User Experience is Paramount

Ok, its been a while since I've written a post. Its been a busy month at work and school. However, I've just gone through my Google Reader account and came up with a ton a great articles that I wanted to share with you.

I've always been a big fan of "usability". While the term sounds simple, creating a powerful application for technology requires the use of a number of different techniques. In my opinion this all starts with strong executive sponsorship for an Agile Development Methodology.

I've found two articles that highlight the business value of having usability as a key design component of any type of produce. We're starting to see the promise of connecting the "problem space" and "solution space" using technology.

First the article "Design Up Front for HP" describes their approach to "The Computer is Personal Again". One could argue that they are the closest "apple-like" hardware manufacturer in the market today.

http://www.cio.com/article/439232/Design_Up_Front_for_HP

The second article references a recent memo sent by Steve Ballmer the CEO of Microsoft. He outlines Microsoft's approach towards conquering Google and Apple by providing a more "apple-like" user experience. He recognizes that these vendors are thriving "Because they are good at providing an experience that is narrow but complete, while our commitment to choice often comes with some compromises to the end-to-end experience." He brings up some great points. While Microsoft has been capable of creating a variety of complex solutions into its products (Word, Visio, Excel, etc) the user experience has often suffered from these variations. I believe that a free Online Office version would give Microsoft the ability to demonstrate/compete with both of these vendors. While SaaS (Software as a Service) has a number of concerns, I do not believe that Microsoft is agile enough to make the changes necessary to compete. I would expect for the next Microsoft Mobile device to be more like the current Iphone.

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/07/24/microsoft_sets_sights_on_providing_an_apple_like_experience.html