Agility as a hiring strategy

Posted on January 8, 2008
Filed Under Increasing Technology Adoption, change management, agile | 1 Comment

http://www.certmag.com/articles/templates/CM_gen_Article_template.asp?articleid=3237&zoneid=240

An agile organization is different. An employee who flourishes in an agile organization is different. The techniques for finding and retaining agile employees are different.

But what is agility?

As a software development methodology, is based on a belief that it is impossible to demand certainty in the face of uncertainty.

There are many forms of agile development. Scrum, extreme programming and other agile methodologies are characterized by continuous adaptation to changing market realities and solutions that become clearer over time. Agile software development teams typically are small and empowered to create high-quality work without command and control oversight. An agile team cycles rapidly, adapts to new realities and acts quickly to exploit a given situation.

Companies that embrace agility as a software development methodology find that agile philosophies often trickle into other areas of the business.

“You attract a different type of employee when you macromanage instead of micromanage,” said Kelly Manthey, partner in Solstice Consulting, a Chicago-based technology and management consulting firm. “Agile leadership sets clear direction and trusts people to figure out the best way to meet organizational goals. Agility is built on the idea that goals encourage innovation — micromanagement does not. So, we need people who can handle that level of responsibility.”

Because many of Solstice’s areas of expertise, such as change management, are both technology- and client-focused, consultants are expected to have honed soft skills, as well as technical expertise.

“Soft skills and project management skills are both extremely important,” Manthey said. “To deliver positive change, our consultants need to have the people skills required to influence others. No two clients are the same, so it is imperative that our consultants have the know-how to take what they know and develop a solution that considers a client’s environment. Our solutions are not one-size-fits-all.”

An IT professional’s level of success at other companies won’t necessarily guarantee he or she will perform well at Solstice — it’s more important that the individual is a good fit for the corporate culture.

“No matter how good a person was in a previous experience, they may not fit the mold here,” Manthey said. “Superstars in one company do not always translate to superstars in another atmosphere. How they fit into the new environment seems to outweigh their skill set, even if it’s perfect. If they don’t play nice, it’s a deal breaker every time.”

Although many companies seek technical ability, Solstice emphasizes talent and technical agility. Rather than hiring to fill specific positions, Solstice employs people who have the aptitude to grow and learn in many different positions and across domains.

“It’s really the entire package that matters, not one specific characteristic about a person,” Manthey said. “We have found that the right skill set, training and professional experience carry as much weight as a person having the right soft skills to fit within the culture and environment of a particular client.”

Even Solstice’s internal team members are hired for their ability to manage change.

“For example, our director of operations is really wearing a lot of hats right now,” Manthey said. “She’s doing accounting, invoicing and filling in to support the partners. As we evolve, more things are being passed on to her. But we’re involved in where she wants her career to go, and we listen to the recommendations she has for us.” Every Solstice consultant is responsible for recruiting, as well. This unconventional method of bringing in new talent ensures everyone has a stake in the company’s well-being.

This tactic brings both positive and negative results. The latter stem from the fact that standards for compensating recruiting efforts need constant evaluation based on the situation.

“What motivates one person to reach into their network and refer a top performer to serve one of our clients does not motivate everyone,” Manthey said.

To make sure its consultants have the ability and agility to move fluidly between different positions and respond positively to change, Solstice provides rigorous and realistic training.

“The extensiveness of the training may depend on an individual’s background and the role they are in or targeted to fill,” Manthey said. “Many of our on-the-job programs ensure there is a support system in place to mentor and manage the individual. Our consultants are self-starters and are often required to drive their own work effort.

“In this training model, we are able to assess the coaching that may be necessary to get an individual to where they need to be to represent Solstice Consulting in client delivery.”

On-the-job learning has been a model that has worked well for Solstice in managing its IT pros.

“Our staff learns by doing,” Manthey said. “In addition to formal training on a specific topic, our people learn through hands-on mentoring programs. We provide junior staff the opportunity to gain on-the-job experience as interns — our internship program grooms the next generation through hands-on experience and real project responsibilities and accountabilities.”

In addition to on-the-job training, Solstice strongly encourages personal development via other routes. This is to ensure its IT professionals are well-rounded and capable in every facet of the business.

“Solstice places a large emphasis on continuing education and certification across all four of our domains: business analysis, technology architecture, project delivery and change management,” Manthey said. “In addition, our consultants demonstrate their expertise in various fields through publications and speaking engagements.”

Although Solstice does provide direction for its employees in their careers, it also provides an environment of continuous learning that allows for flexibility in the long term and provides the option of moving across domains.

In an industry that is in a continuous state of change, Solstice makes sure its employees are just as progressive. “We don’t have multiple layers of management,” Manthey said. “To keep work interesting, we can’t pigeonhole a person. We provide the flexibility for our people to decide how they want to progress in their career. There are paths for subject-matter experts to increase their responsibility by running and owning projects.”

But even the lines down these paths are a little blurred as people maneuver between paths and pursue different tracks at the same time.

“For example, we have project managers with PMI certifications who want to continue to utilize their knowledge in a project manager role for our clients,” Manthey said. “On the other hand, we have project managers who have a desire to translate their capabilities to growing our business, focusing less on project-specific work and more on Solstice Consulting as a whole. “As these people progress, their day-to-day activities shift from managing the details of one project to managing several clients and project managers at the account level. At that level, our consultants are able see new opportunities and become part of the sales cycle for securing the new business.”

Screaming Agility
Embracing agility as a hiring model has the potential to cause a paradigm shift in an organization.

“When you help your clients become more agile, everything about your own culture must scream agility, as well,” Manthey said. “Our ability to be agile is about how quickly we embrace change. Every IT project, at some level, is about change management. The work we do forces people to abandon things that are less efficient and move to things that are more efficient.”

Yet, Manthey said she also thinks many organizations try to change too quickly.

“Rapid change is threatening because people tie their identities to their jobs,” she said. “Iterative development is one of the ways we help organizations change slowly. Each iteration is generally small. We try to make each iteration easily digestible, so it doesn’t threaten the people who are most affected by the change.” Getting people to change is also about helping change opinions and viewpoints, because if people can see a change’s importance, it is easier to change behavior.

“In projects for clients, change management is a critical yet often overlooked piece of project delivery,” Manthey said. “Our employees must all understand how to think about change and have the empathy to understand how change will affect the end user or stakeholder right from the start.”

This means emphasizing the importance of the organic, interdependent relationship between the whole and its parts in looking at a given organization.

“Our architects take a holistic view of a client’s enterprise architecture when developing a project recommendation,” Manthey said. “We aren’t in the business of thinking inside a silo to develop a solution. Our solutions are scalable and adaptable so that as a client’s technology environment changes, they can add to existing infrastructure without rework. Our approach is simple: Analyze the existing environment, understand the requirements of the project and develop an architecture recommendation that allows scalable growth within the existing environment.”

Silicon Prairie Social 2 - Suburban Chicago Tech Networking Event

Posted on December 27, 2007
Filed Under Uncategorized | 4 Comments

It is that time again. The second Silicon Prairie Social, a technology networking event in the western Chicago suburbs. The event will be held Thursday, January 24 at Mullen’s Bar & Grill in Lisle. After our successful first event in September, we’re excited to sponsor this great event again. This is a great opportunity to connect in a fun, informal setting with like-minded people in technology!

Why should I come?
Free admission (RSVP required)
Free drinks and hors d’oeuvres!
Mingle, network, and learn with other successful tech oriented professionals like yourself.

Who Can Attend?
Silicon Prairie Social is specifically for upwardly mobile tech professionals, tech executives, tech entrepreneurs, technology service providers, Internet professionals, Web 2.0 and startup companies, and the mobile industry.

What’s different from last time?
Our goal is to make Silicon Prairie Social a place where quality business relationships can be fostered, resulting in mutually-beneficial business relationships between attendees. In keeping with this goal, and due to feedback we received from the first event, we will be focusing the audience by limiting access: No professional recruiters, staffing agencies or active job seekers will be permitted.

When and Where?
Silicon Prairie Social 2
Thursday, January 24
6:30pm-10:00pm (bar open until 1:00am)

Mullen’s Bar and Grill
3080 Warrenville Rd.
Lisle, IL 60532
(Get directions via Google Maps)

At I-88 and Naperville Rd., Silicon Prairie Social is centrally located and easy to get to from all along the llinois Technology and Research Corridor on I-88, the Golden Corridor on I-90, downtown Chicago and the western suburbs.

Want to attend? RSVP here.
The event is free to attend, and RSVP is required. Word is spreading of the first event, so RSVP early as space is limited. Registration closes at noon on the day of the event, or once the RSVP list reaches its limit. No professional recruiters, staffing agencies or active job seekers are permitted.

We look forward to seeing you in January!

Beyond Security Finalist for the “Red Herring 100 Global” Awards 2007

Posted on December 4, 2007
Filed Under Articles, Clients | 3 Comments

Northbrook, IL, November 29, 2007 - Red Herring Magazine announced today that Beyond Security, represented and distributed in the United States by Beyond-IP LLC, has been short listed for the Red Herring 100 Global 2007 Awards.

Beyond-IP, which offers remote, deployed, distributed wireless and application level scanning, is the first company to provide a scanning solution that pinpoints vulnerabilities both in network level and web application level.

Red Herring 100 winners and finalists from North America, Europe and Asia of the last three years were eligible for this award. Of the 1800 eligible companies, The Red Herring editorial team used a very intensive process to grind the list down to the 200 finalists of this first-time award. Companies were evaluated on both quantitative and qualitative criteria including financial performance, innovation, management, global strategy, and ecosystem integration.

The names of the 200 companies short-listed as finalists for the “Red Herring 100 Global 2007″ can be found online at http://www.herringevents.com/global07/index.html.

“The 200 finalists we selected from around the world are all excellent contenders,” said Joel Dreyfuss, Editor-in-Chief of Red Herring. “They are exceptional companies with smart and innovative platforms that attest to the importance of technology in today’s global economy.” Beyond Security has made the final group because of its outstanding achievements, and Red Herring Magazine is honored to announce it is one of the most promising technology firms in the world.

Red Herring Global is a prestigious event which celebrates the Global Top 100 privately held technology companies from around the world. The event brings together an elite roster of entrepreneurial and global venture investment firms to showcase excellence in innovation. It features keynote discussions, roundtable panels and networking events designed to foster participant networking and partnerships.

About Beyond-IP, LLC
For organizations concerned about regulatory compliance or dissatisfied with the network security audit services provided by their consulting firms, Beyond-IP provides an Automated Vulnerability Management Appliance that provides a higher quality, lower cost network vulnerability assessment and management than any other alternative. The Automated Vulnerability Management Appliances performs a security mapping of your network and simulates attacks originating from either the internal or the external network. Once the security scanning is complete, the software generates a detailed vulnerability report specifying the security breaches, along with practical solutions to fix those vulnerabilities. Beyond-IP’s solutions allow simplified measurement, monitoring and management of vulnerabilities over time. To learn more, visit http://www.beyond-ip.com.

About Red Herring
Red Herring is a global media company uniting the worlds best high technology innovators, venture investors and business decision makers in a variety of forums: a leading innovation magazine; an online daily technology news service; technology research, and major events for technology leaders around the globe. Red Herring provides an insider’s access to the global innovation economy, featuring unparalleled insights on the emerging technologies driving the economy. For more information, visit www.redherring.com.
Contact at Red Herring
Jordy Brazier
Senior Manager
Red Herring
Global Tel: 650 585 3524
jbrazier@redherring.com

About Beyond Security
Beyond Security develops leading vulnerability assessment and self-management solutions that facilitate preemptive, real-time and continuous network, server, database and application security. The company was founded in 1999 by the founders of SecuriTeam portal (www.securiteam.com), a leading source for vulnerability alerts and solutions serving 1.5 million monthly page views to IT security professionals. Beyond Security’s founders are great believers in automation, which is why the company sells tools instead of using them to provide services. Beyond Security’s goal is to decrease the number of security holes in products to manageable levels and empower software vendors to release secure products. For more information, visit www.beyondsecurity.com.

Marketing is a habit

Posted on November 6, 2007
Filed Under Articles, Marketing, VAR | 3 Comments

Ashley Poynter and I wrote this article…

Marketing is a Habit. Just like exercise, eating healthy or smoking, marketing is a habit.

People adopt habits by choice or by accident, but generally, the more complex the habit, the more on-purpose it is formed. Avid runners get into a running habit usually by setting aside a time to run and then keeping to that time, day after day, week after week. Not-so-avid runners are those who have not made running a habit. They get in a couple miles once every one or two weeks. The avid runner has cultivated a running culture. The casual runner has not.

The same is true for organizations with strong marketing cultures and those with weak cultures. Organizations with weak cultures throw marketing into the mix every now and again when they feel the effects of a lack of marketing. This practice has no long-term effect but relieves only the temporary burden of an empty pipeline.

“Marketing should not be a part-time thing; it needs to be a full-time thing. And in the absence of your voice, your target audience will listen to whoever is doing the talking,” said Michael Davis, president of Savid Technologies, (www.savidtech.com) a technology solution provider located in Tinley Park, IL. “There’s no doubt your competitors are doing some talking, so developing a ‘full-time marketing’ habit is more critical than ever. Companies that employ the part-time marketing strategy are going to see part-time results.”

Davis believes most companies are dissatisfied with their own marketing because they are poorly prepared. “Think of a casual runner trying to run a marathon last minute. They are poorly prepared and will struggle through every step. Most will fail. Some will die. Marketing isn’t just sending out a newsletter. It’s doing the prep work by defining the strategies and the intangibles that define value in that marketplace.”

Lack of confidence in marketing skills is often the single bottleneck that prevents companies from taking that first step into the marketing abyss and beginning the necessary prep work.

Defining objectives, strategies and tactics and doing competitive analysis is one a way of “stretching” out your marketing skills before you go to take that first run into the marketplace.

Bad habits can be just as detrimental as good habits are beneficial. Companies that poorly define or that create overly complex and unmeasureable marketing projects are reinforcing negative habits that hinder success in the long-run.

J.R. Samples, president of AccountabilityPartners.com – a management consulting firm acknowledges that marketing is a complex habit to develop. Part science and part art, every company markets itself differently.

“We’ve all heard that doing something 21 times in a row will turn that behavior into a habit,” said Samples. “The hard part is sticking with it long enough to make it a habit. If you work on developing a marketing habit—and build the proper marketing mindset– you’ll soon find that you’re going above and beyond your marketing minimums.”

Most companies, unfortunately, quit before they hit the magic 21 times. Samples advises companies to start small and work their way up into complex campaigns. Simple marketing programs have a higher likelihood of success. Over time, many small successes build marketing into a successful habit.

“Break your commitment into smaller pieces, if necessary, so that business development is always a to-do on your calendar even when your schedule is completely packed. At the end of the month, assess what you’ve accomplished. Did this system work for you or do you need to try something different? Once you’ve found a system that works, stick with it until it becomes automatic.”

Change is a habit, too.

Being able to effectively change gears is not something that generally comes naturally. Change is an uncomfortable process. However, companies can learn to do it effectively.

“In marketing, nothing ever goes completely according to plan,” said Dan Neff, president of Aquent-IT-Solutions (aquent-it-solutions.com). “People’s reactions differ; areas of anticipated resistance don’t come to pass; the external environment shifts; or one of many other variables. This changing situation requires a marketing organization to be nimble and adapt to change as a matter of course. An iterative, agile approach to execution is a valuable habit to develop giving you the opportunity to make course corrections at each iteration based on your discoveries from earlier iterations. Our strength is our ability to rapidly adapt to change. It is part of our culture.”

A series of tiny improvements instead of a single sweeping change is often a better way to build a marketing habit. Neff believes starting with a simple but workable foundation that a company can build off of is a better strategy than jumping full-force into an over-the-top marketing scheme.

“Marketers need to think in terms of iterations that remove risk from their programs and use these iterations to validate the program and refine the program before committing the rest of the budget,” Neff said. “A series of iterations gives the marketing team experience at crisp execution and builds good habits. Once the marketing habit is in place, marketing becomes much more natural to execute. Developing the right habits is essential for organizations that want to survive in an ever-changing marketplace.”

So many ads, so few clicks

Posted on November 6, 2007
Filed Under Marketing | 3 Comments

Great article here in BusinessWeek about the PPC ad market.

What will targeted pitches on Facebook and other sites do to reverse the shrinking response to online ads?

Facebook is one thing, but what is the equivalent of Facebook for the B2B community? And, if something like this does exist, how will all of this impact Google?

Lessons Learned - When a Buying Group, Industry Association Makes Sense

Posted on October 22, 2007
Filed Under Articles, Marketing | 3 Comments

An industry-specific association, buying group or consortium can provide many immediate and long-term benefits. These range from industry education and networking opportunities to focused advocacy among government agencies.

The manufacturing market in the Midwest, which is among the most diverse in the U.S., enjoys a comparably diverse collection of associations and buying groups that can serve its special needs.

According to a new report from the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), the time has never been better for manufacturers to band together in order to uncover new competitive advantages.

https://www.illinoistech.org/technologynews.aspx/1196

what is your monopoly?

Posted on October 15, 2007
Filed Under Articles, Marketing, Productivity, Reading List | 4 Comments

This post is short and to the point. It is a worthwhile read.

What is your monopoly?

Xerox sales training basically can be summed in in a few words: Find your monopoly. This is my summarization, not theirs, but I think it speaks volumes. Every premium priced product has more options then a standard priced product. Think Lexus vs. Toyota or Sony vs. Sanyo. If you are sold those products in a way that makes you believe that you cannot live without one of the premium options, and that is emphasised in presentations again and again you start to really believe it. Soon, that option is more important to you than price. If this is all done correctly it actually becomes your(the customers’) idea that that option is 100% necessary. It is developing this Monopoly in your customers mind that is so powerful in sales. Without it you are only competing on price. Every product has a Monopoly, even commodities. If you cannot find it, you are simply not a good sales person. So I ask you: What is your product/companies monopoly?

http://20somethingsalesrep.blogspot.com/2007/01/xerox-sales-training-find-your-monopoly.html

Lessons Learned: When a buying group or industry association makes sense for a manufacturer

Posted on October 15, 2007
Filed Under Articles, Marketing | 5 Comments

By Ben Bradley & Pete Wiltjer

An industry-specific association, buying group or consortium can provide many immediate and long-term benefits, ranging from industry education and networking opportunities to focused advocacy among state and federal government agencies.

The manufacturing market in the Midwest, among the most diverse in the U.S., enjoys a comparably diverse collection of associations and buying groups that can serve its special needs. And according to a new report from the National Association of Manufacturers, the time has never been better for manufacturers to band together in order to uncover new competitive advantages.

Despite a strong national economy and nearly a year of continued growth in the manufacturing sector, the NAM report on The Cost of Doing Business in the U.S.’, published September 1, finds that sharp increases in structural, non-production costs (up 42 percent since 2003) are having a negative impact on manufacturers.

According to the IRS, there were more than 86,000 trade and professional associations operating in the U.S. in 2005. With this in mind, we spoke with some Chicago-area industry association leaders and experienced members to get their perspective on the potential benefits, aside from the obvious networking opportunities, of participating in an association or buying group.

“When we started Prime Advantage 10 years ago, we wanted both manufacturers and suppliers to gain an overall advantage on purchasing, supply chain strategies and supplier decisions. Today, our manufacturing industry members are also able to gain an assessment of the supply market and assistance in the development of a sourcing strategy,” said Louise O’Sullivan, president and founder of Chicago-based Prime Advantage, a manufacturing buying group.

O’Sullivan was president of the foodservice equipment manufacturer Groen when she first recognized the benefits of pooling buying power and industry knowledge for like-minded manufacturers. Groen is part of Unified Brands, an individual operating company and subsidiary of the global manufacturing conglomerate Dover Corporation. It was not taking full advantage of the parent company’s collective buying might or ability to swap important information about industry trends.

Unlike O’Sullivan, Michael Johnston of the Chicago Manufacturing Center (www.chicagomanufacturingcenter.com) first experienced the benefits of association membership while leading Hedstrom, a manufacturer of play and sports balls.

“We were members of the Toy Industry Association on a national basis,” said Johnston, who was president of Hedstrom Corporation from 2001-2004. “We would exhibit at the TIA’s two major shows every year, and while attending those shows, we would also set meetings with senior decision makers from all our customers, where we could present the breadth of our line and talk about strategic issues that were difficult to schedule outside of the show timeframes.”

Johnston said the TIA also provided members the ability to monitor the payment trends of major customers and obtain credit reports for smaller customers or customers new to its product categories. Johnston also participated on the board of directors and the strategic planning task force for the association.

“This work helped shape how the industry responded to changing demographics and buying patterns as well as other industry wide issues,” he said. “Overall, we believe that we extracted more value from our participation in the areas mentioned than the cost of membership.”

Sandra Westlund-Deenihan, president of Schaumburg, Il-based Quality Float Works, first sought guidance from an industry association in 2004 when her company joined the Washington, D.C.-based National Association of Manufacturers.

Now, Westlund-Deenihan actively participates in several industry associations, including serving as a board member for the National Association of Manufacturers, a board member for the Tooling & Manufacturing Association, and serving on the Education, Employment, Training and Planning Committee of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

“Even though we are a small business, we’re sitting there alongside large manufacturers,” Westlund-Deenihan said. “The large companies look to us for information because we export like the bigger ones do. And we have learned a lot about important issues affecting the manufacturing community through our involvement in these boards and associations. It has helped us have a voice among the industry’s top decision-makers and gain exposure.”

The weak dollar makes this an opportune time for manufacturers to consider exporting to new markets. The latest trade data, which showed the U.S. trade deficit at record low levels, shows that foreign markets are becoming increasingly receptive to U.S. products. Westlund-Deenihan said her company got invaluable assistance from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in getting an export program running.

Steve Romanelli, president of Carol Stream-based Gerlin, a manufacturer of pipe fittings and flanges, experienced the buying group Prime Advantage first as a supplier to his current company. While working for Precision Stamping Products of Schiller Park, IL, his company enjoyed the opportunity to meet regularly with manufacturers like Gerlin and discuss sourcing needs. Soon after, he left the supply side to join Gerlin.

“The cost savings Gerlin enjoys today through the buying power of the group is just tremendous,” said Romanelli. “And while we absolutely gain value from the strong networking with other members and suppliers, I would say that the coordinated meetings (at Prime Advantage’s bi-annual meetings) go well beyond the typical definition of business networking. We feel that the ability to sit down with suppliers that are audited and qualified a couple times every year is an irreplaceable opportunity for our company.”

Today’s global economy has created a hyper-competitive environment for U.S. manufacturers. Industry associations and buying groups have had to change with the times as well, according to Bruce Braker, president of Park Ridge, IL-based Tooling & Manufacturing Association.

Thirty years ago, Braker said TMA members spent most of their time entertaining customers while enjoying huge order backlogs and a steady stream of business just through phone orders.

“The U.S. was the world’s primary manufacturer,” he said. “Competition and necessary productivity improvements, both for the members and the association have been accompanied by an ever-increasing requirement to do everything immediately.”
Braker said new members of the TMA, or any industry group, will only truly benefit from their membership through active participation in the group.

“Many new members to an association don’t appreciate the value of getting involved with activities that enable them to meet their peers,” he said. “That may include serving on a committee or attending a seminar or business/social activity; become part of the community to really benefit.”

Johnston said a due diligence analysis of membership benefits should be a requirement for any company considering an investment in a buying group or industry association, and should include time spent getting to know the group’s staff and active members. “If you can’t make a case for spending the money, either the organization doesn’t offer things you need or you don’t know how to take advantage of them,” he said.

Jason Speer, a vice president with Quality Float Works, believes that any company considering membership in an industry association may be able to quickly determine which group or association is right for its employees through a cursory examination of an association’s member materials.

“Email alerts from the NFIB, TMA and US Chamber are good resources for us, and these email communications offer a good way to get involved and stay involved,” Speer said.

“Make sure that the make-up of the members meets your expectations for a peer group,” adds O’Sullivan. “Ask yourself hard questions about what you hope your company will gain from its participation in the group. Many Prime Advantage members have forged strong relationships with suppliers that have continued on for years.”

About the authors: Ben Bradley and Pete Wiltjer run the Bradley Wiltjer Marketing Group, an Aurora, IL-based business-to-business marketing and PR agency.

Attention People Trying to Sell to Me: Fix your Pitch!

Posted on October 10, 2007
Filed Under Marketing | 5 Comments

This is a great post from Peter Mahoney - he critiques the way people sell into the CMOs office.

http://mycmonetwork.blogspot.com/2007/03/attention-of-people-trying-to-sell-to.html

“As a marketing executive, I get a lot of phone calls and e-mails from people trying to sell me stuff. Software, e-mail lists, “once-in-a-lifetime opportunities”, agency services, search engine optimization, and the list goes on. Between e-mail, telephone calls and physical mail, I get hundreds of offers every week — and most of them are pretty lame.”

Design doesn’t just mean color

Posted on October 10, 2007
Filed Under Increasing Technology Adoption, Productivity, agile | 4 Comments

Wonderful post from the people at Pathfinder about the importance of language. Pathfinder talks about the importance of the design phase (nothing to do with a color).

http://blogs.pathf.com/uxd/2007/09/design-doesnt-j.html

I quickly discovered that some people hear the word ‘design’ and automatically associate it with the look and feel of the GUI, regardless of what else is being said. Until I understood that, their argument that there was no need to call out an entire phase for design made absolutely no sense. To me, using design in this context means to figure out how to do something at all levels, i.e., taking the requirements (Discovery Phase) into high-level schematics (Design Phase) to better understand their relationships, dependencies and impact in the end-to-end process. Obviously, I hadn’t explained that well.

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