Most people who have worked with me up to this point have probably noticed that I have a strong urge to think about solving problems using Design methods and methodologies. This is not accidental. In my heart of hearts, I believe that the work I do each day will help make the world a better place…not through the success of particular technologies or companies, but through human interactions aided by supportive tools. The only way this will happen is with a healthy dose of good Design. With this in mind, I’d like to pass on the most important thing I learned in my post-graduate education: The Seven Themes of Good Design.

I think about these themes often, and am indebted to a great educator, mentor and friend for teaching me these oft-forgotten ideas.

Without further ado, Good Design is all of the following:

1. Is user-centered, not machine-centered - That’s right folks. The name of the game is people, not machines. It’s about helping people to do what they would likely do anyway, only to help them do it better. And also to allow people to do things they never dreamed possible. Either way, good design is about people, not the tools that get them there.
2. Employs the computer as a transparent medium - Ideally, a person never even notices the computer, it just fades into their normal flow. Every Interaction Designer should know that if a user makes a remark about the UI, then the designer has failed in some way.
3. Creates computer imaginative interactions - Good design takes full advantage of the medium upon which it is built. In our era of technology, we should be using the computer in ways that people only a few years ago would never have dreamed of, not just the next logical way. Desktop computing? Probably not for long. Ubiquitous computing? Coming sooner than you think.
4. Provides for ease of learning - A well designed tool is easy to learn. It may be complex, but initial use should be possible without a training course. This cannot be understated.
5. Entails continual redesign - A good design is never “done.” As is recognized in the agile development community, software tools continually evolve, because people and their environments are ever-changing. Designers constantly see room for improvement in their prior work.
6. Is more craft than art - Design isn’t some mystical, magical world. It can be learned and taught, but doing so requires a lot of work of both teacher and student. Some people are simply gifted artists at birth. Most great designers have honed their skills over time.
7. Always involves tradeoffs - There will always be something that would make a design better, but could not be included because of a particular constraint. Always.
8. *

And there you have it. The Seven Themes of Good Design. Credit goes to Marty Siegel. The most influential lesson I’ve received in my professional career, and the basis of my Design Philosophy.

* There is an eighth theme of good Design, I’ll have you know. That one is a bit of a secret, though. If you’re interested in learning about the most important theme, you’ll have to ask me about it. I’ll be glad to share, but the only way to do it is face to face.

So I tried my hand at building a new theme for my blog. Let me know what you think. The actual implementation is a little buggy, but it’s getting there. All feedback is wanted, even if you think it might sound mean! Bring it on.

Just a question. Feel free to introduce yourselves.

IMG_7595

Originally uploaded by josh.ev9.

I don’t quite know why, but I really like this shot a lot.

What are your expectations for ThoughtWorks University, in 30 minutes or less?

The only reason for the time limit is the fact that my meeting with one of my coaches in about 30 minutes, so I better get to it. Here goes…

I’m just going to put my biggest expectation/goal out there right up front. My goal at TWU is to end the course with an understanding of how I will apply User-Centered Design practices with the methodologies currently used at ThoughtWorks. I think this is a somewhat ambitious goal, which will probably continue and develop throughout my work at TW, but I think this goal is at least partially attainable in the next few weeks. I’m in a somewhat unique position with my background in HCI. The path for me in this realm is somewhat uncharted, so at this point I don’t know what to expect.

In order to achieve my goal, I’ll first have to have some sort of understanding of Agile Methods, which I’m assuming we’ll learn right at the start. I hope to learn to use Agile to my advantage, but be able to tweak it enough so that truly great software can be created. To be honest, at this point I am unsure about the process, and uneasy about the idea that code may be written on day 1 of a project. This gives very little time to do the research needed in order to really understand the nature of user needs, right? How can people be interviewed, analysis made, and prototypes created in a matter of hours? Is this possible at all? I wonder.

Another big question: Do agile methods create software that regularly meets user demands? I don’t mean the (simple) explicit demands that a customer makes, but the implicit ones that come from really understanding the nature of the work at hand. Are these customers just appeased in the end…sufficiently happy with the software…or are the pleasanly delighted at the way their work practice is changed? At this point, I just don’t know.

Of course, there are other things that I want to practice. At the bar last night I had a discussion with a group of my peers who will be developers and realized that I have never really had to think deeply about implementation details in my projects. These people have a huge focus on implementation, so I really think I need practice working with them.

What else…oh! Life! I expect to be able to get outside and have a life. This should not be all about work, but the experience…both in and outside the classroom. I want to see India. Eat the food, smell the spices, do some shopping, go on hikes, see the sights, etc. I also think I’m the type of person who needs help practicing the whole “work/life balance” thing…so that’ll be much needed.

Mostly, I want to be challenged and prepared for my real work life. I know it won’t be exactly the same, but I want to be able to practice my job in a place where mistakes are acceptable, and learning is expected. I want to have fun and get to know my peers from around the world. I want to have it all. So let’s go get it.

Just a quick note. I’ve changed the look of the page now that I’m back. Let me know what you think…I’m gonna sleep on it, and perhaps change it back. We’ll see.

Just over a month after my capstone presentation, I think the “official” project is finally complete. Check out the project website, it tells about many of the things I did in the project, and offers tips to help you improve your presentations. Also, a video of my presentation should be up soon.

Josh Evnin’s Capstone Website:

Prepare, Project, Present: Using Technology to Encourage Effective Presentations

I’ve been holding back this interesting tidbit for a good amount of time now, but I think it’s time to let the news roam free. Here goes:

I GOT A JOB!

Wahoo, I say. I’ll be working for ThoughtWorks as a Business Analyst starting in August. Let’s see if I can’t dig up any formal explanations for what TW does……..ahh, perfect. There was a great explanation right in the title of their homepage:

ThoughtWorks is a global IT consultancy with an exclusive focus on end-to-end global software development and delivery.

Get it? Sure you do. That’s just official worky mumbo-jumbo that translates as “ThoughtWorks makes software in their worldwide offices.”

My role will basically be as a consultant, but my real goal is to try to sneak in some of my vast training and practice in the world of Human-Computer Interaction to make the software projects I help create to work well for everyday human beings.

One thing that really makes ThoughtWorks different is their approach to the software development process. They believe in Agile Methodologies, which are governed by a few basic principles. This means quicker development cycles (more iteration), and closer attention paid to delivering high quality software that people (customers) actually want and will use.

The thing I am most excited about, though, is the people. Everyone I’ve met at TW so far has been phenomenally interesting, honest, and brilliant.

Oh, and did I mention they’re taking me to India? Awww yeah.

flickrFace

Originally uploaded by josh.ev9.

And boy do I like it! They’ve switched from disorganized links all over the place to simple drop-down menus. Noice…now maybe I’ll be able to find links. They could still use a little work on the information architecture at the bottom of the screen, but they did make that significantly better as well…so I’m happy enough. Baby steps…

Flickr Gamma, welcome!

So here I am at the Apple store in Chicago…disappointed. I came today to have them look at my iPod shuffle. It’s got a software issue because I pulled it from the computer before it was ready to be pulled from the computer. They just told me that the damage is not repairable, but they can’t give me a new one because I’m out of my warranty period.

So what the eff am I supposed to do now? It’s obvious I’ll have to buy a new music player if I don’t want to carry around my giant 60 gig iPod that i’m pondering selling on ebay.

So what do I do? Do I jump to the nano? They’re pretty little machines, but do the batteries last? I’m going to be spending a lot of time on planes next year, so I don’t just want the battery to up and quit all the time. Plus, it just might be to big to carry with me all the time…and maybe even too big to fit in the tiny pocket on my running shorts (maybe not?).

I have loved my shuffle. Great battery life. It’s a brick. I’ve had no problems up until now…and it was my fault. But it’s got no screen. A screen would be nice. Some more space would be nice too. But it fits in my life. Wherever I go, there’s room for the shuffle.

Oh, and those iPod videos look pretty too. Horrible battery life. But pretty. And much smaller than my current iPod.

Or I could just not have a music player for a while and “tough it out.”

Am I lusting? I can trade in my old, broken shuffle for a new one and get 10% off. Plus the 10% I get for being a student (gotta use it while it lasts). So Internet, I ask again: What do I do?