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 activities. Golf, on the other…
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 best, you are satisfied, but…
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 closure and everyone in the…
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 for billions of years. Modern…
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 with sympathy. To sympathize is…
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, I read it as the…
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 with the Google Reader “Like”…
There has been a trend over the last 20 years in telephones. That trend has been the trading of quality for mobility and features. Here is the progression: First, I had a land-line with a squigly cord. The quality of the call was usually perfect. The phone was comfortable on my ear. I could talk…
We moved into a new house a few months ago. We still have boxes left unpacked; pictures not on the wall. We had a nice surge of motivation to unpack, but then we ran out of steam. The whole job seems really enormous. It’s easier to just get through the day-to-day with the minimum of…
It’s been almost a month of using Axure. It’s not all roses and sunshine, but it definitely is the best click-able prototype creation tool I have used. With that said, it still leaves ALOT to be desired. Here are some of the things that bug me on a daily basis. Labels Some background: If you want to add interactivity…
A conversation with Merlin: Me: Hey, can you conjure up a cow? Merlin: Sure [POOF]. Easy. Me: Cool! How about a purple cow? Merlin: Oh, hmm. That’s hard. Yes, but it will take a while. A conversation with an engineer: Me: Hey, can you make the data come back in date order? Engineer: Sure [clicky…
At work, they hooked up with Waiter.com to provide lunch delivery. I just used the waiter.com site to register. I am not saying this is the worst site in the world. However, Waiter.com is freakishly bad. Look, if you are a website application/service, you have to understand how important it is that people are not horrified by…
I wish someone had told me this as a child. The point of elementary school is not to learn. The point is not to train you for an adult life. The point of elementary school is to practice following instructions. Let’s jump to high school. The point of high school is not to learn. The…
SME stands for Subject Matter Expert. It means that you have extensive experience doing tasks in a particular field. The question is “If you are looking for a designer, should you try to find one that is also a SME for the target domain?” The answer may seem counter-intuitive, but experience doesn’t help, it usually…