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Planning & Strategy: Do it Right. Do it Once.
By Dave Kephart
Too often, I hear clients tell horror stories about how they spent time, money and effort to design, build and implement a web application that doesn't work.
Even if the project came in on budget, the return on investment is not nearly what it was supposed to be. With each passing day, the return on investment moves further away. Do you try to fix it? Do you scrap it and start over
At IT4 Group, we are keenly aware that business solutions often fail to meet expectations because they evolve into something other than solving specific problems. Sometimes the toughest part of a project is determining the true scope of the problem in the first place. The second toughest part is sticking to the task of solving the problem.
There are three key reasons for this:
Myopia. Both staff and vendors can get too focused on what is close and familiar. There's no substitute for making accurate measurements in all relevant areas, and being open to ideas that initially seem wrong.
Me too. "We're going to ________ because _______." If the "because ________" part of the statement includes anything other than what your research says your customers or employees need, you may be wasting your money and time.
Too many cooks. Not enough stakeholders. Designing and building customer-facing solutions can be lots of fun. Especially the creative and technology parts. But creative and technology discussions should be part of a process that is driven by business requirements.
You can save yourself time, money and aggravation, and keep your project on track by giving it the acid test: Is it going to make money / is it going to save money? If there's no clear answer, you should dissect the business process you're addressing (or think you're addressing).
We often find in looking at business processes that there are numerous ways to use web apps to make money and save money that seem to go unnoticed.
Do you have repetitive tasks you could automate to save a few bucks? Do you have new customers you could afford to reach through a web app? New lines of business you can build through web services? Can you convert high-service sales into low-service sales, or even no-touch sales? Strengthen you sales force presence with private desktop portal into your enterprise? These are the areas we look at for our clients, from the top "what business are you in?" level, to the granular "how does this department generate revenue" level.
Doing due diligence on your business processes and your ideas about how to improve your business can be an onerous and sometimes unpleasant task. But you will probably be rewarded with a solid plan for a better business model if you stick with it.
Usability and Common Sense
by Dave Kephart It's great to hear people talking about usability. Usability shifts focus from the developer or provider to the user, the customer. Like any concept or practice, usability works best when it is applied with real-world common sense (and a good measure of research and thought) instead of "hard-wired" rules about text, graphics, buttons, Flash or noFlash, etc.
So where do you start with usability? The websites of the usability rulemeisters? You're probably better off starting with yourself. If you're a light web user or non technical person, so much the better. What works for you on the web? What frustrates you on the web? If you're like most people and the proponents of usability, you'll probably like finding what you need quickly without thinking or hunting too much. You'll also like pages that load up quickly. And if there is a transaction involved, you'll probably like getting it over with as quickly as possible, but with positive feedback and a feeling of closure and security.
A good next step is to put yourself in your customer's place. Are you in a hurry? Under some sort of duress? Or are you taking all the time you need to study pictures, details and your feelings about a product and company before making a big purchase?
Now think about the perfect interaction a customer could have with your company (perfect for the customer, regardless of the cost to you). Would it be a one-to-one conversation with an all-knowing, caring person? Or would it be a machine so sophisticated it could deliver exactly what was needed within one or two clicks
Consider these theoretical perfect scenarios when you're thinking about usability. While you can't create the perfect customer experience at any cost, you can emphasize the points of action that are important to customers, and eliminate the elements that obfuscate the best possible customer experience you can offer.
Page updated: 6/16/2003