003C\/em\u003E infrastructure\u0026#8212;e.g. tap water, electricity,\n    telecoms\u0026#8212;offers its designers some unique challenges:\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cdl\u003E\n    \u003Cdt\u003Eeverybody uses it\u003C\/dt\u003E\n    \u003Cdd\u003Eand everybody\u0026#8217;s needs are equally important; there is no opportunity\n    to optimise the design for the specific needs of user\u0026nbsp;groups.\u003C\/dd\u003E\n    \u003Cdt\u003Enobody cares\u003C\/dt\u003E\n    \u003Cdd\u003Eusage is ubiquitous, i.e. we all do not even register that we are using\n    this stuff all the time\u0026#8212;until it stops working, then we miss it\n    a hundred times a day. This makes it very hard to research; no recollection,\n    feelings or values are connected to infrastructure, just entitlement.\u003C\/dd\u003E\n    \u003Cdt\u003Eanyplace, anywhere, anytime\u003C\/dt\u003E\n    \u003Cdd\u003Ethere is no specific contextual information to work with: why is it used;\n    what is the goal; what does it mean in the overall scheme of things; how much\n    is a little, and a lot; it is used sparsely, all the time, at regular\n    intervals, in bursts? It all depends and it all happens. Just deal with it,\n    all\u0026nbsp;of\u0026nbsp;it.\u003C\/dd\u003E\n    \u003Cdt\u003Emillions of use cases\u003C\/dt\u003E\n    \u003Cdd\u003E\u003Ci\u003E(not that I consider use cases a method that contributes positively to\n    any software project, but\u0026#8208;)\u003C\/i\u003E in the case of infrastructure something\n    funny and instructive happens: after a week or two of exploration and mapping,\n    the number of use cases grows exponentially towards a million and… keeps on\n    growing. I\u0026nbsp;have seen this happen, it is like peeling an onion and for\n    every layer you peel off, the number goes up by an order of magnitude. These\n    millions of use cases are an expression of \u003Cem\u003Eeverybody\u003C\/em\u003E using it\n    \u003Cem\u003Eanyplace, anywhere, anytime\u003C\/em\u003E.\u003C\/dd\u003E\n    \u003Cdt\u003Eheterogeneous capabilities\u003C\/dt\u003E\n    \u003Cdd\u003Ethis is not always the case, but what is available \u003Cem\u003Ecan\u003C\/em\u003E\n    vary, a lot. For instance public transport: how many connections (incl. zero)\n    are available for a given trip\u0026#8212;and how fast, frequent and  comfortable\n    these are\u0026#8212;is set by the network routes and timetables. An asked\u0026#8209;for\n    capability is on offer, or not. It all depends and it all happens. Just deal\n    with it, all\u0026nbsp;of\u0026nbsp;it.\u003C\/dd\u003E\n    \u003C\/dl\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EI have worked as design\u0026nbsp;lead on two infrastructure projects. One was\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/portfolio\/index.html#dualSIM\"\u003ENokia dual\u0026#8209;\u003Cacronym\u003ESIM\u003C\/acronym\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E,\n    the other\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/search\/label\/openPrinting\"\u003EopenPrinting\u003C\/a\u003E,\n    where we designed printing dialogs for all linux users \u003Ci\u003E(everyone)\u003C\/i\u003E, as\n    used in 10.000 applications \u003Ci\u003E(anyplace, anywhere, anytime)\u003C\/i\u003E, connected to\n    10.000 different printer models \u003Ci\u003E(heterogeneous capabilities)\u003C\/i\u003E. I\u0026nbsp;dubbed\n    it the project with five \u003Ci\u003Emillion use\u0026nbsp;cases\u003C\/i\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EAh, and since both application and printer configure the available options\n    of the print dialog, there are potentially 100\u0026nbsp;million configurations.\n    Even if in reality the variability is \u003Cem\u003Efar\u003C\/em\u003E less (say, just 1% on both\n    application and printer side; i.e. 100 significantly different printer models\n    and 100\u0026nbsp;apps that add serious, vital printing options), then it is still\n    an overwhelming 10.000 configurations.\n    \n    \u003Ch4\u003Edrowning, not waving\u003C\/h4\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EIn my experience, designing infrastructure is very demanding. All the time\n    one switches between making the big, abstract plan for\n    \u003Cem\u003Eeverything\u003C\/em\u003E, and designing, minutely, one of many details in complete\n    isolation. Mid\u0026#8209;level interaction design, the journeyman,\n    run\u0026#8209;of\u0026#8208;the\u0026#8209;mill, lay\u0026#8209;out\u0026#8208;a\u0026#8209;screen level,\n    is completely missing.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EIt is like landscaping a featureless dessert, where every grain of sand is\n    a detail that has to be dealt with. With no focus on particular users, no\n    basis for research, no context, no\n    just\u0026#8209;design\u0026#8208;\u003Cem\u003Ethe\u003C\/em\u003E\u0026#8208;example, millions of use cases and\n    highly variable capabilities, I\u0026nbsp;have seen very capable design colleagues\n    lose their bearings and\u0026nbsp;give\u0026nbsp;up.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch3\u003Eback at the ranch\u003C\/h3\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EEnough war stories. How large is this infrastructure component of openType\n    features in (typo\u0026#8208;)graphical software? Let\u0026#8217;s check the list:\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cul\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Eeverybody uses it\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026#8212;nope. Whether the user groups\n    turn out to be defined real narrow or quite wide\u0026#8212;a matter of\n    \u003Ca href=\"#vision\"\u003Evision\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026#8212;they will have in common that all of them\n    know their typesetting. That is a craft, not common knowledge.\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Enobody cares\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026#8212;well, soon they won\u0026#8217;t. Right now\n    there is upheaval because nothing is working. As soon as users get a working\n    solution in the programs they use, it will become as interesting as the\n    streetlights in your\u0026nbsp;street.\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Eanyplace, anywhere, anytime\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026#8212;right on! This has to\n    work in (typo\u0026#8208;)graphical software; all of it\u0026#8212;even the kind I have\n    never heard of, or that will be invented in five years from now. All we know,\n    is that serious typesetting is performed there by users, on any length of text\n    selection.\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Emillions of use cases\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026#8212;not quite. The limited user\n    group provides the breaks here. But there is no such limit from the\n    application side; on the contrary: most of these are (open\u0026#8208;ended) tools\n    for creatives. Just thinking about how flexible a medium text is, for\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2012\/05\/rethinking-text-handling-in-gimp-1.html#dual\"\u003Einformation or shapes\u003C\/a\u003E,\n    gives me the confidence to say that 10.000 use cases could be compiled, if\n    someone would sit down and do it.\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Eheterogeneous capabilities\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026#8212;hell yeah!\n    OpenType\u0026#8208;features support in fonts is all over the place and not just\n    because of negligence. First there is the kaleidoscopic diversity of scripts\n    used around the world, most of which you and I have never heard of. Latin\n    script is just the tip of the iceberg. Furthermore, what is supported, and how\n    each supported feature is actually realised, is completely up to the font\n    designer. The openType\u0026#8208;features standard is open\u0026#8208;ended and creates\n    opportunities for adding sophistication. This is only limited by the combined\n    imagination of the font design community.\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003C\/ul\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EAdding that up, we get a score of 3\u0026half; out of 5. By doing this exercise\n    I have just found out that openType features in (typo\u0026#8208;)graphical\n    software is 70%\u0026nbsp;infrastructural. This is what I meant with that it is a\n    special, complicated project.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch3\u003Estructure\u0026#8212;the future\u003C\/h3\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EIn projects like these structuring the design work is\n    make\u0026#8209;or\u0026#8208;break; either we set off in the right direction, or never get\n    to \u003Cem\u003Eany\u003C\/em\u003E destination\u0026#8212;not even a wrong one. The structure I use is\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/wedo\/product.html\"\u003Eno secret\u003C\/a\u003E.\n    Here is my adaptation for this project:\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp id=\"vision\"\u003EA \u003Cstrong\u003Eproduct vision\u003C\/strong\u003E is not that easy to formulate\n    for pure infrastructure; it tends to shrink towards \u0026#8216;because it\u0026#8217;s\n    there.\u0026#8217; For instance at openPrinting the vision was \u0026#8216;printing that\n    just works.\u0026#8217; I\u0026nbsp;still regret not having twisted some arms to get a\n    value statement added to that. There were times that this value void was\n    keeping us from creating true next\u0026#8208;generation solutions.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EApart from \u0026#8216;what\u0026#8217;s the value?\u0026#8217; also \u0026#8216;who is this\n    for?\u0026#8217; needs to be clarified; as we saw earlier, openType features is not\n    for everyone. The identity question, \u0026#8216;what is it we are making?\u0026#8217;\n    may be a lot less spectacular, but it needs to be agreed. I\u0026nbsp;will take\n    this to the\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/lists.freedesktop.org\/mailman\/listinfo\/create\"\u003ECreate mailing list\u003C\/a\u003E\n    first, mainly to find out who are the \u0026#8216;fish that swim upfront\u0026#8217;,\n    i.e. the people with vision and drive. Step two is an online vision session,\n    resulting in a defined\u0026nbsp;vision.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThe deliverable is a to\u0026#8209;the\u0026#8208;point vision statement. If you want\n    to get a good picture of what that entails, then I recommend you read this\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2014\/04\/writing-product-vision-for-metapolator.html\"\u003Esuper\u0026#8208;informative blog post\u003C\/a\u003E.\n    Bonus: it is completely font\u0026#8208;related.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch4\u003Ewe want the funk, the whole funk, nothing\u0026nbsp;but\u0026nbsp;the\u0026nbsp;funk\u003C\/h4\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EA deep understanding of the \u003Cstrong\u003Efunctionality\u003C\/strong\u003E is the key to\n    success in this project. I\u0026nbsp;already got burned once with openType features\n    in the \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/search\/label\/metapolator\"\u003EMetapolator\u003C\/a\u003E\n    project. Several font designers told me: \u0026#8216;it is only a bunch of\n    substitution rules.\u0026#8217; Until it turned out it isn\u0026#8217;t. Then at the\n    \u003Cacronym\u003ELGM\u003C\/acronym\u003E meeting another surprise complication surfaced. Later I\n    briefly check the specification and there is yet another.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EThis is what I meant before with that\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/typofonderie.com\/font-support\/opentype-features\/\"\u003Efriendly page\u003C\/a\u003E\n    explaining \u003Cem\u003Esome\u003C\/em\u003E of the features. I\u0026nbsp;do not trust it to be\n    complete (and it is only Latin\u0026#8208;centric, anyway). As interaction\n    architect I will have to be completely on top of the functionality, never\n    having to rely on someone else to explain me what \u0026#8216;is in the box.\u0026#8217;\n    This means knowing the openType standards.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003ECentral to it is the feature tags specification and the feature definition\n    syntax. This contains both the material for understanding of how complicated\n    it \u003Cem\u003Eall\u003C\/em\u003E can get and the structures that I can use to formulate\n    UI\u0026nbsp;solutions. It is one of the few aspects that are firm and finite in\n    this project.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThe deliverable is a functionality overview, written up in the\n    project\u0026nbsp;wiki.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch4\u003Etalking heads\u003C\/h4\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EI will do \u003Cstrong\u003Euser research\u003C\/strong\u003E, say interview half a dozen users,\n    to gain insight into the act of typesetting, the other aspect that is firm and\n    finite in this project. Which users to recruit depends on what is defined in\n    the product vision. Note that the focus is on \u003Cem\u003Ethe essence\u003C\/em\u003E of\n    typesetting, while ignoring its specific role in the different\n    (typo\u0026#8208;)graphical applications, and not get swamped by the latter\u0026#8217;s\n    diversity.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThe deliverable is notes of interest from the interviews, written up\n    in\u0026nbsp;the\u0026nbsp;wiki.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EI look forward to an \u003Cstrong\u003Eexchange with\u003C\/strong\u003E\n    \u003Cacronym\u003EF\/LOSS\u003C\/acronym\u003E (typo\u0026#8208;)graphical \u003Cstrong\u003Eapplications\u003C\/strong\u003E\n    via the Create list. This is not intended to get some kind of inventory of all\n    the apps and how different they are. In this project that is taken as abstract\n    and infinite\u0026#8212;the good old infrastructural way.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EWhat I want to find out is in how many different ways openType features\n    must, or can, be integrated in the UIs of (typo\u0026#8208;)graphical applications.\n    In blunt terms: how much space is there available for this stuff, what shape\n    does it have and what is the duty cycle (permanently displayed, or a\n    pop\u0026#8209;up, or…)? These diverse application needs are clustered into\n    \u003Cem\u003Ejust\u003C\/em\u003E enough \u003Cstrong\u003EUI\u0026nbsp;models\u003C\/strong\u003E (say, six) and\n    used\u0026nbsp;below.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EThe deliverable is the UI\u0026nbsp;models, written up\n    in\u0026nbsp;the\u0026nbsp;wiki.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch4\u003Egetting an eyeful\u003C\/h4\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EThen it is time to do an \u003Cstrong\u003Eexpert evaluation\u003C\/strong\u003E of existing\n    openType\u0026#8208;features\u0026nbsp;UI and all these UI\u0026nbsp;ideas offered by users when the\n    petition did its rounds. All of these get evaluated against\u0026#8212;\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cul\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003Ethe product vision: does it realise the goals? Is it appropriate for the\n    defined user\u0026nbsp;groups?\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003Ethe functionality: can it cope with the heterogeneous capabilities?\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003Ethe user research: how tuned is it for the essence of typesetting?\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003Ethe UI\u0026nbsp;models: how well does it fit with each\u0026nbsp;model?\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003C\/ul\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EAll of it gets analysed, then sorted into the good, the bad and the ugly.\n    There will be a tiny amount of gold, mostly in the form ideas and\n    intentions\u0026#8212;not really what one would call a design\u0026#8212;and a large\n    catalog of what exactly \u003Cstrong\u003Enot\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;to\u0026nbsp;do.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EThe deliverable is notes of interest from the evaluation, written up\n    in\u0026nbsp;the\u0026nbsp;wiki.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch4\u003Ewarp drive\u003C\/h4\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EThen comes the moment to stop looking backwards and start working forwards;\n    to start creating the future. First a \u003Cstrong\u003Esolutions model\u003C\/strong\u003E is\n    made. This is a combination of a broad\u0026#8208;strokes solution that cuts the\n    project down to manageable proportions and a defined approach how to deal with\n    the rest, the more detailed design\u0026nbsp;work.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EThe next stage is to design a \u003Cstrong\u003Egeneric solution\u003C\/strong\u003E, one that\n    already deals with all of it, all the hairy stuff: text selections of any\n    length, all the heterogeneous capabilities, the typesetting workflow, clear\n    representation of all openType features available and their current state.\n    This will be specified in a wiki, in the form of UI\u0026nbsp;patterns.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EWith the generic solution in place it will be real clear for the central\n    software library in this small universe, HarfBuzz, which new capabilities it\n    will need to offer to \u003Cacronym\u003EF\/LOSS\u003C\/acronym\u003E (typo\u0026#8208;)graphical\n    software.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch4\u003Ehome straight\u003C\/h4\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EThe final design phase is to work out the generic \u003Cstrong\u003Esolution for each\n    UI\u0026nbsp;model\u003C\/strong\u003E. These will still be toolkit agnostic (not specific for\n    \u003Cacronym\u003EKDE\u003C\/acronym\u003E or gnome) and, btw, for desktop\u0026nbsp;UI\u0026#8208;only\n    (touch is a whole \u0026#8217;nother kettle of fish). This will also be specified\n    in\u0026nbsp;the\u0026nbsp;wiki.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EWith this, every (typo\u0026#8208;)graphical software project can go to the\n    wiki, pick a UI\u0026nbsp;model that most matches their own UI structure and see a\n    concrete UI\u0026nbsp;design that, with a minimum of adaptations, they can\n    implement in their own application. They will find that HarfBuzz fully supports\n    their implementation.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EWhile working on Metapolator in the last year I had good experience with\n    sharing what I was doing almost every day I was working on it, through\n    \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/communities\/110027004108709154749\"\u003Eits community\u003C\/a\u003E.\n    There were encouragement, ideas, discussions, petitions and\n    corrections\u0026#8212;all useful. I\u0026nbsp;think this can be replicated on the\n    Create\u0026nbsp;list.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/comment.g?blogID=28919981\u0026postID=4257026074631742462","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/28919981\/posts\/default\/4257026074631742462"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/28919981\/posts\/default\/4257026074631742462"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2015\/06\/designing-opentype-intro.html","title":"designing openType\u0026#8208;features\u0026nbsp;UI \/intro"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Anonymous"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/13344735552467622739"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28919981.post-7693682657634463270"},"published":{"$t":"2015-06-11T12:48:00.001+02:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2015-06-11T12:52:40.960+02:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"act to succeed"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"practical"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"top story"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"a half‑century of success"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan id=\"teaser\"\u003EThis is the final instalment of the mini\u0026#8208;series I ran on the usual\n    social channels\u0026#8212;\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/peter_works\"\u003Etwitter\u003C\/a\u003E,\n    \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/101901813675356116026\"\u003Eg+\u003C\/a\u003E,\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/petersikking\"\u003Elinkedin\u003C\/a\u003E and\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.xing.com\/profile\/peter_sikking\"\u003Exing\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026#8212;called\n    \u003Ci\u003Epositive action ships successful products\u003C\/i\u003E. There, for every\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/search\/label\/why%20products%20fail\"\u003Ewishful thought\u003C\/a\u003E\n    that persists in the (mobile) software industry, I\u0026nbsp;supplied a complementary\n    positive\u0026nbsp;action.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003ETo complete the round number of fifty, I\u0026nbsp;present the final\n    dozen\u0026nbsp;+ two of these for your reference. If you are a product maker, or\n    manage a product\u0026#8208;shipping organisation, then you can initiate at least\n    one of these\u0026nbsp;today:\u003C\/p\u003E\n          \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"act1\"\u003EMake the lead designers of your hard\u0026#8208; and software\n    work as a pair; make them inseparable.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003E\u003Ci\u003Ecf.\u003C\/i\u003E \u0026#8216;The hardware specs are fixed, now we can start with\n    the software\u0026nbsp;design.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"act2\"\u003EDefine your focus so tightly, it hurts (a bit); deploy\n    it so you ship, instead of\u0026nbsp;discuss.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003E\u003Ci\u003Ecf.\u003C\/i\u003E \u0026#8216;We spent ages discussing this, trying to find a\n    solution that pleased everyone.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"act3\"\u003EMake interaction design the backbone of your product\n    realisation; or compete on low, low\u0026nbsp;price.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003E\u003Ci\u003Ecf.\u003C\/i\u003E \u0026#8216;We thought we could spend a couple of man\u0026#8208;days on the\n    low\u0026#8208;hanging usability\u0026nbsp;fruit.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"act4\"\u003EDeploy lightweight design and engineering documentation\n    to keep everyone with the programme.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003E\u003Ci\u003Ecf.\u003C\/i\u003E \u0026#8216;The source is the ultimate documentation.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"act5\"\u003EBan hacks, at least from those who are supposed to shape\n    your product for the long\u0026nbsp;term.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003E\u003Ci\u003Ecf.\u003C\/i\u003E \u0026#8216;There is no need to go for the gold\u0026#8208;taps solution.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"act6\"\u003ESet a \u0026#8216;feature budget\u0026#8217; and set it way below bloat; be frugal, spend it on user\u0026nbsp;value.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003E\u003Ci\u003Ecf.\u003C\/i\u003E \u0026#8216;It does not hurt to have those features as\u0026nbsp;well.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"act7\"\u003ESet the goal to be competitive on each platform you\n    support\u0026#8212;that starts with your interaction.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003E\u003Ci\u003Ecf.\u003C\/i\u003E \u0026#8216;One code base; fully cross\u0026#8208;platform.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"act8\"\u003ERoot out boilerplate thinking for any product aspect; your design process is\u0026nbsp;your\u0026nbsp;\u003Cacronym\u003EQA\u003C\/acronym\u003E.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003E\u003Ci\u003Ecf.\u003C\/i\u003E \u0026#8216;You have to pick your battles.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"act9\"\u003ESet up your designers for big impact on the internals of your software, instead of vice\u0026nbsp;versa.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003E\u003Ci\u003Ecf.\u003C\/i\u003E \u0026#8216;Once you get familiar with the internal workings of\n    our software, it becomes easy\u0026nbsp;to\u0026nbsp;use.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"act10\"\u003EDefine your target user group(s) so tightly, it hurts;\n    focus on their needs, exclusively.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003E\u003Ci\u003Ecf.\u003C\/i\u003E \u0026#8216;Our specific target user group is: everyone.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"act11\"\u003EIntroduce this \u003Cacronym\u003EKPI\u003C\/acronym\u003E: the more your\n    developers think the UI is \u0026#8216;on the wrong track,\u0026#8217;\n    the\u0026nbsp;better.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003E\u003Ci\u003Ecf.\u003C\/i\u003E \u0026#8216;Our developers are very experienced; they make the UI\n    of their modules as they\u0026nbsp;see\u0026nbsp;fit.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"act12\"\u003EHire those who are able to take your interaction beyond\n    the \u003Cacronym\u003EHIG\u003C\/acronym\u003E, once you achieve compliance.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003E\u003Ci\u003Ecf.\u003C\/i\u003E \u0026#8216;We religiously adhere\n    to\u0026nbsp;the\u0026nbsp;\u003Cacronym\u003EHIG\u003C\/acronym\u003E.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"act13\"\u003ERegularly analyse workarounds adopted by your users;\n    distill from them additional user\u0026nbsp;needs.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003E\u003Ci\u003Ecf.\u003C\/i\u003E \u0026#8216;You can do that by [writing, running] a\u0026nbsp;script.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"act14\"\u003EMake the connection: product\u0026#8211;users\u0026#8211;tech. Design is the process, the solution and realisation.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003E\u003Ci\u003Ecf.\u003C\/i\u003E \u0026#8216;What do you mean \u0026#8220;it\u0026#8217;s all\n    connected\u0026#8221;? we just don\u0026#8217;t have the time for those bits\n    and\u0026nbsp;pieces.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch3\u003Eask not what this blog can do for\u0026nbsp;you…\u003C\/h3\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003ENow, what else can \u003Cem\u003Eyou\u003C\/em\u003E do? First of all, you can spread the word; share this\n    blog post. Second, I\u0026nbsp;invite you to connect via\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/peter_works\"\u003Etwitter\u003C\/a\u003E,\n    \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/101901813675356116026\"\u003Eg+\u003C\/a\u003E,\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/petersikking\"\u003Elinkedin\u003C\/a\u003E,\n    or\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.xing.com\/profile\/peter_sikking\"\u003Exing\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\n          \n    \u003Cp\u003EAnd third, if you \u003Cem\u003Eable and willing\u003C\/em\u003E to take some positive action, then\n    \u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Ca href=\"\u0026#109;\u0026#097;\u0026#105;\u0026#108;\u0026#116;\u0026#111;:%70%65%74%65%72%40%6d%6d%69%77%6f%72%6b%73%2e%6e%65%74\"\u003Eemail\u003C\/a\u003E\n    or call us\u003C\/strong\u003E. We will happy to help you ship successful products.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp class=\"double\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003Eps:\u003C\/i\u003E you can check out\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2014\/01\/12-you-can-do-to-enterprise.html\"\u003Epart three\u003C\/a\u003E\n    if you missed\u0026nbsp;it.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/comment.g?blogID=28919981\u0026postID=7693682657634463270","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/28919981\/posts\/default\/7693682657634463270"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/28919981\/posts\/default\/7693682657634463270"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2015\/06\/a-half-of-success.html","title":"a half\u0026#8209;century of success"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Anonymous"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/13344735552467622739"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28919981.post-4195889010825641636"},"published":{"$t":"2015-06-04T10:13:00.000+02:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2015-06-04T10:13:56.408+02:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"design stage"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"lecture"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"metapolator"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"practical"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"top story"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"designing interaction for creative pros \/3"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan id=\"teaser\"\u003EPart three of my \n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/libregraphicsmeeting.org\/2015\/\"\u003E\u003Cacronym\u003ELGM\u003C\/acronym\u003E\u0026nbsp;2015\u003C\/a\u003E\n    lecture\u003C\/span\u003E (here is part\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2015\/05\/designing-interaction-for-creative.html\"\u003Eone\u003C\/a\u003E and\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2015\/05\/designing-interaction-for-creative_12.html\"\u003Etwo\u003C\/a\u003E).\n    \u003Cspan id=\"teaser\"\u003EIt is about \u003Ci\u003Eequal opportunities\u003C\/i\u003E in creative\u0026#8208;pro interaction.\n    To see what I mean, let\u0026#8217;s make something: a\u0026nbsp;square.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch3\u003Etwo\u0026#8208;way street\u003C\/h3\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EThere are two ways for masters to get the job done. The first way is to\n    start somewhere and to keep chipping away at it until\n    it\u0026nbsp;is\u0026nbsp;right:\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cimg class=\"cited\" src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog14\/freesquare.gif\"\n    alt=\"creating a square by starting with a rectangle, putting it bottom-left\n    corner into place, then size the top-right one to perfection\"\n    width=\"380\" height=\"240\"\/\u003E\n    \u003Ccite\u003Eheads up: animated\u0026nbsp;gif\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003ESo let\u0026#8217;s throw in some material, move and size it\n    \u003Cem\u003E(\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2015\/05\/designing-interaction-for-creative_12.html#speed\"\u003Ebam, bam, bam\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/em\u003E\u0026#8212;right,\n    done. That was quick and the result is\u0026nbsp;perfect.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch4\u003Elike putty\u003C\/h4\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EThis is called free working; squeeze it until it feels right. It is always\n    \u003Cem\u003Ehands\u0026#8209;on\u003C\/em\u003E and I always move both my hands in a moulding motion\n    when I think of it, to remind me what it feels\u0026nbsp;like.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EAlthough done by feeling, it is still fast and furious. Don\u0026#8217;t mistake\n    this for \u0026#8216;trying out\u0026#8217;, \u0026#8216;fiddling\u0026#8217; or\n    \u0026#8216;let\u0026#8217;s see where we end up\u0026#8217;; that is for dilettantes. When\n    masters pick up their tools, it is with great confidence that the result they\n    have in mind will be achieved in a predictable, and short, amount\n    of\u0026nbsp;time.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch4\u003Eon the other hand…\u003C\/h4\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EThe second way for masters to get the job done is to plan a bit and\n    then create a precise, parametric, set\u0026#8209;up:\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cimg src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog14\/jig.png\"\n    alt=\"top, bottom, left and right guide lines that mark out the perfect square\"\n    width=\"380\" height=\"240\"\/\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThis is called a \u003Cstrong\u003Ejig\u003C\/strong\u003E. Now the master only has to\n    \u0026#8216;cut\u0026#8217; once and a perfect result is achieved:\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cimg class=\"cited\" src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog14\/measuredsquare.gif\"\n    alt=\"top, bottom, left and right guide lines appear one by one, then the\n    perfect square appears between them\" width=\"380\" height=\"240\"\/\u003E\n    \u003Ccite\u003Eanother animated\u0026nbsp;gif\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch4\u003Emeasure twice, cut once\u003C\/h4\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EThis is called measured working. It is an analytical approach and involves\n    planning ahead. It delivers precise results, to the limits of the medium.\n    You will find it in many places; everywhere where the \u003Cem\u003Ehands\u0026#8209;on\u003C\/em\u003E\n    factor is zero, parameters are entered and\u0026#8212;\u003Cem\u003Ebam\u003C\/em\u003E\u0026#8212;the result\n    is achieved in one\u0026nbsp;stroke.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EIt might be tempting to think that setting up the jig always involves\n    punching in numbers. However also making choices from discrete sets, e.g.\n    picking a color from a set of swatches, is part of it. Thus it is better to\n    talk in general of entering parameters.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch3\u003Eold\u0026#8208;skool\u003C\/h3\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EI did not make up all this by myself. I\u0026nbsp;am indebted to this very cool\n    book that goes deep into the matter of free and measured working, as practiced\n    for centuries by masters. Luckily it is back in\u0026nbsp;print:\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cimg src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog14\/workmanship.jpg\"\n    alt=\"the cover of the book the nature and art of workmanship, by david pye\"\n    width=\"380\" height=\"546\"\/\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EOnce familiar with this duality in how masters work, it can be used to\n    analyse their workflows. For instance while reading\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.soundonsound.com\/sos\/sep99\/articles\/tracks.htm\"\u003Ethis article\u003C\/a\u003E\n    about Brian Eno working with the band\u0026nbsp;James.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EIn the sidebar (\u003Ci\u003EEno\u0026#8217;s Gear\u003C\/i\u003E) it says \u0026#8216;I don\u0026#8217;t think\n    he even saves the sounds that he gets. He just knocks them up from scratch\n    every time\u0026#8217; about using one piece of gear, and \u0026#8216;It\u0026#8217;s stuffed\n    full of his own presets\u0026#8217; about another. Reading that, I\u0026nbsp;thought:\n    that has, respectively, the \u003Cem\u003Evibe\u003C\/em\u003E of free and measured working.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EI have looped that insight back into my designs of creative\u0026#8208;pro\n    software from then on. That is, giving equal importance to users building a\n    collection of presets and knocking\u0026#8209;it\u0026#8209;up\u0026#8208;from\u0026#8208;scratch\n    for tool set\u0026#8209;ups, configuring the work environment and assets (brush\n    shapes, patterns, gradients, et\u0026nbsp;cetera).\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003E\u003Ci\u003E(There are more nuggets of that\u0026#8217;s\u0026#8208;how\u0026#8208;masters\u0026#8208;work in the\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.soundonsound.com\/sos\/sep99\/articles\/tracks.htm\"\u003EEno article\u003C\/a\u003E;\n    see if you can spot\u0026nbsp;them.)\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch3\u003Ethe point\u003C\/h3\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EAnd with that I have arrived at rule numero one of this blog\u0026nbsp;post:\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote class=\"solo\"\u003EAll masters work free and measured; the only thing\n    predictable about it is that it occurs 50\u0026#8211;50, with\n    no\u0026nbsp;patterns.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EWe \u003Cem\u003Ecannot\u003C\/em\u003E rely on a given master taking the same route\u0026#8212;free\n    or measured\u0026#8212;for all the different tasks they perform. It\u0026#8217;s a mix,\n    and a different mix for every master. Thus design strategies based on\n    \u0026#8216;remember if this user tends to do things free or measured\u0026#8217;\n    are\u0026nbsp;flawed.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EWe \u003Cem\u003Ecannot\u003C\/em\u003E rely on a given task being predominantly performed via\n    either route\u0026#8212;free or measured\u0026#8212;by masters. It\u0026#8217;s a mix, a\n    50\u0026#8211;50 mix. Thus design strategies based on \u0026#8216;analyse the task; is\n    it free or measured?\u0026#8217; are\u0026nbsp;flawed.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch4\u003Esame, not same\u003C\/h4\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EThe same master doing the same task will pick a different route\u0026#8212;free\n    or measured\u0026#8212;at different times, based on the context they are in. For\n    instance how difficult the overall project is. And for sure their own mood\n    plays a role; are they under stress, are they tired (that night shift meeting\n    that deadline)?\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EMasters will guesstimate the shortest route to success under the\n    circumstances\u0026#8212;and then take\u0026nbsp;it.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch4\u003Edig it\u003C\/h4\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EWith this 50\u0026#8211;50 mix and no patterns, software for creative pros has\n    only one\u0026nbsp;choice:\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cblockquote class=\"solo\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEqual opportunity:\u003C\/strong\u003E offer every\n    operation that users can perform in\u0026#8212;at least\u0026#8212;two ways: one free,\n    one measured.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EIf you now say either \u0026#8216;\u003Cem\u003Eman\u003C\/em\u003E, this will double my software in\n    size\u0026#8217;, or \u0026#8216;yeah, my software already does that\u0026#8217;, then my\n    reply is: experience says that once we really start checking, you will see\n    that current creative\u0026#8208;pro software achieves 60\u0026#8211;80% equal\n    opportunity.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch4\u003Ehow low can you go?\u003C\/h4\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EThe question is not how do we prevent this list of operations from\n    ballooning. It is: are there any more innocent, boring, easy to overlook\n    operations to go on our list? For instance: setting the document size. Yeah\n    boring, but often enough key to the creative result. A crop tool is the free\n    way to do that operation.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EFrom the Brian Eno episode above we have seen that it is not enough to\n    filter the operations list by \u0026#8216;does it change the creative end\n    result?\u0026#8217; There we saw that \u003Cem\u003Emeta\u003C\/em\u003E\u0026#8208;operations (set up tools,\n    configuring the work environment and assets) are also fully in\u0026nbsp;scope.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch3\u003Epicture show\u003C\/h3\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003ETo illustrate all this, let\u0026#8217;s look at some of my designs for\n    Metapolator.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cimg class=\"cited\" src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog14\/parameterpanel.gif\"\n    alt=\"the parameters panel listing type parameters on both master and glyph level,\n    for each parameter values, modifications and effective values are listed.\n    a popup is used to add a math operator (+) to a parameter (tension)\"\n    width=\"380\" height=\"390\"\/\u003E\n    \u003Ccite\u003Ea final animated\u0026nbsp;gif\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThis is measured central: the parameters panel. \u003Cem\u003ELiterally\u003C\/em\u003E here\n    parameters are entered and\u0026#8212;\u003Cem\u003Ebam\u003C\/em\u003E\u0026#8212;applied. With the popup\n    action shown the system is taken to the next level. Preferably for\n    wide\u0026#8208;ranging selections, expressions of change (e.g.\n    new\u0026nbsp;value\u0026nbsp;= A\u0026nbsp;×\u0026nbsp;old\u0026nbsp;+\u0026nbsp;B) can be\u0026nbsp;built.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cimg src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog14\/handles.jpg\"\n    alt=\"the curve of the blowl stroke of the b glyph is being edited with use of\n    some big handles\" width=\"380\" height=\"182\"\/\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EMost on\u0026#8209;canvas interaction is by nature of the free variety. The\n    hands\u0026#8209;on factor is simply up for grabs. In Metapolator this interaction\n    complements the parameter panel shown above to achieve equal opportunity.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cimg src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog14\/specimen.jpg\"\n    alt=\"a specimen is shown with a text generated out of all letter-pair\n    combinations out of the word adhesion\" width=\"380\" height=\"231\"\/\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003ESpecimens are a huge factor in the Metapolator design. It is\n    \u003Cstrong\u003Ethe\u003C\/strong\u003E place to evaluate if the typefaces are \u003Cem\u003Eright\u003C\/em\u003E.\n    That makes it also the logical place to squeeze it until it is right: free\n    working.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EAll on\u0026#8209;canvas interaction is performed directly in the specimens for\n    this reason. If that looks natural and normal to you, I\u0026nbsp;say\n    \u0026#8216;you\u0026#8217;re welcome.\u0026#8217; This is completely novel in the field of\n    font design software.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cimg src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog14\/4sliders.jpg\"\n    alt=\"four sliders for mixing fonts, above each slider blue markers, below\n    each a number equivalent to its setting\" width=\"380\" height=\"183\"\/\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EHere are these fellows\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2015\/05\/designing-interaction-for-creative_12.html#4sliders\"\u003Eagain\u003C\/a\u003E,\n    the slider set for freely mixing master fonts to make new fonts. These new\n    fonts are shown by the blue markers, so that users can \u003Cem\u003Efeel\u003C\/em\u003E the\n    clustering and spread of these new fonts\u0026#8212;clearly a component of free\n    working.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EThe numbers you see are all editable, also quickly in a row. This supports\n    measured working. That number input is straightforward and gives predictable\n    and repeatable results was a big factor for me to choose the algorithm of these\n    sliders over alternatives.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch3\u003Eboom, boom\u003C\/h3\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIn short:\u003C\/strong\u003E software for creative pros has to offer every operation\n    that users can perform in two ways: one free\u0026#8212;squeeze it until it feels\n    right\u0026#8212;one measured\u0026#8212;involving planning ahead, entering parameters\n    and \u0026#8216;cutting\u0026#8217;\u0026nbsp;once.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EThat\u0026#8217;s it for part three. Stay tuned for part four: \u003Ci\u003Ehow to\n    be\u0026nbsp;good.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/comment.g?blogID=28919981\u0026postID=4195889010825641636","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/28919981\/posts\/default\/4195889010825641636"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/28919981\/posts\/default\/4195889010825641636"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2015\/06\/designing-interaction-for-creative.html","title":"designing interaction for creative\u0026nbsp;pros\u0026nbsp;\/3"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Anonymous"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/13344735552467622739"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28919981.post-3491983286245962250"},"published":{"$t":"2015-05-12T19:29:00.000+02:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2015-06-11T12:54:39.410+02:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"design stage"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"lecture"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"metapolator"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"practical"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"designing interaction for creative pros \/2"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan id=\"teaser\"\u003EPart two of my \n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/libregraphicsmeeting.org\/2015\/\"\u003E\u003Cacronym\u003ELGM\u003C\/acronym\u003E\u0026nbsp;2015\u003C\/a\u003E\n    lecture\u003C\/span\u003E (here is\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2015\/05\/designing-interaction-for-creative.html\"\u003Epart one\u003C\/a\u003E).\n    \u003Cspan id=\"teaser\"\u003EIt is \u003Ci\u003Ea tale of cars\u003C\/i\u003E. For many years I have\n    had these images in my head and used them in my design practice.\u003C\/span\u003E\n    Let\u0026#8217;s check them\u0026nbsp;out.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch3\u003Efreude am fahren\u003C\/h3\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EFirst up is the family\u0026nbsp;car:\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cimg class=\"cited\" src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog14\/audi100.jpg\"\n    alt=\"a catalog shot of a family car\" width=\"380\" height=\"235\"\/\u003E\n    \u003Ccite\u003Esource: \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/netcarshow.com\/audi\/1991-100\/\"\u003Enetcarshow.com\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EIt stands for general software. It is comfortable, safe and\n    general\u0026#8208;purpose. All you need to use it is a minimum of skills,\n    familiarity and practice\u0026#8212;in the case of cars this is covered by\n    qualifying for a driving licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EIn the case of software, we are talking casual and enthusiast use. A good\n    example is web browsers. One can start using them with a minimum of skills and\n    practice. After gaining some experience one can comfortably\n    \u003Cstrike\u003Edrive\u003C\/strike\u003E use a browser on a daily basis. If a pro web browser\n    exists, then it has escaped my\u0026nbsp;radar.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003E\u003Ci\u003E(It \u003Cem\u003Ewould\u003C\/em\u003E make a very interesting project, a pro web browser.\n    But first a product maker would have to stand up with a solid vision of pro\n    web browsing; its user groups; and some big innovation that is valuable for\n    these\u0026nbsp;users.\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch3\u003Evroooom\u003C\/h3\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EWhen I think of creative pro interfaces, I\u0026nbsp;think of\u0026nbsp;this:\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cimg class=\"cited\" src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog14\/quatro.jpg\"\n    alt=\"a rally car blasting around a corner on a rallystage in nature\"\n    width=\"380\" height=\"285\"\/\u003E\n    \u003Ccite\u003Esource: \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/imgbuddy.com\/audi-quattro-rally-wallpaper.asp\"\u003Eimgbuddy.com\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThe rally car. It is still a car, but… different. It is defined by\n    performance. And from \u003Cem\u003Ethat\u003C\/em\u003E, we can learn a couple of\u0026nbsp;things.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch4 id=\"speed\"\u003Espeed, baby\u003C\/h4\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EFirst, creative pros work fast. They \u0026#8216;wield the knife\u0026#8217; without\n    doubt. A telltale sign of mastery is the speed of execution. I\u0026nbsp;have this\n    in mind all the time when designing for creative\u0026nbsp;pros.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EI vividly remember one of the earliest \u003Cacronym\u003ELGM\u003C\/acronym\u003Es, \u003Ca\n    href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AndyFitz\"\u003EAndy Fitzsimon\u003C\/a\u003E went on stage and\n    demonstrated combining pixel and vector in one image. The pace was impressive,\n    Andy was performing nearly two operations per\u0026nbsp;second.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBam bam bam bam\u003C\/strong\u003E. At a tempo of 120 beats per minute; the\n    solid tempo of marching bands and disco. That is the rhythm I aim to support,\n    when designing for creative\u0026nbsp;pros.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch4\u003Ecommand and control\u003C\/h4\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp id=\"material\"\u003ESecond, creative pros really know their material, the medium\n    they work with. They can, and need to, work with this material as direct and\n    intimate as possible, in order to fulfil creative or commecial goals. This all\n    can be technology\u0026#8208;assisted, as it is with software, but the technology\n    has to stay out of the way, so that it does not break the bond between master\n    and material.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EThe material I am talking about is that of film, graphics, music,\n    animation, garments, et cetera. These can be digital, yes. However data and\n    code of the software\u0026#8208;in\u0026#8208;use are not part of a creative pro\u0026#8217;s\n    material. Developers are always shocked, angry, then sad to\n    learn\u0026nbsp;this.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EThus \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/search\/label\/metapolator\"\u003EMetapolator\u003C\/a\u003E,\n    has been designed for font designers and typographers who know what makes a\n    font and what makes it tick. They know the role of the strokes, curves,\n    points, the black and the white, and of the spacing. They are experienced in\n    shaping these to get results. It is this material that\u0026#8212;by\n    design\u0026#8212;Metapolator users access, just that it is organised such that\n    they can work ten times\u0026nbsp;faster.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch4\u003Edog eat dog\u003C\/h4\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EThird, it\u0026#8217;s a competitive world. Creatives pros are not just in\n    business. Also in zero\u0026#8208;budget circles there are real fun and\/or\n    prestigious projects where exactly those with proven creative performance, and\n    ability to deliver, get\u0026nbsp;asked.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003ETools and software are in constant competition, also in the world of\n    \u003Cacronym\u003EF\/LOSS\u003C\/acronym\u003E. It is a constant tussle: which ones provide\n    \u003Cem\u003Enext\u003C\/em\u003E\u0026#8208;generation workflows with more speed and\/or more room for\n    creativity? Only competitive tools make masters competitive.\u003C\/p\u003E \n\n    \u003Ch3\u003Ethe point\u003C\/h3\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003ENow that we got the picture, here is the conflict. The rules\u0026#8212;the law\n    and industry mores\u0026#8212;that make good family cars \u003Cem\u003Emay\u003C\/em\u003E be a bad idea\n    to apply to rally cars. And what makes rally cars competitive, \u003Cem\u003Emay\u003C\/em\u003E\n    simply be illegal for family\u0026nbsp;cars.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EEvery serious software platform has its \u003Cacronym\u003EHIG\u003C\/acronym\u003E (human\n    interface guidelines). It is the law, a spiritual guide and a huge source of\n    security for developers. That is, for general software. It is only partly\n    authoritative for software for creative pros. Because truly sticking to the\n    \u003Cacronym\u003EHIG\u003C\/acronym\u003E, while done all in good faith, will render creative pro\n    software non\u0026#8208;competitive.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch4\u003Evorsprung durch technik\u003C\/h4\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003ERally cars contain custom parts, handmade from high performance materials\n    like aluminium, titanium, carbon, etc. This is expensive and done because\n    nothing off\u0026#8208;the\u0026#8208;shelf is sufficient.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003ESimilarly creative pro software contains custom widgets, handmade at great\n    expense\u0026#8212;in design and development. For a decade I have witnessed that it\n    is a force of nature to end up in that situation. Not for the sake of being cool\n    or different, but all in the name of performance.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch4\u003Etough cookie\u003C\/h4\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003ESo, with loose laws and a natural tendency for custom widgets, can you do\n    just what you like when you make creative pro software? Well no. \u003Cstrong\u003EIt is\n    tough, you still have to do the right thing.\u003C\/strong\u003E If this situation makes\n    you feel rather lost, without guidance, then reach out and find yourself an\n    interaction designer who really knows \u003Cem\u003Ethis type\u003C\/em\u003E of \u003Ca\n    href=\"material\"\u003Ematerial\u003C\/a\u003E. Make them your compass.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch3\u003Epicture show\u003C\/h3\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003ETo illustrate all this, let\u0026#8217;s look at some of my designs for\n    Metapolator.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cimg src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog14\/bighandles.jpg\"\n    alt=\"of a glyph—surrounded by two others—all the points that make up its\n    skeleton are connected by outward radiating lines to big circular handles\"\n    width=\"380\" height=\"277\"\/\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003ESpeed, baby! Big handles to select and move individual points on the\n    skeleton of a glyph \u003Ci\u003E(i.e. direct control of the material)\u003C\/i\u003E. During a\n    brainstorm session with Metapolator product visionary Simon Egli, he noticed\n    how the points could be connected by \u003Cem\u003Erigid sticks\u003C\/em\u003E to\n    big\u0026nbsp;handles.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EI worked out the design with big (fast) handles available for furious\n    working, but out of the way of the glyph, so it can be continuously evaluated\n    \u003Ci\u003E(unbroken workflow)\u003C\/i\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cimg id=\"4sliders\" src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog14\/4sliders.jpg\"\n    alt=\"four sliders for mixing fonts, one is reversed and has its thumb aligned\n    with another slider\" width=\"380\" height=\"183\"\/\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThis is a custom slider set for freely mixing master\n    fonts\u0026#8212;metapolation\u0026#8212;to make new fonts. In this case four fonts, but\n    it has been designed to easily scale up to nine or more; a Metapolator\n    strength \u003Ci\u003E(vis\u0026#8209;à\u0026#8208;vis the competition)\u003C\/i\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EOne of the sliders\u0026#8212;\u0026#8216;Alternate\u0026#8217;\u0026#8212;is in an\n    \u0026#8220;illegal\u0026#8221; configuration; it is reversed. This is done to implement\n    the rule that the mix of fonts has to always add up to 100%. There is special\n    coupled behaviour between the sliders to ensure\u0026nbsp;that.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EThe design of this part included a generous amount of\n    \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/metapolator\/metapolator\/wiki\/metapolation\"\u003Eexploration\u003C\/a\u003E\n    and several major revisions. Standard widgets and following the\n    \u003Cacronym\u003EHIG\u003C\/acronym\u003E would not deliver that every sliders setting\n    maps to one unique font mix. Apart from a consistency goal, that is also about\n    maximising input resolution. So I broke some rules and went\u0026nbsp;custom.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cimg src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog14\/3Dcross.jpg\"\n    alt=\"a crossing 2-D axies system coupled to a single axis, with at least\n    3 fonts on each axis, with a font family and a single font instance placed\n    on them\" width=\"380\" height=\"390\"\/\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThis is also a metapolation control. In this case a three\u0026#8208;dimensional\n    one involving eight master fonts. Working with that many fonts is really a pro\n    thing; you have to know what you are doing and have the experience\n    to set up, identify and pick the \u0026#8216;good font\u0026#8217; results.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EThe long blue arrow is a font family, with nine or so fonts as members. The\n    whole family can be manipulated as one entity (i.e. placed and spanned in this\n    \u003Cacronym\u003E3\u003C\/acronym\u003E\u0026#8209;\u003Cacronym\u003ED\u003C\/acronym\u003E space) as can each member\n    font individually.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cimg src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog14\/3x3selected.jpg\"\n    alt=\"glyphs a, b and c set in 3 different fonts, with point selections across them\"\n    width=\"380\" height=\"190\"\/\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EFinal example: complex selections. Across three different fonts and three\n    different glyphs, several points have been selected. Now they can be\n    manipulated at the same time. That is definitely not consumer\u0026#8209;grade.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EIf that looks easy, I\u0026nbsp;say \u0026#8216;you\u0026#8217;re welcome.\u0026#8217; It takes\n    serious planning ahead in the design to allow this interaction; for the three\n    fonts to appear, editable, at the same time; for deep selections within\n    several glyphs to be possible and manageable\u0026#8212;the big\n    handles\u0026#8209;on\u0026#8208;sticks help also\u0026nbsp;here.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch3\u003Evroom, vroom\u003C\/h3\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIn short:\u003C\/strong\u003E if there is one thing that I want you to take\n    away from this blog post, then it is that image of the rally car. How\n    different its construction, deployment and handling are. Making software for\n    creative pros means making a product that is definitely not\n    consumer\u0026#8209;grade.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EThat\u0026#8217;s it for part two. Go straight to part three: \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2015\/06\/designing-interaction-for-creative.html\"\u003E50\u0026#8211;50,\n    equal opportunities\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/comment.g?blogID=28919981\u0026postID=3491983286245962250","title":"2 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/28919981\/posts\/default\/3491983286245962250"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/28919981\/posts\/default\/3491983286245962250"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2015\/05\/designing-interaction-for-creative_12.html","title":"designing interaction for creative\u0026nbsp;pros\u0026nbsp;\/2"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Anonymous"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/13344735552467622739"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"2"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28919981.post-8854448829703816536"},"published":{"$t":"2015-05-07T19:23:00.000+02:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2015-06-11T12:54:39.424+02:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"lecture"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"metapolator"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"practical"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"process"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"product phase"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"product vision"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"designing interaction for creative pros \/1"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"    \u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan id=\"teaser\"\u003ELast week at\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/libregraphicsmeeting.org\/2015\/\"\u003E\u003Cacronym\u003ELGM\u003C\/acronym\u003E\u0026nbsp;2015\u003C\/a\u003E\n    I did a lecture on one of my fields of specialisation:\n    designing interaction for creatives. There were four sections and\n    I will cover each of them in a separate blog post. Here is part\u0026nbsp;one.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EThe lecture coincided with the launch of \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/metapolator.com\/purple-pill\/\"\u003Ethe demo\u003C\/a\u003E of\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/search\/label\/metapolator\"\u003EMetapolator\u003C\/a\u003E,\n    a project I have been working on since \u003Cacronym\u003ELGM\u003C\/acronym\u003E\u0026nbsp;2014. All the\n    practical examples will be from that project and my\n    designs\u0026nbsp;for\u0026nbsp;it.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch3\u003Esee what I mean?\u003C\/h3\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;So what\u0026#8217;s Metapolator?\u0026#8217; you might ask.\n    Well, there is a definition for\u0026nbsp;that:\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;Metapolator is an open web tool for making many fonts.\n    It supports working in a font design space, instead of one glyph, one face,\n    at\u0026nbsp;a\u0026nbsp;time.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;With Metapolator, \u0026#8220;pro\u0026#8221; font designers are\n    able to create and edit fonts and font families much faster, with inherent\n    consistency. They gain unique exploration possibilities and the tools to\n    quickly adapt typefaces to different media and domains\u0026nbsp;of\u0026nbsp;use.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;With Metapolator, typographers gain the possibility to\n    change existing fonts\u0026#8212;or even create new ones\u0026#8212;to\n    their\u0026nbsp;needs.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;Metapolator is extendible through plugins and custom\n    specimens. It contains all the tools and fine control that designers need to\n    finish\u0026nbsp;a\u0026nbsp;font.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch4\u003Etheme time\u003C\/h4\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EThat is the\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/search\/label\/product%20vision\"\u003Eproduct vision\u003C\/a\u003E\n    of Metapolator, which I helped to define the moment I got involved with the\n    project. You can read all about that in\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2014\/04\/writing-product-vision-for-metapolator.html\"\u003Ethe making\u0026#8209;of\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EOne of the key questions answered in a product vision is: \u003Cem\u003Ewho is this for?\u003C\/em\u003E\n    And with that, I\u0026nbsp;have arrived at what this blog post is\u0026nbsp;about:\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cblockquote class=\"solo\"\u003EProducts need a clear, narrow definition of their\n    target users groups. Software for creatives needs a clear definition\n    whether it is for professionals, or\u0026nbsp;not.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EChecking the vision, we see that Metapolator user groups are well defined.\n    They are \u0026#8216;\u0026#8220;pro\u0026#8221; font designers\u0026#8217; and\n    \u0026#8216;typographers.\u0026#8217; The former are pro by definition and the latter\n    come with their own full set of baggage; they are pro by implication.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch4\u003Edefine it like a pro\u003C\/h4\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EBut what does pro actually mean? And why is it in quotes in the Metapolator\n    vision? Well, the rather down\u0026#8208;to\u0026#8208;earth definition of\n    professional\u0026#8212;earning money with an occupation\u0026#8212;is not helping us\n    here. There are many making\u0026#8208;the\u0026#8208;rent professionals who are\n    terrible hacks at what they\u0026nbsp;do.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EInstead it is useful to think of pros as \u003Cem\u003Ethose who have mastered a\n    craft\u003C\/em\u003E\u0026#8212;a creative craft in our case. Examples of these are drawing,\n    painting; photographing, filming, writing, animating, and editing these;\n    sewing, the list goes on\u0026nbsp;and\u0026nbsp;on.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EMaking software for creative pros means making it for those who have\n    \u003Cem\u003Eworked\u003C\/em\u003E at least 10.000 hours in that field, honing their craft. And\n    also making it for for the apprentices and journeymen who are working to get\n    there. These two groups do not need special \u0026#8216;training wheels\u0026#8217;\n    modes; they just need to get their hands dirty with\n    the real\u0026nbsp;thing.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch3\u003Ethe point\u003C\/h3\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EThe real world just called and left a\u0026nbsp;message:\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cblockquote class=\"solo\"\u003Emaking it for pros comes\n    at\u0026nbsp;a\u0026nbsp;price.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EFirst of all, it is very demanding\u0026#8212;I\u0026nbsp;will cover this in the\n    follow\u0026#8209;up posts. Second, it puts some real limits on \u003Cem\u003Ewho\n    else\u003C\/em\u003E you can make it for. Making\u0026nbsp;it\u0026nbsp;for…\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cdl\u003E\n    \u003Cdt\u003Epros\u003C\/dt\u003E\n    \u003Cdd\u003Eis perfectly focussed, to meet those demanding\u0026nbsp;needs.\u003C\/dd\u003E\n    \u003Cdt\u003Epros\u0026nbsp;+ enthusiasts\u003C\/dt\u003E\n    \u003Cdd\u003E(the latter also known as prosumers.) This compromises how good one can make\n    it for pros; better keep in check how sprawling that enthusiast faction is\n    allowed\u0026nbsp;to\u0026nbsp;be.\u003C\/dd\u003E\n    \u003Cdt\u003E\u003Cstrike\u003Epros\u0026nbsp;+ enthusiasts\u0026nbsp;+ casual\u0026nbsp;users\u003C\/strike\u003E\u003C\/dt\u003E\n    \u003Cdd\u003Eforget it, because pros and casual have diametrically opposite needs.\n    There is no \u003Cem\u003Eroom\u003C\/em\u003E in the UI for both, and with room I mean screen real\n    estate and communication bandwidth.\u003C\/dd\u003E\n    \u003Cdt\u003E\u003Cstrike\u003Epros\u0026nbsp;+ casual\u0026nbsp;users\u003C\/strike\u003E\u003C\/dt\u003E\n    \u003Cdd\u003Efor the same reasons one can royally forget about this one too.\n    Enough\u0026nbsp;said.\u003C\/dd\u003E\n    \u003C\/dl\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch4\u003Ethe fall\u0026#8208;out\u003C\/h4\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EYou might think: \u0026#8216;duh, that speaks for itself, just make the right\n    choice and roll with it.\u0026#8217; If it was only that easy. My experience has\n    been that projects \u003Cem\u003Ereally\u003C\/em\u003E do not like to commit here, especially when\n    they know the consequences outlined above. And when they did make a choice,\n    I\u0026nbsp;have seen the natural tendency to worm out of\u0026nbsp;it\u0026nbsp;later.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EI guess that having clear goals is scary for quite a few folks. Having\n    focussed user groups means saying \u0026#8216;we don\u0026#8217;t care about you\u0026#8217;\n    to vast groups of people. Only the visionary think of that as positive.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EFurthermore, clear goals are a fast and effective tool to weed out bad\n    ideas, on an industrial scale. That\u0026#8217;s good for the product, but upsets\n    the people who came up with these ideas. So they renegotiate on the clear\n    goals, attacking the root of the rejection.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch4\u003Eno fudging!\u003C\/h4\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIn short:\u003C\/strong\u003E define it; is your software for creatives made\n    for pros, or not? Then compile a set of coherent user groups. In the case of\n    Metapolator the \u0026#8216;pro\u0026#8217; font designers and typographers fit together\n    beautifully. Once defined, stick with\u0026nbsp;it.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EThat\u0026#8217;s it for part one. Here is part two: \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2015\/05\/designing-interaction-for-creative_12.html\"\u003Ea\n    tale of\u0026nbsp;cars.\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp class=\"double\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E[editor\u0026#8217;s note: Gee Peter, this post contains\n    a lot of talk about pros, but where is the creative angle?]\u003C\/i\u003E\n    True, the gist this post is valid for all professionals.\n    The upcoming parts will feature more \u0026#8216;creative\u0026#8217; content,\n    more Metapolator, and illustrations.\u003C\/p\u003E"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/comment.g?blogID=28919981\u0026postID=8854448829703816536","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/28919981\/posts\/default\/8854448829703816536"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/28919981\/posts\/default\/8854448829703816536"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2015\/05\/designing-interaction-for-creative.html","title":"designing interaction for creative\u0026nbsp;pros\u0026nbsp;\/1"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Anonymous"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/13344735552467622739"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28919981.post-4521584410131200752"},"published":{"$t":"2014-04-25T22:01:00.000+02:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2015-06-11T12:54:39.415+02:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"metapolator"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"product phase"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"product vision"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"writing a product vision for Metapolator"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"    \u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan id=\"teaser\"\u003EA week ago I kicked off my involvement with the\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/metapolator.com\/\"\u003EMetapolator\u003C\/a\u003E project as I always do:\n    with a product vision session.\u003C\/span\u003E Metapolator is an\n    \u003Ca jref=\"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/communities\/110027004108709154749\/\"\u003Eopen project\u003C\/a\u003E\n    \u003Cem\u003Eand\u003C\/em\u003E it was the first time I did the session online, so you have the chance to see the\n    \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/events\/cmq6h9j3m858vtgq9rhf4gu8pok\"\u003Esession recording\u003C\/a\u003E\n    (warning: 2\u0026half;\u0026nbsp;hours long), which is a\n    \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/+JakubSteiner\/posts\/Zvaw1Hr3c3b\"\u003Erare opportunity\u003C\/a\u003E\n    to witness such a highly strategic meeting; normally this is top\u0026#8208;secret\u0026nbsp;stuff.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch3\u003Eboom boom\u003C\/h3\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EFor those not familiar with a\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/search\/label\/product%20vision\"\u003Eproduct vision\u003C\/a\u003E, \n    it is a statement that \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/wedo\/product.html\"\u003Ewe define\u003C\/a\u003E\n    as \u0026#8216;the heartbeat of your product, it is what you are making, reduced down\n    to its core essence.\u0026#8217; A clear vision helps a project to focus, to fight off\n    distractions and to take tough design decisions.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003ETo get a vision on the table I moderate a session with the people who\n    \u003Cem\u003Edrive\u003C\/em\u003E the product development, who I simply ask \u0026#8216;what is it\n    we are making, who is it for, and where is the value?\u0026#8217; The session lasts\n    until I am satisfied with the answers. I\u0026nbsp;then write up the vision\n    statement in a few short paragraphs and fine-tune it with the session\n    participants.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003ETo cut to the chase, here is the product vision statement for Metapolator:\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;Metapolator is an open web tool for\n    making many fonts. It supports working in a font design space, instead of one\n    glyph, one face, at\u0026nbsp;a\u0026nbsp;time.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;With Metapolator, \u0026#8220;pro\u0026#8221; font\n    designers are able to create and edit fonts and font families much faster,\n    with inherent consistency. They gain unique exploration possibilities and the\n    tools to quickly adapt typefaces to different media and domains\u0026nbsp;of\u0026nbsp;use.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;With Metapolator, typographers gain the\n    possibility to change existing fonts\u0026#8212;or even create new ones\u0026#8212;to\n    their\u0026nbsp;needs.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;Metapolator is extendible through plugins\n    and custom specimens. It contains all the tools and fine control that\n    designers need to finish\u0026nbsp;a\u0026nbsp;font.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch3\u003Emass deconstruction\u003C\/h3\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EI think that makes it already quite clear what Metapolator is. However, to\n    demonstrate what goes into writing a product vision, and to serve as a more\n    fleshed out \u003Cem\u003Evision briefing\u003C\/em\u003E, I\u0026nbsp;will now discuss it sentence\n    by\u0026nbsp;sentence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;Metapolator is an open web tool for\n    making many\u0026nbsp;fonts.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cul\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003EThere is no standard template for writing a product vision, the structure\n    it needs is as varied as the projects I work with. But then again it has\n    always worked for me to lead off with a statement of\n    \u003Cstrong\u003Eidentity\u003C\/strong\u003E; to start answering the question \u0026#8216;what is it\n    we are making?\u0026#8217; And here we\u0026nbsp;have\u0026nbsp;it.\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Eopen\u003C\/strong\u003E or libre? This was discussed during the session. At\n    the end \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/100858309774292261525\/posts\"\u003ESimon Egli\u003C\/a\u003E,\n    Metapolator founder and driving force, wanted to express that we aim beyond\n    just libre (i.e. open source code) and that \u0026#8216;open\u0026#8217; also\n    applies to the vibe of the tool on the user\u0026nbsp;side.\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Eweb\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026#8209;based: this is not just a statement of the\n    technology used, of the fact that it runs in the browser. It is also a solid\n    commitment that it runs on all desktops\u0026#8212;mac, win and linux. And it\n    implies that starting to use Metapolator is as easy as clicking\/typing the\n    right \u003Cacronym\u003EURL\u003C\/acronym\u003E; nothing more required.\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Etool\u003C\/strong\u003E or application? The former fits better with the\n    fact that font design and typography are master crafts (I\u0026nbsp;can just\n    \u003Cem\u003Esee\u003C\/em\u003E the tool in the hand of the\u0026nbsp;master).\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Emaking\u003C\/strong\u003E or designing fonts? I\u0026nbsp;have learned in the last\n    couple of weeks that there is a font design phase where a designer\n    concentrates on shaping eight strategic characters (for latin fonts). This is\n    followed by a production phase where the whole character set is fleshed out,\n    the spacing between all character pairs set, then different weights (e.g. thin\n    and bold) are derived and maybe also narrow end extended variants. This\n    phase is very laborious and often outsourced.\n    \u0026#8216;Making\u0026#8217; fonts captures both design and production\u0026nbsp;phases.\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Emany fonts\u003C\/strong\u003E: this is the heart of the matter. You can see\n    from the previous point that making fonts is  up to now a piecemeal activity.\n    Metapolator is going to change that. It is dedicated to either making many\n    different fonts in a row, or a large font family,  even a collection of\n    related families. The implication is that in the user interaction of\n    Metapolator the focus is on making many fonts and the user \u003Cem\u003Eneeds\u003C\/em\u003E for\n    making many fonts take precedence in all design decisions.\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003C\/ul\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;It supports working in a font design\n    space, instead of one glyph, one face, at\u0026nbsp;a\u0026nbsp;time.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cul\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003EThe first sentence said that Metapolator is going to change the world\u0026#8212;by\n    introducing a tool for making many fonts, something not seen before; this second\n    one tells\u0026nbsp;us\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003Ehow\u003C\/strong\u003E.\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Esupports\u003C\/strong\u003E is not a word one uses lightly in a vision.\n    \u0026#8216;Supports \u003Ci\u003E\u003Cacronym\u003EXYZ\u003C\/acronym\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026#8217; does not mean it is just\n    technically possible to do \u003Ci\u003E\u003Cacronym\u003EXYZ\u003C\/acronym\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E; it means here that\n    this is going to be a world\u0026#8208;class product to do\n    \u003Ci\u003E\u003Cacronym\u003EXYZ\u003C\/acronym\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E, which can only be realised with\n    world\u0026#8208;class user interaction\n    to\u0026nbsp;do\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cacronym\u003EXYZ\u003C\/acronym\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E.\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Edesign space\u003C\/strong\u003E is one of these wonderful things that come\n    up in a product vision session. Super\u0026#8208;user Wei Huang coined the phrase\n    when describing working with the current version of Metapolator. It captures\n    very nicely the working in a continuum that Metapolator supports, as\n    contrasted with the traditional piecemeal approach, represented by \u0026#8216;one\n    glyph, one face, at a time.\u0026#8217; What is great for a vision is that\n    \u0026#8216;design space\u0026#8217; captures the vibe that working with metapolator\n    should have, but that it is not explicit on the realisation of it. This means\n    there is room for innovation, through technological \u003Cacronym\u003ER\u0026D\u003C\/acronym\u003E and\n    interaction\u0026nbsp;design.\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003C\/ul\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;With Metapolator, \u0026#8220;pro\u0026#8221; font\n    designers are able to create and edit fonts and font families much faster,\n    with inherent consistency.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cul\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003EWith \u003Cstrong\u003E\u0026#8220;pro\u0026#8221; font designers\u003C\/strong\u003E we encounter the\n    first user group, starting to answer \u0026#8216;who is it for?\u0026#8217;\n    \u0026#8220;Pro\u0026#8221; is in quotes because it is not the\n    earning\u0026#8209;a\u0026#8208;living part that interests us, it is the fact that these\n    people mastered a\u0026nbsp;craft.\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Ecreate and edit\u003C\/strong\u003E balances the two activities; it is not all about\n    creating from\u0026nbsp;scratch.\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Efonts and font families\u003C\/strong\u003E balances making very different fonts\n    with making families; it is not all about the\u0026nbsp;latter.\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Emuch faster\u003C\/strong\u003E is the first value statement, starting to\n    answer \u0026#8216;where is the value?\u0026#8217; Metapolator stands for an impressive\n    speed increase in font design and production, by abolishing the piecemeal\n    approach.\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Einherent consistency\u003C\/strong\u003E is the second value statement.\n    Because the work is performed by users in the font design space, where\n    everything is connected and continuous, the conventional user overhead of\n    keeping everything consistent disappears.\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003C\/ul\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;They gain unique exploration\n    possibilities and the tools to quickly adapt typefaces to different media and\n    domains\u0026nbsp;of\u0026nbsp;use.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cul\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Eexploration possibilities\u003C\/strong\u003E is part feature, part value\n    statement, part field of use and part vibe. All these four are\n    completely different things (e.g. there is inherently zero value in a feature),\n    captured in two\u0026nbsp;words.\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Equickly adapt\u003C\/strong\u003E is a continuation of the \u0026#8216;much faster\u0026#8217;\n    value statement above, highlighting complementary fields of use\u0026nbsp;for\u0026nbsp;it.\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003C\/ul\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;With Metapolator, typographers gain the\n    possibility to change existing fonts\u0026#8212;or even create new ones\u0026#8212;to\n    their\u0026nbsp;needs.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cul\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003EAnd with \u003Cstrong\u003Etypographers\u003C\/strong\u003E we encounter the second user group.\n    These are people who use fonts, with a whole set of typographical skills and\n    expertise implied.\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Epossibility to change\u003C\/strong\u003E is the value statement for this\n    user group. This is a huge deal. Normally typographers have neither the skills,\n    nor the time, to modify a font. Metapolator will open up this world to them,\n    with that fast speed and inherent consistency that was mentioned\u0026nbsp;before.\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Ecreate new\u003C\/strong\u003E goes one step further than the previous point.\n    Here we have now a commitment to enable more ambitious typographers\n    (that is what \u0026#8216;even\u0026#8217; stands for) to create new\u0026nbsp;fonts.\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Eto their needs\u003C\/strong\u003E is a context we should be aware of.\n    These typographers will be designing something, anything with text, and that\n    is their main goal. Changing or creating a font is for them a worthwhile\n    way to get it done. But it is only part of their job, not \u003Cem\u003Ethe\u003C\/em\u003E job.\n    Note that the needs of typographers includes applying some\n    very heavy graphical treatments to\u0026nbsp;fonts.\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003C\/ul\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;Metapolator is extendible through plugins\n    and custom specimens.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cul\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Eextendible through plugins\u003C\/strong\u003E is one realisation of the\n    \u0026#8216;open\u0026#8217; aspect mentioned in the first sentence. This makes\n    Metapolator a platform and its extendability will have to be taken into account\n    in every step of its\u0026nbsp;design.\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Ecustom specimens\u003C\/strong\u003E is slightly borderline to mention in a\n    vision; you could say it is just a feature. I\u0026nbsp;included it because it\n    programs the project to properly \u003Cem\u003Esupport\u003C\/em\u003E working with type\n    specimens.\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003C\/ul\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;It contains all the tools and fine control that\n    designers need to finish\u0026nbsp;a\u0026nbsp;font.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cul\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Eall the tools\u003C\/strong\u003E: this was the result of me probing during\n    the vision session whether Metapolator is thought to be part of a tool chain, or\n    independent. This means that it must be designed to work\n    stand\u0026#8209;alone.\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Efine control\u003C\/strong\u003E: again the result of probing, this time\n    whether Metapolator includes the finesse to take care of those important\n    details, on a glyph level. Yes, it all needs to\u0026nbsp;be\u0026nbsp;there.\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Ethat designers need\u003C\/strong\u003E makes it clear by whose\n    standards the tools and control needs to be made: that of the two user\u0026nbsp;groups.\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003C\/ul\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch3\u003Ethis space has intentionally been left\u0026nbsp;blank\u003C\/h3\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EJust as important as what it says in a product vision is what it\n    doesn\u0026#8217;t say. What it does not say Metapolator is, Metapolator is\n    explicitly not. Not a vector drawing application, not a type layout program,\n    not a system font manager, not a tablet or smartphone\u0026nbsp;app.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThe list goes on and on, and I am sure some users will come up with highly\n    creative fields of use. That is up to them, maybe it works out or they are\n    able to cover their needs with a plugin they write, or have written for them.\n    For the Metapolator team that is charming to hear, but definitely out of\u0026nbsp;scope.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EUser groups that are not mentioned, i.e. everybody who is not a\n    \u0026#8220;pro\u0026#8221; font designer or a typographer, are welcome to check out\n    Metapolator, it is free software. If their needs overlap partly with that of\n    the defined user groups, then Metapolator will work out partly for them. But\n    the needs of all these users are of no concern to the Metapolator\u0026nbsp;team.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EIf that sounds harsh, then remember what a product vision is for: it helps\n    a project to focus, to fight off distractions and to take tough design\n    decisions. That part starts\u0026nbsp;now.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    "},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/comment.g?blogID=28919981\u0026postID=4521584410131200752","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/28919981\/posts\/default\/4521584410131200752"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/28919981\/posts\/default\/4521584410131200752"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2014\/04\/writing-product-vision-for-metapolator.html","title":"writing a product vision for Metapolator"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Anonymous"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/13344735552467622739"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28919981.post-4488524689304474861"},"published":{"$t":"2014-03-18T10:50:00.000+01:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2014-03-18T11:08:20.180+01:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"fundamental"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"process"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"top story"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"a Maslow hierarchy of software making"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"    \u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan id=\"teaser\"\u003EThis morning, I\u0026nbsp;whipped up a\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs\"\u003EMaslow hierarchy\u003C\/a\u003E\n    for breakfast, one for the activity of software\u0026nbsp;making\u003C\/span\u003E:\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cimg src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog14\/Maslow.png\"\n         alt=\"the Maslow hierarchy of software making\" width=\"380\" height=\"450\"\/\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan id=\"teaser\"\u003EMy thoughts started where one normally starts explaining\n    the hierarchy: at the bottom.\u003C\/span\u003E I\u0026nbsp;recalled what I wrote here\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2013\/04\/collisions-in-software-projects-and.html\"\u003Ea\u0026nbsp;while\u0026nbsp;ago\u003C\/a\u003E:\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cblockquote class=\"hang solo\"\u003E\u0026#8216;\u003Cem\u003EEveryone\u003C\/em\u003E knows that in order to get\n    software, it needs to get built, i.e.\u0026nbsp;code developed.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EAnd with that I had my first, \u0026#8216;physiological\u0026#8217; level of software\n    making: to \u003Cstrong\u003Ebuild\u003C\/strong\u003E. Without it, there is nothing. This is the\n    hammer and saw level; just cut it to size and nail it\u0026nbsp;together.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EYou would be surprised how much software is made like this\u0026#8212;yes, also\n    for top\u0026nbsp;dollar.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch3\u003Emoving on up\u003C\/h3\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EThe next level is to \u003Cstrong\u003Eengineer\u003C\/strong\u003E. At this point one is not\n    just cobbling code together, there is also thought and structure involved, on\n    a technological level. This is all about avoiding chaos, being able to scale\n    up\u0026#8212;in size and complexity\u0026#8212;and code being maintainable in\n    the\u0026nbsp;future.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EWe can use these two levels to illustrate a common source of strife in\n    software development outsourcing. The customer thinks they will get an\n    engineered solution for their money; the supplier thinks they can just\n    \u003Cem\u003Ebuild\u003C\/em\u003E whatever passes the acceptance\u0026nbsp;tests.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EMaslow\u0026#8217;s second level is called \u003Cem\u003Esafety\u003C\/em\u003E. Somehow that\n    matches quite well with what software engineering is\u0026nbsp;about.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch4\u003Ea giant leap\u003C\/h4\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EOne level up is a whole new ballgame: to \u003Cstrong\u003Eplan features\u003C\/strong\u003E.\n    This requires having a\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.mmiworks.net\/wedo\/product.html\"\u003Eproduct vision\u003C\/a\u003E and\n    picking only those features that make the product stronger, while saying\n    \u0026#8216;no\u0026#8217; to 95%\u0026nbsp;of the features that users, marketing and\n    engineering come\u0026nbsp;up\u0026nbsp;with.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EThis is the entry level for putting some purpose into the activity; to make\n    software that matters. It is not easy to make it up to here; respect for those\n    who do. It takes a visionary person, confident enough to deal firmly but\n    correctly with all the wild impulses that come from users and engineering.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EThe corresponding Maslow level is called \u003Cem\u003Elove\u003C\/em\u003E. Indeed, to plan\n    features is the first step of putting some love into the software you\n    are\u0026nbsp;making.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch4\u003Eaccident prune\u003C\/h4\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EThe fourth level is to take the random factor out of software making: to\n    \u003Cstrong\u003Especify\u003C\/strong\u003E. Define first \u003Cem\u003Ewhat\u003C\/em\u003E needs to be made, before\n    engineering figures out \u003Cem\u003Ehow\u003C\/em\u003E it can be built. This roots out the\n    standard practice of the \u003Cem\u003Ehow\u003C\/em\u003E determining \u003Cem\u003Ewhat\u003C\/em\u003E the\n    result\u0026nbsp;will\u0026nbsp;be.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EI am totally not a fan of heavyweight, bureaucratic specifications. Just\n    keep in mind: the point \u003Cem\u003Eis\u003C\/em\u003E that a project should be able to tip the\n    code, swap out the complete engineering crew and be confident to resurrect\n    exactly the same software from spec\u0026#8212;just with different\u0026nbsp;bugs.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch3\u003Efull potential\u003C\/h3\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EAnd now we reach the top, the level of complete product realisation: to\n    \u003Cstrong\u003Edesign\u003C\/strong\u003E. The focus moves to product \u003Cem\u003Evalue\u003C\/em\u003E delivery, by\n    addressing user \u003Cem\u003Eneeds\u003C\/em\u003E, while taking into account what is\n    \u003Cem\u003Efeasible\u003C\/em\u003E with technology.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EA software project that is operating smoothly on all five levels of the\n    hierarchy is one that is delivering its full potential. It can concentrate on\n    realising its vision and through that be a leader in its\u0026nbsp;market.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EConversely, a project where one or more levels of the hierarchy are\n    missing, or not functioning well, will spend a considerable amount of its\n    energy on trying to fill the void(s). The organisation may not \u003Cem\u003Equite\u003C\/em \u003E\n    be able to put its finger on what is wrong, but spend a lot of communication,\n    meetings, time and action on correcting\u0026nbsp;it.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EMaslow\u0026#8217;s top level is\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs\"\u003Esummed\u0026nbsp;up\u0026nbsp;as\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026#8212;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cblockquote class=\"hang solo\"\u003E\u0026#8216;morality, creativity, spontaneity,\n    problem solving, lack of prejudice and acceptance of\u0026nbsp;facts\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThat\u0026#8217;s a pretty good trait\u0026#8208;requirements list for a designer. Stated\n    the other way around, to design \u003Cem\u003Eis\u003C\/em\u003E a human need of the\n    highest\u0026nbsp;level.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch4\u003Euse it\u003C\/h4\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003ENow we can work the diagram, in true Maslow\u0026nbsp;style:\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote class=\"solo\"\u003EAn organisation will only be motivated to fix the\n    lowest level that is found\u0026nbsp;lacking.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EAs we have already seen, the \u003Ci\u003Ebuild\u003C\/i\u003E level trumps anything. Problems\n    on this level\u0026#8212;e.g. lack of developers, or \u0026#8216;physiological\u0026#8217;\n    bugs (crashing)\u0026#8212;will crowd out any other considerations. Moving up, if\n    the engineering is found lacking, then an organisation will not be inclined to\n    take feature\u0026#8208;planning, specification, or design\u0026nbsp;serious.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EIf an organisation fails to plan features then design and\/or specification\n    initiatives will be in vain. Is the specification process found lacking? Then\n    it will be hard for an organisation to become design\u0026#8209;driven.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EWorking the diagram, we can understand how software\u0026#8208;making\n    organisations\u0026nbsp;act.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch4\u003Epostscript\u003C\/h4\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EHere is something I noticed when I looked at the hierarchy diagram: it\n    doesn\u0026#8217;t mention software or anything related, does\u0026nbsp;it?\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003ETurns out the diagram is general for any design discipline; it is a Maslow\n    hierarchy of making \u003Cem\u003Eanything\u003C\/em\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\n"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/comment.g?blogID=28919981\u0026postID=4488524689304474861","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/28919981\/posts\/default\/4488524689304474861"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/28919981\/posts\/default\/4488524689304474861"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2014\/03\/a-maslow-hierarchy-of-software.html","title":"a Maslow hierarchy of software\u0026nbsp;making"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Anonymous"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/13344735552467622739"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28919981.post-1448307675395328309"},"published":{"$t":"2014-01-30T11:54:00.000+01:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2015-06-11T12:54:39.396+02:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"act to succeed"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"practical"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"12 things you can do to succeed, enterprise edition"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"    \u003Cp\u003EPart three of the mini\u0026#8208;series I am running at the moment on the usual\n    social channels\u0026#8212;\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/peter_works\"\u003Etwitter\u003C\/a\u003E,\n    \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/101901813675356116026\"\u003Eg+\u003C\/a\u003E,\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/petersikking\"\u003Elinkedin\u003C\/a\u003E and\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.xing.com\/profile\/peter_sikking\"\u003Exing\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026#8212;called\n    \u003Ci\u003Epositive action ships successful products\u003C\/i\u003E. There, for every\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/search\/label\/why%20products%20fail\"\u003Ewishful thought\u003C\/a\u003E\n    that persists in the (mobile) software industry, I\u0026nbsp;supply a complementary\n    positive\u0026nbsp;action.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan id=\"teaser\"\u003EToday\u0026#8217;s offering is enterprise grade; let\u0026#8217;s\n    turn water into wine. If you are a product maker, or manage a\n    product\u0026#8208;shipping organisation, then you can initiate at least one of\n    these\u0026nbsp;today\u003C\/span\u003E:\u003C\/p\u003E\n          \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"act1\"\u003EBetter go for it, deploy user research and design to\n    ensure that \u003Cem\u003Enew\u003C\/em\u003E is really\u0026nbsp;better.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003E\u003Ci\u003Ecf.\u003C\/i\u003E \u0026#8216;Better play it safe, because it has not been\n    done\u0026nbsp;before.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"act2\"\u003EBetter go for it, ban meetings; get the makers to\n    collaborate in (pairs of)\u0026nbsp;pairs.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003E\u003Ci\u003Ecf.\u003C\/i\u003E \u0026#8216;Better play it safe, so it won\u0026#8217;t cause all these\n    extra rounds of\u0026nbsp;meetings.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"act3\"\u003EBetter go for it, evangelise the new, listen carefully\n    to any needs, ignore naysayers.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003E\u003Ci\u003Ecf.\u003C\/i\u003E \u0026#8216;Better play it safe, because the first feedback was\n    rather reserved.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"act4\"\u003EBetter go for it, make it an offer that can\u0026#8217;t be\n    refused\u0026#8212;if it gets nixed, go underground.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003E\u003Ci\u003Ecf.\u003C\/i\u003E \u0026#8216;Better play it safe, so we\n    get\u0026nbsp;the\u0026nbsp;\u003Cacronym\u003EOK\u003C\/acronym\u003E.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"act5\"\u003EBetter go for it, negotiate until you trust that the\n    engineers can build the\u0026nbsp;design.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003E\u003Ci\u003Ecf.\u003C\/i\u003E \u0026#8216;Better play it safe, because the engineers say it\n    cannot be\u0026nbsp;done.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"act6\"\u003EBetter go for it, it is faster to build a completely new\n    core product from\u0026nbsp;scratch.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003E\u003Ci\u003Ecf.\u003C\/i\u003E \u0026#8216;Better play it safe, because that code base is spaghetti.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"act7\"\u003EBetter go for it, and enjoy every minute; save time\n    through structure, research\u0026nbsp;+\u0026nbsp;design.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003E\u003Ci\u003Ecf.\u003C\/i\u003E \u0026#8216;Better play it safe, so we all can go home at\n    five\u0026#8212;and on 14:30 (\u003Cacronym\u003ED\u003C\/acronym\u003E) \/ to the pub\n    (\u003Cacronym\u003EGB\u003C\/acronym\u003E) on\u0026nbsp;friday.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"act8\"\u003EBetter go for it, because the blame will fall on us\u0026nbsp;anyway.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003E\u003Ci\u003Ecf.\u003C\/i\u003E \u0026#8216;Better play it safe, because the blame will\n    fall\u0026nbsp;on\u0026nbsp;us.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"act9\"\u003EBetter go for it, once the core product blows away the\n    competition, features can be\u0026nbsp;added.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003E\u003Ci\u003Ecf.\u003C\/i\u003E \u0026#8216;Better play it safe, so we have time for more features.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"act10\"\u003EBetter go for it, use frequent user testing to debug\n    the innovative\u0026nbsp;design.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003E\u003Ci\u003Ecf.\u003C\/i\u003E \u0026#8216;Better play it safe, to pass the usability\u0026nbsp;test.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"act11\"\u003EBetter go for it, define a new game, on your terms, and\n    ditch them old millstones.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003E\u003Ci\u003Ecf.\u003C\/i\u003E \u0026#8216;Better play it safe, to pass the regression\u0026nbsp;test.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"act12\"\u003EBetter go for it, model careers are built on delivering remarkable results.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003E\u003Ci\u003Ecf.\u003C\/i\u003E \u0026#8216;Better play it safe, to not jeopardise my promotion.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch3\u003Eask not what this blog can do for\u0026nbsp;you…\u003C\/h3\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003ENow, what else can \u003Cem\u003Eyou\u003C\/em\u003E do? First of all, you can spread the word; share this\n    blog post. Second, the series continues, so I invite you to connect via\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/peter_works\"\u003Etwitter\u003C\/a\u003E,\n    \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/101901813675356116026\"\u003Eg+\u003C\/a\u003E,\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/petersikking\"\u003Elinkedin\u003C\/a\u003E, or\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.xing.com\/profile\/peter_sikking\"\u003Exing\u003C\/a\u003E, and get\n    a fresh jolt of positive action every workday.\u003C\/p\u003E\n          \n    \u003Cp\u003EAnd third, if you \u003Cem\u003Eable and willing\u003C\/em\u003E to take some positive action, then\n    \u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Ca href=\"\u0026#109;\u0026#097;\u0026#105;\u0026#108;\u0026#116;\u0026#111;:%70%65%74%65%72%40%6d%6d%69%77%6f%72%6b%73%2e%6e%65%74\"\u003Eemail\u003C\/a\u003E\n    or call us\u003C\/strong\u003E. We will happy to help you ship successful products.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp class=\"double\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003Eps:\u003C\/i\u003E you can check out\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2014\/01\/another-12-you-can-do-to.html\"\u003Epart two\u003C\/a\u003E\n    if you missed\u0026nbsp;it.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/comment.g?blogID=28919981\u0026postID=1448307675395328309","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/28919981\/posts\/default\/1448307675395328309"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/28919981\/posts\/default\/1448307675395328309"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2014\/01\/12-you-can-do-to-enterprise.html","title":"12\u0026nbsp;things you can do to\u0026nbsp;succeed, enterprise\u0026nbsp;edition"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Anonymous"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/13344735552467622739"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28919981.post-2374890310548352157"},"published":{"$t":"2014-01-09T19:08:00.001+01:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2014-01-30T11:54:22.649+01:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"act to succeed"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"practical"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"another 12 things you can do to succeed"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"    \u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan id=\"teaser\"\u003EPart two of the mini\u0026#8208;series I am running at the\n    moment on the usual social\n    channels\u0026#8212;\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/peter_works\"\u003Etwitter\u003C\/a\u003E,\n    \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/101901813675356116026\"\u003Eg+\u003C\/a\u003E,\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/petersikking\"\u003Elinkedin\u003C\/a\u003E and\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.xing.com\/profile\/peter_sikking\"\u003Exing\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026#8212;called\n    \u003Ci\u003Epositive action ships successful products\u003C\/i\u003E. There, for every\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/search\/label\/why%20products%20fail\"\u003Ewishful thought\u003C\/a\u003E\n    that persists in the (mobile) software industry, I\u0026nbsp;supply a complementary\n    positive\u0026nbsp;action.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EBelow I list the second dozen pairs of these for your reference. If you are\n    a product maker, or manage a product\u0026#8208;shipping organisation, then you can\n    initiate at least one of these\u0026nbsp;today:\u003C\/p\u003E\n          \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"act1\"\u003EIdentify the different nature\/vibe of your product\n    modules and flows; design them accordingly.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003E\u003Ci\u003Ecf.\u003C\/i\u003E \u0026#8216;A list is a list is a list. Why do these two parts of\n    our app need such a different\u0026nbsp;design?\u0026#8217;\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"act2\"\u003EHire a (lead) designer whose career is longer than that\n    of your most senior developer\n    (and\u0026nbsp;the\u0026nbsp;\u003Cacronym\u003ECTO\u003C\/acronym\u003E).\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003E\u003Ci\u003Ecf.\u003C\/i\u003E \u0026#8216;Sure, it needs to be designed. Let\u0026#8217;s get a\n    [student, intern] for\u0026nbsp;that.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"act3\"\u003ETackle usability from the core outwards: how your\n    product works; stop tinkering on the fringes.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003E\u003Ci\u003Ecf.\u003C\/i\u003E \u0026#8216;Our usability sucks. To fix that, maybe we can take\n    some guidelines and apply them religiously.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"act4\"\u003EErect a chinese wall between your product and the\n    customer wishes you are forced\/paid to\u0026nbsp;build.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003E\u003Ci\u003Ecf.\u003C\/i\u003E \u0026#8216;The features our most\u0026#8208;valued customers ask for\n    are implemented asap, future plans be\u0026nbsp;damned.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"act5\"\u003EStart your development cycle by structuring it with your\n    designer(s); serious work starts\u0026nbsp;then.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003E\u003Ci\u003Ecf.\u003C\/i\u003E \u0026#8216;The development is almost finished, now we need some\n    design on top to jazz\u0026nbsp;it\u0026nbsp;up.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"act6\"\u003ECelebrate that your organisation is an exclusive group\n    of insiders; real users are out\u0026nbsp;there.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003E\u003Ci\u003Ecf.\u003C\/i\u003E \u0026#8216;We are the typical\u0026nbsp;users.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"act7\"\u003EPlan with a single, integral solution from your\n    designer(s), which gets continuously refined.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003E\u003Ci\u003Ecf.\u003C\/i\u003E \u0026#8216;Let\u0026#8217;s get the designer(s) to deliver 3\n    proposals, then we pick\u0026#8212;and mix\u0026#8212;what we\u0026nbsp;like.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"act8\"\u003ERefuse to get your data separated from the value your\n    product delivers.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003E\u003Ci\u003Ecf.\u003C\/i\u003E \u0026#8216;For that you can export the data to excel.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"act9\"\u003EHire user researchers to map out how your core users\n    tick and what their needs\u0026nbsp;are.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003E\u003Ci\u003Ecf.\u003C\/i\u003E \u0026#8216;We did do user research; we asked them what they liked\n    and not, and what was missing.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"act10\"\u003EFight rust; regularly identify product areas that were\n    stable for years and redesigned\u0026nbsp;them.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003E\u003Ci\u003Ecf.\u003C\/i\u003E \u0026#8216;We have been doing it like this for many\u0026nbsp;years.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"act11\"\u003EStamp out the tinkering; get it designed,\n    completely\u0026#8212;no holes; documented nimbly,\n    \u0026#8216;on\u0026nbsp;paper.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003E\u003Ci\u003Ecf.\u003C\/i\u003E \u0026#8216;We design in\u0026nbsp;code.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"act12\"\u003EHog effort, your organisation deals with it; your users\n    get to do their thing, effortlessly.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003E\u003Ci\u003Ecf.\u003C\/i\u003E \u0026#8216;Really, users could also put some effort into using\n    our\u0026nbsp;software.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch3\u003Eask not what this blog can do for\u0026nbsp;you…\u003C\/h3\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003ENow, what else can \u003Cem\u003Eyou\u003C\/em\u003E do? First of all, you can spread the word; share this\n    blog post. Second, the series continues, so I invite you to connect via\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/peter_works\"\u003Etwitter\u003C\/a\u003E,\n    \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/101901813675356116026\"\u003Eg+\u003C\/a\u003E,\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/petersikking\"\u003Elinkedin\u003C\/a\u003E, or\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.xing.com\/profile\/peter_sikking\"\u003Exing\u003C\/a\u003E, and get\n    a fresh jolt of positive action every workday.\u003C\/p\u003E\n          \n    \u003Cp\u003EAnd third, if you \u003Cem\u003Eable and willing\u003C\/em\u003E to take some positive action, then\n    \u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Ca href=\"\u0026#109;\u0026#097;\u0026#105;\u0026#108;\u0026#116;\u0026#111;:%70%65%74%65%72%40%6d%6d%69%77%6f%72%6b%73%2e%6e%65%74\"\u003Eemail\u003C\/a\u003E\n    or call us\u003C\/strong\u003E. We will happy to help you ship successful products.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp class=\"double\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003Eps:\u003C\/i\u003E you can check out\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2013\/12\/12-you-can-do-to.html\"\u003Epart one\u003C\/a\u003E\n    if you missed\u0026nbsp;it.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/comment.g?blogID=28919981\u0026postID=2374890310548352157","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/28919981\/posts\/default\/2374890310548352157"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/28919981\/posts\/default\/2374890310548352157"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2014\/01\/another-12-you-can-do-to.html","title":"another 12\u0026nbsp;things you can do to\u0026nbsp;succeed"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Anonymous"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/13344735552467622739"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28919981.post-2856517363872774064"},"published":{"$t":"2013-12-18T09:50:00.000+01:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2014-01-09T19:09:24.602+01:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"act to succeed"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"practical"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"12 things you can do to succeed"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"    \u003Cp class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;Stop the wishful thinking and get on with some positive\n    action.\u0026#8217; That is what I was thinking when I wrapped up the\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/search\/label\/why%20products%20fail\"\u003Emini\u0026#8208;series\u003C\/a\u003E\n    \u003Ci\u003Ewishful thinking breeds failed products\u003C\/i\u003E on the usual social\n    channels\u0026#8212;\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/peter_works\"\u003Etwitter\u003C\/a\u003E,\n    \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/101901813675356116026\"\u003Eg+\u003C\/a\u003E,\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/petersikking\"\u003Elinkedin\u003C\/a\u003E\n    and\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.xing.com\/profile\/peter_sikking\"\u003Exing\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan id=\"teaser\"\u003EThus I kicked off a new series: for every wishful thought, I\u0026nbsp;devised a\n    complementary \u003Ci\u003Epositive action\u003C\/i\u003E that \u003Ci\u003Eships successful products\u003C\/i\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\n    Below I list the first dozen pairs of these for your reference. If you are a product\n    maker, or manage a product\u0026#8208;shipping organisation, then you can\n    initiate at least one of these\u0026nbsp;today:\u003C\/p\u003E\n          \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"act1\"\u003EDrive your market, beyond your customers\u0026#8217; wildest\n    dreams; stamp out any reactive thinking.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003E\u003Ci\u003Ecf.\u003C\/i\u003E \u0026#8216;Just ask the customers, they know\u0026nbsp;best.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"act2\"\u003EEstablish technology selection processes where the\n    driver is user value delivery.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003E\u003Ci\u003Ecf.\u003C\/i\u003E \u0026#8216;Users will love our hot, new technology, they will be\n    queuing around the\u0026nbsp;block.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"act3\"\u003EInstitutionalise \u003Cacronym\u003EQA\u003C\/acronym\u003E beyond\n    bugs\u0026#8212;of design; its execution; usability; of your\n    communication.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003E\u003Ci\u003Ecf.\u003C\/i\u003E \u0026#8216;With zero (major) bugs in the tracker, this feature\n    must be working\u0026nbsp;well.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"act4\"\u003EImprove your product\u0026#8212;just because you know it can\n    be done better: design it, test it, ship\u0026nbsp;it.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003E\u003Ci\u003Ecf.\u003C\/i\u003E \u0026#8216;But why? nobody ever complained about\u0026nbsp;that.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"act5\"\u003EPick the right defaults for your product; let users\n    configure it by \u0026#8216;just putting it\u0026nbsp;right.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003E\u003Ci\u003Ecf.\u003C\/i\u003E \u0026#8216;We\u0026#8217;ll leave that choice to our users, via a\n    setting in the preferences.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"act6\"\u003EGet the usability right early on, then follow through on\n    the design details to the very\u0026nbsp;end.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003E\u003Ci\u003Ecf.\u003C\/i\u003E \u0026#8216;In this phase of development, usability is a\n    nice\u0026#8208;to\u0026#8209;have.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"act7\"\u003EEstablish a design department, working at\n    eye\u0026#8209;level with product management and engineering.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003E\u003Ci\u003Ecf.\u003C\/i\u003E \u0026#8216;Our product designers are part of the [marketing,\n    engineering, product, operations] department.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"act8\"\u003EImprove the status quo\u0026#8212;because you know it can be\n    done better: design it, test it, ship\u0026nbsp;it.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003E\u003Ci\u003Ecf.\u003C\/i\u003E \u0026#8216;This is what users are used to; we better not\n    change\u0026nbsp;it.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"act9\"\u003EStamp out any notion that making your product is somehow\n    directly related to using\u0026nbsp;it.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003E\u003Ci\u003Ecf.\u003C\/i\u003E \u0026#8216;We started out by scratching our itch; today, we still\n    make it exactly how we like\u0026nbsp;it.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"act10\"\u003EConsistently feed qualitative data into your design\n    process; leave numbers to bookkeepers.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003E\u003Ci\u003Ecf.\u003C\/i\u003E \u0026#8216;With all this quantitative tracking data, we know\n    exactly what works, and what\u0026nbsp;not.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"act11\"\u003EPlan every version\u0026#8212;major and dot\u0026#8212;around\n    increased user value; the rest follows from\u0026nbsp;that.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003E\u003Ci\u003Ecf.\u003C\/i\u003E \u0026#8216;For our next version, we will refactor a lot of the\n    code; a huge effort, so no other changes.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"act12\"\u003EIt is your market, you design what is right for\n    it\u0026#8212;in an ever\u0026#8208;changing\u0026nbsp;world.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003E\u003Ci\u003Ecf.\u003C\/i\u003E \u0026#8216;I can\u0026#8217;t see why we would do it differently from how [facebook, microsoft, google, adobe]\u0026nbsp;do\u0026nbsp;it.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch3\u003Eask not what this blog can do for\u0026nbsp;you…\u003C\/h3\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003ENow, what can \u003Cem\u003Eyou\u003C\/em\u003E do? First of all, you can spread the word; share this\n    blog post. Second, the series continues, so I invite you to connect via\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/peter_works\"\u003Etwitter\u003C\/a\u003E,\n    \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/101901813675356116026\"\u003Eg+\u003C\/a\u003E,\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/petersikking\"\u003Elinkedin\u003C\/a\u003E, or\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.xing.com\/profile\/peter_sikking\"\u003Exing\u003C\/a\u003E, and get\n    a fresh jolt of positive action every workday.\u003C\/p\u003E\n          \n    \u003Cp\u003EAnd third, if you \u003Cem\u003Eable and willing\u003C\/em\u003E to take some positive action, then\n    \u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Ca href=\"\u0026#109;\u0026#097;\u0026#105;\u0026#108;\u0026#116;\u0026#111;:%70%65%74%65%72%40%6d%6d%69%77%6f%72%6b%73%2e%6e%65%74\"\u003Eemail\u003C\/a\u003E\n    or call us\u003C\/strong\u003E. We will happy to help you ship successful products.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/comment.g?blogID=28919981\u0026postID=2856517363872774064","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/28919981\/posts\/default\/2856517363872774064"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/28919981\/posts\/default\/2856517363872774064"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2013\/12\/12-you-can-do-to.html","title":"12\u0026nbsp;things you can do to\u0026nbsp;succeed"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Anonymous"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/13344735552467622739"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28919981.post-7396833242531305560"},"published":{"$t":"2013-11-16T13:26:00.000+01:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2015-06-05T20:28:45.992+02:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"practical"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"top story"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"why products fail"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"a half‑century of product fail"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"    \u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan id=\"teaser\"\u003EThis is the final instalment of the\n    mini\u0026#8208;series I ran on the usual social\n    channels\u0026#8212;\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/peter_works\"\u003Etwitter\u003C\/a\u003E,\n    \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/101901813675356116026\"\u003Eg+\u003C\/a\u003E,\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/petersikking\"\u003Elinkedin\u003C\/a\u003E and\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.xing.com\/profile\/peter_sikking\"\u003Exing\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026#8212;called\n    \u003Ci\u003Ewishful thinking breeds failed products\u003C\/i\u003E. It distilled what I have\n    witnessed and heard during 20\u0026nbsp;years in the (mobile) software industry.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003ETo complete the round number of fifty, I\u0026nbsp;present\n    the final dozen\u0026nbsp;+ two wishful thoughts for future reference.\n    I\u0026nbsp;am curious if you recognise some of\u0026nbsp;these:\u003C\/p\u003E\n          \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"wish1\" class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;The hardware specs are fixed, now\n    we can start with the software\u0026nbsp;design.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"wish2\" class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;We spent ages discussing this,\n    trying to find a solution that pleased everyone.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"wish3\" class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;We thought we could spend a couple\n    of man\u0026#8208;days on the low\u0026#8208;hanging usability\u0026nbsp;fruit.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"wish4\" class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;The source is the ultimate\n    documentation.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"wish5\" class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;There is no need to go for the\n    gold\u0026#8208;taps solution.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"wish6\" class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;It does not hurt to have those\n    features as\u0026nbsp;well.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"wish7\" class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;One code base; fully\n    cross\u0026#8208;platform.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"wish8\" class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;You have to pick your battles.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"wish9\" class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;Once you get familiar with the\n    internal workings of our software, it becomes easy\u0026nbsp;to\u0026nbsp;use.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"wish10\" class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;Our specific target user group is: everyone.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"wish11\" class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;Our developers are very\n    experienced; they make the UI of their modules as\n    they\u0026nbsp;see\u0026nbsp;fit.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"wish12\" class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;We religiously adhere\n    to\u0026nbsp;the\u0026nbsp;\u003Cacronym\u003EHIG\u003C\/acronym\u003E.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"wish13\" class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;You can do that by [writing, running]\n    a\u0026nbsp;script.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"wish14\" class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;What do you mean \u0026#8220;it\u0026#8217;s\n    all connected\u0026#8221;? we just don\u0026#8217;t have the time for those bits\n    and\u0026nbsp;pieces.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch3\u003Eask not what this blog can do for\u0026nbsp;you…\u003C\/h3\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003ENow, what can \u003Cem\u003Eyou\u003C\/em\u003E do? First of all, you can spread the word; share this\n    blog post. Second, I\u0026nbsp;invite you to connect via\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/peter_works\"\u003Etwitter\u003C\/a\u003E,\n    \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/101901813675356116026\"\u003Eg+\u003C\/a\u003E,\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/petersikking\"\u003Elinkedin\u003C\/a\u003E, or\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.xing.com\/profile\/peter_sikking\"\u003Exing\u003C\/a\u003E;\n    there is a \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2013\/12\/12-you-can-do-to.html\"\u003Enew series\u003C\/a\u003E starting, again with a thought every workday.\u003C\/p\u003E\n          \n    \u003Cp\u003EAnd third, if you recognise that some of the wishful thinking is\n    practiced at your software project and you \u003Cem\u003Ecan and want to\u003C\/em\u003E do\n    something about it, then\n    \u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Ca href=\"\u0026#109;\u0026#097;\u0026#105;\u0026#108;\u0026#116;\u0026#111;:%70%65%74%65%72%40%6d%6d%69%77%6f%72%6b%73%2e%6e%65%74\"\u003Eemail\u003C\/a\u003E\n    or call us\u003C\/strong\u003E. We will treat your case in total confidence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp class=\"double\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003Eps:\u003C\/i\u003E you can check out\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2013\/10\/12-why-products-fail-enterprise.html\"\u003Epart three\u003C\/a\u003E\n    if you missed\u0026nbsp;it.\u003C\/p\u003E\n          "},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/comment.g?blogID=28919981\u0026postID=7396833242531305560","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/28919981\/posts\/default\/7396833242531305560"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/28919981\/posts\/default\/7396833242531305560"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2013\/11\/a-half-of-product.html","title":"a half\u0026#8209;century of product\u0026nbsp;fail"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Anonymous"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/13344735552467622739"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28919981.post-1827028761611558449"},"published":{"$t":"2013-10-30T17:56:00.000+01:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2013-11-16T13:36:48.297+01:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"practical"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"why products fail"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"12 reasons why products fail, enterprise edition"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"    \u003Cp\u003EPart three of the mini\u0026#8208;series I am running at the\n    moment on the usual social\n    channels\u0026#8212;\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/peter_works\"\u003Etwitter\u003C\/a\u003E,\n    \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/101901813675356116026\"\u003Eg+\u003C\/a\u003E,\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/petersikking\"\u003Elinkedin\u003C\/a\u003E and\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.xing.com\/profile\/peter_sikking\"\u003Exing\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026#8212;called\n    \u003Ci\u003Ewishful thinking breeds failed products\u003C\/i\u003E. It distils what I have\n    witnessed and heard during 20\u0026nbsp;years in the (mobile) software industry.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan id=\"teaser\"\u003EFor this instalment I compiled a synergetic set of enterprise\u0026#8208;grade\n    wishful thinking\u003C\/span\u003E. By request, they are listed below for future reference.\n    \u003Cspan id=\"teaser\"\u003EI\u0026nbsp;am curious if you recognise some of\u0026nbsp;these\u003C\/span\u003E:\u003C\/p\u003E\n          \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"wish1\" class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;Better play it safe, because it has\n    not been done\u0026nbsp;before.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"wish2\" class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;Better play it safe, so it\n    won\u0026#8217;t cause all these extra rounds of meetings.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"wish3\" class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;Better play it safe, because the\n    first feedback was rather reserved.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"wish4\" class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;Better play it safe, so we\n    get\u0026nbsp;the\u0026nbsp;OK.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"wish5\" class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;Better play it safe, because the\n    engineers say it cannot be\u0026nbsp;done.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"wish6\" class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;Better play it safe, because that\n    code base is spaghetti.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"wish7\" class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;Better play it safe, so we all can\n    go home at five\u0026#8212;and on 14:30 (\u003Cacronym\u003ED\u003C\/acronym\u003E) \/ to the pub\n    (\u003Cacronym\u003EGB\u003C\/acronym\u003E) on\u0026nbsp;friday.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"wish8\" class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;Better play it safe, because the\n    blame will fall\u0026nbsp;on\u0026nbsp;us.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"wish9\" class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;Better play it safe, so we have\n    time for more features.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"wish10\" class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;Better play it safe, to pass the\n    usability\u0026nbsp;test.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"wish11\" class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;Better play it safe, to pass the\n    regression\u0026nbsp;test.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"wish12\" class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;Better play it safe, to not\n    jeopardise my promotion.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch3\u003Eask not what this blog can do for\u0026nbsp;you…\u003C\/h3\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003ENow, what can \u003Cem\u003Eyou\u003C\/em\u003E do? First of all, you can spread the word; share this\n    blog post. Second, the series continues, so I invite you to connect via\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/peter_works\"\u003Etwitter\u003C\/a\u003E,\n    \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/101901813675356116026\"\u003Eg+\u003C\/a\u003E,\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/petersikking\"\u003Elinkedin\u003C\/a\u003E, or\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.xing.com\/profile\/peter_sikking\"\u003Exing\u003C\/a\u003E, and get\n    a fresh example of wishful thinking every workday.\u003C\/p\u003E\n          \n    \u003Cp\u003EAnd third, if you recognise that some of the wishful thinking is\n    practiced at your software project and you \u003Cem\u003Ecan and want to\u003C\/em\u003E do\n    something about it, then\n    \u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Ca href=\"\u0026#109;\u0026#097;\u0026#105;\u0026#108;\u0026#116;\u0026#111;:%70%65%74%65%72%40%6d%6d%69%77%6f%72%6b%73%2e%6e%65%74\"\u003Eemail\u003C\/a\u003E\n    or call us\u003C\/strong\u003E. We will treat your case in total confidence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp class=\"double\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003Eps:\u003C\/i\u003E you can check out\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2013\/10\/another-12-why-products.html\"\u003Epart two\u003C\/a\u003E\n    if you missed\u0026nbsp;it.\u003C\/p\u003E\n          \n"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/comment.g?blogID=28919981\u0026postID=1827028761611558449","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/28919981\/posts\/default\/1827028761611558449"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/28919981\/posts\/default\/1827028761611558449"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2013\/10\/12-why-products-fail-enterprise.html","title":"12\u0026nbsp;reasons why products fail, enterprise\u0026nbsp;edition"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Anonymous"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/13344735552467622739"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28919981.post-6621533604013920083"},"published":{"$t":"2013-10-18T16:47:00.000+02:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2015-08-11T18:06:45.323+02:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"architects"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"fundamental"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"top story"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"war and peace"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"war and peace, the abridged UI version"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"    \u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan id=\"teaser\"\u003ENot to worry, this is not going to be as lengthy as\n    \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Leo_Tolstoy\"\u003ETolstoy\u0026#8217;s\u003C\/a\u003E\n    \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/War_and_Peace\"\u003Etome\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\n    Actually, I\u0026nbsp;intend this blog post to be shorter than usual. \n    \u003Cspan id=\"teaser\"\u003EBut yes, my topic today is \u003Cem\u003Ewar and peace\u003C\/em\u003E in\n    interaction\u0026nbsp;design.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch3\u003Epeace\u003C\/h3\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EI like to think that my work as an interaction architect makes the world a\n    better\u0026nbsp;place.\u003C\/p\u003E\n          \n    \u003Cp\u003EI realise product makers\u0026#8217; dreams, designing elegant and captivating\n    embodiments they can ship. I\u0026nbsp;save terminally ill software and websites\n    from usability implosion, and in the meantime get their makers a lot closer to\n    what they always intended.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EOn top of that, I\u0026nbsp;provide larger organisations with instruments to reign in the \n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/search\/label\/why%20products%20fail\"\u003Ewishful thinking\u003C\/a\u003E\n    that naturally accumulates there, and to institute \u003Cacronym\u003EQA\u003C\/acronym\u003E every\n    step along the\u0026nbsp;way.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EAll of this is accomplished by harmonising the needs of product makers,\n    developers and users. You would think that because I deliver success;\n    solutions to fiendishly complex problems; certainty of what needs to be done;\n    and \u003Cem\u003E(finally!)\u003C\/em\u003E usable software, working with these three groups is a\n    harmonious, enthusiastic and warm experience.\u003C\/p\u003E\n          \n    \u003Cp\u003EWell, so would I, but this is not \u003Cem\u003Ealways\u003C\/em\u003E the\u0026nbsp;case.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch3\u003Ewar\u003C\/h3\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThe animosity has always baffled me. I\u0026nbsp;also took it personally: there\n    I was, showing them the light at the end of the tunnel of their own misery,\n    and they get all antsy, hostile and hurt about\u0026nbsp;it.\u003C\/p\u003E\n          \n    \u003Cp\u003EAfter talking it through with some trusted friends, I\u0026nbsp;have now a whole\n    new perspective on the matter. Sure enough, as an interaction architect I am\n    always working in a conflict zone, but \u003Cstrong\u003Eit is not my\n    conflict\u003C\/strong\u003E. Instead, it is the tri\u0026#8209;party conflict between product\n    makers, developers and\u0026nbsp;users.\u003C\/p\u003E\n          \n    \u003Cdl\u003E\n    \u003Cdt\u003EThe main conflict between product makers and users\u003C\/dt\u003E\n    \u003Cdd\u003EEach individual user expects software and websites really to be made for\n    \u003Cem\u003Eme\u0026#8208;me\u0026#8208;me\u003C\/em\u003E, while product makers try to make it for as many\n    users as possible. Both are a form of\u0026nbsp;greed.\u003C\/dd\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cdd\u003EThere is also a secondary conflict, when users \u0026#8216;pay\u0026#8217; the\n    product maker in the form of personal, behavioural data, and\/or by\n    eyeballing advertisements\u0026#8212;\u0026#8217;nuff\u0026nbsp;said.\u003C\/dd\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cdt\u003EThe main conflict between product makers and developers\u003C\/dt\u003E \u003Cdd\u003EProduct\n    makers want the \u003Cem\u003Ewhole\u003C\/em\u003E thing perfectly finished by \u003Cem\u003Etomorrow\u003C\/em\u003E,\n    while reserving the right to change their mind, any given minute, on what this\n    \u003Cem\u003Ething\u003C\/em\u003E is. Developers like to know exactly up front what all the\n    \u003Cem\u003Emodules\u003C\/em\u003E are they have to build\u0026#8212;but not too exactly, it robs the\n    chance to splice in a cheaper substitute\u0026#8212;while knowing it takes time,\n    four times more than one would think, to build software.\u003C\/dd\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cdd\u003EThat this is a fundamental conflict is proven by the current fad for agile\n    development, where it is conveniently forgotten that there is such a thing as\n    \u003Cem\u003Ecoherence and wholeness\u003C\/em\u003E to a fine piece of software.\u003C\/dd\u003E\n          \n    \u003Cdt\u003EThe main conflict between developers and users\u003C\/dt\u003E \u003Cdd\u003EThis one is very\n    simple: who is going to do the work? Developers think it is enough to get the\n    technology running on the processing platform\u0026#8212;with not too many crashing\n    bugs\u0026#8212;and users are free to do the rest. Users will have no truck with\n    technology; they want refined \u003Cem\u003Esolutions\u003C\/em\u003E that\n    \u0026#8216;just\u0026nbsp;work™,\u0026#8217; i.e. the developers do the\u0026nbsp;work.\u003C\/dd\u003E \u003C\/dl\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EAll of this makes me\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jimmy_Carter\"\u003EJimmy Carter\u003C\/a\u003E at\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Camp_David_Accords\"\u003ECamp David\u003C\/a\u003E.\n    The interaction design process, the resulting interaction design and its\n    implementation are geared towards bringing peace and prosperity\n    to the three parties involved. This implies compromises from each party.\n    And for me to tell them things they do not like to\u0026nbsp;hear.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cdl\u003E\n    \u003Cdt\u003EProduct makers need to be\u0026nbsp;told\u003C\/dt\u003E\n    \u003Cdd\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003Eto make real hard choices and define their target user groups\n    narrowly\u0026#8212;it is not for everyone;\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003Ethat they cannot play fast and loose with users\u0026#8217;\u0026nbsp;data;\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003Eto take the long, strategic view on the product level, instead of trying\n    to micro\u0026#8208;manage every detail of its realisation;\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003Eto concentrate on the features that really \u003Cem\u003Emake\u003C\/em\u003E the product,\n    instead of a pile\u0026#8209;up of everybody\u0026#8217;s wish\u0026nbsp;lists;\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003Eto accept that they cannot have it \u003Cem\u003Eall\u003C\/em\u003E, and certainly not with\n    little effort and investment.\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003C\/ul\u003E\u003C\/dd\u003E\n    \u003Cdt\u003EUsers need to be told\u0026nbsp;that\u003C\/dt\u003E\n    \u003Cdd\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003Eeach of them are just part of a (very large) group and that\n    \u003Cem\u003Ein general\u003C\/em\u003E the needs of this group are addressed by\n    the\u0026nbsp;product;\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003Eusing  software and websites takes a certain amount of investment\n    from them: time, money, participation and\/or privacy;\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003Esoftware cannot read their minds; to use it they will need to input\n    rather exactly what they are trying to\u0026nbsp;achieve;\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003Equite a few of them are outside the target user group and\n    their needs will not be taken into consideration.\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003C\/ul\u003E\u003C\/dd\u003E\n    \u003Cdt\u003EDevelopers need to be\u0026nbsp;told\u003C\/dt\u003E\n    \u003Cdd\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003Ethat we are here to make products, not just code modules;\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003Eno substitutes please, the \u003Cem\u003Equalities\u003C\/em\u003E of what needs to be\n    built determines success;\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003Eusers cannot be directly exposed to technology; an\n    opaque\u0026#8212;user\u0026#8212;interface is needed between the\u0026nbsp;two;\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003Eif it isn\u0026#8217;t usable, it does not\u0026nbsp;work.\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003C\/ul\u003E\u003C\/dd\u003E\n    \u003C\/dl\u003E\n          \n    \u003Cp\u003ENo wonder everybody gets\u0026nbsp;upset.\u003C\/p\u003E\n          \n    \u003Ch3\u003Epeace\u003C\/h3\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EHow do I get myself some peace? Well, the only way is to obtain a\n    bird\u0026#8217;s\u0026#8208;eye view of the situation and \u003Cem\u003Eto accept\u0026nbsp;it\u003C\/em\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EFirst, I\u0026nbsp;must accept that this war is \u003Cem\u003Einherent to any design\n    process and all designers are confronted by it\u003C\/em\u003E. Nobody ever really\n    told us, but we are \u003Cem\u003Ethere\u003C\/em\u003E to bring peace and\u0026nbsp;success.\u003C\/p\u003E\n          \n    \u003Cp\u003ESecond, I\u0026nbsp;have to accept that  product makers, developers and users\n    get upset with my interaction design solutions for the simple reason that they\n    are now confronted with the needs of the other two parties. They had it\n    \u0026#8216;all figured out\u0026#8217; and now this turns up. (Yes, I\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003Edo\u003C\/em\u003E\n    also check if they have a point and discovered a bug in my\u0026nbsp;design.)\u003C\/p\u003E\n          \n    \u003Cp\u003EThird, I\u0026nbsp;have to see my role as translator in a different light. We\n    all know that product makers, developers and users have a hard time talking to\n    each other, and it is the role of the interaction architect to translate\n    between\u0026nbsp;them.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EIt is now clear to me that when I talk to one of the parties involved,\n    I\u0026nbsp;do not only fit the conversation to their frame of reference and speak\n    their language, but also represent the other two parties. There is some anger\n    potential there: for my audience because I speak in such familiar terms, about\n    unfamiliar things that bring unwelcome complexity; for me because tailored\n    vocabulary and examples do not increase acceptance from their\u0026nbsp;side.\u003C\/p\u003E\n          \n    \u003Cp\u003EAccepting the \u003Ci\u003Ewar and peace\u003C\/i\u003E situation is step one, doing something\n    about it is next. I\u0026nbsp;think it will take some kind of \u003Cem\u003Eaikido move\u003C\/em\u003E;\n    a master blend of force and invisibility.\u003C\/p\u003E\n          \n    \u003Cp\u003EForce, because I am still implicitly engaged to bring peace and success,\n    and to solve a myriad of interaction problems nobody wants to touch. This must\n    be met head\u0026#8209;on, without\u0026nbsp;fear.\u003C\/p\u003E\n          \n    \u003Cp\u003EInvisibility, because during the whole process it must be clear to all\n    three parties that they are not negotiating with me, but with\n    each\u0026nbsp;other.\u003C\/p\u003E\n          \n    \u003Ch4\u003Epostmortem\u003C\/h4\u003E\n          \n    \u003Cp\u003EThat is it for today, I promised to keep it short. There are some\n    interesting kinks and complications in the framework I set up today, but\n    dealing with them will have to wait for another blog\u0026nbsp;post.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/comment.g?blogID=28919981\u0026postID=6621533604013920083","title":"2 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/28919981\/posts\/default\/6621533604013920083"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/28919981\/posts\/default\/6621533604013920083"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2013\/10\/war-and-peace-abridged-ui.html","title":"war and peace, the abridged UI\u0026nbsp;version"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Anonymous"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/13344735552467622739"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"2"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28919981.post-5663623952730940506"},"published":{"$t":"2013-10-09T10:49:00.001+02:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2013-11-16T13:22:24.881+01:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"practical"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"why products fail"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"another 12 reasons why products fail"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"    \u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan id=\"teaser\"\u003EPart two of the mini\u0026#8208;series I am running at the\n    moment on the usual social\n    channels\u0026#8212;\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/peter_works\"\u003Etwitter\u003C\/a\u003E,\n    \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/101901813675356116026\"\u003Eg+\u003C\/a\u003E,\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/petersikking\"\u003Elinkedin\u003C\/a\u003E and\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.xing.com\/profile\/peter_sikking\"\u003Exing\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026#8212;called\n    \u003Ci\u003Ewishful thinking breeds failed products\u003C\/i\u003E. It distils what I have\n    witnessed and heard during 20\u0026nbsp;years in the (mobile) software industry.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EBy request, here are the second dozen of these for\n    future reference. I am curious if you recognise some of this wishful thinking:\u003C\/p\u003E\n          \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"wish1\" class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;A list is a list is a list. Why do\n    these two parts of our app need such a different\u0026nbsp;design?\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"wish2\" class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;Sure, it needs to be designed.\n    Let\u0026#8217;s get a [student, intern] for\u0026nbsp;that.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"wish3\" class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;Our usability sucks. To fix that,\n    maybe we can take some guidelines and apply them religiously.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"wish4\" class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;The features our most\u0026#8208;valued\n    customers ask for are implemented asap, future plans be\u0026nbsp;damned.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"wish5\" class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;The development is almost finished,\n    now we need some design on top to jazz\u0026nbsp;it\u0026nbsp;up.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"wish6\" class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;We are the typical users.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"wish7\" class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;Let\u0026#8217;s get the designer(s) to\n    deliver 3\u0026nbsp;proposals, then we pick\u0026#8212;and mix\u0026#8212;what\n    we\u0026nbsp;like.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"wish8\" class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;For that you can export the data\n    to\u0026nbsp;excel.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"wish9\" class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;We did do user research; we asked\n    them what they liked and not, and what was missing.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"wish10\" class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;We have been doing it like this for\n    many\u0026nbsp;years.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"wish11\" class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;We design in\u0026nbsp;code.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"wish12\" class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;Really, users could also put some\n    effort into using our\u0026nbsp;software.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch3\u003Eask not what this blog can do for\u0026nbsp;you…\u003C\/h3\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003ENow, what can \u003Cem\u003Eyou\u003C\/em\u003E do? First of all, you can spread the word; share this\n    blog post. Second, the series continues, so I invite you to connect via\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/peter_works\"\u003Etwitter\u003C\/a\u003E,\n    \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/101901813675356116026\"\u003Eg+\u003C\/a\u003E,\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/petersikking\"\u003Elinkedin\u003C\/a\u003E, or\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.xing.com\/profile\/peter_sikking\"\u003Exing\u003C\/a\u003E, and get\n    a fresh example of wishful thinking every workday.\u003C\/p\u003E\n          \n    \u003Cp\u003EAnd third, if you recognise that some of the wishful thinking is\n    practiced at your software project and you \u003Cem\u003Ecan and want to\u003C\/em\u003E do\n    something about it, then\n    \u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Ca href=\"\u0026#109;\u0026#097;\u0026#105;\u0026#108;\u0026#116;\u0026#111;:%70%65%74%65%72%40%6d%6d%69%77%6f%72%6b%73%2e%6e%65%74\"\u003Eemail\u003C\/a\u003E\n    or call us\u003C\/strong\u003E. We will treat your case in total confidence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp class=\"double\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003Eps:\u003C\/i\u003E you can check out\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2013\/09\/12-reasons-why-products.html\"\u003Epart one\u003C\/a\u003E\n    if you missed\u0026nbsp;it.\u003C\/p\u003E\n"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/comment.g?blogID=28919981\u0026postID=5663623952730940506","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/28919981\/posts\/default\/5663623952730940506"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/28919981\/posts\/default\/5663623952730940506"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2013\/10\/another-12-why-products.html","title":"another 12\u0026nbsp;reasons why products\u0026nbsp;fail"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Anonymous"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/13344735552467622739"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28919981.post-882882378305895744"},"published":{"$t":"2013-09-23T11:31:00.000+02:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2013-10-09T19:43:08.467+02:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"practical"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"why products fail"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"12 reasons why products fail"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"    \u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan id=\"teaser\"\u003EAt the moment I am running this mini\u0026#8208;series on the usual social\n    channels\u0026#8212;\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/peter_works\"\u003Etwitter\u003C\/a\u003E,\n    \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/101901813675356116026\"\u003Eg+\u003C\/a\u003E,\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/petersikking\"\u003Elinkedin\u003C\/a\u003E and\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.xing.com\/profile\/peter_sikking\"\u003Exing\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026#8212;called\n    \u003Ci\u003Ewishful thinking breeds failed products\u003C\/i\u003E. It distils what I have\n    witnessed and heard during 20\u0026nbsp;years in the (mobile) software industry.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EBy request, I now put the first dozen of these into a blog post for\n    future reference. I am curious if you recognise some of this wishful thinking:\u003C\/p\u003E\n          \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"wish1\" class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;Just ask the customers, they\n    know\u0026nbsp;best.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"wish2\" class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;Users will love our hot, new\n    technology, they will be queuing around the\u0026nbsp;block.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"wish3\" class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;With zero (major) bugs in the\n    tracker, this feature must be working\u0026nbsp;well.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"wish4\" class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;But why? nobody ever complained\n    about\u0026nbsp;that.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"wish5\" class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;We\u0026#8217;ll leave that choice to\n    our users, via a setting in the preferences.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"wish6\" class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;In this phase of development,\n    usability is a nice\u0026#8209;to\u0026#8209;have.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"wish7\" class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;Our product designers are part of\n    the [marketing, engineering, product, operations]\n    department.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"wish8\" class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;This is what users are used to; we\n    better not change\u0026nbsp;it.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"wish9\" class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;We started out by scratching our\n    itch; today, we still make it exactly how\n    we\u0026nbsp;like\u0026nbsp;it.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"wish10\" class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;With all this quantitative\n    tracking data, we know exactly what works, and\n    what\u0026nbsp;not.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"wish11\" class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;For our next version, we will\n    refactor a lot of the code; a huge effort, so no other\n    changes.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote id=\"wish12\" class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;I can\u0026#8217;t see why we would do\n    it differently from how [facebook, microsoft, google, adobe]\n    do\u0026nbsp;it.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch3\u003Eask not what this blog can do for\u0026nbsp;you…\u003C\/h3\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003ENow, what can \u003Cem\u003Eyou\u003C\/em\u003E do? First of all, you can spread the word; share this\n    blog post. Second, the series continues, so I invite you to connect via\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/peter_works\"\u003Etwitter\u003C\/a\u003E,\n    \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/101901813675356116026\"\u003Eg+\u003C\/a\u003E,\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/petersikking\"\u003Elinkedin\u003C\/a\u003E, or\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.xing.com\/profile\/peter_sikking\"\u003Exing\u003C\/a\u003E, and get\n    a fresh example of wishful thinking every workday.\u003C\/p\u003E\n          \n    \u003Cp\u003EAnd third, if you recognise that some of the wishful thinking is\n    practiced at your software project and you \u003Cem\u003Ecan and want to\u003C\/em\u003E do\n    something about it, then\n    \u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Ca href=\"\u0026#109;\u0026#097;\u0026#105;\u0026#108;\u0026#116;\u0026#111;:%70%65%74%65%72%40%6d%6d%69%77%6f%72%6b%73%2e%6e%65%74\"\u003Eemail\u003C\/a\u003E\n    or call us\u003C\/strong\u003E. We will treat your case in total confidence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/comment.g?blogID=28919981\u0026postID=882882378305895744","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/28919981\/posts\/default\/882882378305895744"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/28919981\/posts\/default\/882882378305895744"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2013\/09\/12-reasons-why-products.html","title":"12 reasons why products\u0026nbsp;fail"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Anonymous"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/13344735552467622739"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28919981.post-5083276337495124828"},"published":{"$t":"2013-06-08T14:13:00.000+02:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2013-10-09T10:52:01.072+02:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"GIMP"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"teaching"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"teaching interaction \/13"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"    \u003Cp\u003EAt the end of March I was at the\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.fhv.at\/\"\u003E\u003Cacronym\u003EFH\u003C\/acronym\u003E\u0026nbsp;Vorarlberg\u003C\/a\u003E, Austria\n    to teach my course, \u003Ci\u003Einteraction design for the real world\u003C\/i\u003E.\n    \u003Cspan id=\"teaser\"\u003EAs always, things evolved further: last year I had written the\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/gui.gimp.org\/index.php\/Vision_briefing\"\u003Eproduct vision briefing\u003C\/a\u003E\n    for \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/search\/label\/GIMP\"\u003E\u003Cacronym\u003EGIMP\u003C\/acronym\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E,\n    the software project that supplies the course with real\u0026#8208;life interaction\n    design challenges. This briefing started to play a major role\n    this\u0026nbsp;year.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EIn a very natural manner, the\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/gui.gimp.org\/index.php\/Vision_briefing#value_.2B_traits\"\u003Evalue\n    and traits of \u003Cacronym\u003EGIMP\u003C\/acronym\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, as described in the briefing,\n    became central to all evaluation and design work done during the course.\n    Though not 100% premeditated, this is a very welcome development and I will\n    certainly expand on it next\u0026nbsp;year.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EI also had the pleasure of introducing another interaction design taboo\n    phrase. In the past two years they were\n    \u0026#8216;\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2011\/07\/teaching-interaction-11.html\"\u003Eintuitive\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026#8217; and\n    \u0026#8216;\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2012\/05\/teaching-interaction-12.html\"\u003Ethe user\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026#8217;\n    This year it was \u0026#8216;we tried,\u0026#8217; I\u0026nbsp;have seen it used often\n    enough by my students in reports. Interaction designers do not try, they\n    \u003Cem\u003Emake\u003C\/em\u003E. Yes, not everything works \u003Cem\u003Eexactly\u003C\/em\u003E as expected, that is what\n    iteration is for. But in general interaction designers are in a unique position\n    for \u003Cem\u003Emaking\u003C\/em\u003E, it\u0026nbsp;work.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch3\u003EI just can\u0026#8217;t get enough\u003C\/h3\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThe \u003Cacronym\u003EGIMP\u003C\/acronym\u003E design challenge I picked this year was the\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/docs.gimp.org\/2.8\/en\/gimp-tool-align.html\"\u003Ealign tool\u003C\/a\u003E.\n    It can be used to align\u0026#8212;left, middle, right, top, centre,\n    bottom\u0026#8212;image layers with various image objects (layer, path, image,\n    selection, channel). This relatively compact tool needs an interaction\n    redesign, it has never received any design\u0026nbsp;love.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EWhile preparing the course, I\u0026nbsp;checked out the tool. Within ten minutes\n    I was asking myself why only layers can be aligned\u0026#8212;i.e. moved\u0026#8212;and\n    not all the other objects (paths, channels, etc). Also the whole distribute\n    mode does not actually distribute (objects evenly between themselves), it just\n    aligns them with some extra offset. It became clear that the align tool is\n    woefully underpowered: it has \u003Cem\u003Enot enough functionality.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EHow quaint. Normally interaction designers have to fight too much and\n    gratuitous functionality, and make it manageable. Conversely, during this\n    course the student design teams had to concern themselves with what\n    functionality to \u003Cem\u003Eadd\u003C\/em\u003E, to make the align tool fit\u0026nbsp;for\u0026nbsp;use.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch4\u003Escenarios + variants\u003C\/h4\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003ETo flesh out the essential use of the align tool, we made a few user\n    scenarios:\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cdl\u003E\n    \u003Cdt\u003Ejust align\u003C\/dt\u003E\n    \u003Cdd\u003Ethis is as simple as it gets: align top\/left\/etc. of one object\n    (layer, path, selection, channel) with another (all of the above, plus\u0026nbsp;image).\u003C\/dd\u003E\n    \u003Cdt\u003Ekeeping things together\u003C\/dt\u003E\n    \u003Cdd\u003Epick multiple objects that belong together, e.g. a layer with a corresponding\n    mask, and align as one unit with another object; the same for multiple of\n    these\u0026nbsp;units.\u003C\/dd\u003E\n    \u003Cdt\u003Etrue distribution\u003C\/dt\u003E\n    \u003Cdd\u003Edistribute objects evenly among themselves, or in an absolute way with a\n    fixed\u0026nbsp;offset.\u003C\/dd\u003E\n    \u003Cdt\u003Eall together now\u003C\/dt\u003E\n    \u003Cdd\u003Ethis is as complicated as it can get: combined alignment and distribution of\n    combined units and single objects.\u003C\/dd\u003E\n    \u003C\/dl\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EThe students used these scenarios for their evaluation of the interaction\n    of the existing tool. With the gained insight into the good and the bad, the\n    students were then ready to brainstorm better solutions. Apart from ideas for\n    fleshing out the functionality, I\u0026nbsp;asked the students to brainstorm two\n    variants of the tool: one as it is now\u0026#8212;a toolbox tool\u0026#8212;the other\n    \u003Cem\u003Eanything but\u003C\/em\u003E a toolbox tool (i.e. using only the menu bar and dockable\n    dialogs).\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch4\u003Ehands\u0026#8209;off\u003C\/h4\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EThis was in response to the fact that the current align tool is not much of\n    a toolbox tool. It does not let users change things hands\u0026#8209;on on the\n    canvas (e.g. like paint tools do). On a higher level, it simply does not\n    \u003Cem\u003Efeel\u003C\/em\u003E like a toolbox tool. The question then simply becomes: should\n    the align tool be in the toolbox at all? This is what I let the students\n    explore.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThis exploration set the student teams up for their reasoned decision on\n    which approach to take\u0026#8212;toolbox tool or not\u0026#8212;when they moved to the\n    solution design phase. By exploring diametrical opposites they did not only\n    got to know the potential of either solution, they also learned \u003Cem\u003Emore\u003C\/em\u003E\n    about either solution, from studying the opposite.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EAs you will see in a moment, all four teams chose to design the align tool\n    for the toolbox, with some teams adding non\u0026#8209;toolbox interaction to\n    the\u0026nbsp;mix.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch3\u003Efour team results\u003C\/h3\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EAnd now the design results of the student teams. The work of all four teams\n    is available under the\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.gnu.org\/copyleft\/fdl.html\"\u003EGNU Free Documentation License\u0026nbsp;1.2\u003C\/a\u003E.\n    I\u0026nbsp;will present them in team\u0026nbsp;order.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch4\u003Eteam one\u003C\/h4\u003E\n\n    \u003Cul\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003Emembers: Allison\u0026nbsp;Cook, Dominic\u0026nbsp;Berchtold\u0026nbsp;+ Eva\u0026#8209;Yola\u0026nbsp;Hajdu\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog12\/13team1.pdf\"\u003Edesign concept document\u003C\/a\u003E (pdf,\u0026nbsp;1.2\u0026nbsp;MB)\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003C\/ul\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003ETeam one gets straight to the point where it comes to making the align tool a\n    hands\u0026#8209;on tool. Layers can be grabbed and moved around and magnetic\n    points will perform the alignment:\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cimg style=\"margin-left : -4px;\" src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog12\/13team1magnet.jpg\"\n    alt=\"two rectangles with magnetic points\" width=\"195\" height=\"185\"\/\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EThis is a good realisation of the \u0026#8216;just align\u0026#8217; \u003Cem\u003Espirit\u003C\/em\u003E of\n    the first user scenario. For more complex situations, involving more layers,\n    the team requisitioned the layers dialog, which changes appearance to reflect\n    that\u0026nbsp;(right):\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog12\/13team1layersL.jpg\"\u003E\n    \u003Cimg src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog12\/13team1layers.jpg\"\n    alt=\"tool options, canvas and layers dialog\" width=\"380\" height=\"124\"\/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EOn the left, in the tool options, users can see the list of layers which have\n    been selected for manipulation and unselect them there without having to dig around\n    either on the canvas or the layers\u0026nbsp;dialog.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch4\u003Eteam two\u003C\/h4\u003E\n\n    \u003Cul\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003Emembers: Dylan\u0026nbsp;Burns, Paula\u0026nbsp;Hidalgo\u0026nbsp;+ Nora\u0026nbsp;Huber\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog12\/13team2.pdf\"\u003Edesign concept document\u003C\/a\u003E (pdf,\u0026nbsp;2.3\u0026nbsp;MB)\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003C\/ul\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003ETeam two put their minds towards providing \u003Cem\u003Equite\u003C\/em\u003E a few ways to\n    align and distribute (or disperse, as they called it). There is the objects\n    mode, which further develops the existing align\u0026nbsp;tool:\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog12\/13team2objectsL.jpg\"\u003E\n    \u003Cimg src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog12\/13team2objects.jpg\"\n    alt=\"objects mode tool options and the canvas with numbered objects\"\n    width=\"380\" height=\"306\"\/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EAnd then there is the points mode, which lets users set a point, a marker\n    on each object that needs to be aligned with a reference point (the\u0026nbsp;star):\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog12\/13team2pointsL.jpg\"\u003E\n    \u003Cimg src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog12\/13team2points.jpg\"\n    alt=\"points mode tool options and the canvas with objects with points placed,\n    and the star reference\" width=\"380\" height=\"307\"\/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EThis takes into account that in pixel\u0026#8208;based applications\n    like \u003Cacronym\u003EGIMP\u003C\/acronym\u003E, the \u0026#8216;edge\u0026#8217; or \u0026#8216;centre\n    point\u0026#8217; of subject matter is not necessarily that of the layer, path or\n    mask. Apart from the two modes, also magnetic snapping\u0026#8212;similar to\n    team one\u0026#8212;is part of the\u0026nbsp;design.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cimg src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog12\/13team2options.jpg\"\n    alt=\"padding, distance and box tool options\" width=\"186\" height=\"65\"\/\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003ENice and compact is their design of three different ways to distribute\n    objects in the tool options. The Box mode lets users define a rectangle on the\n    canvas to set up distribution.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch4\u003Eteam three\u003C\/h4\u003E\n\n    \u003Cul\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003Emembers: Florian\u0026nbsp;Rehlendt, Linda\u0026nbsp;Latzelsberger,\n    Madeleine\u0026nbsp;Mouton\u0026nbsp;+ Lizzie\u0026nbsp;Hinojosa\u0026nbsp;Allen\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog12\/13team3.pdf\"\u003Edesign concept document\u003C\/a\u003E (pdf,\u0026nbsp;508\u0026nbsp;KB)\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003C\/ul\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003ETeam three expanded align in three new directions:\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cimg src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog12\/13team3shapes.jpg\"\n    alt=\"paths, shapes and templates to align with\" width=\"380\" height=\"49\"\/\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EThe outcome of these three are shown below. Align\u0026#8208;along\u0026#8208;path\n    (middle) makes very good use of the path concept:\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog12\/13team3alignL.png\"\u003E\n    \u003Cimg src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog12\/13team3align.png\"\n    alt=\"aligning objects with a circle, a wavy path and a grid layout\" width=\"285\" height=\"382\"\/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003ETeam three allows the centre point simply to be moved. As stated above, it\n    is not necessarily located in the centre of a layer or mask\u0026nbsp;(left):\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cimg src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog12\/13team3preview.png\"\n    alt=\"moving the centre point and a alignment preview\" width=\"380\" height=\"244\"\/\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EOn the right we see the preview option demonstrated, invoked by hovering over\n    an align or distribution\u0026nbsp;button.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch4\u003Eteam four\u003C\/h4\u003E\n\n    \u003Cul\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003Emembers: Sabina\u0026nbsp;Loacker, Barbara\u0026nbsp;Nader, Nicole\u0026nbsp;Paulo\u0026nbsp;+\n    Thomas\u0026nbsp;Windisch\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog12\/13team4.pdf\"\u003Edesign concept document\u003C\/a\u003E (pdf,\u0026nbsp;2.4\u0026nbsp;MB)\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003C\/ul\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003ETeam four designed a different version of working hands\u0026#8209;on on the\n    canvas. Their reference object shows an \u0026#8216;alignment map\u0026#8217;; clicking one\n    of these six lines aligns other highlighted objects with\u0026nbsp;it:\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cimg src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog12\/13team4map.png\"\n    alt=\"an object rectangle with lines going through the sides and centre\"\n    width=\"190\" height=\"190\"\/\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EThey extended this to the edges of image canvas; click them to align\n    objects with\u0026nbsp;them:\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cimg src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog12\/13team4canvas.jpg\"\n    alt=\"clicking a symbol at the edge of the canvas\" width=\"279\" height=\"183\"\/\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EGood to see that team four allowed for different horizontal and vertical\n    offsets and clearly shows these can be negative:\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cimg src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog12\/13team4offset.jpg\"\n    alt=\"input fields and sliders for offsets in the tool options\" width=\"190\" height=\"190\"\/\u003E\n\n    \u003Ch4\u003Epostscript\u003C\/h4\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EWhat started as fleshing out an unassuming tool turned into serious design\n    work when user needs entered the picture. At the end of the final design day,\n    one of the students said \u003Cem\u003E\u0026#8216;there are just so many things in my\n    head!\u0026#8217;\u003C\/em\u003E Yes, that is what designing is about: connecting many,\n    many\u0026nbsp;things.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EAgain I had a great week at the \u003Cacronym\u003EFH\u003C\/acronym\u003E in Dornbirn this year.\n    I\u0026nbsp;would like to thank all the students for the hard work they put in and for the\n    energy they returned.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n    "},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/comment.g?blogID=28919981\u0026postID=5083276337495124828","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/28919981\/posts\/default\/5083276337495124828"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/28919981\/posts\/default\/5083276337495124828"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2013\/06\/teaching-interaction-13.html","title":"teaching interaction \/13"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Anonymous"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/13344735552467622739"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28919981.post-1906153688990726663"},"published":{"$t":"2013-05-23T22:51:00.000+02:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2015-06-11T12:54:39.401+02:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"fundamental"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"process"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"design lessons with Daft Punk"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"    \u003Cp\u003EI am sure you have noticed the\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Daft_Punk\"\u003EDaft Punk\u003C\/a\u003E marketing\n    master plan that is taking over all media channels at the moment. And I\n    admit that I am happy to consume\u0026#8212;and inhale\u0026#8212;anything\n    (semi\u0026#8208;)intelligent that is being written about\u0026nbsp;them.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EYesterday I read this\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.guardian.co.uk\/music\/2013\/may\/19\/daft-punk-release-a-new-album\"\u003EObserver interview\u003C\/a\u003E\n    with the \u0026#8216;notoriously shy French duo.\u0026#8217;\n    \u003Cspan id=\"teaser\"\u003EAfterwards, intuition told me there was something\n    vaguely familiar about what they had said. I\u0026nbsp;checked again and sure\n    enough, plenty of it applies to (interaction)\u0026nbsp;design.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch3\u003Epunk rules, OK?\u003C\/h3\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EBelow are Daft Punk quotes I lifted from the article, followed by\n    what I associate with each. There are also a couple of cameo appearances by\n    hit\u0026#8209;production legend\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Nile_Rodgers\"\u003ENile\u0026nbsp;Rodgers\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote class=\"hang solo\"\u003E\u0026#8216;The music that\u0026#8217;s being done today has\n    lost its magic and its poetry because it\u0026#8217;s rooted in everyday life and\n    is highly technological.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EWow, not the most hands\u0026#8209;on quote to start with. But I swore that\n    I\u0026#8217;d present them in the order they appear in the article. With the\n    mentioned \u0026#8216;magic and poetry\u0026#8217;, I\u0026nbsp;associate \u003Cem\u003Efantastic\u003C\/em\u003E\n    design work. This means sweeping solutions, for which there needs to be at\n    least one designer on the project with a big\u0026#8208;picture\u0026nbsp;view.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EBeing constantly \u0026#8216;rooted in everyday life\u0026#8217;\u0026#8212;e.g.\n    \u003Cem\u003Erelying\u003C\/em\u003E on testing (\u003Csmall\u003EA\/B\u003C\/small\u003E or usability); or working\n    piecemeal, or driven by user requests, or in firefighter mode\u0026#8212;shortens\n    the horizons and shrinks the goals. It surely programs the project for\n    mediocrity, i.e. humdrum, incremental solutions.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EEvery user has to deal every day with software that \u0026#8216;is highly\n    technological.\u0026#8217; Everybody thinks this sucks. Making software is highly\n    technological when one is staring at code; when thinking about code; when\n    taking prototyping capabilities into account; when technology informs the\n    interaction, verbatim. Designing great interaction means not making any of\n    these mistakes.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote class=\"hang solo\"\u003E\u0026#8216;In early interviews they came across as\n    suspicious and aloof. \u0026#8220;It\u0026#8217;s because you\u0026#8217;re 18 and you feel\n    maybe guilty: why are we chosen to do these things?\u0026#8221; says Thomas.\n    \u0026#8220;There\u0026#8217;s definitely reasons to feel less uncomfortable now.\n    It\u0026#8217;s one thing to say you\u0026#8217;re going to do it and another to have\n    done it for\u0026nbsp;20\u0026nbsp;years.\u0026#8221;\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003ENow that is the voice of experience talking. The first part of it is this\n    early phase; fresh out of school and real (work) life is starting. This\n    suspicion of one\u0026#8217;s own talents, entering a company, scene or industry\n    and expecting the folks around you to \u003Cem\u003Ebe\u003C\/em\u003E like you, \u003Cem\u003Esee\u003C\/em\u003E\n    things like you. And then they don\u0026#8217;t. Very confusing, who is\n    wrong\u0026nbsp;here?\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThe second part is having \u0026#8216;done it for 20\u0026nbsp;years.\u0026#8217; If that\n    involved a portfolio of successful work; continuous self\u0026#8208;development;\n    the discovery of what a difference \u0026#8216;being experienced\u0026#8217; makes and\n    getting to know a few peers, then it has become more comfortable to be a\n    designer. Just don\u0026#8217;t get too comfortable; make sure every new project\n    you take on challenges and develops\u0026nbsp;you.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote class=\"hang solo\"\u003E\u0026#8216;The only secret to being in control is to have\n    it in the beginning. Retaining control is still hard, but obtaining control is\n    virtually impossible.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThe first level where this holds is getting a design implemented. Quite\n    often developers like to first put some temporary\u0026#8212;and highly\n    technological\u0026#8212;interaction while they sort out the non\u0026#8209;UI code.\n    The real design will be implemented later. Then time ticks away, the design\n    lands in a drawer and the \u0026#8216;temporary\u0026#8217; UI gets shipped.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EI do not think this is a malicious trick, but it happens so\n    often that I do not buy it anymore. The only secret to getting interaction\n    design implemented is to do it in the beginning.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThe second level is that of the overall collaboration; \u0026#8216;obtaining\n    control is virtually impossible,\u0026#8217; no matter how big a boost a designer\n    has given the project. So one has to start out with control from the\n    beginning, it has to be endowed by the project leadership. And then one has to\n    work hard to retain\u0026nbsp;it.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote class=\"hang solo\"\u003E\u0026#8216;Guy\u0026#8209;Man, who designed the artwork, says\n    that Thomas is the \u0026#8220;hands\u0026#8209;on technician\u0026#8221; while he is the\n    \u0026#8220;filter\u0026#8221;: the man who stands back and says\n    \u003Ci\u003Eoui\u003C\/i\u003E\u0026nbsp;or\u0026nbsp;\u003Ci\u003Enon\u003C\/i\u003E.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EFilter is the stuff designers are made of. In the case of interaction\n    designers it means filtering out of all the things users say, the things they\n    actually need. It means saying \u003Ci\u003Enon\u003C\/i\u003E to many things that are simply\n    technologically possible, but useless, and \u003Ci\u003Eoui\u003C\/i\u003E to exactly \u003Cem\u003Ethat\u003C\/em\u003E\n    what realises the product, addresses users needs and is, yes, technologically\n    possible.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EBeing the filter does not always make you friends, having to say \u003Ci\u003Enon\u003C\/i\u003E\n    to cool\u0026#8208;sounding initiatives that in the bigger scheme of things are\n    incredibly unhelpful. But being a yes\u0026#8209;man makes an ineffective designer,\n    with non\u0026#8209;designed results.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EMaking software is not a game with unlimited time and resources; user\n    interaction is not one with unlimited screen space and communication bandwidth. A\n    filter is\u0026nbsp;crucial.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote class=\"hang solo\"\u003E\u0026#8216;\u0026#8220;The genius is never in the writing,\n    it\u0026#8217;s in the rewriting,\u0026#8221; says Rodgers. \u0026#8220;Whenever they put out\n    records I can hear the amount of work that\u0026#8217;s gone into them\u0026#8212;those\n    microscopically small decisions that other people won\u0026#8217;t even think\n    about. It\u0026#8217;s cool, but they massage it so it\u0026#8217;s not just\n    cool\u0026#8212;it\u0026#8217;s amazing.\u0026#8221;\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EI learned some years ago that it is not only the \u003Csmall\u003EBIG\u003C\/small\u003E plans\n    and sweeping solutions that make a master designer. It is also in the details.\n    \u003Cem\u003EAll\u003C\/em\u003E the tiny\u0026nbsp;details.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EAll these \u0026#8216;microscopically small decisions\u0026#8217; have to be taken in\n    the way that strengthen the overall design, or else it will crumble to\n    dust. This creates tension with all the collaborators, who \u0026#8216;won\u0026#8217;t\n    even think about\u0026#8217; these details. They cannot see the point, the crumbling.\n    Masters\u0026nbsp;do.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote class=\"hang solo\"\u003E\u0026#8216;We wish people could be influenced by our\n    approach as much as our output. It\u0026#8217;s about breaking the rules and doing\n    something different rather than taking some arrangements we did 10\u0026nbsp;years\n    ago that have now become a\u0026nbsp;formula.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EDesign is not a formula, not a sauce you pour over software. Design is a\n    process, performed by those who can. A designer cannot tell upfront what the\n    design will be like, but knows where to start, what to tackle and when it\n    is done. That sounds trivial, but for non\u0026#8209;designers these four points\n    work exactly opposite.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EApply the design process to a unique (i.e. non\u0026#8209;copycat) project and you\n    will get an appropriate and unique design. Blindly applying this design\n    to another project is by definition inappropriate.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote class=\"hang solo\"\u003E\u0026#8216;\u0026#8220;Computers aren\u0026#8217;t really music\n    instruments,\u0026#8221; he sniffs. \u0026#8220;And the only way to listen to it is on a\n    computer as well. Human creativity is the ultimate interface. It\u0026#8217;s much\n    more powerful than the mouse or the touch\u0026nbsp;screen.\u0026#8221;\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThis quote hits the nail on the head by setting the flow of creativity\n    between humans as the baseline and then noting how computer interfaces are\n    completely humbled by it. It is too easy to forget about this when your\n    everyday world is making software.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThe truth about software for designers (of music, graphics and other media)\n    is that not much of it is designed\u0026#8212;the interaction I mean, although it\n    may \u003Cem\u003Elook\u003C\/em\u003E cool. Being software for a niche market makes it\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2008\/09\/armpit-of-usability_20.html\"\u003Earmpit of usability\u003C\/a\u003E\n    material: developers talking directly to users, implementing their feature\n    request in a highly technological\u0026nbsp;way.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003ETo make an end to this sad state of affairs, a design process needs to be\n    introduced that is rooted in a complete\u0026#8212;but\n    \u003Cem\u003Efiltered\u003C\/em\u003E\u0026#8212;understanding of the activity called human\n    creativity.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote class=\"hang solo\"\u003E\u0026#8216;Enjoying the Hollywood analogy, Thomas says\n    Daft Punk were the album\u0026#8217;s screenwriters and directors while the guest\n    performers were the actors, but actors who were given licence to write their\n    own\u0026nbsp;lines.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EI am also enjoying that analogy, and the delicate balance that is implied.\n    On the one hand, interaction designers get to create the embodiment of the\n    software \u0026#8216;out of thin air\u0026#8217; and write it down in some form of\n    specification, the screenplay. Being in the position of seeing how \u003Cem\u003Eeverything\u003C\/em\u003E\n    is connected, it also falls naturally to them to direct the further\n    realisation, by developers and media designers.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EIf that sounds very bossy to you, it is balanced by the fact that these\n    developers and media designers already \u003Cem\u003Ehave\u003C\/em\u003E complete \u0026#8216;licence\n    to write their own lines.\u0026#8217; For developers every line of code they write\n    is literary\u0026nbsp;theirs.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThe delicate balance depends on developers and media designers being able\n    to contribute to the interaction design process\u0026#8212;in both meanings of that\n    phrase. And it depends on all written lines fitting the screenplay.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote class=\"hang solo\"\u003E\u0026#8216;\u0026#8220;What I worked on was quite bare bones\n    and everything else grew up around me,\u0026#8221; says Nile Rodgers. \u0026#8220;They\n    just wanted me to be free to play. That\u0026#8217;s the way we used to make\n    records back in the day. It almost felt like we\u0026#8217;d moved back\n    in\u0026nbsp;time.\u0026#8221;\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThis is what design processes are about; to create a space where one is\n    free to play. This in the dead\u0026#8208;serious context of solving the\n    problem. Play is used to get around a wall or two that stand between\n    the designer and the solution for making it\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003Ework\u003C\/em\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EIt takes a \u0026#8216;quite bare\u0026#8208;bones\u0026#8217; environment to be free:\n    pencil and paper in the case of interaction design. That may \u0026#8216;feel like\n    moving back in time\u0026#8217; but it is actually really liberating; it offers a\n    great interface for human creativity. Once you got around those walls and hit\n    upon the solution, every part of the design can grow up around what\n    you\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003Eplayed.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EAnd on that note, I\u0026#8217;ll finish today\u0026#8217;s blog\u0026nbsp;post. \u003C\/p\u003E\n    "},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/comment.g?blogID=28919981\u0026postID=1906153688990726663","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/28919981\/posts\/default\/1906153688990726663"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/28919981\/posts\/default\/1906153688990726663"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2013\/05\/design-lessons-with-daft.html","title":"design lessons with Daft\u0026nbsp;Punk"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Anonymous"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/13344735552467622739"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28919981.post-9031040345581788970"},"published":{"$t":"2013-05-13T13:58:00.000+02:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2013-06-08T23:04:21.831+02:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"mobile"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"product vision"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"teaching"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"masterclass in san francisco"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"    \u003Cp\u003EThe day after\n    \u003Ca href=\"blog.mmiworks.net\/2013\/04\/collisions-in-software-projects-and.html\"\u003EVolkswagen\u0026nbsp;+ Wolfsburg\u003C\/a\u003E\n    I\u0026nbsp;was on my way to San Francisco. I\u0026nbsp;had been invited by the\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cca.edu\/\"\u003ECalifornia College of the Arts\u003C\/a\u003E\n    (\u003Cacronym\u003ECCA\u003C\/acronym\u003E) for their Dutch Design Week, \u0026#8216;a series of events\n    celebrating Dutch Design and fostering exchange between Dutch and American\n    Designers.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan id=\"teaser\"\u003EMy personal highlight of these events was a\n    two\u0026#8208;day masterclass for design graduates and interaction design\n    undergraduates. Not only because of the intense and re\u0026#8209;energising work\n    with the \u003Cacronym\u003ECCA\u003C\/acronym\u003E students, but also because I learned something\n    new from two cases of unintended consequences.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch3\u003Ebegin the beguine\u003C\/h3\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EWhile I was planning the class, Kristian Simsarian\u0026#8212;chair of the\n    interaction design program at \u003Cacronym\u003ECCA\u003C\/acronym\u003E\u0026#8212;encouraged me to\n    pick a topic which I am passionate about. So I picked two:\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/portfolio\/\"\u003Eproduct realisation\u003C\/a\u003E and\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/search\/label\/mobile\"\u003Emobile\u003C\/a\u003E. The last\n    decade these have been the most important themes in my design practice, with\n    the highest\u0026nbsp;impact.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003ESo the masterclass was going to consist of designing a proper mobile\n    website or app for a software product, a service, website or organisation.\n    Question was: which\u0026nbsp;one?\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch4\u003Euncanny valley\u003C\/h4\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EI am not comfortable with structuring my teaching around imaginary\n    projects. Only when there are one or more persons inside a project who burn to\n    make something valuable, it is viable for designers to work on it and\n    \u003Cem\u003Erealise\u003C\/em\u003E this\u0026nbsp;goal.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003ESo instead of making up an imaginary project for this class, I\u0026nbsp;asked\n    the participating students to bring their own project, one \u003Cem\u003Ethey\u003C\/em\u003E are\n    \u003Cem\u003Epassionate\u003C\/em\u003E about. I\u0026nbsp;was curious to see what they would bring in:\n    could be some app they love but wanted to redesign, or a local community\n    project. At the end each student brought a personal project to work on,\n    some of them with a local (transport\/biking) flavour.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch3\u003Eon the one\u003C\/h3\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EFast\u0026#8208;forward to the first morning of the masterclass. The\n    \u003Cacronym\u003ECCA\u003C\/acronym\u003E\u0026#8217;s \u003Cacronym\u003ESF\u003C\/acronym\u003E building is like a\n    cathedral part\u0026#8208;filled with a labyrinth of cosy spaces to teach and work.\n    Next door to my class was the one of industrial designer\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.joine.nl\/en\/index.php?id=2\u0026office=2\"\u003EMaarten Baptist\u003C\/a\u003E.\n    Right in front of us, the floor of the \u0026#8216;nave\u0026#8217; filled up with the\n    graphic design students of Marijke and Chantal, i.e.\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.cobbenhagenhendriksen.nl\/\"\u003ECobbenhagen Hendriksen\u003C\/a\u003E,\n    working on posters. Everyone was\u0026nbsp;inspired.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EAfter a riveting introduction by Alexander Baumgardt\u0026#8212;who had been\n    instrumental in bringing me over for the week\u0026#8212;it was time for me to get\n    to know the students, seven graduates and five undergrads. I\u0026nbsp;am always\n    interested in the reason why each chose to participate, it tells me something\n    about this student and her\/his expectations, and the future of\n    my\u0026nbsp;industry.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch4\u003Eget with the program\u003C\/h4\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EI then explained the main building blocks of the class, product\n    realisation and mobile, and two auxiliary ones: \u0026#8216;design is solving the\n    problem\u0026#8217; and \u0026#8216;designing is done pencil on paper.\u0026#8217;\n    I\u0026nbsp;wove these together with an overview of my career, to show where they\n    are coming from and why they play such an important role in\n    my\u0026nbsp;practice.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cimg class=\"cited\" src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog12\/ccaClass.jpg\"\n      alt=\"Peter Sikking in front of the interaction design class\"\n      width=\"380\" height=\"292\"\/\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003Eexplaining the tactical deployment of user scenarios;\n    photo\u0026nbsp;©\u0026nbsp;Kathleen\u0026nbsp;Moynahan\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003ENext, I\u0026nbsp;structured our work for the first day. We started off with the\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/wedo\/product.html\"\u003Eproduct phase\u003C\/a\u003E; building a\n    foundation for the design work: product vision; functionality overview; user\n    scenarios; expert evaluation. First up was the method that I see as crucial for\n    product realisation: compiling a product\u0026nbsp;vision.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch3\u003Evicious games\u003C\/h3\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EExperience tells me that it is incredibly hard for project insiders to\n    define their vision; it\u0026#8217;s like pulling teeth. It also takes a long time;\n    weeks of pulling teeth. I\u0026nbsp;did not have the time for this, although I had\n    created the situation that every student entered the class as a full insider\n    of her\/his own\u0026nbsp;project.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EWhat I needed was what every project needs: a moderator to tease the vision\n    out of the project insiders. Luckily I had a class full of potential moderators.\n    Product realisation means working from a vision, thus it became\n    natural to go through the exercise of moderating\u0026nbsp;one.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch4\u003E1 + 1 = 2\u003C\/h4\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EDuring the morning, I\u0026nbsp;introduced the\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/wedo\/product.html\"\u003Eproduct vision\u003C\/a\u003E\n    method and told the story of how I developed it years ago. I\u0026nbsp;showed the\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2010\/03\/working-on-vision-with.html\"\u003EKrita\n    example\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026#8212;long live \u003Cem\u003Eopen\u003C\/em\u003E working\u0026#8212;and explained what\n    each part means, down to single words. Then I asked the students to work\n    in\u0026nbsp;pairs.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EBecause I found the interaction specialisation vs. maturity asymmetry in my\n    class interesting, I\u0026nbsp;asked the undergrads to pair up with a graduate\n    student, just to mix things up. Looking back I can report that collaboration\n    was exemplary.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EWithin each pair, one would take the role of moderator, helping the\n    other\u0026#8212;insider to her\/his own project\u0026#8212;to formulate a vision. Then\n    they swapped\u0026nbsp;roles.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch4\u003Ealtogether\u003C\/h4\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EGetting a product vision together takes time and each pair had to formulate\n    two of them. As a result we spent a couple of hours on this method. Apart from\n    doing \u003Cacronym\u003EQ\u003C\/acronym\u003E+\u003Cacronym\u003EA\u003C\/acronym\u003E and guidance with the six\n    pairs, I\u0026nbsp;also held two rounds of discussion with the\n    complete\u0026nbsp;class.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EIn these discussions we spoke about how we were doing, what we were\n    observing and experiencing, and I explained the more tricky parts of\n    a product vision. From the reaction of my students, I\u0026nbsp;got my first dose of\n    unintended consequences.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch4\u003E1 + 1 = 4\u003C\/h4\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EBy now you know that I had the students work on a vision in both moderator\n    and insider roles just to stand a chance of getting it done.\n    I\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003Ecould\u003C\/em\u003E have predicted that by playing both roles they would get\n    twice the insight into the product vision\u0026nbsp;method.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EBut judging from the overwhelming reaction of my students, I\u0026nbsp;seemed to\n    have a struck a \u003Cem\u003Equadratic\u003C\/em\u003E effect. They were enthusiastic and\n    \u0026#8216;getting it\u0026#8217; as if they just had four times the insight. That\n    really made\u0026nbsp;my\u0026nbsp;day.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch4\u003Ecan you dig it?\u003C\/h4\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EHere are three product vision statements made in the\u0026nbsp;class:\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;The Thrive App gives a voice to household\n    plants. Thrive lets busy, novice plant owners know their plant\u0026#8217;s\n    well\u0026#8208;being via a paired sensor in the soil and recommends appropriate\n    care through the voice of the\u0026nbsp;plant.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;Thrive notifies owners of their plant\u0026#8217;s\n    vitals in real time. Thrive connects people to nature in a small way by\n    creating an emotional bond between people and\n    their\u0026nbsp;plants.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003Evision ©\u0026nbsp;Ramunė\u0026nbsp;Rastonis, moderated by Allison\u0026nbsp;Leach\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;\u003Ci\u003EEchosphere\u003C\/i\u003E is a mobile application that\n    creates and controls sounds based in your movement.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;By combining live movement with sound and\n    visuals, it helps an older audience reawaken their\n    sense\u0026nbsp;of\u0026nbsp;play.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;\u003Ci\u003EEchosphere\u003C\/i\u003E is an individualized,\n    immersive experience that encourages breaking out of\n    analytical\u0026nbsp;thought.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003Evision ©\u0026nbsp;Kathleen\u0026nbsp;Moynahan, moderated by Evan\u0026nbsp;Litvak\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;MyWay is a smartphone app to optimize the\n    daily use of public transportation. Users can personalize their regular\n    destinations and schedules. The app keeps track of the public transportation\n    times and provides accurate feedback to the user, sending updates. It learns\n    from users\u0026#8217; behavior and automates their routine\n    trip\u0026nbsp;plans.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;It is meant for San Franciscans, in their 20\u0026#8217;s\n    to 50\u0026#8217;s, who use public transportation, own smartphones and are familiar with\n    the streets of San Francisco. The users have busy schedules, commute daily\n    with normally 2\u0026nbsp;to\u0026nbsp;4 regular destinations.\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cblockquote class=\"hang\"\u003E\u0026#8216;With MyWay people will be able to clear their\n    minds from repetitive tasks of keeping tracks of their time to catch public\n    transportation. It will free the user from the burden of keeping constant eye\n    on the transit\u0026nbsp;schedule.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003Evision ©\u0026nbsp;Tatsiana\u0026nbsp;Siadneva, moderated by Francis\u0026nbsp;Nakagawa\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EIt is clear what each of these three is about and what value it aims to deliver.\n    And that is the point of a\u0026nbsp;vision.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch3\u003Ebat man\u003C\/h3\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EOn the second day of the masterclass the accent moved to mobile\n    interaction. It was time to lead the students to a series of hard mobile\n    design choices that they had to make for their project. For\u0026nbsp;instance:\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cdl\u003E\n    \u003Cdt\u003Emobile website or app?\u003C\/dt\u003E\n    \u003Cdd\u003EThis choice should not be based on how cool, or confident one feels\n    designing it, but on what is best implementing the product vision. \u003C\/dd\u003E\n    \u003Cdt\u003Efragmentation\u003C\/dt\u003E\n    \u003Cdd\u003EWith limited time available for\n    this class, I made the students pick one platform and one screen size\n    (\u0026#8209;range,\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2012\/09\/responsive-web-layouts-filling-the.html#finalgap\"\u003Ein cm\/inches\u003C\/a\u003E\n    of course) to design for. In the real world, each (supported)  combination of\n    these two needs a separate, optimised\u0026nbsp;design.\u003C\/dd\u003E\n    \u003Cdt\u003Ethe \u003Cstrong\u003Enr.1\u003C\/strong\u003E issue in mobile\u003C\/dt\u003E\n    \u003Cdd\u003Ea.k.a. the battery. It has been \u003Cem\u003Ethe\u003C\/em\u003E issue for decades. As\n    interaction designer\u0026#8212;i.e. designer of \u0026#8216;the whole\n    thing\u0026#8217;\u0026#8212;one will either be confronted with severe limitations set\n    by the platform on how much the app\/site can be \u0026#8216;alive\u0026#8217; all the\n    time, or there are no limits and one has the full responsibility to not drain the\n    battery, all the\u0026nbsp;time.\u003C\/dd\u003E\n    \u003C\/dl\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThe overall goal of the masterclass was to design a solutions model; i.e.\n    the broad\u0026#8208;strokes plan that solves the main design challenges, plus a\n    strategy to design the rest. A complete (draft) design of even a small app\n    would have been too much work for our two\u0026nbsp;days.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch4\u003Ego west\u003C\/h4\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EI encouraged my students to explore and brainstorm before working reductive\n    and settling for a solution. But in practice, quite a few of them settled\n    too\u0026nbsp;quickly.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003ESo I challenged these students: \u0026#8216;I\u0026nbsp;see your design hinges\n    largely on \u003Cacronym\u003EXYZ\u003C\/acronym\u003E, It would be good if you brainstorm a few\n    ideas that do not involve \u003Cacronym\u003EXYZ\u003C\/acronym\u003E. Either you\u0026#8217;ll find\n    something better than your current plan, or you will learn valuable lessons\n    about\u0026nbsp;\u003Cacronym\u003EXYZ\u003C\/acronym\u003E.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog12\/thriveL.jpg\"\u003E\n       \u003Cimg class=\"cited\" src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog12\/thrive.jpg\"\n      alt=\"several sheets of paper with interaction sketches\"\n      width=\"380\" height=\"253\"\/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/ramunerastonis.com\/portfolio\/portfolio\/thrive-app-concept\/\"\u003EThrive\n    interaction\u003C\/a\u003E sketches, ©\u0026nbsp;Ramunė\u0026nbsp;Rastonis\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch4\u003Ego next\u003C\/h4\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EWorking with the students showed a lot of variation. Each had her\/his own pace,\n    project, approach, and design. I\u0026nbsp;enjoyed immensely working with each\n    individually and I am sure all of us would have enjoyed a couple of days\n    more of designing together. Then there was\n    the second case of unintended consequences.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThe feedback of most students was that they were going to continue working\n    on their project. This is really different than usual, where the project gets\n    dumped the moment the class is over. Why was it different this time? Ah, because\n    each of them brought a \u003Cem\u003Epersonal\u003C\/em\u003E project.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EAll in all it is very rewarding to see the impact of the masterclass. To\n    see how the project of every student made at least two steps in the\n    right direction. To see how the students \u0026#8216;got\u0026#8217; something out of it\n    that they can use during their design\u0026nbsp;careers.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog12\/echosphereL.png\"\u003E\n       \u003Cimg class=\"cited\" src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog12\/echosphere.jpg\"\n      alt=\"a glimpse of a mobile interaction flow diagram\"\n      width=\"380\" height=\"267\"\/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003EEchosphere interaction wireframes, worked out after the class,\n    ©\u0026nbsp;Kathleen\u0026nbsp;Moynahan\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch3\u003Epostscript\u003C\/h3\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EI did a panel discussion and a \u003Cacronym\u003EQ\u003C\/acronym\u003E+\u003Cacronym\u003EA\u003C\/acronym\u003E\n    session with first year interaction design students during the\n    \u003Cacronym\u003ECCA\u003C\/acronym\u003E Dutch Design Week. I\u0026nbsp;also met a lot of interesting\n    people. But the masterclass stands as my personal highlight because from all\n    the feedback I got, it was clear that both the students and the\n    \u003Cacronym\u003ECCA\u003C\/acronym\u003E got a real kick out of it. And\u0026nbsp;so\u0026nbsp;did\u0026nbsp;I.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EI would like to thank the students for their hard work; Tatsiana, Kathleen\n    and Ramunė for allowing me to share their work here; Alexander Baumgardt for\n    getting the ball rolling; and all at the \u003Cacronym\u003ECCA\u003C\/acronym\u003E and the Dutch\n    consulate who enabled this\u0026nbsp;trip.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/comment.g?blogID=28919981\u0026postID=9031040345581788970","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/28919981\/posts\/default\/9031040345581788970"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/28919981\/posts\/default\/9031040345581788970"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2013\/05\/masterclass-in-san.html","title":"masterclass in san\u0026nbsp;francisco"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Anonymous"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/13344735552467622739"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28919981.post-2555423625761053916"},"published":{"$t":"2013-04-26T11:37:00.000+02:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2013-04-26T13:28:01.463+02:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"architects"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"design stage"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"lecture"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"practical"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"process"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"product vision"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"top story"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"collisions in software projects… and a Volkswagen bus"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"    \u003Cp\u003EA week or two ago I was the guest of Volkswagen, in their hometown of\n    Wolfsburg. They had asked me to lecture on in\u0026#8209;house software projects,\n    friction and usability. Great question, could fill many an hour answering it.\n    With one hour at my disposal, I\u0026nbsp;picked one main aspect.\n    Here\u0026nbsp;we\u0026nbsp;go.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch3\u003Ethe fashion trade\u003C\/h3\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EUsually I design interaction for software \u003Cstrong\u003Eproducts\u003C\/strong\u003E;\n    off\u0026#8208;the\u0026#8208;peg software so to say: desktop applications,\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/portfolio\/index.html#searchmetrics\"\u003Ein browsers\u003C\/a\u003E,\n    and since 1997 also\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/search\/label\/mobile\"\u003Emobile\u003C\/a\u003E. A recent\n    twist are\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2012\/11\/a-survival-for-designing-in-service.html\"\u003Eservices\u003C\/a\u003E,\n    for instance\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/portfolio\/index.html#unusuals\"\u003Esocial networks\u003C\/a\u003E or\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/portfolio\/index.html#o2\"\u003E\u003Cacronym\u003EB2B\u003C\/acronym\u003E\u0026nbsp;websites\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EA quite different world is that of software \u003Cstrong\u003Eprojects\u003C\/strong\u003E; bespoke\n    software, made to measure for clients and\u0026#8212;hopefully\u0026#8212;its users too.\n    Comparing software products and projects, there is remarkable effect that I want\n    to address in this blog\u0026nbsp;post.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch4\u003Eslidin\u0026#8217; down\u003C\/h4\u003E\n\n    \u003Cp\u003EBelow we see from left to right a continuum of software specialisation:\n    from general (email, web surfing), via specialised (software for doctors, or\n    engineers) to bespoke projects. Plotted against that is their usability,\n    \u003Cem\u003Ein\u0026nbsp;general\u003C\/em\u003E:\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cimg src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog12\/downhill.png\"\n      alt=\"usability ramps down as software gets more specialised\"\n      width=\"380\" height=\"234\"\/\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan id=\"teaser\"\u003EI have\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2008\/09\/armpit-of-usability_20.html\"\u003Eblogged before\u003C\/a\u003E\n    about this \u0026#8216;armpit of usability,\u0026#8217;\u003C\/span\u003E its cause and effect.\n    \u003Cspan id=\"teaser\"\u003EToday I will go into why software projects are located at\n    its smelliest end. For this, we need to take a look at the \u003Cstrong\u003Ethree\n    worlds\u003C\/strong\u003E that collide in software projects, what they\n    \u003Cstrong\u003Eneed\u003C\/strong\u003E, and\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003Eoffer\u003C\/strong\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch3\u003Eclients\u003C\/h3\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThe first world we will take a look at is that of clients. This is logical\n    because it is clients who instigate software projects (there are also\n    illogical ways to start a software project\u0026#8212;e.g. have to spend the budget before\n    year\u0026#8217;s end, ask supplier how\u0026#8212;but I will disregard\u0026nbsp;these). \u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EA first client need in software projects is to get \u0026#8216;it\u0026#8217; built;\n    \u0026#8216;finished and working.\u0026#8217; This alone is already a cause of many a\n    conflict in software projects. I\u0026nbsp;will show later how to get a much better\n    handle on this\u0026nbsp;issue.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch4\u003Epeople, get moving\u003C\/h4\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EAnother client need in software projects is to save money. At least, it\n    used to be in the past decades, when software automated a lot of mechanical,\n    brain\u0026#8208;dead labour, especially in office environments. Additionally,\n    looking at a software project in this way is very spreadsheet\u0026#8208;friendly.\n    The temptation of this should not be underestimated. \u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EBut time has moved on and just about all mechanical jobs have been rationalised\n    away. What remains is \u003Cstrong\u003Ecreating value\u003C\/strong\u003E. This is exactly what\n    \u003Cem\u003Epeople\u003C\/em\u003E do: deal with situations with flexibility, provide\n    a human touch to communication, solve issues and create new ways to do things.\n    Machines and software do not stand a chance there. Over the years I have made\n    this value creation the core of my design\u0026nbsp;praxis.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch4\u003Eintermezzo: what about value?\u003C\/h4\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003ELet\u0026#8217;s take a short detour and see some examples of value creation.\n    We start with a plain project description:\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp class=\"hang\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u0026#8216;We need a new order\u0026#8208;taking\u0026nbsp;system.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThen we ask where the value\u0026nbsp;is:\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp class=\"hang\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u0026#8216;We need a new order\u0026#8208;taking system, tightly\n    integrated with manufacturing and warehouse operations.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003ENo, that is not it. That is still a very mechanical description\n    of what needs to be achieved. Try\u0026nbsp;again:\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp class=\"hang\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u0026#8216;We need a new order\u0026#8208;taking system that allows users\n    to unbureaucratically engage with any customer\u0026nbsp;wish.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThere we have it: value. Feels really different than the previous two,\n    doesn\u0026#8217;t it? Introducing software that realises this will be of clear\n    competitive advantage to this\u0026nbsp;client.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp class=\"hang\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u0026#8216;We need a new order\u0026#8208;taking system that allows users\n    to be order makers, instead of order\u0026nbsp;takers.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EAnother statement with value; not better, not worse, just different. This\n    demonstrates that defining value is a strategic choice for\u0026nbsp;clients.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EFlesh out the two statements above to three paragraphs, answering \u0026#8216;what\n    is it we are making, who is it for and where is the value?\u0026#8217; and you have\n    what I call a vision.\n    And vision is exactly what I expect from management and leadership in a software\n    project.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch4\u003Eback on track\u003C\/h4\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EWhere were we? Ah, value is definitely a client need in a software project.\n    And by formulating that in a vision statement we have moved to the first thing\n    clients have to\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003Eoffer.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EWe did already see that clients offer that software projects exists at\n    all. And therefore they have to offer funding, because projects without\n    funding turn out to be sad affairs, in my experience.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch3\u003Etech\u003C\/h3\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThe second world that  we will take a look at is that of technology, i.e. the\n    in\u0026#8209;house \u003Cacronym\u003EIT\u003C\/acronym\u003E\u0026nbsp;department or the external suppliers.\n    All engineers, developers, technical architects, \u003Cacronym\u003EDBA\u003C\/acronym\u003Es and\n    functional analysts are part of this\u0026nbsp;world.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003ECut to the bone, the sole reason these in\u0026#8209;house\n    \u003Cacronym\u003EIT\u003C\/acronym\u003E\u0026nbsp;departments and external suppliers exist is to\n    hoover up those software projects and budgets that clients have to offer. It\n    is their first, and prime, need. This is a marked difference with the world of\n    software products, where technology departments are\n    achievement\u0026#8208;focussed.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cacronym\u003EXOR\u003C\/acronym\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThe second need the tech world has is that of clarity. From the\n    zero\/one definition of a bit upwards, in black and white terms. What needs to\n    be built and when can we call it finished? This is compounded by the need of\n    the tech world to frame and communicate everything in technical\u0026nbsp;terms.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EAs such, the tech world is completely at ease working from the statement\n    we have seen\u0026nbsp;before:\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp class=\"hang\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u0026#8216;We need a new order\u0026#8208;taking system, tightly\n    integrated with manufacturing and warehouse operations.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EGiven enough time and budget, they can bring this to a good end by\n    themselves. But they are completely lost with the value part in this\n    statement:\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp class=\"hang\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u0026#8216;We need a new order\u0026#8208;taking system that allows users\n    to unbureaucratically engage with any customer\u0026nbsp;wish.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EYes, the sales types of the tech world will nod understandingly when\n    clients express the value they need. But when the actual work starts, their\n    colleagues will hem and haw until the statement is reduced to something\n    like the first one, i.e. technically precise, but without\u0026nbsp;value.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch4\u003Etruly, always\u003C\/h4\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EWhat the tech world has to offer is the engineering and building of\n    software. \u003Cem\u003EEveryone\u003C\/em\u003E knows that in order to get software, it needs to\n    get built, i.e. code developed. The brutal reality of software making is that\n    everything else I describe in this blog post is perceived by clients as\n    optional, even down to the proper engineering part: \u0026#8216;just bang some code\n    together.\u0026#8217;\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThe tech world expertly plays this \u0026#8216;you need to get it built\u0026#8217;\n    card. They play it to get (just about) all of the available budget, and to\n    bury deep under the ground anything they don\u0026#8217;t \u0026#8216;feel\u0026#8217;\n    like\u0026nbsp;doing.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch3\u003Eusers\u003C\/h3\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThe last world that we will take a look at is that of users. And here\n    the circle closes, because what \u003Cstrong\u003Eusers\u003C\/strong\u003E have to\n    \u003Cstrong\u003Eoffer\u003C\/strong\u003E is \u003Cstrong\u003Evalue creation\u003C\/strong\u003E. We can now\n    see what software\u0026nbsp;is:\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cimg src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog12\/bus.png\"\n      alt=\"a bus\" width=\"249\" height=\"82\"\/\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EIt is a means of \u003Cem\u003Evalue transport\u003C\/em\u003E, provided by the client and\n    built by technology. The software is there to meet its users, pick up\n    the value they create and bring it back to the\u0026nbsp;client:\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cimg src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog12\/bus+users.png\"\n      alt=\"a bus with passengers beside it\" width=\"380\" height=\"82\"\/\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EBut to pick up that value, the users will have to get on the bus. Paying\n    them is not enough, neither is a direct order. These will make them\n    endure the software, but they will not even consider getting on the\n    value\u0026nbsp;bus.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EHow do you entice users to get on the bus? You do it by \u003Cem\u003Eobserving the\n    needs\u003C\/em\u003E of these users and addressing them in the software. What are these\n    user needs? Well, that is exactly the question the\n    \u003Cacronym\u003EIT\u003C\/acronym\u003E\u0026nbsp;industry has been struggling with for the last\n    50\u0026nbsp;years.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch4\u003EMorse code\u003C\/h4\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EWhat happens traditionally in software projects is that (indirectly) the\n    three worlds\u0026#8212;client, tech and users\u0026#8212;sit down to discuss what users\n    need. It is literally three different worlds meeting, three different\n    cultures, speaking three different languages:\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cimg src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog12\/intersect3.png\"\n      alt=\"3 circles with a tiny intersection area between them\"\n      width=\"380\" height=\"357\"\/\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EYou can see that the intersection of all three is very small. It has a name:\n    \u003Cem\u003Ediscussing features\u003C\/em\u003E. Features, features, ever more features. A very\n    human phenomenon is feature hoarding. Just like kids and toys, there can never\n    be less features. No, that is a regression.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003E Everything gets phrased as a feature request\u0026#8212;the only means of\n    communication available. Often users are asking that an existing feature gets\n    improved (e.g. finally made findable, or usable), but it gets phrased as an\n    additional feature.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch4\u003Egimme some dough\u003C\/h4\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EFeatures are a commodity, think\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Staple_food\"\u003Estaple foods\u003C\/a\u003E like rice,\n    corn and wheat. Sure, not enough and users will starve. But increase supply beyond\n    \u003Cem\u003Eenough\u003C\/em\u003E and you have glut. In real life, people\u0026#8217;s attention turns\n    to better food when they have enough. In the software world, the need for a\n    better meal is answered by a huge buffet of mediocre\u0026nbsp;food.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThe biggest mistake the software industry makes is listening to these\n    feature requests and supply what users \u003Cem\u003Ewant\u003C\/em\u003E. This is the prime\n    reason supposedly tailor\u0026#8208;made project software ends up being the armpit\n    of usability. Remember, the goal was to find out what users \u003Cem\u003Eneed\u003C\/em\u003E.\n    There is a solution for this, it is called usability.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch4\u003Eintermezzo: what about usability?\u003C\/h4\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EAnother detour. There are two definitions for the word usability that you\n    have to\u0026nbsp;know:\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Col\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003EMeasure of how usable, i.e. fit for use, something is. It is qualitative;\n    this makes the tech world nervous because there is no hard\u0026nbsp;numbers.\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003Cli\u003EA group of empirical professionals who measure usability and survey user\n    needs. Their general background is psychology. Tech\u0026#8208;splanation: they are\n    specialised in this type of hardware called\u0026nbsp;humans.\u003C\/li\u003E\n    \u003C\/ol\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThis is incredibly useful. Usability professionals can be engaged to\n    deliver an exact map of a software project users\u0026#8217; needs\n    \u003Cstrong\u003Eand\u003C\/strong\u003E measure whether software is actually fit for use. The\n    effort and cost of this scales with the size of the project. In general it is\n    peanuts compared to what development hoovers\u0026nbsp;up.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch4\u003Eback on track\u003C\/h4\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EWhere were we? Ah, knowing users\u0026#8217; needs is fully within reach, a\n    question of \u003Cem\u003Ejust do it\u003C\/em\u003E. Now we need one more thing. We need to\n    connect the world of clients, technology and users; to translate between them\n    and hook up the needs and offers. There is a solution for that, it is\n    called interaction\u0026nbsp;design.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThat is what I do as interaction architect. It involves making the plan\n    for the bus. For clients I realise the value transfer; for tech I make clear\n    what needs to be built; for users I ensure their needs are\u0026nbsp;met.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003ETo show how this works I will now present my recommendations for software\n    projects, in nine easy\u0026nbsp;steps:\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch3 id=\"projstep1\"\u003E1. you got to have a\u0026nbsp;vision\u003C\/h3\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EBefore kicking off a project, even getting that budget, why not make it\n    crystal clear what value is going to be created and formulate a project\n    vision? I\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/wedo\/product.html\"\u003Ehelp my\n    customers\u003C\/a\u003E all the time to discuss, clarify, reach consensus and formulate\n    one; this fits nicely in a one\u0026#8208;day workshop.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EIt serves as a first feasibility check, getting a convincing vision\n    together. And it can be immediately used to \u0026#8216;sell\u0026#8217; the project\n    internally and get a modest budget for the next steps. Costs involved?\n    One\u0026#8211;two man\u0026#8208;days for the workshop.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch3 id=\"projstep2\"\u003E2. start with user\u0026nbsp;needs\u003C\/h3\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003ERight here, at the very beginning of the project, is the right moment to\n    get the user needs mapped out. These are already a useful foundation for\n    strategic platform\u0026#8212;desktop, browser, tablet and\/or smartphone?\u0026#8212;and\n    architectural decisions. Why take these without knowing what\n    is\u0026nbsp;needed?\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EUsability specialists survey and observe your project\u0026#8217;s users and bring\n    back the facts. As mentioned, you are still not spending any serious\n    money at this\u0026nbsp;point.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch3 id=\"projstep3\"\u003E3. integrate usability\u0026nbsp;+ interaction\u003C\/h3\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003ENow is the time to integrate usability and interaction design with your\n    project. This does not happen by itself. The software industry has the\n    tendency to bolt on interaction design somewhere at the bottom of the\n    development pyramid and stick usability research in a drawer. Sorry, but that\n    is not going to help\u0026nbsp;you.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EUsability professionals are the only objective partners a client has for\n    knowing what users need and if the software is really \u003Cem\u003Eworking\u003C\/em\u003E. The\n    interaction architect is the partner for \u003Cem\u003Erealising\u003C\/em\u003E your project\n    vision of value creation. Processes will have to change too; you cannot make\n    software like you did \u0026#8216;last time\u0026#8217; when the results should\n    \u003Cem\u003Ereally\u003C\/em\u003E not be like last\u0026nbsp;time.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch3 id=\"projstep4\"\u003E4. design it first\u003C\/h3\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EWith your vision, user needs and platform choices known, the\n    largest open question of the project\u0026#8212;what do we need to build?\u0026#8212;can\n    be answered. A first, rough design of the user interaction can be made by an\n    interaction architect (\u0026#8209;team for larger projects).\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThis will include a\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/wedo\/design.html\"\u003Esolutions model\u003C\/a\u003E:\n    a large\u0026#8208;scale solution for realising that value creation, plus a design\n    strategy for working out the complete software in detail. This will take\n    the whole project out of the dark, into the\u0026nbsp;light.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EIt is a good idea to have your prospective tech partners on board during\n    this design stage as discussion partners. Technical feasibility has a profound\n    impact on interaction design. And vice versa: interaction design has \u003Cem\u003Ethe\n    same\u003C\/em\u003E profound impact on the architecture and design of back\u0026#8209;ends.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch3 id=\"projstep5\"\u003E5. test it first\u003C\/h3\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EYes, not a line of code needs to be written to find out if the interaction\n    design is meeting your users\u0026#8217; needs\u0026#8212;and by extension, if the goals\n    you set for value creation are fulfilled. A usability test with your users can\n    be performed with a paper prototype. I\u0026nbsp;have seen many of these and they\n    simply\u0026nbsp;work.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThese tests are practical, quick and lightweight, involving six users,\n    maybe up to twelve if your user group is very heterogeneous. Anything beyond\n    that is project bloat, making it less agile. If you do insist on having it\n    tested on a real computer\/tablet\/mobile screen, then a prototype can be made.\n    This should take three days, not weeks or\u0026nbsp;longer.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch3 id=\"projstep6\"\u003E6. refine\u0026nbsp;+ test again\u003C\/h3\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThe reason we made a rough design in step 4 and performed practical, lightweight\n    testing in step 5 is that we are going to iterate. From the analysis of the tests\n    the interaction architect keeps the parts of the design that work well and\n    redesigns the parts that performed\u0026nbsp;badly.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThese changes can be sweeping, because up to now relatively little time,\n    budget and commitment have been invested.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThen it is time for another round of usability testing and it will show\n    that giant step have been taken towards a fully working interaction design. If\n    still any \u003Cem\u003Ebig\u003C\/em\u003E issues are found, then repeat this step of refinement\n    and\u0026nbsp;test.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch3 id=\"projstep7\"\u003E7. make interaction spec part of the\u0026nbsp;contract\u003C\/h3\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EYou still have not spent any serious money up to now. You do have a\n    refined interaction design specification that shows what has to be built. It\n    has been tested to fulfil your users\u0026#8217; needs and to realise\n    your vision of value creation.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003ENow is the time to take this specification to your tech partners, the\n    in\u0026#8209;house \u003Cacronym\u003EIT\u003C\/acronym\u003E\u0026nbsp;department or the external\n    suppliers, and ask for a quote. It will be much easier to provide an\n    estimate on this basis and it will be more accurate. You will also be able to\n    define much better contractually what \u0026#8216;finished and\n    working\u0026#8217;\u0026nbsp;means.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch3 id=\"projstep8\"\u003E8. test + test\u003C\/h3\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThat\u0026#8217;s two different tests. The first one is the usual, functional\n    testing of what is being built. Doing this against the interaction design\n    specification ensures that you get exactly what you expected. Passing these\n    test gives the tech partners an exact moment to call it\u0026nbsp;finished. \u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EThe second type of testing is usability testing of alpha versions of the\n    built software. It checks for more subtle usability issues and validates the\n    overall interaction design. Again the interaction architect resolves the\n    issues and refines the design. The project impact of this is low, because all\n    the bigger issues were dealt with before development started.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch3 id=\"projstep9\"\u003E9. \u003Cem\u003Eagile?\u003C\/em\u003E interaction architect is co\u0026#8209;owner\u003C\/h3\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EAgile development was invented in\u0026nbsp;+ for the world of software\n    projects. Working agile does not change much of the eight steps above. In\n    \u003Ca href=\"#projstep4\"\u003Estep 4\u003C\/a\u003E one certainly needs to get to a solutions\n    model, to knock the project into\u0026nbsp;shape.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EMore detailed interaction design can be postponed, to be delivered\n    just\u0026#8208;in\u0026#8208;time for the \u003Cem\u003Estart\u003C\/em\u003E of an implementation\n    sprint. Usability tests are performed on the evolving software, as described\n    in\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\"#projstep8\"\u003Estep\u0026nbsp;8\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EIn the piecemeal work that agile entails, it is very easy to lose track\n    of a coherent user experience, one that meets your users\u0026#8217; needs. Making\n    the interaction architect software co\u0026#8209;owner in the agile process,\n    highly involved in planning of the next sprint and further sprints,\n    solves\u0026nbsp;that.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ch4\u003Epostscript\u003C\/h4\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003EAnd that\u0026#8217;s it. I\u0026nbsp;have shown that it is fully possible to set up\n    software projects where the needs of all the parties involved are met. The\n    clients\u0026#8217; need to get it built and for value creation; the tech\n    worlds\u0026#8217; need for clarity on what needs to be built and of when it can\n    be called finished.\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cp\u003ELast, it is straightforward to find out what software users\u0026#8217; needs\n    are and to meet them through interaction design. At that point you can build\n    the value bus, one that users are pleased to take, to bring their\n    value\u0026nbsp;home:\u003C\/p\u003E\n    \n    \u003Cimg class=\"cited\" src=\"http:\/\/mmiworks.net\/pics\/blog12\/onthebus.png\"\n      alt=\"the passengers are on the bus\" width=\"249\" height=\"82\"\/\u003E\n    \n    \u003Ccite\u003Ebus symbol from\n    \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/openclipart.org\/detail\/24071\/bus-symbol-black-by-anonymous-24071\"\u003Eopenclipart.org\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/cite\u003E\n    \n"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/comment.g?blogID=28919981\u0026postID=2555423625761053916","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/28919981\/posts\/default\/2555423625761053916"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/28919981\/posts\/default\/2555423625761053916"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/blog.mmiworks.net\/2013\/04\/collisions-in-software-projects-and.html","title":"collisions in software projects… and a Volkswagen\u0026nbsp;bus"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Anonymous"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/13344735552467622739"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"thr$total":{"$t":"0"}}]}});