Applications Whisperer

Notice - Change of Venue

2010-04-13T22:28:00.000-07:00

Find all future posts here:

http://applicationswhisperer.posterous.com/

And a cool new landing page:

http://appswhisperer.com/

Best New Application for Building your Personal Brand - Magntize

2009-12-02T14:51:00.000-08:00

If you're interested in marketing yourself (and who isn't nowadays), but don't have the time/inclination/skills to build a website, check out http://magntize.com/

In minutes, I set up a site that's attractive, easily navigated and personal. The result? It's all about me (my skills, contact information, photo, blog feed, twitter feed, links to sites), here: http://appswhisperer.com.

It's a needed solution to a problem most of us have, and it's free. What's not to like?

Adventures in PC Repair

2009-10-28T22:46:00.000-07:00

A few months ago, my faithful (six year-old) Sony VAIO TR3AP laptop started behaving badly. At first, it just shutdown without warning, and after a restart, it was just fine.

The problem progressed until the PC would stay up and running for only an hour, before shutting down. So, I ran through all the usual troubleshooting tricks:

chkdsk
defrag
update MS Windows
antivirus/spam/malware scan
full backup
reinstall MS Windows XP OS

Still no joy. Then, I noticed something. It was quiet. Too quiet. The fan wasn't running, and the base was toasty.

Ok, I thought, this is a problem I can fix. I opened the laptop, and 47 miniature phillips-head screws later, removed the culprit - the heatsink fan. With a model number in hand, I found a (refurbished) replacement part online. I could tell it was refurbished because, when it arrived, it was dusty and cobwebby. But, no matter, I was assured by the vendor that this was a functioning fan.

So, another hour and something less than 47 miniature phillips-head screws later, I had reassembled the laptop enough that I could plug it in and test the fan, but without the pesky cover, keyboard and bezel in place (I needed to see that it worked).

It didn't. The fan, I mean. But the laptop happily booted up. Then shut down.

A scientist by training, I propose a theory, test it, refine, rinse and repeat until a solution is found. That said, the problem could only be heat-related.
What to do? Move the test lab to the kitchen, where I had access to a butter knife and two packages of frozen peas.

I placed the butter knife under the fan (under the printed circuit board) and against the metal heat sink, while balancing the handle between the bags of frozen peas.

Voila! The laptop happily booted up, I was able to connect to the wireless network and I had a functioning laptop again. The PC continues to work, so long as I keep the peas and butter knife configuration - without that, it's more of an art piece than anything else.

ESL and Functional Specifications: What Technical Writers Do, Part 2

2009-10-28T22:18:00.000-07:00

Thank goodness for the engineers I work with. Without them, there would be no specifications at all. Then again, the functional specifications can take quite a while to interpret:

"For the fields which are created automatically when an object is created, the field property will be the property configured in the Field Visibility if the Field Visibility is other than Visible"

Welcome to my world!

Upcoming posts

2009-10-01T23:33:00.000-07:00

Adventures in PC repair
"I don't want to die in a car with you"
Thoughtful articles:
- NY Times: Understanding the Anxious Mind
- Caring for Your Introvert
Applications I can't live without:
- Gimp (open source photo capture/editor)
- threadsy
- twitter
- facebook
- hulu

This is What Technical Writers Do

2009-09-24T15:56:00.000-07:00

I spent the better part of the afternoon converting engineering specs into a concise guide. See the Before and After:

Before, wordy and unclear:

After, clear and concise with art and whitespace:

Everything is a Project

2009-08-10T21:05:00.000-07:00

If there's one lesson to learn early in your career, it's that everything is a project.

Don't believe me? Consider something you need to do:

Bake a cake
Buy a computer
Build a website, marketing program, API, CMS, HRIS, UX, SOA, etc.

Everything is a project, because to accomplish any of these things, we follow these steps:

Break it down into manageable parts
Do each bit in a reasonable time
Ask for help if you get stuck

These easy steps are the foundation of Project Management. Couple that with the Project Triangle (time, resources and work), and you know that:

Time marches on
Resources are people [, tools or $$$]
Work hard, play hard

It's important to remember is that while Work and Resources may grow or shrink, Time, once spent, is gone forever. So, make it work!

Book Review: Julie & Julia

2009-08-06T19:21:00.000-07:00

Julie Powell takes on Julia Child, cooking every recipe in the now infamous 1961 cookbook: "Mastering the Art of French Cooking", and blogging it all at The Julie/Julia Project.

You should read Julie & Julia because it has all the best things:

- four basic food groups *

- is set in NYC

- Buffy

* sugar, fat, alcohol and chocolate

Just finished the book, the movie is coming out August 7, and I'm looking forward to seeing it (http://www.julieandjulia.com/).

Living vicariously through others' Twitter lives...

2009-07-26T22:21:00.000-07:00

It started innocently enough, surfing the App Store for free tools that seemed interesting or worth my time; Stanza has free books (classic sci-fi I never had the chance to read in high school), and the Amazon Kindle for books I buy; Facebook on the iPhone is ok, good as a reader, and I like staying in touch with friends and relatives. Sad, I won't write a note or pick up the phone, but I'll check relatives' FB page every day. I'm a reader - I don't stand in line or wait for appointments without something to read, and the iPhone is significantly smaller, lighter than any paperback, and holds so much more.

And then I downloaded Twitter, and started following business and technology gurus, expanded to follow writers and musicians I like, TV/Movie folks (MythBusters, Whedonverse and BBCA shows) and other tech writers in the STC.

Twitterific has a "Nearby" feature, to see tweets from people in my neighborhood - mostly sad tweens or angry people venting - we have such small lives, some of us...

And then there are the exceptional tweets - wise, inspirational, joyful, insightful. So worth it to sift through the mundane for the gems.

Speak Truth to Power

2009-07-10T22:56:00.001-07:00

I don't know who said it, but it's something everyone should do. Speak up, be heard, stand by your principles. Don't be content to stay in an environment (work, home, school, whatever) where you don't have a voice, aren't heard, can't make a difference - you'll get grumpy, resentful, and will take out your frustrations on the wrong people.

Most of the time, the person causing your distress isn't even aware how you feel. The powerful among us (typically folks in supervisory positions) are just doing their thing, trying to meet deadlines and coordinate the effort of a group of disparate staffers, each with different workstyles and motiviations. Your frustrations are probably not even on the radar.

So, have the conversation. A calm, thoughtful, fierce conversation. Be honest with yourself. Use this format:

"When you {grevious action here}, I feel {hurt, disrespected, betrayed}, and it affects {my morale, ability to work effectively, the quality of my work product}.

Then take a breath, and wait. As long as it takes, just wait, calmly and unemotionally, wait for your feedback to sink in. What *should* happen is that the person hears you, your feedback, and is open to making adjustments going forward. You might be pleasantly surprised, and motivated to have these kinds of open discussions with other people in your life.

That said, be prepared for a verbal blow up...if it goes badly, you really need to move on - this is a toxic environment and cannot be saved...run away!

STC Kerfuffle!

2009-06-11T21:49:00.000-07:00

I’m a member of a Special Interest Group (SIG) for the Society for Technical Communications. As professional societies go, it’s a good one for technical writers - it provides resources for learning, needed services and their job board attracts higher-end clients.

It’s an active group; daily posts might be from newbies wanting career advice, other posts ask for references about the best tools to use, sometimes we have those trivial “how do I say it?” conversations, dotting i’s and crossing t’s, which can be fun, too. And the members are great – they mentor very well and collaborate to answer any question, solve problems or recommend resources.

And yet…all hell broke loose this week, when the listserv admin suggested that, to improve communications and possibly save money for the funding-challenged STC, we move the listserv to a social networking site, like Ning. The flurry of opposing messages was astounding – the change-averse gnomes spoke out, saying that such a move could not be successful, because:

It’s not email
Access is restricted from work
Social networking is not professional
Takes too much time and effort
It’s yet another account to manage, another thing to learn
Too trendy, no privacy

I'm speechless.

Illusion and Control

2009-04-14T19:30:00.000-07:00

As a geek and a fan of sci fi, I often amuse myself by drawing parallels between real life situations and my favorite TV shows...remember the pilot episode of Star Trek (the one with not-James Kirk)?

The situation:

Let's say that you spend a lot of time managing your staff, telling them how to get work done, making them do the work over because it isn't the way you wanted it and getting frustrated at how impossible the situation is...it never gets better, and you're overworked, having to handle the load. It's a shame that they can't benefit from your experience and wisdom - how ungrateful they are!

Sound familiar? The hard truth is that you are a micromanager. Really. The good news is, you can't help it - it's how you're wired, and nobody blames you...(well, I don't, anyway).

A solution:

Eventually, this behavior is brought to your attention (by a friend, Human Resources, whatever), and being such an evolved and emotionally mature person, you accept this feedback and decide to take action.

As a newly self-aware person, you understand that, while it's OK to believe that folks are doing it all wrong, it's not OK to share this insight. You learn that, while you cannot change what you believe, you can change your behavior.

With this new understanding, you back off, and let your folks figure out what works for them. Your new plan of operation:

set achievable goals and deadlines for staffers
ask for (and listen to) feedback
remove roadblocks to support staff efficiency

Moral of the story:

Whether you are a manager or supervisor, if you have the ability to affect the work life of anyone in your organization, it is important to remember that, like the Talosians in Star Trek: The Cage, it is important to maintain the illusion of control.

Not a Star Trek fan? Here's the non-geek Moral of the story:

Give your staffers control (or the illusion of control) over things that affect how they work. Do they need...better status updates...fewer meetings...blue pens?

Ask them what they need to be effective - gather their requirements. They'll usually tell you things you never expect to hear. Things that cost you little, and reap big benefits.

Change is Good...right?

2009-04-08T23:29:00.000-07:00

When we buy something new, we generally know what we're getting: something newer, cooler, faster. Whether it's a breakfast cereal or a car, it's better in some way, and we're excited, because it's all upside. The cereal has bigger, crunchier bits. The car has great lines, goes fast and gets you from place to place, in style. What's not to like? It's the same, but better.

Folks everywhere become accustomed to doing things a certain way, and so have the expectation that things will improve, but stay the same. New, improved cereal with nuts and berries? I'll take a box! New, improved tofu cereal in a tube? Not so much.

In the business world, and with software in particular, it can take weeks to learn a new system and get back to doing work efficiently. Think about the growing pains organizations endure when they convert from a (home-grown) legacy software system to a new system (like a financial application for purchasing /payroll /reimbursements, or a human resources system to manage personnel records, benefits and training certifications). To a user, it's like buying a new car and finding the accelerator and brake pedals are swapped - yikes!

With new systems, users must get up to speed quickly in order to meet goals and quotas. While users are generally willing to accept the new new thing, they don't expect to have to re-learn everything - it slows them down and they may actually break something during the learning process. No one likes to fail. No one likes to lose control.

The typical solution is something called "Change Management". When done right, CM introduces someone to the project who is familiar with user needs and the project goals, and has responsibility for building a bridge between the "app that was" and the "system that will be". These folks are communicators, and do the heavy lifting to build the means to transition users to the new system.

Depending on the nature and complexity of the system, CM can be as easy as a cheat-sheet taped to the monitor, or as complex as a month-long training program for users, managers and administrators. The method varies, but the goal is the same...define how to transition from "X" to "Y", and provide users with the tools they need to become effective in a new applications environment.

It's all about setting goals, planning and communicating:

check in often to keep everyone in the loop
a whiteboard mock-up is more reassuring than a multiple-page email
be comfortable saying, "...I/we don't know yet..."
listen and accept all forms of feedback (good, bad or otherwise)

Why do we need tech writers?

2009-03-10T17:00:00.000-07:00

If you work with a technical writer who's always asking questions and wanting to write stuff down, read this to better understand why we're needed. (Excerpted from Good Morning Silicon Valley blog:

http://blogs.siliconvalley.com/gmsv/2009/03/odds-are-shell-have-a-full-dance-card-at-the-laureates-ball.html

Elsewhere in the wide world of science:
* This is almost as embarrassing as KFC misplacing the specs for its 11 secret herbs and spices. The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration needs to refurbish the aging warheads on Trident missiles to make sure they remain safe and reliable, but the program has been set back a year, at an additional cost of $69 million, because http://www.sundayherald.com/news/heraldnews/display.var.2494129.0.0.php the agency has lost track of the recipe for a key ingredient, a mysterious but very hazardous material codenamed Fogbank. The secret sauce is thought to be a foamy, explosive solvent cleaning agent (hey, I could use one of those sometimes) that plays a key role between the fission and fusion stages of a thermonuclear bomb. Unfortunately, the last batch was made some 20 years ago, and in the interim, not only was the sole production facility torn down, but, according to a GAO report, “NNSA had lost knowledge of how to manufacture the material because it had kept few records of the process when the material was made in the 1980s, and almost all staff with expertise on production had retired or left the agency.”
Doh! A new production facility has been built but work on recreating the recipe continues.

Meeting expectations and understanding requirements

2009-01-31T11:49:00.000-08:00

According to my cat, this is a completely unacceptable situation: an empty bowl!

Empty bow!?!?

No matter that the bowl actually contains food and bits are scattered on the floor. No - from my customer's point of view, this does not meet expectations.

So, it's a good thing that I am very familiar with the customer's requirements, and can remedy the situation:

Full bowl!

Huh? There's less food than before! What's going on here?

Since I am very familiar with this customer, I know the requirement is that the bottom of the bowl be covered.

That's all. Simple really, if you understand that "full" means different things to different people (erm...species). Lesson for today: Until the requirement is known, expectations cannot be satisfied.

Perpetual ambiguity and a tourist on the roundabout

2009-01-05T22:25:00.000-08:00

Are you comfortable with ambiguity? Some organizations only want to hire flexible workers who can flourish in a state of constant chaos. Granted, the adrenaline high of a chaotic work environment can be exciting and rich with learning opportunities. I just don't believe it is sustainable - folks burn out and the organization suffers.

Don't get me wrong, in my own little world, ambiguity happens - it's part of the creative process, and for me, it serves as a necessary transition between starting a project and choosing a course of action. It's how I evaluate options, put a plan together and get work done.

That's not to say the plan won't change, it's just that, with ambiguity tamed, clarity reigns, and in this period I'm most effective: I analyze, prioritize, design, prototype, test and do it again, until the goal is met. When circumstances change, new goal(s) are defined and we get to start the process again, building on what we've learned and becoming more efficient.

I count on my organization to set achievable goals, to define:

what we're doing
why it's needed
when it's needed
who's the audience

That's not so much to ask, is it?

When an organization insists that ambiguity is the norm, I get a bad feeling...no good can come from perpetual ambiguity.

Without clear goals, ambiguity in the workplace is the time between decisions...sort of like a roundabout on the way to a completed project. And who wants to be the tourist on the roundabout?

Best Holiday EVER!

2009-01-03T12:17:00.000-08:00

This year, I didn’t make my usual trip back East to see the folks. Although I love seeing everyone, I didn’t look forward to the hassles of air travel during the holidays or driving in the ice and snow. We’re a big family, with many cousins and four generations who gather together at this time of year to share food, a warm fire and the usual celebrations.

Because of logistics and our sheer numbers, with a lot of planning and pre-shipping, we do a traditional gift exchange, which makes everyone happy on Christmas Day. But the real fun is the preview event on Christmas Eve: the White Elephant Gift Exchange.

For this event, we setup a videoconference, and I participated via Skype. It was a hoot! My nephew setup a laptop and videocam in my folks’ living room, and another cousin was the designated director, angling the camera to follow the negotiations. My sister acted as proxy for me, stealing gifts and snagging the best one for me. I have a similar setup here, so they all saw and heard me in real time.

By far, this was the best holiday ever – all the fun, none of the drama. Go figure. It seems that when you gather folks in front of a videocamera, everyone’s on their best behavior…and no one shares the snarky comments or sniping gossip that happens there, in person. Wow. Gotta make this a new holiday tradition.

Competency...let's use it in a sentence

2008-12-18T20:40:00.000-08:00

"In a successful training event, learners gain new competencies."

OK, so "competency" is a big word, but it accurately describes the desired outcome; Learners get something for their time and attention - not just an elusive "huh.." moment, fogotten minutes after the session ends, but an all-out "this rocks!" brain sizzle - an understanding that sticks in the noggin and builds a foundation for new skills.

Happy Holidays!

2008-12-12T16:14:00.001-08:00

Be full of cheer in this holiday season, with:

Make a Snowflake: http://snowflakes.barkleyus.com/index.html
You need to smile today: http://richprosperity.com/2008/11/23/share-this-with-anyone-that-needs-to-smile-today/

Thoughts About Applications

2008-12-07T20:21:00.000-08:00

Applications are more than just the tool you use. Using a word processor is not the same as writing a business plan, and using a spreadsheet is not building a budget.
The typical, mundane, rote tasks we do endlessly on paper or via email can generally be incorporated into an application, i.e. data + automated workflow + access permissions.
When designed well, applications are intuitive to use and meld seamlessly with work processes. Transition to new systems are accomplished in less time and with greater buy-in when applications meet users' needs and support their business goals.