The Science Of Customer Experience

Yesterday's Reading: 06.08.2009

2009-06-09T11:01:00.000-07:00

Local Tweets: 9 Ways to Find Twitter Users in Your Town
- MASHABLE, http://bit.ly/MK5gA

And the 9 ways are:

01. http://search.twitter.com
02. http://www.twellow.com/twellowhood
03. Tweetup - via Twtvite

What Are Your Social Media Goals?
- Search Engine Watch, http://bit.ly/QHNUu

Dedicated Social-Media Silos? That's the Last Thing We Need
- Advertising Age, http://bit.ly/WYfVe

This ("siloing") will prove to be the wrong approach -- again. Social media isn't a box to be ticked or a department to be manned or even a campaign to be launched. It's about thinking differently about marketing, customer service, the entire company. It's about realizing that consumers are running the biggest recommendation service in the world and that, as has been tiresomely often repeated, they define the brand (no, this is not new; yes, this is becoming more obvious and important by the day). All thinking about product, customers and communications, needs to take this into account -- it cannot sit in a silo.

Tectonic Shift (#02): A Tim O'Reilly (Re-)Manifesto

2009-05-14T13:41:00.000-07:00

http://bit.ly/u2P12

Tectonic Shift (#01): Wireframes go the way of the doe-doe bird

2009-05-14T13:30:00.000-07:00

http://bit.ly/sjfOc

LANCE on Twitter

2009-05-14T09:04:00.000-07:00

It started with LANCE - Twitter as a way to follow and feel closer to my heroes.

Today it is still that, plus Twitter now tells me what to read each day.

Who are the thought leaders in my areas of interest?

Where are they and what are they saying and what are they reading and recommending?

Volunteer Match > Wireframes

2008-06-26T23:27:00.000-07:00

Volunteer Match

2008-03-26T14:22:00.000-07:00

The purpose of this engagement is threefold: improve the homepage, improve the priority clickstream ("find a volunteer opportunity") and introduce Web 2.0 functionality.

The project plan includes 3 usability testing checkpoints.

The first, at project outset, to establish a baseline.

The second - cover sheet pictured above (click to view detail) - tested our initial design directions. I can't show you the whole report but I can talk to you about what we learned in the testing and how that influenced our decisions.

The final usability test will occur just prior to launch, where we'll get to test live data on real people!

I'll post the wireframes as soon as development is finished and the final designs are live.

Citrix and PlanetOut (for Sequence)

2008-03-26T13:25:00.000-07:00

I've just finished up some months of work for Sequence in SF.

Clients included Citrix and PlanetOut.

The work we did was quite strategic in nature and very satisfying. I really like the way Sequence encouraged the practice of SKETCHING. They were not afraid to informally present an initial set of concepts and then explore and refine the ideas in a brainstorming session with the client.

On the other side of the coin, we experimented with a rapid prototyping tool called Axure and I found this a bit unsettling. The rush to achieve a digital, functioning product caused us to set aside much of the important thinking that goes along with the initial explorations using stickies or whiteboards or (my personal favorite) the color-coded index cards.

If one has an ambition for usability testing with a functional product, I think it's better to allocate a few extra days and engage a developer and realize the prototype the "old fashioned way."

I also find myself continually reminding people of the tremendous value that can be realized in testing a paper prototype. This approach can set the proper direction much earlier in the project and require much less energy to achieve the test.

Top Social Networks of 2006 (Mashable.com)

2007-12-10T15:58:00.000-08:00

Some research for an upcoming project leads me to Mashable's Top Social Networks of 2006 list (which of course leads me to wanting the 2007 list):

1. Mainstream & Large Scale Networks

MySpace
Multiply

Bebo, Vox, Facebook, Facebox

Share Your Life With Your Friends... Multiply makes it easy to create, share and discuss your blog, photos, videos and music with more of the people you know, and less of the people you don't.

2. Widgets & Add Ons

Slide
Zwinky

RockYou, Stickam, Snocap, Zingfu, MyBlogLog

3. Social Networking

Digg
Trailfire

Del.icio.us, StumbleUpon, Blinklist

4. Sports & Fitness

FanNation
Takkle

SportsVite, Ultrafan

5. Photo Sharing

FlickrFlickr
Twango

Zoomr, Webshots, ImageShack, Tabblo, Pickle, BubbleShare

6. Video Sharing

YouTube
Gotuit

Metacafe, Motionbox, Revver, vSocial, StupidVideos, Blip.tv, iFilm, Eyespot

7. Startpages

Netvibes
Pageflakes

YourMinis, Protopage, Webwag

8. Places & Events

Yelp
CollegeTonight

MingleNow, HeyLetsGo, Planypus, ILCU (and others)

9. Music

Last.fm
ReverbNation, MOG

Pandora, YourSpins, Rapspace, ProjectOpus, iLike, Splice, MusicHawk and More

10. Social Shopping

Etsy
ThisNext

Hot for 2007: Crowdstorm, Kaboodle, ShopWiki, StyleFeeder

11. Mobile

Twitter
Wadja

Hot for 2007: Friendstribe, JuiceCaster, Zingku, Moblabber, Zemble, Veeker, Treemo

12. Niche & Misc. Social Networks

Flixster
Dogster, LibraryThing

Hot for 2007: SneakerPlay, MothersClick, Motortopia, Minti, ComicSpace, Curbly, MyChurch, Ziki, VeryLiberating, ITtoolbox, Fanpop, ShareYourLook, FamilyThrive, Blubrry, innerTee, Listal, ConnectingMoms, FirstGiving, RealityAllStarz, CafeMom, BeGreen, AdFemme, Dianovo, eLifeList, CampusBug, SnehaH, HumanOpinion, MerchantCircle, Barrio305, GenevaOnline, MDJunction (list too long to...)

SIMS for Yahoo

2007-04-29T23:03:00.000-07:00

Download the PDF used to guide the meeting.

Requirements Discovery (Independent Startup)

2007-04-29T23:02:00.000-07:00

Veritas

2007-04-29T07:45:00.001-07:00

Work History

2007-04-29T07:20:00.001-07:00

“Helping organizations achieve their goals by improving online experiences for their customers, employees and strategic partners.“

Since the McKesson project (below), I've done work for Oracle (readying their suite of applications for the web-enabled release), Sun Microsystems (designing an intranet to facilitate communication between Sun's marketing department, the various agencies that support their marketing efforts and their worldwide field staff), some usability testing and reporting for Williams-Sonoma and, most recently, a project for Yahoo's SIMS site.

Project highlights spanning more than a decade of experience include:

2006

Client: McKESSON | Agency: Fry Inc. (San Francisco) | December 2005 – April 2006

Establishing a strategic and organizational foundation, with IA and interaction design concepts, to enable a relaunch of McKesson’s Supply Management Online (SMO) site into a Vignette and J2EE-based B2B portal environment that encompasses 7 roles across 3 primary business segments. This initial framework is designed to accommodate an 8-phase implementation roadmap over the next 3 years.

Technology partners: Accenture and Vignette.

2005

Client: DANGER and WAL-MART | Agency: MetaDesign (San Francisco)

Information architecture and interaction design concepts and functional specifications for Danger.com and the Garth Brooks’ specialty site at Wal-Mart.com.

The Garth Brooks site sold 500,000+ units during the 2005 holiday season and the Danger project took a “multiple appliance” approach – a single design that’s friendly to both a browser and Danger’s “Blackberry-like” Sidekick portable device.

Client: SONY | Agency: DuPuis (Los Angeles)

Rapid prototyping and user testing on Sony’s PSP (handheld portable gaming device) to produce a set of heuristics and an IA/interaction design for Sony’s forthcoming PSP portal.

Client: QUALCOMM | Agency: Kadium (San Francisco)

Requirements definition and information architecture for Qualcomm’s Flash-based “in-the-field” sales tool.

2004

Client: KAISER | Agency: Sapient (Oakland) | August 2004 – January 2005

Design solution for Kaiser’s Human Resources portal that enables “employee self service” by integrating select PeopleSoft transactions, an Authoria knowledgebase, third-party vendor sites, automated forms processing (using Adobe Acrobat Exchange) and existing intranets into a seamless user experience. This solution is designed to “scale up to and snap into” a forthcoming enterprise-wide Employee Portal.

Also lead client team through a prototype process to validate the concept and achieve buy-in for the project across the organization.

Client: SONY| Agency: Sapient (Los Angeles & San Diego) | February - April 2004

Business requirements, process flows, sitemaps and wireframes for Sony’s new B2B initiative. Customer-facing and internal environments including admin and call center support screens and functionality.

Working onsite at the client in San Diego with 10-person tech team (from India) to adapt solution to IBM’s Websphere Commerce Server environment.

2002 - 2003

Client: Nissan North America | Agency: Designory (Los Angeles) | July 2002 - May 2003

Simultaneous execution of dual initiatives for NissanUSA.com and Infiniti.com through The Designory (project lead), with TBWA\CHIAT\DAY and Sapient as branding and technology partners, respectively.

Complete re-architecture and re-design of the Infiniti site, creation of a personalized Ownership section for both Infiniti and NissanUSA (a new section for Infiniti, a major enhancement for NissanUSA; each sharing a common technical infrastructure) and additional enhancements to both sites.

Solutions embodied in sitemaps, wireframes and use cases. Functional specifications delivered in interactive, online format. Target audience analysis for user-centered design and competitive analyses for industry best practices. Mid-project usability exercises for concept and solution validation. Client presentations, project planning participation and requirements definition.

Also facilitated a usability study for NissanUSA.com including vendor selection (Vividence), objectives identification, finalization and approval of evaluation script and top line analysis.

Razorfish 06.2000-02.2001

Veritas - www.Veritas.com:

Successfully lead the Experience team through Razorfish's ENVISION phase, delivering the "boldest achievable vision" - a blueprint for site relaunch and foundation for long term Internet strategy.

Beyond Broadband 2000 Conference

Architected a multiple device (WAP and PALM) wireless environment from a single content datasource. Utilized PC-based emulation environments to produce interactive functional specifications with reusable code for development.

Other projects included Disney’s GO.com and SAPmarkets for MySAP.com.

Guidance 02.1998-06.2000

Team Leader: Doubled the size of the 'Site Integrator' team (from 8 to 16 in 3 months) while simultaneously raising the level of sophistication (i.e. introducing XML, WML and xHTML competencies). Utilized this group as the springboard to create Guidance's user experience initiative.

User Experience Lead: Successfully translated business goals into an innovative user-centered business-to-business online exchange for the recruiting industry.

Interface’s Sample Center: Planned and lead the UI design sessions; developed The Portable Job Folder prototype (a standalone application, built in Macromedia Director, that allows the user to access, store and manipulate Interface product images and specifications). This site won a Special Merit Award from the Art Director’s Club and was featured in Business 2.0 and @Issue magazines.

Rich Media Pioneer: Created interactive and rich motion projects (Macromedia Director and Flash), video segments (Adobe After Effects and Premiere), and WebTV and wireless prototypes. Demonstrated the value of this skill set, then worked with executive management to spread these competencies throughout the Creative department.

Web Builder: Delivered HTML/Cold Fusion templates to launch dynamic, database-driven e-commerce environments including ChampsSports.com (for Footlocker), eNutrition.com, AnimeVillage.com.

Learning Tree International 06.1997-02.1998

Developed computer-based training CD-ROMs using Microsoft's Visual InterDev and LTI's proprietary tools.

Whittaker Corporation 1993-1995

Assistant to the Head of Corporate Development. Assisted with telecommunications acquisitions and integration; planned and conducted executive offsite strategy sessions; worked with nationally recognized telecommunications consultant to create the company’s initial Internet presence.

Education: University of Colorado at Denver School of Music, Performance emphasis in Percussion

SONY > B2B Intranet

2007-04-29T07:20:00.000-07:00

Green Job URLs

2007-04-05T16:42:00.000-07:00

Here are some Green Job URLs, courtesy of the Solar Institute:

http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/jobs/

http://www.ejobs.org/

http://www.ecojobs.com/index.php

http://www.ecoemploy.com/jobs/

Idealist.org

Orion Grassroots Network

Environmental Career

Green Energy Jobs

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

2007-02-16T07:30:00.000-08:00

http://www.stjude.org

From Squidoo: St. Jude's won't turn a child away. Insurance or no, kids get treated.

WorldChanging

2007-02-15T07:30:00.000-08:00

http://www.worldchanging.com/

From Squidoo: A well-designed group blog on tools, ideas, and solutions that bring about positive change. Users can also post comments in the community...

New York City Coalition Against Hunger

2007-02-14T07:30:00.000-08:00

http://www.nyccah.org

From Squidoo: Find more than 1,200 local soup kitchens and food pantries via first-ever interactive maps of hunger and food resources in New York City.

Modest Needs

2007-02-13T07:30:00.000-08:00

http://www.modestneeds.org

From Squidoo: Structured around small one-time gifts of financial assistance. Highlight: the ability for donors to give through eBay auctions.

Greenpeace

2007-02-12T07:30:00.000-08:00

http://oceans.greenpeace.org/en

"Greenpeace is committed to defending the health of the world's oceans and the plants, animals and people that depend upon them."

From Squidoo: The "Defending our Oceans" campaign gives their members a voice and a platform.

KIVA

2007-02-11T07:30:00.000-08:00

http://www.kiva.org

"Kiva lets you lend to a specific entrepreneur in the developing world - empowering them to lift themselves out of poverty."

From Squidoo: Personalized sponsorships--you choose which entrepreneur to support. Leveraging traditional TV to support online efforts. Flickr, Squidoo

59 Smartest Orgs Online

2007-02-10T09:24:00.000-08:00

source: http://www.squidoo.com/org20

Closer to the heart

A non profit best practices analysis:
> Business model
> 2.0 implementation
> Abstract for [generic] applications

Timed release, one per day

Music weblogs that do Web 2.0 well

2007-01-25T13:10:00.000-08:00

The folks at Cordless/WMG recently launched three awesome Blogger-powered blogs for their bands Dangerous Muse, Throw the Fight and Die Mannequin. Aside from their fantastic designs, they've done a number of neat-o template integrations with other Google services like YouTube, Calendar, Picasa Web Albums and Reader.

Source: http://www2.blogger.com/home, 01.25.2007

The 59 Smartest Orgs Online

2007-01-23T16:09:00.000-08:00

http://www.squidoo.com/org20

Yahoo! Design Pattern Library

2006-04-07T15:02:00.000-07:00

Yahoo! Design Pattern Library is an interesting place to go and avoid reinventing the wheel every time you (or "I") have a design solution challenge.