Category Archives: Tech Industry

Tech Industry

6 Things I know to be true (Enterprise edition)

May 2, 2012 – 10:17 pm

It’s not often I get swept up in a company’s mission or philosophy. I’ll admit that years of service in the technology industry have left me just a little jaded and cynical. I’ve seen the noblest intentions fall by the wayside when it becomes expedient to do so. A case in point are all the patents I filed while at Microsoft, passionately seeking to defend the beleaguered stalwart against the hordes of patent trolls waiting under the bridge. I never dreamed that Microsoft would pick up the armaments I donated and fashion them into weapons to extort and threaten competitors.

Not that I’m so bold as to say any of my patents are currently being used to attack others, but I know they are waiting in the storeroom, and I now have little faith that they won’t be used for ill purpose.

Six things I know to be true

Six things I know to be true

So it is with some amount of trepidation that I lean on Google’s ten things we know to be true, for the foundation of this blog post. Somewhere inside of me there is still a little girl, whose eyes light up when her dad gets home from a trip. She wants to trust in the noble intentions of the leaders in technology, and see into their philosophy a purity of spirit. Though I doubt this is completely true in any large organization, I know that Google tries hard to live up to it’s ideals. So it is without delay that I present Vanessa’s

6 Things I know to be true (enterprise edition)

1. Focus on the user and all else will follow.
This is as true for enterprise offerings as it is in the consumer world. It just takes a bit longer to catch up to you in the enterprise world, but when it does it crashes on you like a tsunami that has been gathering strength through the delay. Just ask RIM,  who are drowning underneath the twin waves of iPhone and Android. All those sales contracts with IT managers can only hold out so long against the will of the users. Enterprise users are users too. It is at your peril that you ignore that fact.

2. It’s best to do one thing really, really well.
Ever worked on an enterprise application falling over from all the features? One so bloated that it’s impossible to tell where you can shove the next control because you’ve filled up three sides of the screen, and design has told you the footer is off limits? Then you’re trying to do too much. If you’re fighting a checkbox war with your competitor you will eventually lose your way. Simple beats complex. As in rule 1, it takes a while for this to set in for enterprise applications. It takes a while before the feature bloat makes them difficult to maintain, understand or offer training for.

2a. Corollary: If you must do more than one thing, be clear which thing you’re doing at the moment
You can’t always get away with the laser focus of a single search box on a blank white page, but you can make it abundantly clear to users what the one thing you’re trying to offer up is right now. You don’t need to lock them into a wizard, but a judicious use of progressive disclosure goes a long way.

3. Fast is better than slow.
For those just finishing computer science degrees this decade, “enterprise class” has the connotation of slow, cumbersome and expensive to manage. Just ask any new graduate what they think about their company’s SharePoint server and you’ll see what I mean. In fact, performance is even more important in the enterprise world because it directly translates to bottom line savings. I cringe when I see enterprise applications piling on features at the expense of performance. Performance is the feature that improves all other features. It can also be the malaise that infects your entire system.

4. You don’t need to be at your desk to need an answer.
If you don’t have a mobile version of your software or service available or planned then it’s only a matter of time before a competitor will use this to win your contracts. Today a mobile website is the bare minimum, I’d go so far as to say an iPhone, iPad and Android app are the price of entry. Don’t use your competitor’s lack of mobile acumen as an excuse to delay – use it to your advantage!

5. Great just isn’t good enough.
The days of being content with shipping a minor update every three years are gone. Whole industries change in that time. If you’re not delivering constantly increasing value to your customers, someone else will.

6. This really all boils down to – when building enterprise software, do what you know is right for consumers
Few would think of launching something new for consumers that didn’t have a website and mobile apps. Or a slow, badly designed, feature bloated offering desperately lacking focus. It’s not hard to build good enterprise apps, but it takes thinking like a consumer to do it. You might sell the IT managers on a checkbox list of features, but it takes more than that to win the hearts of users.

What do you know to be true about building enterprise software?

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photo courtesy of rosmary

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Tech Industry

Ignoring the Introvert – Why even tech companies get it wrong

March 1, 2012 – 8:57 pm

There is a certain meeting that is a staple at many tech companies – the user experience design review. It typically involves a designer or product manager presenting the design for a feature while managers, engineers and anyone with a suitable weapon proceed to beat the unfortunate presenter for an hour.

Introverts - ignored in the tech industry too

Introverts - ignored in the tech industry too

The other day I attended such a meeting, and noticed something intriguing. As our designer shared a solution for a particularly tricky interface challenge the room was silent except for a few voices.

Two senior managers dominated the conversation – providing insightful suggestions with rapid-fire certainty. In fact, their feedback was so fast flowing that barely a short pause was felt before the feedback was picked up again.

For just a moment one of the more soft spoken engineers seated in the back was able to get a thought out into the room. As it so happens this particular engineer has a tremendously strong sense for design and a natural ability for balancing engineering speed with elegant user experience. I was sitting there, thinking to myself, “Isn’t it unfortunate that he hasn’t had an opportunity to provide more feedback. I’m sure his insights would be valuable.”

Later in the day this event was still bothering me, and I thought about another of the engineers on my team who wields design deftly and a words with more measure. I’ve seen that at times it is difficult for him to have an impact appropriate to his experience.

Why is it so easy to ignore the introvert?

I know for sure there is no malicious intent, or any desire to exclude opinions. In fact on my occasions people have gone out of the way to foster diversity in perspectives. I think there are a few reasons why even those in the tech industry inadvertently ignore those who are introverted:

  • Everyone has great ideas: Most of your coworkers are smart, insightful and have relevant contributions to make in any meeting. It’s easy to have productive discussions that have the appearance of incorporating multiple perspectives while in reality only listening to a few voices.
  • The extroverts rise in the ranks: Even at tech companies, the most outgoing have the largest networks and are able to build support for their ideas among more people.  If your company is good these folks will have technical acumen as well, and their impact will be felt more broadly than a highly skilled introvert.
  • It’s hard to tell a high ranking extrovert with great ideas to shut up: I know, I’ve run meetings where I felt like only a few participants were being heard and I struggled to give everyone a chance to speak.

Including the introverts

All is not lost though, it’s possible to let those with quiet brilliance shine too:

  • Give them space to speak: If you see someone who is introverted trying to comment, give them a chance. Tell the room you’d like to hear from them, and then pause to let them collect their thoughts. Don’t rush them, or try to interrupt them, or complete their sentences. You might be buzzing at a hundred miles and hour – draw on your patience and they just might give you an idea that will save an hour of discussion.
  • Let them review beforehand: Introverts can be more deliberate, and thoughts take time to coalesce. Let them comment to you one on one, or if it’s a document, share it early so they have a chance to prepare. Speaking up can be difficult enough, without the added pressure to quickly internalize new concepts.
  • Slow down: If you’re in a fast paced, pressure cooker environment deliberately tap the brakes every now and then. Repeat a suggestion to make sure everyone has heard it, and give the introverts time to digest the stream of conversation.
  • Call on an introvert: When you know someone is an expert in an area don’t wait for them to butt in – give them an opportunity to share by calling on them. You need to be careful though, if they’re uncertain or don’t know the answer you’ll be placing them in a difficult position.

I consider myself an introvert and for years I was ashamed of this fact. I even took Toastmasters for five years to prove just how extroverted I was. All it did was make me good at public speaking, it didn’t change who I am. I’m slowly realizing that being an introvert is okay too.

As a product manager I’m often placed in situations where I can make the work environment more welcoming for introverts. I lead meetings, drive feature implementation and work across many teams. I try to be inclusive, but I don’t always do a good job. Every now and then it’s helpful for me to be the quiet voice in the room unable to get her opinion heard. It reminds me to pay special attention, and include the introvert.

 

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