Our Geek Life

Is your pan too small?

Posted by shegeek on November 10th, 2009 | 1 Comment »

Sarah was excited about helping her mother prepare Thanksgiving dinner.  She watched as her mother cut both both ends off the ham before putting it in the pan and then into the oven.

“Mom, why did you cut off both ends of the ham?” Sarah asked.

“That’s the way my mother always did it, so that’s how I do it.” said Sarah’s mother.

“But why?”

“I don’t know.  You should ask your grandmother. “

Sarah walked out of the kitchen to find her grandmother.   “Grandma, when you prepared ham for baking, why did you always cut off both ends?”

“That’s what my mother always did it,” said Sarah’s grandmother.

“But why?”

“I don’t know why.  She taught me to cook and I have always done as she did.”

Sarah was even more perplexed by this.  She found her great-grandmother in the living room and asked her.  “Great Grandma, when you prepared ham for baking, you always cut off both ends.  Grandma and Mom do the same thing but couldn’t tell me why.  They said they do as you did.  So I’m wondering, why did you cut the ends off?”

“Well,” Great-grandma said, “when your great grandpa and I were young, we only had one pan and the pan was too small.”

Do you know why?

So much of what we do as designers and developers becomes habit.  We do much of the same thing day in and day out, driven by process, influenced by experience.   There is a great deal of comfort and safety in process.  It allows us to control our development.  It allows us to review and create repeatable events and reusable deliverables.  It helps us become more efficient.   But it also strangles us and encourages the use of blinders.  Process can hinder and hamper and kill your projects.

Too much process is a bad thing

In an effort to become efficient, we have created a culture of non-thinkers and non-questioners.   We do things because we were told to do it a certain way or because that’s how it’s always been done.  While I am a big proponent of process, I am not a proponent of blind process.  Blind process is what happens when we rely so heavily on templates and the expected workflow that we forget to analyze, discern and improve.

No project is exactly the same as another.  No client is exactly like another.  No two needs or requirements are exactly the same.  The business need behind a technical requirement may be different which would require the implementation to be handled uniquely.  The audience may be different, requiring special handling or treatment.  If we rely on our repeatable processes and templates so heavily that we forget to think and envision and question, we are cheating ourselves, our clients and the audience who will be using the product, the website or the application we are creating.

Don’t get stuck

It’s important to question the whys and hows to make sure we are considering all options.  Processes and templates are tools meant to assist, not stifle.   The way it has always been done is not a one-size-fits-all solution.  Sometimes the reasons have changed or technology has progressed.  Perhaps there are ways to solve business problems or design solutions  that weren’t considered or weren’t possible in the past.  Even if something was determined out of scope, out of consideration, outside the realm of the possible, revisiting those whys is worth at least a passing glance.

Challenge the idea that it has always been done a certain way and get to the reasons behind the whys.  And if your pan is still too small, it could be time for a bigger pan.

I Love You… A Message to She Geek

Posted by hegeek on November 9th, 2009 | No Comments »

I haven’t posted much in our blog but hopefully soon I will write up some usability articles and geek related goodness. In the meantime, I wanted to share a message with you Mrs. He Geek.

I just wanted to write a few lines to let you know how much I love. The one thing I know in my heart is the little things people take for granted each day, are the things I hold dear to my heart. With that said, here are some of those little things.

1. I simply love you with all my heart. Not a day does not go by that I’m not thanking God for the blessing of you in my life.I fall deeper in love with you with each moment that passes by.

2. I adore you. You are so beautiful and honestly, from the bottom of my heart, are more beautiful with each passing day.

3. I appreciate you. From the tasty lattes (yes, they are better than Starbucks) you make in the mornings for me to the little things you say to encourage me when I’m not feeling my best or tackling a stressful project. Thank you baby. And by the way, when you make special dinners……. WOW!

4. I admire you. You have a heart for people and want to help those in need and you are not afraid to stand up for those whom many would look down upon. With We Can Share, I know there will be many people who will benefit from the caring heart that you have. T2 is already taking a lead in this project. It’s because of you he has the heart he has for people.

5. You are simple, unequivocally, without a doubt…. oh heck, I’ll say it. I love being around you, just because of who you are. I’m unashamed to let folks know how I feel about you, how I adore and love you. Call it spoiled with love, because that’s not a bad thing, but such a good feeling to have that I can share my love….my life…my heart with you.

Shelly, these are only a few little things to let you know you are loved beyond measure by me. You are missed when we are apart. I look forward to when we are together each day, each night, and when we wake up beside each other in the mornings. I am a blessed man.

You…are…the…love…of…my…life.

James

We Can Share

Posted by shegeek on October 19th, 2009 | 3 Comments »

We have always emphasized to the boys the importance of giving back. We give back to our community as designers, as members of our church and as humans on this big rock we call earth. No one gets through life without mentors, supporters and sometimes a hand up.

In order to emphasize the importance of learning to give to his peers, our middle son is launching a new venture – WeCanShare.org – a not-for-profit entity that leverages the power of community to help others in our area.

We are helping him with all the paperwork, forming the board, filing for non-profit status as well as doing what we do best – creating a website for the organization.  But make no mistake, he is the young man in charge of the organization.

We will be launching the new site soon, along with a blitz of information locally to get this party started, so to speak.  So stay tuned, particularly if you are in the Richmond metro area.  Good things are coming soon from WeCanShare.org.