Much like XP and Agile, there is a disparity of information involved with describing what exactly people mean when they say their shop is “lean”. While the definition itself may be simple to pass along to the uninitiated, beginning the process can be a huge mess of confusion. Lean is self-descriptive, but not indicative of […]
Read more "Blog Post: What Do You Mean By ‘Lean’?"Retailers are constantly on the lookout for more ways to connect iwth their customers. The manner in which buyers purchase products was restricted once upon a time, giving businesses the power to distribute as they saw fit. As we know, the power is now literally in the palm of our hands to swing it back […]
Read more "Blog Post: Is ‘Omnicommerce’ Our Next Big Buzzword?"When I was first tasked with leading an agile team, it was very important to me that I nail the planning ceremony of my first sprint. I had a series of precise questions to help lead the team in identifying the most important features needed and was determined to get there. In my head, I […]
Read more "Blog Post: Start Your Sprint With A Goal"Regardless of the platform, user and industry you design software for, we have all discussed at length the end result of interacting with our products. If you are new to a project, the emotions associated are usually negative. Something being built from the ground up by your team is often viewed in a positive light. […]
Read more "Blog Post: What Emotion Does Your Product Evoke?"I can’t decide if the weeks before an Apple announce are the most exciting or annoying days of the year for me. On one hand, the need to “report” rumors and roughly-founded opinions has gotten old for me. The other hand holds an entire sea of possibility that provides wonder to Wall and Main Streets. […]
Read more "Blog Post: Optimistic About Another Apple SDK"Everyone in the Apple Developer community has known how to win the game of App Store rankings for some time: you need a junk-ton of downloads and five-star reviews if you have any hope of being invited to the inner sanctum. The problem is nowhere does that account for apps that actually get used. While […]
Read more "Blog Post: Serve Your Users, Downloads Will Come"Releasing updates can be a pain sometimes. In the mobile space, it usually includes asking the user to download something again as well as refreshing their credentials in some way. Luke Wroblewski — who writes some tremendous material on mobile development — mentions in this post how you can announce your refresh with some panache and reward your users for continuing to use your product with some Easter eggs.
Don’t make the update a pain. It might mean some additional work will need to be done to include the artwork or new graphics. The UX team might need to rethink some of the work they thought was done.
Regardless, it’s important to the process and allows users to enjoy and share in the hard work you are doing!
Blog Post: Announce Your Refresh with Gusto
Read more "Blog Post: Announce Your Refresh with Gusto"I have no idea how old Jonathan Libov — one of the creators of the mobile app Snapix — is, or where he is from, but there is a lot of maturity from this young man’s post on Whoo.ps. It’s hard to see the forest from the trees with products you have had a hand in creating, even harder to understand when to make tough decisions.
The post talks about the genesis of his software, the reasons for creating it and how it rose in popularity very quickly. As with many apps in the mobile space, though, there reached a time when traffic slowed to a crawl. He argues it was because it was only a side project for the creators and as such it’s tough to keep the fires stoked part-time.
As the community knows, mobile is tough to maintain momentum because of all the offerings and the rapid use cycle. If an app keeps a solid user base after only six months, it has accomplished something.
Re-read that last sentence and think about what that says for creators.
After much deliberation, they decided not to slowly watch their creation die in the wilderness and sunset the app. While it must have been tough to do, I think it shows maturity in the product development cycle. It also probably informed them for whatever they build next and can only make them better creators.
Many don’t even get the initial spike that Snapix enjoyed. Many fizzle before there was any shock and awe. Either way, if you are going to work in this space, you have to realistically know how your product is doing in the marketplace and prepare for the inevitable: your software will lose all it’s users eventually to something newer and shinier.
This also inspires someone like me to look at my own work and take an honest look at how it’s doing. Maybe there is something that needs a fresh coat of paint on it, or sent out to pasture. That idea in the back of my mind might need to be ushered to the front of the class for some attention.
Don’t be afraid to look at the feedback on your product honestly. If there’s no feedback, that’s just the same (or worse) as bad feedback. You might need to ask for some more, or start asking yourself the tough questions. It can only lead to better offerings to the marketplace.
It will definitely lead to better creations.
Blog Post: View Your Mobile Product Properly
Read more "Blog Post: View Your Mobile Product Properly"I think the headline of this Ars Technica piece on the mobile workforce can be a bit misleading. When you read the nuts and bolts of the piece, a different message is sent. Compared to this headline, it’s clear an agenda was meant:
“How Mobile Technology Created A Workforce That Never Stops Working.”
Some vision-casting for the future of our workforce is necessary, and what better way to think of them than with a mobile device or two in their hands. It does beg the question of how connected we should be, though.
As someone who can’t put their phone down, or manage to let it out of my sight, I see the conundrum We should be able to disconnect and allow ourselves some space from everything that’s going on. There’s also some physiological issues that can stem from needing to be available at all times.
Instead of looking at it that way, I would like to focus on how being connected can help us manage our workdays a little better.
For many of us, work used to be a time where you put your head down and cranked out as much as you could so that you could be home in time for dinner. There was no ability to take work home once. If you could, there was no way to collaborate or manage workflows correctly. As a result, our time in office was very stressful.
Now, I can go throughout my day knowing that work will get done by the talented people I collaborate with every day. If that means I respond to an email before bed or over the breakfast table, it means my time in the office can be used for tasks that are more important. Face-to-face interaction, building each other up, making the best products possible, and more.
Instead of getting bogged down by all the electronic communication requirements we have, get them out of the way during off-peak hours and focus on enjoying the day with some great people. That’s how people build great things together.
The next time you feel bad for checking your email in bed, or answer a text from a colleague during your morning run, consider it one step further towards sanity from 9-5 (or whenever you work). Don’t overload yourself, but use the right boundaries for work and home.
Blog Post: A Mobile Workforce Isn’t Bad
Read more "Blog Post: A Mobile Workforce Isn’t Bad"
Chris Murman 