effective communication

Last week I attended the MESH conference for the second consecutive year and once again the issue arose around evaluating the use of social media technology by a commercial enterprise.

I recently jumped ship on a project that seemed destined to hit the rocky shores of missed deadlines and then sink in the swirling eddies of communication breakdown. I wasn't on board for long - about a week and a half really - but during that time I spent far too many days trying to obtain critical information about the project's code structure and database from the engineers who had developed it.

What is a software application?

When we think of a software application, most of us will conjure up the image of some sort of user interface splashed across a computer screen. As far as most of us are concerned, whatever is on the screen is the software. Period.

Engineers will tend to look at it a little differently. They are of course very aware of what goes on 'behind the screen' that makes all this stuff appear as it does and do all the things it does.

As a software artist I am a beast with two heads. I am an artist by compulsion and I am a software designer/engineer both by choice and sheer determination to understand technology. Most people tend to address one head or the other, depending upon whether they meet me first as an artist or as an engineer. Some colleagues grasp the nature of my hybrid approach and they are a pleasure to work with. Some never grasp it at all.

The motto and the objective of The User Advocate Group is to:

"Bridge the Gap Between End Users and Engineers"

Probably everyone involved with user interface design has heard the K.I.S.S. maxim.

"Keep It Simple Stupid"

It always struck me as a bit rude to tack that last word on the end. But I suppose the acronym K.I.S. just doesn't have the same impact. Nevertheless, the word seems to stick out like some loose barb, ready to slash at anyone who might disagree with those who sagely utter the phrase.