Usable Patterns

We’re drawn to Agile methods not just because they help us build “acceptable” software quickly. More importantly, Agile methods inspire and enable us to build “great” software: products that capture users’ imaginations, succeed in the market, and create value for us and our customers over a long life.

This year’s Agile Roots conference, June 14-15 in Salt Lake City, is focused on products, user experience, and creating value. We have keynote commitments from Luke Hohmann and Jeff Patton, whom we believe are on the leading edge of value creation in the Agile software process. We still have plenty of room for talks, workshops, and other sessions and we hope you have something to share!

Read the rest of this entry »

Click Here to Donate

I have a very good friend, Elden Nelson whose wife has been fighting cancer. It has motivated him to do what he can to raise money to help fight cancer in general. He has put together a team for the Livestrong Challenge, which I have joined as a virtual participant. I can’t ride the race, but I do want to try and get the word out if I can to help raise money. I will be including links on my site from time to time (as well as on twitter and facebook) asking for help.

Read the rest of this entry »

Usable Patterns is a proud sponsor of the Agile Roots Conference (link) in Salt Lake City, UT this year. The conference is trying to make sure that the original meaning of the Agile Manifesto (link) is not lost. They have brought together an impressive array of speakers, who on their own time and money, are presenting on the fundamentals of Agile, and what that means.

I am including a series of links that I ran across while doing research into contrast and text readability.
Read the rest of this entry »

Link to full story

As more companies attempt to harness “design thinking” to create strategic
advantage, a potential dichotomy may emerge within internal design
departments.

Most corporations have organized their design group in the context of their
product development process. What this amounts to is that the design
department is part of the company’s “assembly line”. Product ideas come in;
they’re scoped, designed, spec-ed, developed, and shipped. Most often the
strategy work has happened before the design department gets involved.

Read the rest of this entry »

Welcome to Usable Patterns.

Here at Usable Patterns, we are intrigued by many things. We dabble in project management, requirements management, interface design, as well as GTD principles and Agile methodology.

We are available to help you with your project, whether it being how to best manage it, how to design it, and perhaps most simply, how to get it out the door.

Read the rest of this entry »

From the June 19 edition of Business Week…For Lucente, the ethnographer, consumer observation has been a big route
out of HP’s dilemma. Until recently, HP’s merger with Compaq Computer
had produced an unintegrated company with hundreds of isolated
businesses and thousands of products. To help build a unified, creative
culture and reconnect with HP’s customers, Lucente launched a major
research project. He involved members from all departments — design,
marketing, R&D, even outside consultants — to immerse themselves in the
lives and homes of 28 families around the world. The goal was to make
sure that HP was “living and breathing with the customer,” Lucente says.

What the trips showed was that families across the globe were deluged
with information from their phones, computer screens, cameras, and
social networking connections. They were lost, with no idea how to
navigate through the information. To Lucente, the obvious answer was a
steering wheel.

Read the rest of this entry »