ALaughingMind

Technology & Interface Challenges for the 21st Century

2007-09-14T12:01:00.000+10:00

Came across this online conference run by Interdisciplines as part of their Brave new Interfaces series whilst trying to reduce a complex problem down into a simple representation that could be easily digested, and it got me thinking. One of the common challenges in representation of complex information is being able to take account of the respective silo/framework/perspective of your audiences, and writing beyond that boundary. Lack of interdisciplinary contributions means you focus a very narrow set of information, not easily re-interpreted once you move beyond the bounds of a known audience. The challenge in getting complex information represented simply, relies in part on finding ways that a person can draw a metaphor or relate to a life experience to.

I'm working through a business events model at present to summarise what the whole enterprise really does, in a way that can help to promote cross-team understanding, using diagrams that show repetitive business event lifecycles across differing cycle timelines, with customer life evetns right at the centre of the model. It's been useful as normal business process representation is typically linear, in swimlane form, but does not easily communicate recurrence. The paper title in itself sums up the challenge for me, and many of you. Getting complex information distilled into a simple, meaningful, representation that is as near to self descriptive as I can get. I'll be interested to watch the online symposia unfold over the next few days, as many minds from different paths converge onto common problems

AGIMO Business process interoperability for Government Agencies

2007-09-10T12:13:00.000+10:00

Nice to see the recent release by AGIMO of their reference paper for business process interoperability across Australian Governmemt Agencies. I've been deep in some Business process management work recently, mapping out core and generic processes for one particular agency as part of a larger BP improvement exercise, and focusing on how generalisable many of those processes are. When you apply that same framework approach of identifying what is unique vs generalisable across agencies, there are certainly many constituent facing proceses that can be dramatically improved as part of e-government and business continuity management. Love to see how much take-up their new publication gets as I move towards thinking about how best to apply their approaches in Health Care delivery and e-government service delivery myself.

COBIT Quickstart validation

2006-09-29T15:17:00.000+10:00

It was nice to come across a validation by Computer Weekly of the COBIT Quickstart model as part of a demystification of what is involved with IT Governance- I've used it in a number of sites and find it especially useful for looking at Small to Medium enterprises as they struggle with IT management beyond the basics of getting the computers onto the desk. Really useful for getting a business to focus on a prioritised management plpan for the risks that are inherent in technology systems.

It strikes me that it's a useful follow on to see this after leaving WD06 early- there's only so much front end focus a guy can take! Getting a website up, running, optimised and then refreshed with all the latest AJAX bits and new found sexiness counts for nought if the businesses running sites can't then take advantage of, and solidly manage, the data that inevitably flows from increased interactions with their businesses. Maybe, in time, we'll see a few more webheads start to get serious about the new professionalism and see a few CISA certifications creep into the audience..

It was refreshing to note one question posed from the audience of the security implications of using AJAX and the follow on discussion that noted the strong risk potential for bypassing established navigation metaphors and tools (like the back button on your browser) if you aren't a (very) switched on developer.

Here's to taking IT governance out of the realm of being an oxymoron- you'll start to care when your eHealth data is at risk...

Web directions 06- conference start

2006-09-28T09:16:00.000+10:00

OK- now we're off and running with the start of the formal WD06 conference program and opening address- lotsa people here, and all I can find is the front row left for seating! Nothing like seeing the presenters nostrils flaring up nice and close..at least I'll be in a good spot if there's any microphone difficulties. The iBurst WiFi network has been far easier to connect into than the UTS WLAN- good on you iBurst for setting this up and making this blog update at all possible.

Quotables:

Getting information from the internet like trying to have a sip of water from a firehose

Usability interviewee citation-Kelly Goto

MITmedia lab in their $100 laptop field trials in Cambodia have noted that the first spoken english word for kids in Cambodia in the trial is "Google"

Nicholas Negroponte

WD06-Iterative apps workshop

2006-09-27T10:04:00.000+10:00

WD06:Workshop 2- Iterative apps with Kelly Goto from Goto media - figured I'd multi-task and iterate the blog on the way through ;-) as a way of highlighting the key links and learnings for me.

Key links?

Control Chaos: Structured agile process built along a Certified methodological path
Extreme Programming: Useful resources for seeing how some of the traditional engineering practices integrate together around timeboxed iteration efforts
Goto media process: for a prettier view of how some of the legacy and business, UCD drivers come together across a series of release points and key activities at each release.
Three Rivers institute: I particularly liked the essay by Steve Hayes on the future of software- fits in well with my company focus on Humane experiences

Key learnings?

Standup meetings work well when there are no seats..encourage focus..get blood flowing..relieves pressure sores from too much sitting
The value of Omnigraffle, Excel and PDF formats for prototyping (along with the usual suspects of Powerpoint, html)
Team size optimums for meeting size- no more than 7
I can't update this blog in a standup meeting- cause the laptop slides off my knees whilst I stand up.. ;-)
ALWAYS sort out connectivity issues prior to running the session- going back to slides after the lecture context introduces discontinuity (and jars my poor easily addled head)
That there is room for fun in call centre software development- for people working in call centres (particularly relevant for one of my clients..)
The value of substantial style guides for ongoing development
The usefulness of craigslist for usability test recruiting for Tier 1 and 2 audiences for generic market testing
Doing PRINCE2 certifications is not the only way to suffer death by powerpoint slides
there really was value in buying a VMC card some time back as I'm still connected up and productive, whilst semi-offline..

Anyone looking for more detailed info shoulda' been there..

Web Directions 06

2006-09-26T11:12:00.000+10:00

Typing this up whilst I go through an extreme standards refresher at WebDirections 06 where it's nice to have the opening mantra trilogy of Content-Presentation-Behaviour running through my mind right from the start. Must remember to invoke this next time I touch my keyboard... and get involved with microformats just cause it's there..just one thought though- what is so extreme about standards?

It's nice to sit down and hear from some of the presenters whose material led me to walk down this path in the first place-Molly H and Andy C. As someone who has always passionately argued for W3C standards conformance in design for accessibility and equal access (see my last post) it's also good to know that these folks are constantly having to go back and revisit prior works created to drag them forward into a more standards compliant world. Any other WD06er's interested in catching up, drop me a line or comment.

Looking forward to the rest of the day and tomorrows workshops..

Brian

Alice springs inspiration

2006-09-24T17:25:00.000+10:00

Shots from Alice Springs during a recent visit to assess Patient Information systems for remote communities- took the time out on a return to town to take a colleague out to the old Alice Springs Telegraph station...memorable and photogenic.

Accessible internet rally

2006-05-11T10:01:00.000+10:00

As a member of CMprofessionals, I get to see all sorts of interesting CMS related discussion threads, with a certain amount of vendor spin at times. It's refreshing then to see posts come along promoting accessibility related information for people with disablities becoming technology enabled. In my background as an Occupational Therapist, I've been well aware of the difference that technology can make to someone with a disability, and the impediments through poor design or inconsideration of the range of needs that people have.

At the recent CISA conference in Adelaide (1-2 May, 2006), one of the attendees noted the need to retain this as an ongoing focus in planning of any technology initiatives, including website design and VOIP projects. In a post received today, I noticed that there is a rally (http://www.knowbility.org/air-boston/) being held in the Boston area in January 2007 - "a one-day web design competition in which teams of web developers create web sites for local non-profit organizations, sites that are accessible to everyone—including people with disabilities and senior citizens as they age" .

It's initiatives like this that really make a difference in keeping good design skills honed and an ongoing focus on the need for accessible design. Well done to the Boston group, and I'll look forward to seeing the outcomes. It was good to also see in that same thread a solid thumbs up for the Open Source Plone CMS in its accessibility scores, with one of the chief architects, Alexander Limi, having several friends with visual impairments who regularly test and rate the system. Good one. Wish the same applied to all CMS developers (or for that matter, software developers in general). It's good to be able to keep others capabilities in mind during design.

"For most people, technology makes things easier. For people with disabilities, technology makes things possible."
—President's Council on Disability

More blogs about Accessibility.

CISA Connecting up conference- Adelaide 1-2 May 2006, Australia

2006-05-04T12:10:00.000+10:00

Have just finished attending the CISA conference where part of the conference focus was on development of a National Not-for-Profit ICT Coalition (NNIC)- essentially a peak body to represent the ICT needs of the NFP/NGO sector. Excellent focus, and sorely needed. The key aspects that stood out for me? Most organisations are still struggling with the fundamentals of ICT plumbing and infrastructure, CEOs are inadequately equipped to manage and understand the ICT that is part of their responsibility, and that Australia has about 700,000 NFP/NGO organisations.

Compare this with South Africa, where there about 100,000 NGOs in operation and represented through SANGONET and the UK, which operates an UK NGO ICTHub with approx 30 million pounds at their disposal, and it's clear that Australia is well behind. Which is inexplicable given the enthusiasm for the move to increased delivery of services by NGOs by the Australian government- still, the ball is starting to roll. Here's hoping the NNIC (as it is currently known) takes the time to cherry pick from what I'd consider as best-of-breed approaches to important aspects of ICT governance (using CoBIT as a starting point, even in its abridged Quickstart format) and ICT project management (e.g PRINCE2 which I note has been adapted by the UK ICT hub), and avoids wheel-reinvention and resource wastage. Time will tell..

Took the time whilst I was there to deliver a presentation on CMS Selection for the NFP sector, which is available from the Resources page on the LaughingMind site, under conference presentations. Let me know if you found it useful at all, or other information that people would like to see.

More blogs about CommunIT.

Photographer self publishing

2006-03-14T15:42:00.000+11:00

Have been talking with some photographer friends during my CMS trawling, and hearing what they want to do with regard to self publishing. This got me thinking- having seen how successful sites like Flickr and Smugmug are at photocasting, but balancing the needs of a commercial photographer who wants to protect copyright, it seems that anything that allows a digital watermarking process is a good automated atsk to engineer. So far, only smugmug seems to offer that, at Pro publishing level. Then there is a need to provide some form of commentary, blog style, against ones galleries. In a quick trawl, came across Kris Krug's site, but the guy is clearly deep geek. Still, it shows the usefulness of Wordpress and Flickr integration. Another sample that proved useful, though it runs on SmugMug is Luke Kneales site.

What about those who aren't deep geek ( or even shallow geek)? Any semi-pro photographers out there like to comment on what has worked for them?

CMS, legacy platform interoperability and all that jazz

2005-11-08T13:26:00.000+11:00

SHEESH- it's been a while since I posted. I commenced recently in a PM role helping a not-for-profit select a CMS and to revitalise their public face, as well as extranet/intranet. Part of my scope is to assess the work done previously and assess current assets (environmental scan), then come up with a quick and effective way forward.

One of the challenges this time around is assessing what my client organisation is capable of supporting, as it's a widely dispersed group in a loose federation. Along the way, whilst I've been trawling for resources, I've been surprised at the lack of collaboration amongst what I've seen termed "the third sector" (other than 1. Business and 2. Govt, I'm presuming)- Am trying to make a bit more sense of what exists in Australia for the NGO and not-for-profit sector in terms of Technology guidance and governance, but it's a needle in a haystack venture. Apart from Compumentor and Techsoup in the US, there's scant support and resources. Love to hear from anyone else that may have encountered some useful Australian resources. One potentially useful piece is Information Communication Technology and the Third Sector, authored by Martin Stewart-Weeks and Jo Barraket, which I'm awaiting a copy of. The usual frameworks that I apply, of using CoBIT as a fast environmental scan to assess IT governance maturity/capability, and Jesse James Garretts Pillars and Elements models have each proven invaluable in getting people towards a shared undersanding of the challenges faced.

One of the creative tensions we're up against is determining technology strategy in a heterogeneous environment that's based on a federated model of affinity. Getting 8 groups to agree on how they implement tech locally, with which platforms and determining the degree of configuration parity between them is no small feat- nor is illustrating the extent of the issue and getting buy-in. Whilst I can see the merits for Open Source, finding skillsets and technologies that can bridge this disparity is going to be fun when half the requirements are based on the web as a software interface. Now I'm off to wrestle my alligators.

The Comfort Zone

2004-08-22T21:28:00.000+10:00

Was lucky enough to catch a great piece on The Comfort Zone, ABC radio on Sat morning recently, with a great mix of panellists, including David Week, who site visitors to Laughing Mind will see referenced in my links to Assai and The Ark workplace, Rosemary Kirkby, who heads NAB's docklands project and has driven some wonderful workspace revitalisation in corporate Australia. Other panellists included reps from DEGW and one of my favourite furniture designers, Haworth. Whilst Haworth don't have a large presence in Australia, they have demonstrated some terrific thought leadership in examining better ways of designing furniture to accomodate the facilities management needs of todays workplace, and offer some great white papers at their website. One of the few design firms who offer highly mobile and easily reconfigurable furnishings (aside from Hermann Miller, another US firm, but costly here in Australia).

Well worth taking the time to visit the ABC site and read the transcript of the discussion for those who missed it. Let's hope that it leads to some more serious thought about the work needing to be done in addressing the imbalances of life in the "cube farms".

The Ark workspace

2004-05-12T10:18:00.000+10:00

My business is focussed on designing and discovering more humane places to work, both online and offline, trying out new things based on Human Factors and ecological sustainability principles. As a part of the baby steps for the company, I needed to find it a home- somewhere that resonated more than the standard Servcorp et al range of serviced and virtual offices. Imagine my surprise and delight when I discovered The Ark workspace, based in Sydney. Here was a decent CBD address, with a fantastic feel for an office space, full of a range of interesting related companies, based on open plan and mixed spaces. Take a visit: www.thearkworkspace.com.au.

What's been your experience in finding a decent place to host your business? Ever stopped to think about what's REALLY important to you? How do you mix your work, rest and play? Technology has changed our lives and work so profoundly, and moved at such a rapid pace, that the array of offerings in workstations, workplace furniture and faciliities are having difficulty keeping step with new innovations. Only a few really stand out as being thoroughly usable and people focussed. Sure, there's a range of really neat industrial design out there, but have you tried to sit in some of the stuff thats out there for a decent period of time? And we wonder why our necks get sore, our bodies stiff...

For those of you based in London, eOffice seems to offer a similarly attractive alternative..