Design/Development

SimCad from CreateASoft

Process modeling and simulation remains an essential tool for performance support professionals - and, unfortunately, they are seldom used. Sketching a static process flow as part of user task analysis does not get to the root of process dynamics and the complexities that knowledge workers must deal with. SimCad is a best-of-breed process simulator. According to CreateASoft: "SimCad Pro 6.3 expands the existing feature list by adding the ability to create a dynamic value stream map from the original process map with ease. Analysis of the value stream map can then be performed by running different product mixes and what-if scenarios to detect any potential issues with the new designs. Additional features include an extensive VB scripting interface that allows SimCad to interface with existing ERP or MRP systems and provide a live view of the manufacturing environment; a forecasting operation predicts potential future problems and alerts the user of such conditions."

Zope

Zope is a Python-based open source application server for content management. See also product paper "What is Zope."

Movable Type

Movable Type is Six Apart's powerful, customizable publishing system which installs on web servers to enable individuals or organizations to manage and update weblogs, journals, and frequently-updated website content.

OpenCMS

OpenCms is a professional level open source Website Content Management System. OpenCms helps to create and manage complex websites easily without knowledge of html. An integrated WYSIWYG editor with a user interface similar to well known office applications helps the user creating the contents, while a sophisticated template engine enforces a site-wide corporate layout. As true open source software, OpenCms is completely free of licensing costs.

Jahia

An integrated content management and corporate portal server; 100% Java based; Available under a collaborative source license (contribue or pay paradigm); Installed in minutes; Easy to use and to administer; Full Multilanguage and I18N support; Staging environement (Draft & Preview mode); Content Workflow; Content Versioning; Document Management (WebDAV Support); Built-in Portlet-based interface; Built-in support for standardized java web applications and web services (default servlets supported as portlets); Full web-based administration; Integrated with the Apache Lucene Search Engine; LDAP compliant; JSP and JSTL support for easy templates development; Integrated HTML cache engine; dynamic XML export module and ...

epiplex™ version 4.2 released!

Version 4.2 of the award-winning software suite has been released! epiplex™ enables business performance by capturing, expressing, managing, and growing business processes, then producing an arsenal of assets that enable the workers - the business performers - to achieve business outcomes with a minimum of training, learning, and support. epiplex's core capability is capture, which is the ability to observe and gather the key elements of performer actions as they accomplish work in the computer applications that support the organization. Version 4.2 features Remote Capture and Analyzer, providing organizations with the ability to aggregate user workflows across the enterprise, then auto-analyze them for business process optimization and benchmarking. Contact info@epsscentral.com for further information on epiplex™.

Nooface

The purpose of this site is to support the exchange of ideas about next-generation user interfaces, focusing on approaches that go beyond the WIMP (Windows, Icons, Menus, Pointing Device) method on which most current user interfaces are based. The goal is to promote out-of-the-box thinking on how user interfaces might evolve to accommodate new classes of users and devices outside of the traditional PC domain.

Slash / Slashdot

Slashcode is the site for All Things Slash. Slash is the source code and database that was originally used to create Slashdot, and has now been released under the GNU General Public License. It is a bona fide Open Source / Free Software project. Use this site to get the Slash source, read the latest Slash news, and participate in Slash discussions. Slashcode is run by the good folks at OSDN, but like all good open source projects, depends on the community. Thanks for your continued support, and let us know what we can do to make the site better.

Structuring the Unstructured

ClearForest announces ClearTags 4.0, an auto-tagging platform that includes semantic, statistical and structural tagging. (2002-03-06)

Bigchalk, inc.

Bigchalk, inc. is a comprehensive education destination for the K-12 learning community, with both subscription-based and free learning tools for educators, parents and students. Bigchalk's vast array of library resources, supplementary curriculum, and assessment professional development Web products provide access to unparalleled instructional resources. (2002-01-30)

Book Excerpt: Content Management for Dynamic Web Delivery Page III

An Information Model provides the framework for organizing your content so that it can be delivered and reused in a variety of innovative ways. Once you have created an Information Model for your content repository, you will be able to label information in ways that will enhance search and retrieval, making it possible for authors and users to find the information resources they need quickly and easily.(2002-30-01)

Web Components

This Byte Magazine articles examines the use of browser-based application develoment components like ActiveX, Java Applets and Java Beans. (Aug-06-97)

Epiplex

Epiplex is a comprehensive development environment based on a unique capture technology. From a capture file you can create e-learning, animation/simulation, documentation, workflow, analyze processes, evaluate as-is and to-be models, simplify workflow, improve business processes and more. Epiplex features a comprehensive database and XML-based configuration management system, replete with versioning, security, workflow management and more. Contact EPSScentral for further information on Epiplex.

Humans should not have to grok XML

Today the computing world tends toward using XML for any and all formal specifications and data descriptions. The author, a big fan of XML, asks a blasphemous question: "Is XML totalitarianism a good idea?" In this opinion piece, Terence Parr, co-founder of jGuru, demonstrates that XML makes a lousy human interface. He also provides questions to ask yourself to determine if XML is appropriate even for your project's program-to-program interface needs. (2001-09-02)

Enterprise Application Portals (pdf)

EAI Journal: In the next few years, commercial Websites, as we know them, will vanish. As organizations increasingly move to do business on the Internet, their Websites will evolve into enterprise portals. Ultimately, all organizations will use an enterprise portal to establish their Internet presence. They’ll discover that stand-alone application and integration servers cannot sustain an enterprise portal strategy, and will have to exploit service-based application architectures and deploy portal servers. (2001-05-13)

ADVISOR P.I.

ADVISOR P.I. is a decision support tool. It conducts a root cause analysis of a performance deficiency (gap) and recommends the most cost-effective solutions (interventions) that would produce the desired level of productivity. Interventions considered by ADVISOR P.I. include training, job aids, job/process/organization re-design, new/improved incentive system, polices/procedures, tools, hiring practices, communication plan and others.

Euterpe, a Task Analysis tool

Euterpe is a Task Analysis tool developed at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. It is based on an ontology for describing the task world in a structured way. The theory behind it is based of GTA. Euterpe helps to build task trees, object hierarchies and other important concepts such as event and roles. Templates allow detailed information to be specified and multimedia can be attached to concepts to clarify their nature. Documentation can be generated on paper and as HTML pages.

IBM EZSort: Card Sorting Software

Cards Sorting is a method of getting information about how a user groups categorizes concepts and information. EZSort is a free software program that can be used to capture and graphically display the results of card sorting exercises.

IGrafx Process

IGrafx Process is a software program for mapping and evaluating task and process flows. It can be used to evaluate and diagram existing processes and an to evaluate process designs, including processes with a computer mediated component.

MacBird GUI Builder

MacBird is Open Source development project that is based on a Macintosh draw program with grouping and alignment that's used to design and run graphic user interfaces.

MacFlow™ & WinFlow™: Flowchart Design and Development

With WinFlow and MacFlow you can easily prepare and modify flowcharts of business processes and the flow of system interface screens or web application pages. You can download a demo copy of the program from the Mainstay Web site.

Macromedia Director as a Prototyping and Usability Testing Tool

This article explores Macromedia Director by providing an overview of how to use the tool. While prototyping and usability testing are important throughout the development process, Macromedia Director will mainly be presented as a tool to be used during the analysis and design phases. (2000-08-06)

Performance Support Project Estimator

Telcordia Technologies has developed an expert tool to help you estimate the total costs of developing your performance improvement and learning solutions. Estimator is an Electronic Performance Support System (EPSS) software tool (CD ROM) that provides a consistent methodology for the creation of estimates and project budgets for performance support and learning products. (2000-03-19)

Requisite Pro

Requisite Pro is a software program that can be used by a team to record and manage system development requirements. The product combines its own database with Microsoft Word. You can add and update the requirements in either the database front end or in Word. (May-04-98)

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WebCAT: Web Category Analysis Tool

WebCAT is a variation upon traditional card sorting techniques. It allows a web designer/usability engineer to test a proposed or existing categorization scheme of a web site to determine how well the categories and items are understood by users.

AnswerWorks

With AnswerWorks from WexTech, you can add a natural language search function to your help file. Several usability studies have show that users prefer to use the online help keyword search feature to find a help topic. AnswerWorks expands the capability of the keyword and full text search, by allowing users to enter a more natural search string, like "How to add an invoice". (Jul-26-98)

BOS-EXPERT/WIN

According the the product description "BOS-EXPERT/WIN is an extremely unique context-sensitive online help and documentation system that can be used with any network system running Windows on its front-end terminals. BOS-EXPERT/WIN can even be used to create user-friendly online help texts for mainframe applications using 3270™, Telnet™, and AS/400™ emulation packages for Windows." (2000-04-25)

foCoach

foCoach is an ActiveX component for Visual Basic that allows you to setup a two way communications link between a VB application and a Windows 95 help topic. With this component you can fill in a field in a VB application by clicking a button or hyperlink in a Windows help topic. You can download a trial version of the ActiveX component form the Fundamental Objects Inc. website. (Dec-29-96)

ICE Browser

The ICE Browser is a component for embedding a HTML browser into Java applications. It supports for the HTML language (HTML 3.2). It can be uses as a HTML help systems embedded in JAVA applications or as a WEB browser in a Java application. (Jul-28-97)

JavaHelp

JavaHelp is an online help system that will enable Java programmers to add online help to their Java applications. JavaHelp will display HTML documents stored locally or on a network. The JavaHelp window can include navigational buttons and an expandable table of contents. It will also enable servers side topic searches. You can find more information about JavaHelp in in this WinWriter article. (Updated Nov-10-97)

KeyHelp

KeyHelp is a free ActiveX control that online help authors and programmers can use to enhance the capabilities of compiled Microsoft HTML Help systems and to control the behavior of HTML Help systems in a Windows application. It provides native HTML pop-ups, embedded windows, an auto-sizing secondary window, content-level Information Types, and and various script extensions. (2001-07-01)

PHD HelpIndex

With PHD HelpIndex you can add a WinHelp like subject index to a website. You can either embed the applet in a HTML page or display it in a floating window. As you type characters in the search field will quickly scroll to the first word that contains all the character you entered. You can easily run the applet in a HTML frame along the left hand edge of your browser window and display the found pages in a content frame. (Mar-01-97)

ProHelp

ProHelp is a Delphi control that allows you to quickly add What's This help to a wide variety of windows elements. With ProHelp, you can switch an application to a novice user mode where a person can click the right mouse button on an element to immediately display the element's What's This help topic. (Sep-02-98)

TODSHelp Component

TODSHelp Component is a 16 bit Borland Delphi VCL component that you can use to quickly create Window 95 like help pop-up windows for any object on a Delphi form. You can display these pop-ups by pressing F1 on a selected object, pressing the right button and selecting the "What's this?" menu option or clicking a help button and then an object. You can even launch Windows Help from a help pop-up. (Feb-22-97)

Microsoft Agent Scripting Helper

According to the developer: "Microsoft Agent Scripting Helper, or MASH, assists you in the process of Microsoft Agent programming. MASH separates the code from the content, allowing you to focus on the presentation rather than the programming details. You can experiment with Agent's Animations, Speech, Move, and other actions, and easily compose and play back complex, entertaining scripts. MASH will automatically generate all of the HTML scripting needed to paste your creation into an HTML Web page or HTML email message."(Oct-18-98)

The Microsoft Agent Web Ring

This site lists of over 30 site that contain information or demonstrations of the Microsoft Agent. The Agent "...provides an interactive conversational interface on web sites and in desktop applications using 3D Animated Characters that support both Text-to-Speech Synthesis and Voice-Activated Commands." (1999-07-03)

Active Wizard

Active Wizard is an easy-to-use ActiveX control that enables you to create 'Windows 2000 style' wizards. Just put an ActiveWizard control on your form, add some ActivePane controls, and the ActiveWizard control automatically resizes the Panes for you. The ActivePane controls acts like a container, where you can put other controls. (2000-12-03)

CodeMonkey WizardX

The CodeMonkey WizardX ActiveX control provides all of the elements needed to add professional quality wizard dialogs to any application.(Apr-04-98)

Add-Ins

You can use this deceptively simple little application to add menu items to the Help menu in any Windows 3.1 or 95 application. These add-in menu items can be used to launch other applications, like the Windows calculator, a CBT or a hypertext document. It's amazing easy to use. (Feb-22-97)

Assistware

With Assistware you can add online help to an existing application. Assistware uses a proprietary help topic document viewing software. To open a help topic for an application a users drags and drop the Assistware help bubble onto an application. You can download a demo from this web site. (Updated 2000-11-26)

As-U-Type

As-U-Type is a utility that can automatically correct most common spelling mistakes and typos in any Windows 95/98 application. This can be a very useful for performers who enter lots of text information, such as a help desk representative who types information about equipment problems. (Updated 2000-11-26)

CoachWare

According to the developer Sterling Resources, CoachWare is an "...online coaching tool that provides users with all the information they need, as they need it, in order to perform their jobs successfully. It presents business and system procedures in the context of the users’ job functions and provides easy to follow, step by step instructions for completing specific tasks." You can download a multimedia demonstration of CoachWare. (1999-08-07)

Cognitive agents

According to the developer "Cognitive agents enable the construction of applications with context sensitive behavior, adaptive reasoning, and the ability to monitor and respond to situations in real time, all in a previously impossible human-like fashion. Because they are based on an understanding of the human cognitive architecture, cognitive agent-based applications can be used in a wide range of applications."(1999-11-15)

DemoShield DemoX

With the DemoX ActiveX control or Netscape Plug-in you can easily add an interactive computer program demonstration to a web page or program created with Delphi, Visual Basic or any other development program that supports ActiveX controls. You create the interactive demonstration files with the DemoShield development tool. (Aug-13-97)

e-Sim - Simulation Software

E-Sim created the simulation software used by LiveManuals.com. This site contains 9 different downloadable simulations for products ranging from a blood analyzer to a army tank. (1999-08-07)

IntraLaunch

IntraLaunch is an ActiveX component that can be used to launch a local application by clicking a hypertext link or graphic on a web page. For example, you can program the IntraLaunch to start a word processing program and open a specified file. This component is ideally suited for use in an corporate Intranet. (Jul-01-97)

JAM (TM)

According to the developer "JAM (TM) is an advanced, web-based interactive job aid management system. It is a unique, performance centric business process support system that provides online, interactive job aids needed to perform the job. For ease of use, job aids are organized by job, group, process and task. The user is provided online access to information, procedures, tools, decision support systems, and linked expert support in order to accomplish "moment of need" performance objectives."

JC ActiveDoc

According to the developer " JC_ActiveDoc (TM) is a Netscape Plug-in that allows you to view Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint right inside Netscape. It's ideal for Intranet information exchange. It's also convenient to download and view Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents from Internet. (1999-09-18)

Perfect Menus

Perfect Menu is a little utility application that allows you to add menu items to an application's right click pop-up menu. You can use these additional menus to open other programs, perform actions within the application or start a macro program.

VISN - Visual Interactive Support Network

According to the product description Visual Interactive Support Network is an electronic performance support software designed to deliver task-related information at the point-of-work to the right person at the right time, and is easy to use. The white paper and Features and Benefits page contain additional information about VISN. (2001-02-04)

Wisdom for Notes

Wisdom for Notes is a just-in-time (JIT) learning tool for Lotus Notes®. According the product description and screen shots on this page, Wisdom for Notes consists of help pop-ups (bubblehelp windows) with task based instructions. (2001-04-29)

overLIB Pop-ups in HTML

overLIB is a JavaScript library created to enhance websites with small popup information boxes to help visitors around your website, but only on browsers that support Dynamic HTML (1999-09-25)

Intranet Tools

This page contains a very extensive list of software and tools developing and supporting an internet web sites. (1999-11-28)

Amzi! Prolog + Logic Server

With the Amzi! Prolog + Logic Server, you can use a Prolog language program to create a rules engine that can be linked into any Windows, NT and DOS program that is developed in Delphi, Visual Basic, Toolbook and many other development tools. The Amzi! inc.website contains several sample programs that can be downloaded. (Nov-9-96)

eXpertise2Go - Expert System Web Site

Here you'll find resource information about the expert system approach to providing knowledge online along with demo systems suggesting potential applications as product advisors/infomercials, diagnostic assistants, job aids/performance support tools and technical tutors. (2001-07-08)

Morae by TechSmith

Morae is an all-digital, software-based solution that records and synchronizes user and system data for usability analysis of software, Web sites, Intranets and e-Business applications. By integrating the functionality of a traditional lab with exclusive, Rich Recording Technology, Morae provides a single collaborative solution that modernizes the usability testing process. Organizations can harness the benefits of usability testing at a fraction of the cost.

Bad Human Factors Designs

A scrapbook of illustrated examples of things that are hard to use because they do not follow human factors principles. by Michael J. Darnell

EPSS Indicators

This article, by Bill Miller, describes six key factors that might indicate that a job or business process factors would substantially benefit from an EPSS.

Painless Software Management: An Interview with Joel Spolsky

WebWord: Companies add features because some customers want them. Not every customer wants every feature: most customers use 20% of the features. This leads many naive startups to think they can deliver a product with 20% of the features and still capture the market. Then they crash and burn when they discover that actually everybody is using a different 20% subset of the features of the market leader. (2001-08-19)

Managing User Expectations

Systems development projects have a high failure rate. Often, the users of a system are dissatisfied with it because it does not meet their expectations. What is the cause and effect relationship between expectations and failure? No doubt, a poorly designed system will fail to meet expectations. But sometimes users have unrealistic expectations without regard for constraints of budget, time, manpower, etc., and the best system that developers could produce will go unused because it doesn’t meet these high expectations. In this latter case, the expectations were actually the cause of the failure, not the other way around. Perception can be more important than reality. Project managers have two things to manage: the development of the system and the perception of the system. For this paper, we are focusing on the latter aspect of project management: managing user expectations. (2001-08-19)

Draft Your Dream Team

Destination CRM: Successful KM initiatives, experts say, focus first on people, business processes and company culture. Only later should the emphasis shift to the technology and tools that facilitate knowledge sharing. While specific organizational needs will vary, most teams should include individuals who can assess the company's knowledge imperatives in light of its business requirements. Members may need expertise in management, administration, human resources and business processes as well as in the supporting technologies. (2001-08-05)

The Three Models Used in Designing for Ease of Use

Models facilitate understanding users, analyzing complex systems, and describing effective designs. The use of three models contributes to the design of easy-to-use computer systems: the user's conceptual model, the designer's model, and the programmer's model. Here we provide an understanding of the three models, including how they are used and the relationships between them. (2001-08-05)

Developing a knowledge-aware service and support portal is a team effort

destinationCRM.com, Gloria Gery: Too many organizations spend lots of time and money developing knowledge and support resources without getting the business and performance outcomes they need. There’s no mystery as to why: it results at least in part from the way organizations historically have approached knowledge organization and delivery. Support tools typically are developed by functional groups that operate in organizational silos--documentation, training, business management, information systems or support services and help desks. While each of the resulting knowledge resources may be well structured, none alone is sufficient to allow the company to realize the bottom-line value of knowledge synergies. That’s because each tool has a different goal and is designed, independent of any larger considerations, to achieve it. (2001-07-29)

Critical thinking part 3: project management

uiweb.com: It’s true that design specifications are difficult to write, and that good ideas are fleeting and rare, but until the design is in it’s final form, it’s far from finished. Much can happen between the moment the designer finishes the expression of the idea, and when the development team has finished building it. (2001-07-15)

The Secret to Software Success

Desperate to avoid the scapegoat's horns, some technology executives are finally beginning to take up arms against this sea of failure, redefining how software is built. They call it Agile Development, a disciplined, minimalist approach that's both elegant and arduous, and maybe IT's best hope to avoid "Yet Another Trip to Hell." Agile means what it sounds like: fast and efficient. Small and nimble. Less money, fewer features, shorter projects. (2001-07-08)

Addressing Obstacles to User-Centered Design

Why do many organizations resist or use poor excuses for user-centered design methodologies (while sometimes claiming to be user-centered)? This page presents an overview of numerous answers to this question -- an overview which should help you to identify many of the kinds of obstacles to look for and to prepare for in the organization(s) of interest to you. This page also addresses some of what it takes to overcome or avoid organizational obstacles and solicits your views on these issues. (2001-07-01)

Site Planning, the Red-Headed Stepchild of the Web

Digital Web Magazine: This article is meant to serve as a resource for considering the likely details, and building a site from them that is simple for the user. Many if not all of the questions asked below will look extremely familiar. However, you need to answer for yourself whether or not you sincerely ask these questions for every project—and apply the answers to your work. If you are not sincere about asking these questions and coming up with the answers, the visitors you're hoping for won't be sincere about using the site. (2001-07-01)

Project risk factors checklist

TechRepublic.com: The first step to using the checklist involves identifying potential risks and assigning them probabilities of high, medium, or low. Next, the user reviews a list of high-risk factors and the problems that might result from their occurrence, as well as examples of strategies that can lessen the risk. The checklist also provides examples of medium- and low-level risks whose impact could be severe enough to affect the project. (2001-07-01)

Using a Style Guide to Build Consensus

Usability Interface, Whitney Quesenbery: Style guides are often requested as a way to promote a common look and feel but do little to address the real problems in the way user interfaces are developed. In many situations, a collection of rules for visual design and the use of controls can seem like a band-aid; promoting surface-level consistency rather than solving the real usability problems. Even when a good style guide is created, it is often ignored after release. Worse, the style guide can become a weapon where a user-centered design process is needed. In either case, the style guide has failed to produce the desired effect. What’s missing is a consensus on the scope, ownership, or content. Solving this problem requires a change in the way style guides are developed, distributed, and used. Three suggestions for teams developing style guides are to start early, to make the emerging style guide widely available, and to plan for long-term maintenance of the guidelines. (2001-06-10)

Guidance on Style Guides: Lessons Learned

Usability Interface, Chauncey E. Wilson: This article highlights some of the lessons that I’ve learned about the process of creating style guides and implementing processes for ensuring that a product is consistent in a number of dimensions. I discuss the purposes and benefits of a style guide, a process for creating a style guide, the many types of consistency, reasons why style guides fail, methods for ensuring consistency, and some references that discuss these issues in more detail. (2001-06-10)

Critical thinking in web/interface design part 2: idea generation

Scott Berkun, uiweb.com: Good ideas are hard to find. Project schedules, plans and budgets are important, but without quality ideas, great design is impossible. Finding people that can create and cultivate good ideas is always difficult, and often beyond our control. However, everyone can develop their own creative thinking skills, and can provide an environment that supports creativity. The best teams know how to balance quality engineering practices with a creative and supportive work environment. This essay on idea generation describes how this can be done, and offers advice on defining and managing the creative process. (2001-05-13)

Web Site Production Management Techniques

Macromedia: While there is no perfect way to manage Web production, this guide to techniques for efficiently and consistently delivering excellent user experiences was derived from extensive research into the processes used by seasoned Web professionals. (2001-05-13)

Style Guidance

Webtechniques.com: Looking back on the whole process one year later, we all agree that developing our site's style manual was the key to our successful redesign. Without such a document, we would have had many more problems, and no record of how we solved them. This document gave our authors a central reference for the issues that our site design raised. This page contains a link to the style guide discussed discussed in the article. (2001-04-15)

Critical Thinking in Web and Interface Design

Scott Berkun, Microsoft: The first step towards critical thinking is to take an objective view on the nature of the problem space. As a developer or designer, you are incredibly biased about the value of what you're doing. You're on the inside, looking out, and cannot possibly see your creations the way outsiders will. To get your bearings, you need to triangulate information from multiple sources. The viewpoint of a developer, manager, single important customer is of little value in isolation. Get the bird's-eye view and as many alternative views as you can find. (2001-04-08)

Low-Technology Prototyping Techniques

The fundamental concept underlying these collaborative, low- technology approaches to design is that no one person can embody all the knowledge required to design a successful product. Through reciprocal education, reciprocal preparation, and reciprocal validation, each participant contributes knowledge and in turn is shaped by the contributions of others. Concrete visualization reduces ambiguity and also ensures that the design proceeds to specifics, rather than becoming mired in abstractions. (2001-03-11)

DESIRE Information Gateways Handbook

"This handbook is designed to support libraries and other organisations interested in setting up large-scale information gateways on the Internet. It offers a step by step guide and points to tools, examples and documentation, which can support the process. The handbook is divided into three sections to reflect the managerial, information and technical issues that building a gateway raises." (2001-02-04)

Two Tracks to a UCD Solution

"One commonly held objection to developing a superior user experience, is that it takes too long. The argument goes that, if you wait to get it right then you'll be late to market and the opportunity will be lost. In this short white paper, we present an approach which allows you to do both in a controlled and reasoned fashion - move quickly to respond to market demands, whilst developing a superior user experience." (2001-01-07)

Build e-business apps faster

InfoWorld.com: According to this article: "Web application development projects should be characterized by small teams, flexible requirements, and iterative development, which involves adding application functionality, getting user feedback, and refining requirements through a series of shorter delivery cycles."

Elephants in the Living Room

According to this article by Bruce Tognazzini "Four of your fellow development team members, all trying to do their specific jobs to the best of their abilities, have the power to sink your best effort at interaction design. As an interaction designer, it is your job to see they don't do so." (2000-09-30)

Writing Good Work Objectives

This article elaborates upon the qualities of good work objectives and the process of writing them. It is concerned with how objectives are derived (i.e., their content) and how they are specified (i.e., their form). This article was written for people who are writing work objectives for the first time and for those who, although they might have done so before, find the task a difficult one. (2000-03-26)

Turning Chaos into Order: Managing Web Projects

"In this month's column, I propose a method that combines the best production techniques from the world of media production with those found in the software development environment. This approach provides practices that -- should you welcome them into your nest -- might help you be less nagged, squawked at, and otherwise nitpicked for past chaotic practices." (2000-01-30)

Evaluating a Performance Support Environment for Knowledge Workers

This online article by Beverly E. Thomas, John P. Baron, and Wayne J. Schmidt. identifies some methods for evaluating the feasibility of implementing a performance support system. It describes five evaluation techniques, including some techniques for calculating the potential return on investment (ROI).

Multimedia Development Tools

This website contains a comprehensive summary of the management methodologies, procedural checklists and evaluation tools that can be used to plan, manage and evaluate a multimedia, CBI or EPSS development project.

Project Management Links

This page contains an larger number of links to project management information for software development. (1999-06-01)

Effective Info Architecture

The site has grown too big, too fast, and they hired you to fix it. So where do you start? There are techniques and people who can help you become a better information architect. You're about to learn the techniques; your users are the people who can help you. Through techniques such as personas, card sorting, and pen and paper testing you stay close to your users and should have a good idea of how to design for them. (2001-09-16)

User-Centered Design for VoiceXML Applications

My experiences have identified a number of issues that cause users to exit VoiceXML applications. For example, users will abandon an application - even if they like its concept - when they: are confused by their initial contact with it; think the application stopped working; encounter errors; don't quickly perceive the application's value; and become bored with long prompts or unwieldy application navigation. Your VoiceXML application can avoid or address these issues - and retain more first time users - by implementing human factors wisdom in the context of a UCD (user centered design) process. (2001-08-12)

Perfecting Your Personas

Cooper Interaction Design: A persona is a user archetype you can use to help guide decisions about product features, navigation, interactions, and even visual design. By designing for the archetype—whose goals and behavior patterns are well understood—you can satisfy the broader group of people represented by that archetype. In most cases, personas are synthesized from a series of ethnographic interviews with real people, then captured in 1-2 page descriptions that include behavior patterns, goals, skills, attitudes, and environment, with a few fictional personal details to bring the persona to life. (2001-08-05)

Designing for Usability on a Shoestring

WebReview: Designing a usable interface comes down to knowing who will be using it. This approach is referred to as User-Centered Design, and following it will improve the usability of your site. It's crucial that you focus on the user and their needs from the outset, and keep this in mind throughout the project. Without early and continual focus on the user, you run the risk of discovering usability problems late in the game, when changes are expensive and time consuming. The lesson is simple—identify the target audience of a site as soon as you start thinking about designing it. (2001-08-05)

Stalk Your User

Web Techniques, Jeffrey Veen: Contextual inquiry is an increasingly popular method for discovering this information. Also known as ethnographic research or field studies, the idea is deceptively simple: Build useful products and watch your users as they work. The process itself sounds even easier: Go to where your users are and tag along with them. (2001-05-13)

Notes on Design Practice: Stories and Prototypes as Catalysts for Communication

Thomas Erickson, Apple Computer Inc.: My goal is to talk about some of the informal, practical methods that designers use to grapple with the messy, ill-defined issues that pervade their daily practice.

Boxes and Arrows: Defining IA Deliverables

Webmasterbase.com: This article contains a brief describes of 7 information architecture techniques and deliverables. They are: conceptual model; content inventory and organization; user flows /scenarios; task analysis; site map; and page architecture. According to the author an: "...IA's job is to define the structure and behavior of the systems as it is perceived by the user, and these seven deliverables are an excellent way to make sure the IA's thinking is clear and clearly communicated." (2001-02-18)

Effective Strategies for Bridging Gulfs Between Users and Computer Systems

This paper describes design strategies that led to significant improvements in the usability and learnability of an end-user programming environment called RIDES. These strategies may be viewed as concrete procedures for building easily learned interfaces and were derived from Polson and Lewis' CE+ theory. RIDES was designed to make it possible for US Air Force training experts, with minimal programming experience, to author simulation-based Intelligent Tutoring Systems. Using the techniques described in this paper, the researcher reduced, by 1/3, the time it took to learn and use the redesigned RIDES system. (2001-01-01)

What exactly is Knowledge Mapping?

"Knowledge mapping is a important practice consisting of education, discovery, survey, audit and synthesis. It aims to track the loss and acquisition of information & knowledge, personal and group competencies and proficiencies, show knowledge flows, appreciate the influence on intellectual capital due to staff loss, assist with team selection and technology matching. (2000-11-19)

A visual vocabulary for describing information architecture and interaction design

Diagrams are an essential tool for communicating information architecture and interaction design in Web development teams. This document discusses the considerations in development of such diagrams, outlines a basic symbology for diagramming information architecture and interaction design concepts, and provides guidelines for the use of these elements. (2000-10-22)

The Value of Real Customer Involvement

In this ClickZ article, Nick Usborne asks "Why don't more e-commerce sites work harder to solicit, manage, and use significant feedback from their customers? I'm not talking about that lame "feedback" button. I'm talking about respecting your visitors as an important element in your team." (2000-10-15)

Extending UML for UI

UIDesign.net - "This paper seeks to set out my current position and opinion on how the Unified Modeling Language might be extended to accommodate the modeling of interaction design and user interface design for the purpose of facilitating a user centered design process." (2000-10-15)