Articles by Month: January 2005

Open Publish 2005 call for papers (Sydney)

The call for papers for the upcoming Open Publish 2005 conference is now open. The conference will be held in Sydney on July 27-29, and will feature a web content management stream for the first time.

I am the co-chair of the conference, and will be responsible for the web CM stream. This is an excellent event, organised by practitioners for practitioners. Content will be good, and prices very reasonable.

If you are interested in speaking at this event, please submit an abstract. You are also very welcome to e-mail me if you would like to discuss potential topics, etc.

Posted by jamesr at 09:42 AM | Permalink
Categories: Content management

Is workflow the wrong metaphor?

The second CM Briefing for February asks the question: is workflow the wrong metaphor? To quote:

While workflow is a key component of content management systems (CMS), the unspoken truth is that workflow often fails (or is only moderately successful) in most organisations.

This briefing explores the reality of workflow in organisations, identifies a number of problems and issues, and asks the question: is workflow the wrong metaphor?

Posted by jamesr at 09:06 AM | Permalink
Categories: Content management, James' articles

How staff look for documents

The first of February's CM Briefings explores how staff look for documents. To quote:

In the earlier article Rolling out a records management system, three critical success factors were identified: the software, classification scheme and message. This briefing focuses on a specific aspect of document management, records management and intranet projects: how staff look for documents.

Understanding that there are a number of distinct situations in which staff look for documents sheds light on how to develop suitable software, and design useful classification schemes.

Posted by jamesr at 08:53 AM | Permalink
Categories: Content management, James' articles

Step-by-step: implementing online forms

My KM Column article for February (released a day early) covers implementing online forms, in the context of a corporate intranet. To quote:

Online forms should be a key component of all corporate intranets, as they deliver clear productivity benefits and cost savings. Few organisations, however, have taken the next steps beyond simply publishing forms in PDF format.

This article discusses some of the reasons why online forms have not been more widely deployed. An incremental approach is then outlined for implementing online forms. This is designed to minimise the cost and effort required at each step, while maximising the benefits delivered.

Posted by jamesr at 08:31 AM | Permalink
Categories: Intranets, James' articles

Use cases for web development

Norm Carr and Tim Meehan have written an article on the value of use cases for web development. To quote:

An especially useful technique to consider is use cases. Use cases provide a simple, fast means to decide and describe the purpose of a project. They're successfully employed by many software engineers as a way to capture the high-level objectives of an application during the initial phase of development. There's no reason that web site developers shouldn't also benefit from a use-case driven approach. Even a project that initially seems straightforward can balloon into an unmanageable behemoth if the purpose isn't kept in mind.

[Thanks to WebWord.]

Posted by jamesr at 12:21 PM | Permalink
Categories: Usability & user-centered design

List of KM journals

Knowledgeboard has pulled together a list of recommended KM journals. To quote:

Welcome to our featured recommended journals section. This provides links to some journals that we would like to recommend to our community. All recommended journals have been kind enough to allow us to host a number of their papers in our library.

Posted by jamesr at 11:13 AM | Permalink
Categories: Knowledge management

Telling it like it is: using ethnography and storytelling in the workplace (Sydney, 3 February)

Details on the first NSW KM Forum meeting for the year:

WHAT: Telling it like it is: using ethnography and storytelling in the workplace

WHY: One of the greatest challenges faced in devising effective processes and systems involves trying to understand the way that people work and communicate in real life. Using some examples from Dr Anderson's own research to spark discussion, she will illustrate how observational and storytelling techniques can contribute to analyses of work practices, for instance: information use, requirements analysis, system design and work-based communication.

WHO: Theresa Dirndorfer Anderson is a Lecturer in the Information and Knowledge Management Program UTS. She is an active researcher with interests in human-computer interaction, communication in organisations, the interplay between emerging technologies and work practices, and structuring information for re-use within digital libraries and collections.

WHEN: 5.30pm for 6pm, Thursday 3rd Feb

WHERE: Standards Australia, 286 Sussex Street, Sydney NSW 2000

HOW MUCH: Free

Posted by jamesr at 09:30 AM | Permalink
Categories: Knowledge management

Checkpoints for reviewing usability test reports

Philip Hodgson has written an article on how to review usability test reports. To quote:

Usability practitioners are called on, not only to conduct many research studies during their careers, but also to read, review, and advise on usability studies that have been conducted and reported by others. The ability to critically review the research of others, and to help stakeholders weigh up the merits or shortcomings of research data and conclusions, is an extremely valuable skill. These checkpoints will help you ensure your review covers the key issues.

[Thanks to the eGovernment Resource Centre.]

Posted by jamesr at 09:00 PM | Permalink
Categories: Usability & user-centered design

The ten types of innovation

Doblin inc. has summarised the ten types of innovation. They are:

• business model
• networks and alliances
• enabling process
• core processes
• product performance
• product system
• service
• channel
• brand
• customer experience

[Thanks to paper & pencil.]

Posted by jamesr at 08:54 PM | Permalink
Categories: Knowledge management

Uncovering users in your own organisation

Lynn Rampoldi-Hnilo has written an article on mining internal information sources, to identify usability issues that impact on external users. To quote:

Like most of you, I can't wait to get into the field to observe users working with my products. Yet, I'm going to pull on the reins, and do a 180-degree turn. Don't worry - it's still research, but from an internal perspective. There is a wealth of information at your fingertips in your own office, and surprisingly, some of it is usability-related. You can optimize your internal resources by understanding where and how you can find UI information about your users within your own company. To provide context and practical guidelines, this article presents examples of how to mine internal resources at a large enterprise software company.

Posted by jamesr at 08:18 PM | Permalink
Categories: Usability & user-centered design

Investing in usability: Testing versus training

John S. Rhodes looks at how best to invest in usability, when budgets are limited. To quote:

In my experience, usability professionals use their budgets to run usability studies. That is, when given money, they immediately start setting up usability programs to solve particular problems. This shouldn't surprise anyone because many usability professionals think the value of usability is derived entirely from the results produced through usability tests. Most people think usability is synonymous with usability testing. It isn't, and this misconception frustrates me.

Posted by jamesr at 10:12 AM | Permalink
Categories: Usability & user-centered design

Ask Tony: CMS implementation models

Tony Byrne and Lisa Welchman cover the topic of CMS implementation models in his latest "Ask Tony" column. To quote:

What are some of the common milestones (in a general sense) that are used for a typical large-company/agency Web CMS implementation. I've been tasked by a U.S. Department of Defense agency to create a milestone plan for implementation of [a CMS] for agency sites.

Posted by jamesr at 09:46 AM | Permalink
Categories: Content management

How to write summaries for web and intranet pages, and why

Rachel McAlpine has written an article on how to write summaries for web and intranet pages. To quote:

The summary is all part of the plan to structure every web or intranet page for easy reading and great search results. Your summary is the reader's second chance (after the headline) to get the point of the page.

[Thanks to elearningpost.]

Posted by jamesr at 09:43 PM | Permalink
Categories: Intranets

KMAZ™: Knowledge Management A-Z (Brisbane, Australia)

At the request of Kate Andrews, I'm forwarding the details on her upcoming Brisbane workshop: KMAZ™: Knowledge Management A-Z. This one-day workshop will cover a pile of interesting topics:

• After action reviews
• Best practice transfer
• Codification
• Communities of practice
• Expertise locators
• Information governance
• Intranets
• Maps—static and dynamic
• Narratives and stories
• Social network analysis (SNA)

(The workshop will be held in Brisbane on 3 March 2005.)

Posted by jamesr at 09:38 PM | Permalink
Categories: Knowledge management

Six month workshop calendar

Ok, now that we've announced all our workshops, we've pulled them all together into a handy six month workshop calendar. This allows you too see exactly what, where and when we will be running our events.

Posted by jamesr at 02:24 PM | Permalink
Categories:

Usability without Users (Melbourne)

The second new usability workshop we are launching is called Usability without Users, to be run in Melbourne on 10 May 2005. To quote:

A range of techniques are available to help you to identify potential usability issues, including:

• usability inspections
• heuristic reviews
• walk-throughs
• guidelines and checklists
• existing data such as site feedback, website and
• search logs

This half day workshop provides an opportunity to learn about each of these techniques, their benefits and limitations. During the workshop, you will use each method to inspect various systems and identify potential usability problems. You will also learn when to use each method and when it is more appropriate to undertake usability testing.

Posted by jamesr at 07:06 AM | Permalink
Categories: Usability & user-centered design

Designing for Usability (Canberra, Sydney)

We've just announced a brand-new workshop titled Designing for Usability. This goes beyond the "Fundamentals" workshop we've been running, and offers an in-depth look how to design sites (and systems) that meet user and business needs.

The workshop will be run in the following locations:

• Canberra (6 April 2005)
• Sydney (22 June 2005)

Posted by jamesr at 06:58 AM | Permalink
Categories: Usability & user-centered design

Portal software: passing fad or real value?

Janus Boye has written an article looking at the value of portal software. To quote:

In fact, I question the whole concept of portal software. Based on a series of issues I have found with portal applications while working on CMS projects during the last few years, I am not convinced this is an investment each and every company should consider.

As anyone who has been foolhardy enough to ask me "what do you think about portals?" would know, I'm also not a fan of portals, for all the reasons outlined in this article. It's therefore great to see this discussed publicly...

Posted by jamesr at 06:47 AM | Permalink
Categories: Content management

Thinking differently about site mapping and navigation

D. Keith Robinson has written an article that presents a different perspective on site mapping and navigation. To quote:

Think about this, for many sites most people enter a site via some page other than the homepage. (That is if they see the site at all, with the rise in syndication and alternate ways to access Web content, many people may never see the site at all.) I know for my own site, most people come in via individual archive pages. Any large content site would have similar entry points. It’s important to have a “home” or “hub” page, but it’s equally important to address a visitors navigation needs from more common entry points.

Posted by jamesr at 12:46 PM | Permalink
Categories: Information architecture

Knowledge management and risk management

Joy London has written a blog entry that points to some research into the overlap of knowledge management and risk management, in the context of law firms. To quote:

Firms considering KM in the context of matter management process: 25%

Firms considering KM in the context of client relationship management: 10%

Firms with integrated document management and e-mail strategy: 10%

Firms with aligned KM and risk management strategies: 18%

Firms with the same person responsible for KM and risk management: 8%

Posted by jamesr at 11:40 AM | Permalink
Categories: Knowledge management

How to bake usability into your company

John S. Rhodes has written a short article on how to bake usability into your company. To quote:

Train your designers and developers to do some of their own usability work. This gets them thinking about users while it frees up usability specialists to focus on your more difficult usability issues. Everyone wins.

Posted by jamesr at 03:03 PM | Permalink
Categories: Usability & user-centered design

New team member: Iain Barker

Our office reopens for the year today, and I'm extremely pleased to announce that we now have a new consulting team member: Iain Barker. Iain originally hails from the UK, but has been working over here in Australia for a little while now.

Iain will be a very strong addition to our team, and he brings with him the experience gained working on a wide range of interesting projects. (Iain will be working out of our Sydney offices.)

Welcome Iain!

Posted by jamesr at 12:36 PM | Permalink
Categories:

Caterpillar's knowledge networks

Jack Vinson has written a blog entry reporting on the knowledge networks at Caterpillar, as described by Reed Stuedemann at the recent KM Chicago meeting. To quote:

There are now several thousand communities that are managed through the system. When asked how deep the usage of knowledge networks spans, Reed said that the CEO is a member of at least three communities (strategic planning), giving some idea that everyone in the organization is using the tool to help conduct business. He highlighted the value that new employees get from using the knowledge networks to come up to speed on topics and issues that directly affect their jobs. Reed also admitted that about 1000 communities are dormant and need to be disbanded. In fact, he stated that building a community lifecycle process is a challenge for him in the coming year. This would be very much in parallel to the content lifecycle process that is handled by each community manager.

I love reading these real-life case studies: not just what worked, but what didn't, and what turned out to be hard...

Posted by jamesr at 09:44 AM | Permalink
Categories: Knowledge management

Canberra workshops

Just a quick note to say that the early-bird rate for the first round of Canberra workshops closes next week. Details as follows:

• Usability Testing Fundamentals (Canberra, 21 February 2005)
• Information Architecture Fundamentals (Canberra, 22 February 2005)

These workshops have been very popular, and you can read what past participants have said about them.

Posted by jamesr at 09:21 AM | Permalink
Categories: Information architecture, Usability & user-centered design

Web Content Management Marketplace Circa 2005

Tony Byrne has written an article outlining his view of the CMS marketplace in 2005. In it, he identifies six key trends:

Trend #1: Mid-Market Challengers
Trend #2: Vikings Cometh?
Trend #3: Patch-and-Fill at the Enterprise Tier
Trend #4: Return to Simple
Trend #5: Beyond Internet Explorer
Trend #6: Repository Search

Posted by jamesr at 09:13 AM | Permalink
Categories: Content management

Designing the relationship between content and locales

Peter Van Dijck has written a log blog entry on the relationship between content and locales, continuing his exploration of internationalised IA. To quote:

I am trying to gather thoughts on the various structures and patterns that occur when creating multiple versions of a website in multiple locales. I hope to create a model, a way of thinking about these structures that can help when making decisions.

Posted by jamesr at 08:51 AM | Permalink
Categories: Information architecture

A mini-ethnography of social practices in a distributed classification community

Ulises Ali Mejias has conducted a study into the social classification used on del.icio.us. To quote:

Working within the constraints of a very limited data sample, this study attempts to identify some of the information management and meaning construction practices of an online distributed classification (a.k.a. free tagging or ethnoclassification) community. Specifically, this study seeks to investigate the social and communicative practices that emerge when users are encouraged to share web links with one another by using a metadata keyword, or tag, to demark a social group, apart from using other tags to classify links according to an emergent taxonomy.

[Thanks to ia/.]

Posted by jamesr at 09:07 AM | Permalink
Categories: Information architecture

Mid market web CMS vendors pull ahead

As quoted by CMSwire, and following on from my last post, Tony Byrne has made some observations on the state of the market in the new edition of The CMS Report:

• Mid-market vendors now offer comprehensive Web content management packages that are typically easier to implement than those from enterprise-tier players.
• A new class of mid-market "challengers" can provide XML-based solutions, often for less than US$40,000 in licensing.
• Major USA-based CMS vendors have seen only limited success selling Web content management tools in Europe, where national and regional suppliers have snapped up most large accounts.
• Although feature sets are converging across CMS vendors, underlying technical architectures continue to diverge in important ways. Different vendors also follow highly distinct user-interface models.
• There are no predominant Web content management suppliers in the marketplace, which means prospective buyers face a confusing set of alternatives. Nevertheless, a little diligence can yield good choices.

I agree 100% with these observations...

Posted by jamesr at 08:55 AM | Permalink
Categories: Content management

7th Edition of CMS Report

Ever busy, CMS Watch have just released the 7th edition of the The CMS Report. This includes updated reviews and new vendors. To quote:

CMS Watch releases the Winter, 2005 edition of The CMS Report, our semi-annual review of Web content management strategies, technologies, and products. In addition to updates on 28 CMS vendors, this edition adds coverage of IBM, Refresh Software, and SiteCore A/S. CMS Watch analysis is completely vendor-neutral; we work exclusively with and for you, the solutions buyer...

To help position the various CMS reports: If you are looking for product reviews, and are located in the US or nearby, get The CMS Report. If you are looking for CMS requirements that you can cut-and-paste into your tender, get my Content Management Requirements Toolkit. Both reports are useful and play complementary roles, so you might want to get both!

Posted by jamesr at 08:49 AM | Permalink
Categories: Content management

What makes a design seem 'intuitive'?

Jared M. Spool has written an article exploring the meaning of intuitive, when it comes to designing systems. To quote:

Users can complete their objective when current knowledge equals target knowledge. There are two ways this can happen. You can train the user, thereby increasing their current knowledge, until they know everything they need to know. Or, you can reduce the knowledge necessary, by making the interface easier, until target knowledge only requires the information the user already has. In fact, most good design involves both: users are trained (through explanatory text and other devices) while the designer reduces complexity, reducing the gap distance from both directions.

Posted by jamesr at 08:42 AM | Permalink
Categories: Usability & user-centered design

2004 salary survey for user experience design and usability professionals

Spirit Softworks and Peak Usability have released the results of the 2004 salary survey, for UxD and usability professionals. To quote:

In the Spring of 2004, Spirit Softworks and Peak Usability conducted an international online survey of salaries for user experience design and usability professionals. World wide, 821 respondents completed the survey. This report documents the results of that survey, breaking down salaries by type of employer, geographical region, role, project focus, education, years of experience, and gender.

Posted by jamesr at 08:33 AM | Permalink
Categories: Usability & user-centered design

Gilbane Report: now free!

The Gilbane Report has just taken the great step of making all their reports publicly available, free of charge. There's a lot of great stuff here! There is also a new blog, covering news and commentary in the field of content management. To quote:

The Gilbane Report announced that it has made all Gilbane Reports available free of charge, and that there will no longer be a charge for subscriptions. The Gilbane Report also announced the launch of a new Weblog that will be authored by Gilbane analysts and consultants, and will provide interactive commentary on the information technology market, technology, and trends that the Gilbane Report is known for, including content management, XML, document management, enterprise search, enterprise information integration, digital asset management, knowledge management, collaboration, Intranet and portal publishing, authoring and editing, multi-channel publishing, standards, etc.

Posted by jamesr at 10:44 AM | Permalink
Categories: Content management

Mapping the culture of an online community

For those in the knowledge management community, the Act-KM list has been a central point for discussion (and dispute). While it's been great to have an active list, it has had a dynamic that has scared away many people, and caused frustration to others.

What it has led to, however, is the creation of a very interesting piece of work. Patrick Lambe has developed a set of "archetypes" for the list, capturing the group perception of the forces (and personalities) at play. The archetypes identified:

• The Mediator
• The Energy Vampire
• The Lurker
• The Angry Little Man
• The Beginner
• The Hostage
• The Backstabber
• The Professor
• The Sophist
• The Visionary
• The Guru

To read more, see Patrick's article (610kB PDF). There's even cartoons of each archetype!

Posted by jamesr at 09:26 AM | Permalink
Categories: Knowledge management

Web content management: Top 10 predictions for 2005

Gerry McGovern has written an article outlining his ten web content management predictions for 2005. To quote:

Web content management will continue its shift away from a technology focus towards a content one. 2005 will be the year when the professional editor will be given more responsibility in running the website.

Posted by jamesr at 09:07 AM | Permalink
Categories: Content management

Paving the way for simpler document management

James Till has written an article on document management, focusing on the value of WebDAV. To quote:

Although ECM applications are likely to continue to support processes such as financial records management or drug development protocols, organizations are also seeking simpler document management solutions that can deliver core document management features to typical users in and easier to use and less costly package.

The WebDAV specification, or the "Web-based Distributed Authoring and Versioning" extension to HTTP, may provide the technology foundation to support these simpler document management solutions that distributed organizations often seek.

Posted by jamesr at 04:11 PM | Permalink
Categories: Content management

Folksonomies? How about metadata ecologies?

Lou Rosenfeld has written a blog entry looking at folksonomies, and some of the issues involved. To quote:

Two more cents: though I'm not certain that the product of folksonomy development will have much long term value on their own, I'll bet dollars to donuts that the process of introducing a broader public to the act of developing and applying metadata will be incredibly invaluable.

Posted by jamesr at 10:14 PM | Permalink
Categories: Information architecture

Putting context into context

Jared M. Spool has written an article on the importance of context, when designing sites or systems. To quote:

Design happens at the intersection of the user, the interface, and their context. It's essential for interface designers to understand the gamut of contexts that can occur, thereby ensuring they create designs that are usable no matter what's happening around the user.

Posted by jamesr at 04:21 PM | Permalink
Categories: Usability & user-centered design

Strategies for information gathering

D. Keith Robinson has written a blog entry on information gathering approaches, in the context of web design projects. To quote:

One of the areas in which I and my coworkers can see room for improvement is with information gathering. I've been spending the last few weeks thinking about this and talking to colleagues of mine to get an idea about best practices for information gathering. I'm not ready to talk about my findings, but I thought I’d put some feelers out and see if my readers had any ideas or experiences to share.

Posted by jamesr at 02:46 PM | Permalink
Categories: Information architecture, Usability & user-centered design

Navigation blindness

Henrik Olsen has written an article on the issue of navigation blindness, where global navigation is routinely ignored (filtered-out) by users of sites. To quote:

Most web development projects put a lot of effort into the design of navigation tools. But fact is that people tend to ignore these tools. They are fixated on getting what they came for and simply click on links or hit the back button to get there.

Posted by jamesr at 02:30 PM | Permalink
Categories: Information architecture

Crafting a user experience curriculum

Jason Withrow has written an article on creating a user experience curriculum. To quote:

It isn't often that one has the opportunity to create a course about user experience, let alone an entire sequence of user experience courses. My opportunity came when the Internet Professional (INP) program at Washtenaw Community College (WCC) in Ann Arbor, Michigan restructured its curriculum. As a faculty member in the INP department and the resident user experience expert, the task naturally fell to me. During the curriculum development process I was forced to examine my own perceptions of the user experience industry and address a number of important questions about how to teach user experience.

Posted by jamesr at 08:35 AM | Permalink
Categories: Information architecture, Usability & user-centered design

Folksonomies - cooperative classification and communication through shared metadata

Adam Mathes has written an article on folksonomies. To quote:

This paper examines user-generated metadata as implemented and applied in two web services designed to share and organize digital media to better understand grassroots classification. Metadata - data about data - allows systems to collocate related information, and helps users find relevant information. The creation of metadata has generally been approached in two ways: professional creation and author creation. In libraries and other organizations, creating metadata, primarily in the form of catalog records, has traditionally been the domain of dedicated professionals working with complex, detailed rule sets and vocabularies. The primary problem with this approach is scalability and its impracticality for the vast amounts of content being produced and used, especially on the World Wide Web.

Posted by jamesr at 08:25 AM | Permalink
Categories: Information architecture