![[ColumnTwo Logo]](/images/ColumnTwoLogo.gif) |
 |
Column Two
News and opinion on all things KM & CM |
James Robertson
Step Two Designs
|
Written by James Robertson Step Two Designs |
|
|
Articles by Month: January 2003
Intranet Benchmarking AssociationThanks to Googlert, I've just become aware of the Intranet Benchmarking Association. I haven't yet had a chance to look into what they do in practice, but it certainly looks interesting. To quote: The Intranet Benchmarking Association (IBA) is dedicated to investigating the whys and hows of creating company Intranets. Areas such as communications benefits, productivity, and cost reduction will be investigated to determine the optimal means of applying this technology to corporations as well as government businesses. Apparently membership is free, although there are costs involved in participating in some of the studies. Posted by jamesr at 03:23 PM
| Permalink
HR self-service successSarah Fister Gale has written a feature exploring three stories of HR self-service success, broken into a number of parts:
Posted by jamesr at 08:47 AM
| Permalink
RDF primer releasedOn January 23, a working draft was released for a RDF Primer. (RDF standing for "Resource Description Framework".) To quote: This Primer is designed to provide the reader with the basic knowledge required to effectively use RDF. It introduces the basic concepts of RDF and describes its XML syntax. It describes how to define RDF vocabularies using the RDF Vocabulary Description Language, and gives an overview of some deployed RDF applications. It also describes the content and purpose of other RDF specification documents. [Thanks to Catalogablog.] Posted by jamesr at 08:32 AM
| Permalink
Slammer wormFor some reason, when Mark Chillingworth from Image and Data Manager needed a quote for an article on the Slammer worm, he thought of me. So I got a phone call early last night, and had a brief chat. The results of which can be seen towards the end of the article. Nice to be thought of, I guess... Posted by jamesr at 08:17 AM
| Permalink
Visio or HTML for wireframes?Jeff Gothelf has written an article which compares Visio or HTML for wireframes. To quote: As design organizations (design shops, user experience groups within companies, etc.) mature, they inevitably run across the debate of Visio versus HTML wireframes. The decision for one over the other is never a clear-cut one since, as with all things IA-related, it depends. This article seeks to sort out the issues in this debate by describing the pros and cons of each technique and pointing out specific situations where one may be more effective than the other. [Thanks to ia/.] Posted by jamesr at 08:26 AM
| Permalink
Open-source project management toolsNot quite sure what category this goes in, but Claus Sorensen has gathered together a list of open-source project management tools. At present, he has 15 listed, with apparently more to come... Posted by jamesr at 08:11 AM
| Permalink
First actkm forum for 2003 (Canberra, Australia)From Amanda Lee: We thought the first meeting was good opportunity for everyone to clear away the summer cobwebs and contribute to a round table discussion. Posted by jamesr at 12:54 PM
| Permalink
Techniques For Building a Better Intranet (Melbourne, Australia)I'll be presenting two one-day seminars in Melbourne titled Techniques For Building a Better Intranet. These will be run by CAVAL, and should prove to be both fun and interesting. Brief details: Overview This one day workshop will explore a range of practical techniques and approaches for improving the design and effectiveness of your intranet. Through a mix of presentations, discussions and exercises, you will come away bubbling with ideas about how to tackle your intranet issues. It is based on the methodology outlined in the paper Sixteen steps to a renewed corporate intranet as well as very practical experience drawn from work in both the public and private sectors. Topics covered
This is a technology-neutral approach that focuses on user-centred techniques for identifying and resolving intranet issues. Course dates Program Venue Posted by jamesr at 10:31 AM
| Permalink
Switching news aggregatorsI've been using AmphetaDesk for a while now, but I've finally made the switch across to another system. While AmphetaDesk has many desirable features, what was crippling me was the inability to mark items as "read". When you are reading 40+ weblogs, not having the "new" items clearly marked starts to get really painful... So, as of last week, I started using Syndirella. While it's one of the new kids on the block, it's got a lot of potential. It also tracks new and read articles in a very nice way (just press "space" to go to the next unread item). It's evolving rapidly, with three releases in the last week, each one addressing something that I was specifically looking for. The only downside is that it requires the bloated .NET Framework to run (a 20meg download!). Still, at least it means the application itself is less than 250k... Posted by jamesr at 08:30 AM
| Permalink
Five biggest mistakes in CMS selectionLisa Welchman has written an article on the five biggest mistakes in CMS selection, which she lists as:
A practical, well considered article that tells it like it is ... Posted by jamesr at 08:20 AM
| Permalink
Running a non-directed interviewMike Kuniavsky has written an article on how to conduct a non-directed interview. In it, he gives a variety of tips and guidelines, and a few examples. To quote: In a nondirected interview, the interviewer is more than just a conversation partner; you have to behave differently. You must be more vigilant about the meaning of your words and their implications. An accidental ambiguity can cause you and your interviewee to use the same word very differently; a leading question can guide an interviewee to provide a different answer than what they truly believe. Posted by jamesr at 01:48 PM
| Permalink
Melbourne IA\UX Cocktail HourFrom Mark Reuten:
If you are interested in attending, I would recommend e-mailing Mark, to RSVP. Posted by jamesr at 01:33 PM
| Permalink
Powerpoints from this week's presentationsWell, the talks this week went well. The first was at Information Online 2003 on Web Services: Google, Amazon & Weblogs. Despite the very brief 20 minute length, I managed to cover some interesting topics, and was pleased to see a good amount of note-taking in the audience. [Powerpoint Presentation] The second talk was at Turning on the Light Bulbs, a satellite event of Information Online. This was on Real World Content Management, and covered the need for a content management system, issues surrounding the purchase of a CMS, and how librarians can be involved in a CMS project. There was plenty of good questions, and lively discussions, which is always a good sign. [Powerpoint Presentation] Posted by jamesr at 07:31 PM
| Permalink
Intranet cost-benefitsMartin White has written a blog entry on the difficulty of calculating intranet cost-benefits. To quote: The minute a prospective client asks me to assist in developing an ROI justification for their intranet I suddenly become very busy! I have a huge problem with any justification for an intranet that requires a quantitative business case to be made. I am not against doing so for certain projects, but in my view if a senior maangement team does not have the vision to see what the benefits of an intranet can be, then it's time to find a job elsewhere before the intranet implodes. Posted by jamesr at 04:28 PM
| Permalink
100 XML AcronymsPerfectXML has released a list of the top 100 XML acronyms, with everything from CML (Chemical Markup Language) to X-KRSS (XML Key Registration Service Specification). This is a very cleanly laid-out page, with a brief description and URL provided for each acronym. It's actually scary how useful this list is. (Scary because: why are there so many different specs, and how do we keep up with them all?) Posted by jamesr at 10:39 AM
| Permalink
Web services: Google, Amazon & weblogsAt the last moment, I was asked to present a brief talk on Web Services for Information Online 2003. With the audience being primarily librarians, I have to think hard about how to tackle the subject. I've now decided to keep it very practical, and look at some of the really interesting ways web services have been used, focusing on the Google API and Amazon API. There are certainly some novel applications, including:
(See also Erik Benson's Amazon API list for a substantial list of different uses of the Amazon API.) Posted by jamesr at 10:06 AM
| Permalink
Website size checkerSearch Engine World has released a simple website size checker. Put in your website URL, and it will tell you:
Posted by jamesr at 02:29 PM
| Permalink
Heuristics for online communities of practiceMark Notess and Josh Plaskoff have written an article outlining some preliminary heuristics for online communities of practice. These have been drawn from a range of academic articles, and cover:
Posted by jamesr at 12:21 PM
| Permalink
Complete list of IA & usability listsWilliam Hudson has kindly gathered together a comprehensive list of mailing lists relating to usability and information architecture. An extremely handy reference for those who like to keep their fingers on the pulse... Posted by jamesr at 08:08 AM
| Permalink
What is RSS?Mark Pilgrim (well known in the blogging community) has just written an introductory article on RSS. This walks through the various different versions of RSS, and provides XML examples. To quote: RSS is a format for syndicating news and the content of news-like sites, including major news sites like Wired, news-oriented community sites like Slashdot, and personal weblogs. But it's not just for news. Pretty much anything that can be broken down into discrete items can be syndicated via RSS: the "recent changes" page of a wiki, a changelog of CVS checkins, even the revision history of a book. Once information about each item is in RSS format, an RSS-aware program can check the feed for changes and react to the changes in an appropriate way. Posted by jamesr at 08:45 AM
| Permalink
Printing the webJames Kalbach talks about designing websites that can be printed, either by making the one page work on paper, or by providing an alternate "printable version". Sounds pretty mundane, but there's a lot of good tips in this article. Posted by jamesr at 04:30 PM
| Permalink
Using site evaluationsDorelle Rabinowitz has written about using site evaluations to communicate and engage with clients. Plenty of samples and examples are provided, and the whole article is strongly business-focused. To quote: How do you prove your worth to clients in today's difficult economy? One of the tools in my arsenal that has proved tremendously effective is a website evaluation (or assessment). Performed as part of a sales proposal, a site assessment can help you speak knowledgeably about solutions to your potential client's problems. As part of a "discovery" phase of a project, it can help uncover opportunities for improvement. Additionally, it can serve as a benchmark to be tested against later in the design process. Because many clients understand ratings, site assessments early in a project can help you and your clients speak the same language, establishing a base vocabulary you can reference later when you do user research, personas, card sorts, and usability tests. Posted by jamesr at 04:23 PM
| Permalink
New XML-hypertext mailing listxmlhack.com has started a new mailing list called xml-hypertext, which is described as "an open forum for the discussion of creating hypertext with XML. Appropriate subjects include technologies for linking and pointing, hypertext-oriented transformations, and interactions between XML and Web infrastructure.". Posted by jamesr at 01:05 PM
| Permalink
Picking the right intranet projectI was at an organisation this morning, talking with them about how they plan to tackle their intranet redesign project. All very interesting. During this conversation, a couple of ideas occured to me. One of which is the following: Intranet redesign projects should aim to:
This last point suggests that the initial intranet projects should be very carefully chosen, so as to have the biggest impact on culture. A good intranet project will generate a "buzz", and support intranet marketing and change management. This also comes back to "storytelling" approaches in knowledge management. By choosing a project that is aligned with the message you want to convey, word of the project's success will spread the message throughout the organisation. The analogy I used was that the right project will act as a "catalyst", which will spread outwards through both the intranet and the organisation. I'll have to think about this some more... Posted by jamesr at 02:11 PM
| Permalink
Do boolean searches make sense?Donna Maurer has written two interesting blog entries on whether "normal" users understand how boolean terms (AND, OR, etc) work when searching. The first blog entry discussed ANDing, while the second rounds out the topic neatly with a user's comments on ORing. Posted by jamesr at 11:03 AM
| Permalink
Ask a librarian!A pilot project has been setup by national, state and territory libraries in Australia called Ask Now!. Ask your question, and a librarian will hunt down a list of URLs that provide an answer. The service is available from 9 a.m. - 8 p.m. Australian EST. [Thanks to Inter Alia.] Posted by jamesr at 10:52 AM
| Permalink
Even more style guidesAs expected, discussions on sigia-l has thrown up more good style guides:
[Thanks to David Williamson.] And one more to round out today's listings:
[Thanks to Gene Smith.] Posted by jamesr at 10:22 AM
| Permalink
Three new Content Management BriefingsInstead of my usual KM Column, I've started off our my CM Briefings series with a bang. Not one, but three small papers on a range of content management issues:
As ever, any feedback or comments would be gratefully received... Posted by jamesr at 05:49 PM
| Permalink
Facelift for the VERS siteSiobhan Chapman reports on the recent facelift of the VERS site (Victorian Electronic Records Strategy). To quote: The Victorian Electronic Records Strategy, or VERS, has added new content to its portal and restructured the Web site to reflect the most common paths through the online toolkit and improve accessibility. VERS was developed by the State's archives authority, Public Record Office Victoria, as a standard for long-term preservation of the state's electronic records. Posted by jamesr at 04:48 PM
| Permalink
Last chance for early-bird ratesTalking about seminars, it is only a few days until the early-bird rate expires for both the Intranet Peers in Government and Choosing the Right Content Management System seminars. You don't want to miss out on these, if the feedback from the inaugural events is anything to go by... Posted by jamesr at 04:01 PM
| Permalink
Website Content and Performance Management for GovernmentJust a quick note to say that I will be speaking at the Website Content and Performance Management for Government in Canberra on 25 March 2003. I'll also be chairing the second day, which should be interesting. The topic of my talk is as follows:
Posted by jamesr at 01:08 PM
| Permalink
More style guidesThanks to a recent thread on sigia-l, I've come across a good number of web style guides:
[Thanks to Charles Chapman.] Posted by jamesr at 08:35 AM
| Permalink
Gorilla UsabilityD. Keith Robinson has written an article on what he calls Gorilla Usability, which is in essence a practical "get to know your users" approach to usability. This article is very much written from a business perspective, targeted at people who have been scared off by talk of high-powered usability. To quote: Don't worry. I know how to spell. I imagine you've heard the term "guerilla marketing"? Well, it's kind of like that, but a lot less subtle. It's about getting out from behind the video camera, the reports, the stats and all the guru commandments and actually getting to know your users. It's about making that direct connection between the makers and the users. It's about getting into their world, seeing how they use your sites on their turf. It's about learning how to listen to what your users want, and getting past your own assumptions. [Thanks to Peter J. Bogaards.] Posted by jamesr at 08:22 AM
| Permalink
Faceted metadata search and browseSearchTools has released a practical article on using faceted metadata to enhance search. It contains some interesting screenshots, and a gentle introduction to the concepts. To quote: A good solution to these problems involves exposing the facets in dynamic taxonomies, so that the search user can see exactly the options they have available at any time. They can switch easily between searching and browsing, using their own terminology for search while recognizing the organization and vocabulary of the data. [Thanks to Peter J. Bogaards.] Posted by jamesr at 05:00 PM
| Permalink
How to specify, test and report usabilityThe work of the EU-funded PRUE project has generated a resource site on how to specify, test and report usability. It provides a number of resources, including:
[Thanks to Peter J. Bogaards.] Posted by jamesr at 04:55 PM
| Permalink
Turning the Light Bulbs OnI'll be presenting at the Turning the Light Bulbs On conference, held as an adjunct to the ever-popular ALIA Information Online Conference. I'll be talking about content management systems (what else), while other speakers will cover a range of interesting topics. Brief details as follows: Turning the Light Bulbs On Posted by jamesr at 04:29 PM
| Permalink
Back in the officeWell, my holidays have unfortunately come to an end, and I'm back in the office. Actually, last week (while the office was closed), was one of our best for business. We made a handful of sales of the Requirements Toolkit, and received a good number of registrations for our upcoming seminars. Money rolling in, without anyone having to be here...Unfortunately, though, I now have 2700 messages in my e-mail inbox, so I've got a bit of catching up to do... Posted by jamesr at 04:22 PM
| Permalink
Using HTML wireframes and prototypesJulie Stanford has written an excellent article on using HTML for wireframes and prototypes. In it, she clearly sells the benefits of this approach, and addresses some of the common concerns. To quote: Mention the use of HTML for wireframing or prototyping, and some information architects and interaction designers frantically look for the nearest exit. In some circles, HTML has acquired the reputation of being a time-consuming, difficult undertaking best left to developers. I’m here to convince you that this is very far from the truth. In fact, using HTML as the basis for your wireframing and prototyping can be a quick and rewarding experience with fabulous benefits, including easier user testing, improved client communication, and faster, more effective use of design time. But wait, there's more! Beyond this issues paper, Julie provides a full Dreamweaver primer designed to get you up to speed on creating your own prototypes. Outstanding. Posted by jamesr at 12:50 PM
| Permalink
Number of usability tests required?This article comes from a while back, but it is still very applicable. William Hudson discusses the number of users required for usability testing, comparing the results of Jared Spool and Jakob Nielsen. The conclusions: We can use small numbers of subjects in detailed and well-focused tests, ensuring that coverage is the same within a series. On large or complex sites we will need more test series to improve coverage. However, to get a global picture of a site's usability, we need to measure the success rate of real users in real situations. Posted by jamesr at 10:24 AM
| Permalink
Reducing knowledge lossBrian Frank discusses how to reduce knowledge loss. His five practical tips consist of:
Posted by jamesr at 09:57 AM
| Permalink
ROI on usabilityJakob Nielsen's most recent Alertbox looks at the ROI on usability. His summary: Development projects should spend 10% of their budget on usability. Following a usability redesign, websites increase usability by 135% on average; intranets improve slightly less. Posted by jamesr at 09:43 AM
| Permalink
Writing your own CMSDavid V Rodriguez has released a first draft of his online book Content Management Design, which walks through how to write a custom content management system. Code samples (in PHP) and SQL statements are also included. To quote: This book is about designing and coding Content Management Systems from scratch. It covers revisioning, permissions, workflow, and templates, and by the time you've reached the end, you should be able to write your own enterprise-strength CMS from the ground up, or at least have a better appreciation of the issues involved. Posted by jamesr at 10:58 AM
| Permalink
Pros and cons of XMLzapthink has released a free report on the pros and cons of XML. This takes a pragmatic look at the world of XML, and identifies the following key findings:
This is an excellent document: pragmatic, balanced and considered. Well worth a read. Thanks to Joseph Martins. Posted by jamesr at 10:46 AM
| Permalink
What is a controlled vocabulary?Karl Fast, Fred Leise and Mike Steckel have written an introduction explaining what a controlled vocabulary is. This walks through each key concept in turn, giving examples, and building a bridge between implementers and librarians. To quote: Amy Warner defines a controlled vocabulary (CV) as "organized lists of words and phrases, or notation systems, that are used to initially tag content, and then to find it through navigation or search." This means that a CV is a type of metadata that functions as a "subset of natural language" (Wellisch); it is not how we normally speak. Posted by jamesr at 10:29 AM
| Permalink
|
|
|
![[Column Two]](/images/ColumnTwo/xml.gif){kind=small}