This article is trying to help programmers and people like them, when they have conversations at work that are about understanding, explaining, deciding etc. It’s not so much about persuasion or selling, or mentoring or coaching. These are all important kinds of conversations, but I’m not the person to help you with them. It might … Continue reading Debugging how conversations go at work
Category: User Experience
The big and small idea
I was talking with a Cambridge University student recently, in particular about their University Card. It’s a very useful card, that in one way can be described very simply. As far as I understand, the card lets students, academics and staff across the university access rooms and services, by proving their identity electronically. That’s something … Continue reading The big and small idea
‘Roughly’ and ‘better’ can help usability
In this article I'll go into some fuzziness that we often encounter in the everyday world, that's often missing in the world of computers. Unfortunately we're used to this fuzziness, and so its lack can make computers hard to use. Star Trek shields I remember watching episodes of Star Trek where the Enterprise was in … Continue reading ‘Roughly’ and ‘better’ can help usability
The coolest thing in technology?
I listen to the podcast Data Driven. One of the questions that they ask all their guests is: What do you think is the coolest thing in technology? This article is my answer to that. The short version is: standards, and the benefits they bring to users. The longer version is below. Standards might seem … Continue reading The coolest thing in technology?
Good software and how to get it
A little while ago, I was asked “What makes software good?”, which was followed up by “How do you end up with good software?”. I thought that they were excellent questions, and I will give my answers below. I don't claim to have the answer, just an answer. I’ll try to limit esprit d’escalier / … Continue reading Good software and how to get it
Confusing user value with other things
Programmers look at software they’re working on from the inside, but users look at it from the outside. This difference in perspective can lead to different views about what’s important – too often programmers can be consumed by the technical detail and lose sight of value to the end user. In fact, they too often … Continue reading Confusing user value with other things
The cost of flexibility
Flexibility in software design is often seen as a good thing, but it can come at a cost. This isn’t surprising, because software engineering is a kind of engineering, and engineering involves making trade-offs among several good things. For instance, there is no “best” car, just the best car for a given situation, with a … Continue reading The cost of flexibility
CV tips
A friend recently asked for some advice in writing her CV (résumé) and suggested I turn what I told her into a blog post, so here it is. I don't claim to be an expert in CV writing; these are just the ramblings of some random bloke on the internet. I hope you find them … Continue reading CV tips
Senior software engineers, authority and ability
Some Senior Software Engineers feel they must win every argument, which I think is a bad idea. Not only is this bad for the team, it’s bad for the Senior Software Engineer as an individual. In this article I’ll explore this a bit, with the analogy of Top Trumps. It’s also related to the strong … Continue reading Senior software engineers, authority and ability
User experience (UX) and data quality
Someone I know was moaning recently about a lot of tedious electronic form filling they had to do for work. It was something that happened once a year, but it was much more lengthy and tedious this year than before. It struck me that this was a sharply focused example of when user experience (UX) … Continue reading User experience (UX) and data quality
Random Tech Thoughts 