Entries for month: January 2010
"We've become a culture of technicians. We're all into the how of it and nobody's stepping back and saying 'But Why?'." -- Joel Salatin, Farmer
Some of you may recognize this quote. It's from a farmer named Joel Salatin. He's featured prominently in the film, "Food, Inc.", which I had a chance to take in recently. While a high impact film unto itself, this quote really popped out and grabbed me. I realized that he wasn't just talking about industrialized food, but society as a whole. Being the developer I am, I internalized this and applied it to our field. We've been so consumed the last few years with the next great technology, essentially the "how", that we've really lost touch with, or just fail to ask, the "Why?" question.
We, as developers, get caught up in the race between the players in the RIA platform space. The truth is that the technology doesn't really matter. In most cases, a Flash Platform based application can tell the story just as well as a Silverlight based solution, or maybe even an AJAX solution. It doesn't matter. The technology is simply a tool that let's us answer the "How?" question. Without answering the "Why?" question though, the technology becomes irrelevant.
As developers, it's our livelihood to be able to quickly and easily answer the "How?" question. However, it's also our responsibility to also help answer the "Why?" question. If you can answer the "Why?" question, you can say that you truly understand your users and what they are trying to accomplish. If we don't listen to our users and their needs, then answering the "How?" question to the best of our abilities is a waste.
The design process is the phase where we ask the "Why?" question of our users. Developers are starting to pull their heads out of the sand and start getting involved in the design process. Developers are starting to gain access to the real motivations and needs of the users. When we start being able to answer the "Why?" questions, we add value to the answers we create for the "How?" questions.
Applying the answers to the "Why?" questions to every line of code you write is what will differentiate you from every other developer who is just as clever as you. Being able to empathize and connect with the user base is a skill that not all developers can cultivate. Cultivate it by engaging in the design process, ask your users why they want certain functionality and interactions. You may not always like the answers you get, but you will at least be engaged in the design process. An engaged developer is much more valuable to the process than someone who just churns code.
Ask "Why?", and bring those answers to your code. You'll have happier, more satisfied, users because they were engaged and their needs incorporated into design and development. Engaged users are users that come back, time and again, and validate the effort and value you bring to the process.
Tags:
Java · ColdFusion · Flex · Silverlight · Adobe · Universal Mind · User Experience · AIR
We're just over a week away from Flash Camp Phoenix and tickets are almost sold out. If you're interested in going, but have been on the fence, all the sessions are posted here.
Speakers Include:
- Kevin Fauth
- Dan Holth
- Dan Orlando
- Christian Saylor
- Carl Smith
- David Tucker
- Ryan Stewart
There are cheap flights and hotels available still. Sign up today and ensure your seat before they're all gone!
Tags:
FlexCamp · ColdFusion · Flex · Conferences · BlazeDS · Adobe · Universal Mind · User Experience · AIR · Speaking
In the past year, I've been witness to a dramatic shift in how we deliver solutions to our clients. I have to admit that the full impact of it has caught me a bit off-guard. It used to be that technology blazed the trail and design was something that was tacked on later in the process, almost an afterthought (pixie dust, if you will). The shift has been seen in that now design leads, and technology supports that design. It's the difference between night and day when you really stop and think about it. It's no less than a complete thought shift from how we, as a community have previously developed applications.
As we focus on the story that the client is trying to tell with their applications, this has to be this natural progression. The story at hand is best told by the right combination of art & science. It's not to say that technology becomes an afterthought. It's actually quite the opposite. If we are becoming addicted to sexy design and experiences, then technology is our enabler. Technology is the key player that empowers these nifty designs to be the engaging experiences that they are.
Innovation doesn't come purely from the technology being used. This statement is hard for a lot of developers to swallow, so let's think about it just a little bit and not just glaze over it. New interactions spur innovation. Cutting edge designs spur innovation. It's the place of the technology team to take up the challenge and make those interactions & design realities. What is needed is a design team that has an intimate relationship with the technology team. These teams have to know and trust each other so that they can continue to push the envelope of innovation together. Design and technology absolutely cannot and will not function in an "us vs. them" mentality. Together we innovate, divided, we imitate.
This is like any other relationship, it takes work. It takes communication that is open and honest. The technology team, absolutely, has to have some input into the design process. At the same time, however, the technology team has to have faith that the design team will deliver something that will challenge them to push their skills further. Open communication between the two teams throughout the design and development process will produce the most satisfying interpretation of the story that the client is trying to tell. It does take a team, a fully engaged, and communicating team to turn vision into reality.
Tags:
ColdFusion · Flex · BlazeDS · Silverlight · Adobe · Universal Mind · User Experience
Everything Girl