Patterns Patterns everywhere

So on of the tools i think is really important but often overlooked and really usefull in Systems Thinking, ui, ux etc is that of patterns.

What is a pattern.

Well you can think of the classic example of a pattern ie the dress patterns that you use when people sew clothes, or you could think about it in from a business context as a template that you can re-use. The benefits with a pattern, is that if you follow the steps you can get a fairly consistent output, and even if you re-use the same template again, you should get similar results. So we get consistent repeatable results because we follow and repeat the same steps over and over again.

Now something magical happens with patterns and templates. As we re-use these more and more we can see where we improve what we do. We change what doesn't work and fix it so that it does work for us. So why don't we use these more in business?

Personally because I see such strong results and clear benefits, they are my # 1 toolbox item that I use all the time. But how would I convince other people about the benefits. For me its a case of showing people.

I work with people to take me through a really common interaction they have with their customers. I look at what they do and whether they do it the same way every time they need to meet this customer need. If it's fairly consistent each time then it's a pattern and I would look to get a fairly standard flow and document it in some way - this doesn't have to be complex, just what works for the business. If they don't do the same thing, I seek first to understand why they have done something different and what effect does this have on their business, eg does it increase the time it takes to meet a customer's needs?

So I look for ways of working where people re-use what they already know to continue to help customers. The benefits with this are high. If you are comfortable with a way of working you have got to a point where you know it well. You understand it and you know what to do and what time is required to get the best result in a timely way.

Once you do something well you can innovate, make it better and faster so that you provide something more to the customer. Whether this be a cheaper product, a shorter timeframe, a transaction that is completed first time every time. Imagine how happy the customer would be if you not just met their needs but exceeded them!

Patterns are empowering because they allow that people that know the process to really own it, get the best results over time and change it so that it can work even better. Imagine if this occurred in all areas of the business. You could really start to see some great improvements for customers. As you are more responsive you can work with customers to anticipate their needs better as well as try and innovate to surpass what your customers expect. In this way you can open up to new opportunities as well as existing customers.

Try to start to see the patterns in your life and business and look at what you can do better and what you can innovate. The possibilities really are only limited by your own boundaries. Talk to your customers and even ask them what they want. If you don't do this you are really only guessing at what they want, and that doesn't always lead to customer satisfaction.

Gems from the web - 3rd Feb 2011

so I've decided to share my favourite things I've read from the web recently. Hopefully you'll like some of them as much as I did.
Punk Chip
Metadata for semantic information
[http://www.punkchip.com/2006/07/metadata-semantic-info/]
nice post on accessibility and metadata with code. It is a 2006 article , but it content is sadly still valid now in terms of accessibility.
Accessible Radio Buttons
[http://www.punkchip.com/2006/09/accessible-radiobuttons-checkboxes/]
Again shows both the markup and output and provides a bit of context about forms and how to design them well.

Super quick overview of WCAG 2.0
[http://www.punkchip.com/2008/05/overview-wcag-2-0/]
summary of some of the good points for accessibility for CAG update. Like the concepts of 4 principles ie perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust.

Bokardo
Creating engaged and passionate users (part 1)
[http://bokardo.com/archives/creating-engaged-and-passionate-users-part-1/]
talks about the social web and the usage lifecycle ie how users interact and what they need at different points in the lifecycle. Useful for design teams.

UX Crank
Design is a Side Effect
[http://dswillis.com/uxcrank/?p=480]
Discusses design and how it is crucial to good user experience, but that brand should not override user experience. Especially relevant is his 4 bullet points, but I'll leave u to read further.
Undefine Design
[http://dswillis.com/uxcrank/?p=457]
Discusses how design means different things to different people. Does design happen as a post development activity, does design include visual designers right up front. Design however, is just how it works, but you have to know how to do it well.

Gov 2.0 Taskforce

Attended a session being held by the government that I heard about from the web standards group. Some of the topics discussed included were:

• data - linkage and API's
• engagement v's collaboration v's consultation
• participation v's peer to peer
• Small Business Victoria and how they would like to use this medium icw small business owners
• authentication and privatisation
• open access, licensing and other related issues
• regional areas - low bandwidth etc
• impact on other areas of government - state and federal
• vision australia - accessibility and social inclusion

Data
issues discussed include data publishing and its form, raw v's summaries, how it is re-used in mashups etc, API usage to hook up and link data, data dissemination, data integrity v's ability to be misrepresented.
Subtopic was discussed by a representative from KLMF - practical egs that can be leveraged ie look at the future and adapt. Evolution v's revolution - shaking up old models with new paradigms.
Another area discussed that relates to data is data mining, and the amount of rich data available now. The other side of this coin is data discovery. Not only does this relate to what the govt can uncover, but what it can tap into.
Participation v's Consultation
Participatory web was discussed ie engagement and contribution between people, and utilise the participatory nature of the web to feed into govt processes. Also look at shared decision making processes.
Next was a digression into Multiple Identities and how the govt model should allow pseudonyms and different levels of access and identity.
The next topic to be discussed was the digital divide, accessibility and social inclusion. Topics discussed included how to ensure mums and seniors can access the internet ie participation divide, regional areas and access, the classic standards and how to cover multiple technologies, browsers, iphone. There was also discussion about systems and how they are sometimes not accessible, but there are other options available to access data.

So this is where I got to ....... it was a very interesting time and I was glad and interested to be part of the discussion.

it's time to really get serious about my love of the web

So coming back from a recent trip o/s and moving roles due to the downturn in the economy has really made me think long and hard about what I want to be doing. One of my loves is the web industry and I want to be involved in it as much as I possibly can.

To that end I'm going to post about my skillset and learnings and random entries about Usability, User experience, making things simpler to use etc. At all times I'll be doing what I love the most, which is helping people to make things simpler to use in everyday life to corporate systems, to make ourselves and our customers happy. A happy customer is someone who likes what 'u' do, sell or make and will give up their valuable $$ to get it.

So now that I've got my idea, I'm going to cover the following topics that all relate to how u or customers use what u do. Yep, this site will be all about what is hopefully relevant and important to u, both personally and professionally.

To do this I will be exploring my very diverse and extensive areas of interests, skills, knowledge and experience in such as :

• Ensuring equal access for everyone, and the challenges u may face in design and using something
  
• Web & mobile standards and guidelines and why they are so important to u
  
• User Experience and Human Factor, and why users are everything
• User & Interface Design (yes I think they are two different areas at present)
• User Testing, Expert Reviews and Heuristic Evaluations - see what really happens
  
• Personas - documenting the people u want to have, notice and like what u are offering them
  
• Prototypes and wireframes - the visual aids u might use in web development
  
• Information Architecture - how u make content come alive for ur customers
  
• Knowledge and Content Management - including wikis and re-use
• RDF and the Semantic side of the web - how u add structure to ur world
  
• Seperation of content, presentation and structure - XML and the like
  
• Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and Analytics
• Online Marketing - how u connect with ur audience
  
• Social Networking, blogging, and other sharing experiences and how they can be used by u in ur life
  
• Digital media and communications - making ur comms work for u
  
• Web 2.0 and Enterprise 2.0
• Web 3.0 - what's the next areas of interest for u and ur users
  
• The world of Portability - from mobile (small screen) to notebooks (mid screen)
• Business Analysis including requirements gathering, customer relationships and even agile methodologies - documenting what u and ur audience want/need
  
• User Acceptance Testing and Auditing - ensuring what u and ur audience recieve
  
• Project and time management and how u ensure projects deliver on time, on budget
• quality, risk and process management - smart strategies to help u really deliver change and invigorate
• Metrics, benchmarks, forecasting and analytical review of data - I may even look into data mining (not everyones favourite but I am to show u how these tools are valuable skills)
• and of course a few other things that I've forgotten, that I'll pull out of my bag of tricks later.

Hope u will be as excited about the content as I am in writing it.