Habañero User Experience Group

Movie Review: Objectified

Last week a few us at Habanero went to see Objectified, which is a film about designing objects as well as the people and process behind them. The director, Gary Hustwit, was at the screening at the Rio Theatre to introduce the film and to answer questions after. I think it’s great to see the personal connection to a film, especially how passionate and curious he is about design. It was also neat to learn that he works right up to the last minute like the rest of us – the day before the worldwide premiere, he was up all night editing the film!

I had no idea how this film would approach “design” and “objects,” which are such broad terms. The film covered a lot of ground – everything from toothpicks to laptops, and people from Jonathan Ive (Apple) to Andrew Blauvelt (Walker Art Museum, Minneapolis). The time passed quickly though, it was a fascinating and engaging look at object design.

If you haven’t seen the film, I promise I won’t ruin it for you, but I do want to highlight a couple of moments that stood out for me:

The Japanese toothpick

One of the curators of a museum was discussing the simple toothpick, which I’m sure you have in your kitchen somewhere. Apparently there is a little cut-out at the top that you rip off the end of the toothpick. In Japan, people rest the toothpick in the cut-out to keep it off a surface and to indicate that it’s used. I had no idea people in Japan did that! It’s amazing that different cultures use things in different ways , and that something as simple as a toothpick has such intricate attention to detail.

Cardboard phones, anyone?

In this wasteful society, we upgrade cell phones, computers and other things quite frequently. What if electronics such as phones were made out of cardboard? It was an interesting idea proposed by one of the designers in the film during the discussion of sustainability. It’s an interesting notion because we tend to buy things that we think should last, including buying protective cases for phones and Ipods. But a few years later, we upgrade and throw those things out. What if we bought these things so they could be easily recycled or thrown out?

It’s not only about designing objects, but process too

Jonathon Ive at Apple showed pieces of MacBooks and how the laptop comes together in a behind-the-scenes look of designing Apple products. They try to use less material and less steps to build computers to reduce the build complexity of the machine. It was interesting to hear Jonathon discuss that they not only design the final product, but they have to design how the product comes together. In other words, they spend just as much time designing the process as designing the final object itself.

All in all, this was an enjoyable film for me. It wasn’t too design-heavy either – it’s approachable for all kinds of audiences. It did seem a bit consumerism-focused, but that is what drives design, marketing, and the making of all these things in the end. Gary made the point a couple of times after the film that it is us as a society that is driving design for all kinds of things, and we have to question the need for these objects in order for companies to change their behaviour.

Overall, this movie is a must-see for designers of all kinds, as well as your mothers so they can understand what it is that you do! Hope everyone had a great Mothers Day.

Posted on Sunday, May 10, 2009 at 5:22 PM in Design, User Experience, Vancouver | Comments (0)

Saying Woah

Kathleen Moynahan

I don’t know about you, but I get awfully busy sometimes. Work projects, teaching, personal time, sometimes I over-extend myself and I am left feeling that the most important things to me get dropped so that I can keep up on my promises.

I recently read an article in Yoga Journal about practicing aparigraha (greedlessness) at the table, one of the ethical practices of yoga. This idea of not taking more than we need or can use is a tough one in our Western culture, where consumption and competition seem to be hard-wired. And I wonder, how does this play out in an economic time that scarcity is becoming the norm?

The article speaks about how scarcity can create a poverty mentality, in that you feel you don’t have enough so you take more than you need, or what will be good for you. This in turn results in an inability to digest what we take in, which can lead to sickness.

Fortunately, Ayurveda gives some guidelines on how to determine how much to consume. Our bodies are beautifully designed, and the right amount is what will fit in two cupped hands. You can also use the measure of 50% solid, 25% liquid and 25% air. But how does this relate to time, work and staying solvent?

For me, I like to use a calendar to mark out my personal life, appointments, work responsibilities and fitness. I know, it seems rigid, but it actually gives me a good indication what I can take on, and what I need to say no to. And when I colour code the entries, like using blue for work and pink for fitness, I get a really quick indication of how balanced my days are. Checking in with my calendar also gives me that time to say woah, think about what I am committing to, and if it’s really the right thing for me, my values and my goals. I am less inclined to grasp, and more inclined to be happy with what I have.

I also find that if I do have a million commitments, I still strive to immerse myself in the task at hand, and do not think about the other millions. But being fully present in the moment, I can give my best to clients and students, instead of doing just enough to get it done and running off to the next thing without properly finishing the first. This can be incredibly difficult, what with Twitter, Yammer, email and many other distractions! By allowing myself the time to completely “digest” my work, I hope it will continue to nourish my practice, make successful, meaningful projects, and happy clients.

What do you do to keep yourself sane and in balance?

Posted on Thursday, May 7, 2009 at 4:53 PM in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Yammer: Microblogging for the Enterprise

Nick Bouton

Just a quick note about a new site/product a few of us at Habañero have been trying out for the last few days called Yammer. What it boils down to is a microblogging client that is a more robust and souped-up version of Twitter for the enterprise. It’s restricted to your domain (initially, this is based on the email address you sign up with) for the Basic account type (this is what we currently have setup, completely free to try out), so if you’re on the same domain as your colleagues, you should be able to join your shared company account easily after registering.

It’s actually pretty neat app, with great cross-platform/device support, and it has support for a wide variety of features that you’d typically find in other enterprise applications, or heavier-duty microblogging applications like Jaiku or Pownce:

Ad-hoc user groups with RSS feeds and filtering by group
Direct (private) messages and @replies (public), Twitter-style
A dynamically-created staff organizational chart (very cool)
Support for file attachments, embedded images & link sharing
Built-in support for tagging (using a #hashtags-like syntax)
Integration of RSS feeds into your company’s activity stream (interesting)
Officially-supported client apps for the iPhone, Blackberry, Firefox (plugin), and desktop (via Adobe AIR)
A clean, easy-to-use UI
Contact info & vCards for all participants

And that’s just the free stuff. I’m not even sure what the paid accounts offer just yet. Yammer’s membership plans are quite reasonably priced ($1/$5 per user, per month, depending on the plan), with a bunch of additional enterprise-friendly features. It’s been working smoothly (thus far), and I think it supplements what we have in our existing internal Sharepoint and Office Communicator deployments nicely without overlapping too much in terms of raw functionality (which is a primary concern for us when evaluating any type of new company-wide communications application.)

There’s a literal tonne of debate, both internally and in the general corporate public, as to whether these kinds of microblogging tools are suitable for the workplace, especially if your organization, like us, already has both a knowledge management solution (Sharepoint) and an internal instant messaging solution (in our case, Office Communicator, although it requires us to be logged into a VPN to access.)

In a technologically-oriented organization like Habañero, I can see some definite value if we can properly complement our existing tools without replacing features we’re already using. Yammer definitely has a leg up over using a public application like Twitter as it really suits the needs of an single organization much better, providing support for common internal activity streams, easy remote access on a variety of mobile devices, and a relatively low price-point.

Although I’m obviously not a decision-maker in this case and I’m just providing suggestions for improved tool use within our organization, I think Yammer makes a good argument for itself and requires very little explanation or support. It remains to be seen whether it provides value or increases productivity here, but I’m impressed with the functionality I’ve seen so far so I’m more than willing to give it a chance.

If you have experience using Yammer or other similar microblogging applications within the enterprise, we’d love to hear from you.

Posted on Monday, April 6, 2009 at 3:17 PM in Enterprise 2.0, Microblogging, SharePoint, Tools & Resources, User Experience, Vancouver | Comments (0)

Musical ensembles as a model for leadership and teamwork

Mallory O'Connor

A couple of months ago I went to see Broken Social Scene, a great Montreal-based band, at the Orpheum in Vancouver. After the show, I had a few “aha” moments while slightly tipsy from a bourbon & ginger, and had an enthusiastic discussion with my husband about how the band’s front man, Kevin Drew, was the consummate project manager. I thought it would make an interesting blog post but never got around to it.

But then last weekend, I went to Blasted Church’s Midnight Service at Christ Church Cathedral. It’s great event put on by one of the Okanagan’s leading wineries – it marries their wine with gospel music and great southern food in a beautiful church…all taking place close to midnight. After that performance I realized that the leadership and team characteristics of these two successful musical ensembles apply not just to the musical realm but also to our world as technology consultants.

So…now I must write!

Before I launch into explaining just what those characteristics are, first I need to describe these two very different groups. BSS is an ensemble band of about 20 people. At any given time during their show, you might have all of them on stage, some of them or maybe just one of them. They all take turns playing different instruments. They take turns being the “front man”. Members can be young or old. They bring in guests (like the night I was there, K-os showed up on stage and there was a guitarist from Arcade Fire). They improvise and try all kinds of stuff that’s off the menu. And sometimes Kevin Drew isn’t even on stage. Sure, sometimes they make mistakes, but they have a ton of fun and play some great music – check out Shoreline and Anthems for a Seventeen Year Old Girl if you’re not familiar with them.

The Gospel Experience Choir that performed last weekend was also a fairly large group – twelve members – and included local legend and jazz vocalist Sibel Thrasher. They broke off into smaller groups to perform particular songs but most were done as an entire team. There was one woman who introduced a few more songs than the others, but it was hard to tell who or if they had a clear leader since each member led at least one song throughout the evening. As with all gospel, the singing was enthusiastic, emphatic and powerful. One woman who had been part of the group stepped up and did a heart wrenching song that was absolutely spellbinding, supported 100% by the rest of the choir on backup vocals. Throughout the performance, support and camaraderie were obvious.

So…what are the characteristics of these bands that we also see in great leaders and teams?

Managed Risk:

The leadership of these musical groups, be it formal or informal, gave latitude for members to try different roles, instruments and levels of responsibility… with the possibility of success or failure. In the gospel choir, one woman seemed to have her first solo – she was nervous and not the strongest of the singers, but I’m pretty sure she had just fulfilled a life’s dream that night.

I know that when I stretch on a project, or support others with the space to do so, it’s extraordinarily gratifying and almost always results in deeper skills and a richer experience.

Selflessness:

During some songs for BSS, as I mentioned, the founder wasn’t even on stage. He certainly didn’t always singing the lead vocals or even positioned at the front of the stage when he was performing. He was humbled by the skills of his colleagues, visibly encouraged them, and had a great time with them. He also seemed to know that the band would do a great job whether he was onstage or not.

I’ve found that great leaders know when to step back and shine the spotlight on other team members. They know just when to push someone’s comfort zone and when they are ready to rise to the occasion. And should they stumble, they are there to provide support.

Sum of the Whole:

In both musical examples, the teams worked together for a greater sound than they could make alone. They collaborated and innovated together. Sometimes they succeeded and other times less so – but they were definitely in it together.

I think we’ve all been on projects where you are working solo don’t have the support or validation of a team. We know how much more we can achieve surrounded by other equally talented folks whose complementary skills make our work sing.

I wonder if you have similar experiences? Do you see the parallels?

In the meantime, I’m off to listen to some BSS – as a reminder of what it’s like to be part of a great team, and what it takes to lead one!

Posted on Thursday, April 2, 2009 at 9:54 AM in Blogs by Author, Team Work, Vancouver | Comments (0)

Exploring the Z-Axis

Jasvir Shukla

No, this isn’t a blog about physics, math and all that good stuff, but I want to take a moment and talk about the plane we normally don’t use in our day-to-work: the z-axis. Why? Well…as I’ve said before, I’m a dork and I love math! No really, stay with me here – this definitely applies to design and using your creative side.

I remember getting introduced to the z axis as a kid when my dad told me to look up in the corner of a room where walls meet, and you see the x, y, and z axes coming out. What a great visual – try it, you’ll see!

Z-Axis in the Web World

We don’t explore this dimension much at work, but there are websites that use this to give an ‘exploration’ feel. I have seen this used for portfolios quite a bit – check out Whitevoid and Diller Scofidio + Renfro. As you explore the portfolio note how things are stacked and perspectives shift. I haven’t found an enterprise application of this yet, but I know it’s out there (let me know in the comments please!)

Z-Axis and Gestures

I’m really into exploring gestural interfaces lately, which are definitely not new (I worked in a VR lab back in ‘02!), but this type of interaction is getting a lot of hype these days. Hardware is starting to support z-axis gestures now too – check out the Mitsubishi’s 3D touch panel. The screen not only senses where your finger is in 2D space, but uses the plane coming out of the screen (i.e. the z-axis) to do things such as change the shape of an object as you get closer, and change the pointer based on proximity vs. contact. There are so many exciting applications for this such as: scale the size of data based on where someone is standing (especially useful for big screens), use proximity to zoom in/out if you’re navigating a space, detect how fast someone is moving to change the speed of the application, match the application to someone’s height, size of finger, etc.

I’m excited about this area, and helps me frame my thinking in the traditional 2D world too. What ideas do other people have? Would love to hear about them in the comments!

Posted on Thursday, March 26, 2009 at 12:00 PM in Design, User Experience | Comments (0)