People mix these up all the time.  Sometimes for malicious reasons (trying to “game” the system”) and sometimes just because it’s easier to look at the letter of the law.  I am not referring to just legalisms, but rather instructions from teachers or bosses.  The spirit of the more important…

There is a great way of hiding the fact that you have no idea what you are talking about.  Bury the listener in a mountain of details.  I have seen this many times and it’s depressing each and every time. In government, the initiatives, bills, proposals, etc are presented in…

I met with a smart guy who is building out a user experience strength at his company.  He said that he was trying to make his product “Lickable and Lovable“.  Of course, I have been a huge proponent of Lovable applications and services.  However, lickable or “sexy” is a different…

Spoon boy: Do not try and bend the spoon. That’s impossible. Instead… only try to realize the truth. Neo: What truth? Spoon boy: There is no spoon. Neo: There is no spoon? Spoon boy: Then you’ll see, that it is not the spoon that bends, it is only yourself. I…

I compiled a list of blog posts that I think would work well in a UX book. The Best of Commadot.com The link is at the top too.  I need to look through the archives to see if I missed some.  I imagine I did.  What do you think of…

Generally, my trip to Florida was pretty tame.  Swam in the pool.  Swam in the ocean.  Went to the park.  Melted in the heat and humidity.  The boys had fun. One highlight was Butterfly World in Florida.  The bar was set extremely low.  Ethan thought it would be stupid.  When…

I am pretty good at Baseball/Softball and Pool (pocket billiards).  I can hold my own in Tennis.  All of these spots require good “form” to do well.  Its all about muscle memory.  If you can learn proper technique and repeat it over and over, you can very well at those…

This is a trick question: The reason it is a trick question is that the guy on the left completed his task too.  However, most organizations align themselves to only solve some form of task completion.  Most software does not let you enjoy the task while you do this.  At…

In the beginning of a project, the plan is laid out by someone.  Often times, a product manager or an executive make the plan and communicate in a way that leaves some key assumptions unstated.  Without explicit statement, people naturally close the gaps and make their own assumptions.  It’s call…

A human body can last for over a hundred years. However, remove oxygen for 2 minutes and it will fail permanently. One hit to the head or major artery and its all over. How can a system be that fragile and last for so long? The Earth has supported life…

What is the difference between empathy and sympathy and why does it matter to building a great product or service? Empathy Definition: the intellectual identification with or vicarious experiencing of the feelings, thoughts, or attitudes of another. In English: Putting yourself in someone else’s shoes. This should not be confused…

I loved this blog post by Marty Cagen.  It’s all the things that bad leaders can do to mess up a product.  However, I read it differently than Marty wrote it.  In other words, he wrote the things a CEO or Executive do that mess up the product manager.  Instead,…

Google recently release Google Buzz.  This is a different service than Yahoo Buzz.  Of course, this is completely different than AT&T Buzz.com.  Why are all these web 2.0 social services named Buzz?  Why that verb? Facebook just released their “Like” button that you spread around the web.  Don’t confuse this…