User Experience – Communicating A Core Principle

Posted on November 13, 2012 by Greg

In a recent talk I gave, I described our overall mission for Flex System Manager as, “To provide a best-of-breed experience in managing physical/virtual resources across compute, storage, network so that business-critical workloads can thrive.” I also described that, in order to achieve that mission, we defined a number of core principles that we drive to and measure against.

I had just finished showing off our new mobile app and enhanced UI in our new Flex System Manager release, and it was clear from the audience applause that we are delivering some really great enhancements that looks pretty darn cool.

I then got to our core principle, “Enhanced User Experience”.

To help the audience fully understand what we mean by user experience, here’s what I said:

“User experience is far more than shiny objects and cute iPhone apps. To us, it’s also about reducing the time to set up the whole PureFlex environment and manage it…it’s about providing automation users can trust so that when they press a button, they trust our software to relocate and optimize their production-level workloads…it’s about providing relevant actions and showing relevant data to help users trouble-shoot and make the decisions they need to manage their data center”

Yes, ‘shiny’ is important, but ‘fast’, ‘trustworthy’, ‘relevant’…that’s what makes a great, and lasting, user experience.

How about you, how do you communicate what user experience means to you?

You can say more in 15 minutes than 35 minutes

Posted on November 5, 2012 by Greg

I just killed a keynote session where I was asked to talk about Flex System Manager…our strategy and future directions.

“Great content…outstanding delivery” said one VP. “This was the first time I understood the value of this technical product” said a non-technical sales lead. “You’re like a technical rock star”, said a technical sales specialist.

But 12 hours before, I was a complete wreck.

Originally I had 35-40 minutes to talk…

…I practiced several times and was ready

Then, at 8:30pm the night before, I was told they wanted a Q&A at the end so my section was shortened to 15 minutes

My heart sunk…

…I had a great arc and story that would most likely be shattered

…I had 10 minutes of demo I was showing to illustrate what we’re delivering today that was cut

I mourned

…then I regrouped, rethought, recovered

I reshaped the talk…sharpened the story arc…cut out duplicate, less-relevant content

…and delivered a potent talk that was much more effective than my 35 minute talk

That makes me wonder? Should I do that for everything I do? For speaking: Is there a way that can take 1/2 the time yet be twice as effective? For UI Design: Is there a way to give users 1/2 the details and be twice as effective?

What if we were always given last minute changes to our best-laid plans? Would we all benefit with a reshaped and refocused effort?

What do you think?

Everything I Know About User Experience I Learned From Jimmy Buffett

Posted on October 29, 2012 by Greg

One of the best ways I learn about user experience is to, well, experience it. In 2009 I went to my first Jimmy Buffett concert, and while I enjoyed a great show, what I learned about user experience I will never forget.

I was so affected that I had to write what I learned. I initially wrote this for an internal publication, but my organization thought it was ‘not right’ for our development org. To be honest I was sad since I really thought it could help others understand the importance of paying attention to the WHOLE user experience.

Since one of my long-term goals was to get published in “Interactions” magazine, I put on my ‘get it perfect’ hat, re-edited for a while, and submitted it. To my delight it was readily accepted, but in trying to get the right mix of articles, I had to wait around a year to receive the published article.

It was very much worth the wait.

Click HERE to read the article

Not only was I inspired by a great concert, but my love for music helped me directly achieve one of my career goals. At the time it was my 75th published article, and while have 92 published to date, this one still holds a special place in my heart.

I look forward to chatting about how I’ve positioned user experience in my work…

Question: Where have you had a great user experience that affected how you design in your work?

4 Ways to Kill Regret (and Enjoy an Adventure)

Posted on October 22, 2012 by Greg

When it comes to traveling for business, I have two primary objectives: 1) Bring my A game for business, and 2) Find time to explore the city/country I’m in. To me, these are equally important. Even if I only have a few hours between business and the airport, I always try to find time to explore.

Why? I think this stems from my one regret I had during my year-long tour in Up With People (Cast D90 Rocks!)…

We were in our 2nd month of touring and we were performing all aross northern Italy. One afternoon in this delightful country, we gather and the cast director announced, “We just scheduled a side trip to Rome. The train leaves in 3 hours, we wont sleep much, we’ll soak in Rome for a day, and return 29 hours later…it will cost you $100. Who wants to come?”

At the time, as a 4th year college student, my instant reaction was, “$100? No way…that’s two months of utilities once I get home”.

That was 22 years ago, and I’ve never been to Rome. If I want to go now, it’ll cost a good $5000. Imagine if I could have gone back in time to whisper, “Idiot, do it now, or the next time will cost 50x more”.

Ever since, I take time to explore a city, experience the culture, even sign up for a local adventure…I may never get the chance again.

For me, here’s what I’ve learned:

Sleep When You’re Home
You may only get one chance to see that New York jazz club (The Iridium…Monday nights…get a front table and order the bread pudding), or wander through Budapest. Don’t miss out because you’re tired.Yes, you have to bring your A game for business, but you’d be surprised how energizing a walk across the Danube or hot spiced red wine outside the Louvre can be.

Explore To Purge Jetlag
When I went to Sydney, I arrived at my hotel at 8:30am after a 23 hour journey. Instead of trying to rest, I walked. All day. Until 4pm. I saw amazing things, and by 8pm, I had no problems getting to sleep and slept 12 hours!

Spend Your Own Money
I’ll never forget my NYC helicopter ride, my Eiffel tower elevator ride, nor my South African safari ride. Yes, they cost me money, but dang, were they worth it!

Get Out of the Hotel District
Many cities cater to travelers around the hotels. I hate that. I want to explore the city as the locals live it. I find a city map and make a bee-line for a local market (like Bangkok, Prague, Trieste, Singapore’s ‘little India’…) and see what the locals sell, but especially…buy and eat! (Just be careful about eating everything they do…you may not live to tell of your adventure 🙂 )

There ya go. Don’t regret missing out on an experience…it’s just outside your hotel door.

Question: How do you sneak away from work to explore your travel destination?

Frustrated Inventor, and Loving It!

Posted on October 15, 2012 by Greg

I don’t think a day goes by that I don’t get ticked off at technology…

…and I love it!

Well at least from my inventor perspective. Let me explain…

I know, we’re supposed to be spinning around this sun pursuing happiness and all things fuzzy, but when it comes to inventing, I love it when I, my kids, or a co-worker gets frustrated with technology, the way things work, the stupid designs we all come across that seem so un-obvious.

Why? Because every little thing that gets us frustrated might the beginnings of a beautiful, patentable idea.

Here’s what I do: When I get frustrated with technology, something clicks in my head to pay attention. And then, (and this is key), I notice WHY I’m frustrated, and then I write it down. I don’t solve the problem right then and there, but I’ve recorded a nugget of inspiration that can later turn into a patentable idea. And it doesn’t even have to be me that’s frustrated. I can point to at least a couple patents that started with my son saying “Dang, I HATE THIS! If only…”.

Maybe spend a day and try it. If not for the fun of inventing, maybe for the fun of discovering a new product or service you can make money at!

Here are two other things you could try to get ideas to surface:

1) Write down problems you needed to solve regarding a project you work on. Think back to meetings where you and your team wrestled with how to solve a technical issue. Then, recall all of the ideas that you crossed off as ‘too lofty’ or ‘too expensive’. Those may be nuggets for great patents.

2) Sit in a cafeteria/public place and listen for:

“You’d think they’d…”
“If only…”
“It would work so much better if…”
and my favorite: “They can put a man on the moon, but they can’t…”

These are not patents themselves, but they are nuggets of ideas that could turn into patents.

Finally, when you explore new consumer technology, think of how it could be applied to your area of expertise…some of my favorite patentable ideas have come from the strangest of locations (Hard Rock Cafe in Vegas) 🙂

Give it a go! Who knows, you may surprise someone when they say “Aw crap, don’t you hate it when…”, and instead of you feeling bad for them, you respond with a big ‘ol smile, pad and pencil in hand, and say, “Awesome! Tell me more…”

String Break, System Crash, Show Must Go On

Posted on October 8, 2012 by Greg

I broke a guitar string during a big gig…nearly 25 year ago…

…as a result, I’m regularly asked to perform live technical demos.

Let me explain…

I grew up playing in a band. My first big gig was at a “Battle of the Bands” contest, where we had only one song to show our skills…

We start: the song I wrote sounds strong…the chorus ends and I’m just about to go into the big solo and…

…my high E string breaks.

That’s bad. What’s worse is I’m playing my Charvel with a tremelo and all the strings are tuned relying on the tension of each other…and when one breaks, the tension moves from the broken string to the other strings.

Now, while this sounds noble and all ‘how a team should work’, but in this case it just made my whole guitar awful. I was lost, frustrated, and the song completely failed. The solo was awful, and since I didn’t know how badly the guitar was out of tune, I just played with my normal hand positioning…terrible. Not playing anything would have sounded better.

I was not prepared for the worst, I did not have a backup plan, and I did not have the experience in doing the best with what I had at that second.

What I learned:

Since then, I prepare for the worst during live events. For technical demos, I bring backups: Backup demo systems, backup pre-recorded movies, and even backup slides on an iPad.

Overkill? Lets see: My primary system has failed. My backup system has not, but the wifi to CONNECT to that backup system did. Once I did the whole demo to a pre-recorded movie. Another time I worked with a crippled system, verbalizing much of what I would have done while moving my mouse around a limited system.

I’ve learned that effective presentation is putting on a good show. Sometimes shows props will fail, but the show must go on. So plan, practice, and prepare for the worst. You may never need your backups, but you’ll never regret having them.

How about you? What event caused you to plan, practice, and prepare?

Welcome to HinterVision

Posted on October 1, 2012 by Greg

Welcome to HinterVision.

What is HinterVision? It’s the unique lens though which I engage the technical world.

For me, I’m certain that my love for music, composing, and performing; along with my love for creating things, my faith, travel, family, heritage…all affects my everyday technical world…

…how I design

…how I invent

…how I approach this corporate culture

…how I performing across the world for an audience demonstrating the latest technology

My HinterVision is pretty unique.

And you know what? So is yours! I’m convinced the more we value and utilize HinterVision, the more essential we will become in our work.

I want to share everything I can about the successes and failures I’ve had (and will have) so we can all laugh, learn, discuss, and debate. For me, I care about user experience, inventing, speaking, technology, world travel, and working for a corporation while still having a personal life that is rich, joyful, and rewarding.

I also want to learn everything I can from you and your HinterVision…about what you care about, how you approach your craft, and what makes your HinterVision uniquely yours.

How about it. You game?