Training TV

For some time now, I’ve been lobbying anyone who will listen, that video instruction is the way of the future.

While we in I.T. consider the job done, as soon as the user manual is written (or whatever training documentation you currently use), we’re usually wrong.

The done is done NOT when the materials are completed, but when the training is completed (and understood). And we can play a role in that effort.

The guys at 37signals have a post today on their blog detailing how they create their short instructional (promotional) videos.

While they typically use Macs and Mac based programs (then transition to a PC native program called Camtasia for pans and zooms), those of us who spend most of our time in the PC world can simply use Camtasia (or if your needs are very basic – Cam Studio, which is free.)

Your homework is to create a short video using whatever tools you wish. Once you discover how simple and effective it can be, you’ll never write another user manual again. And you’ll have an effective training product that gets used.

Letter to Santa

I heard this morning that people have already begun their Christmas shopping – no doubt inspired by the Christmas tree displays already popping up in the stores.

And so it is with this premature Christmas spirit that I’m composing a letter to Santa.

Dear Santa,

All I want for Christmas is a user friendly, well designed, simple to use, web hosted ERP system.

Thank you.

Dave

It won’t happen, of course. Not that I’ve been bad this year – but even Santa has his limitations.

The problem with ERP systems is that they’re designed to be everything to a very few (huge) companies, rather than trying to appeal to a much larger audience of small to mid-sized businesses. They’re “sold” at the Board level but have to be used by everyone else. So little consideration is given to the thousands of end users – they’re just something that the implementation team has to “deal with” as the system goes live. A necessary evil of big system projects.

You see, the marketing of these systems has changed, but the product hasn’t. It’s too difficult for the application architects at Oracle, SAP, PeopleSoft to reduce “functionality” (aka features) because they’ve spent a lifetime building them in.

Simplifying your application is very hard work. Making complicated systems easy to use is almost impossible – especially when you’ve never done it before.

It’s the reason that in ten years, much of the country will be using someone else’s product.

Fast forward to Christmas Day, 2017… You open up your gift from Santa.

Inside, just underneath all the wrapping is a shiny new hyper-link to your new ERP application, complete with userid and password. After you login, you’re greeted with:

A friendly video guide then walks you through your “role” in the new system. (S)he explains how the Purchasing process works, and how you as a Purchasing Agent, will do your job. After a video tour of the application, you’re presented with an invitation to test out some of the functionality.

The text is inviting, not intimidating. The designers want to ease you into testing out the system for yourself. Because the application is so well written, intuitive, with “chunked” input screens so you never feel overwhelmed by data fields. It features icons that guide you though the application without having to ask for help.

Sprinkled throughout the application are links to more video help and company forums

It’s written with the application user in mind.

And it explains why the guys at 37signals (from whom I swiped the images and examples) write applications that are so popular.

And it’s the reason I believe that something better is coming to replace those bulky, over-engineered ERP applications.

Now get writing guys…..

More Business Organics

A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog entitled Business Organics. Now, along comes a blog from Jason Freid at 37signals that compares software development cycles to the growth of plants.

Introducing 5Rules

Highly astute readers of this blog will notice that I’ve just added a new site link to a soon to be launched venture I’m involved in, called 5Rules.

5Rules is a software company that creates web applications to make everyday business processes simpler. We’re targeting small to mid-sized companies with 10-100 employees, who don’t have the internal I.T. resources, the money or the time to automate many of the processes they currently manage using paper forms and interoffice mail. (We aren’t discriminating… big companies can use it too!)

Our model is to provide easy to use, web based applications. That means all you need is a PC and an internet connection to get started. (If you’re reading this, you’re already there!)

Our goal is to build great applications which adhere to 5Rules. (Hence the name.)

Rule 1. Quick start. You should be able to begin using our software in 5 minutes. No extensive training is required. All you need to get started is a PC connected to the internet!

Rule 2. Intuitive application design and functionality. Information, help and functions are laid out as you’d expect them. We will provide screen shots and demos to show you how easy it is! Information about each feature is embedded throughout the application (although we don’t think you’ll need it!)

Rule 3. Just what you need and nothing more. We are designing our apps to serve a single purpose and don’t overload them with features you’ll never use.

Rule 4. A Risk free experience. Try our applications for free. If you do subscribe to our more fully featured versions and decide to leave, you may do so at any time. And you can take your data with you. (We don’t take hostages!).

Rule 5. Provide Value for money. Our aim is to satisfy the needs of small to mid sized companies who can’t afford big software prices, so we price our applications to provide great value for what you get.

Our inspiration comes from the guys at 37signals, who are pioneers in the art of building terrific, well designed, easy to use web apps. And inspiration also comes from a lifetime in business, where many processes are still much more complicated and cumbersome than they need to be.

Our company site will be up in a couple of weeks, when we’ll introduce our first application and start soliciting volunteers to help Beta test applications as soon as they’re ready!

The Importance of Mindset

Several days ago, I wrote a blog called David vs. Goliath I.T. Tactics, where I discussed some strategies for a small company to compete against much larger I.T. resources of their competitors.

Fresh from a link on the Signal vs Noise blog, comes an interview with Jason Freid, President of 37signals. 37signals is a small (8 person) software company that builds easy to use applications for project management, to do lists, chat and the like. They have over 1,000,000 customers.

They see small as being a big advantage.

Jason makes several great points that guide their busness philosophy. While watching this video, it struck me that perhaps his greatest tool against being small, is his mindset. He sees small as an advantage and doesn’t measure success by the number of employees (exactly the opposite!)

Some of the takeaways from the video.

1. Keep business structure loose.
2. No long term planning (no one ever gets it right anyway – stay in the 30-90 day zone).
3. Increase influence not headcount. Making a big influence is better than making a big payroll (my words).
4. Proximity kills productivity. Large teams, co-located tend to interrupt more than help each other, in Jason’s experience. Half of their staff (4 people) are entirely remote.
5. Compete against FREE by providing products with value (that people are willing to pay for).
6. Don’t limit your talent pool by geography.

And perhaps the best advice.

7. You don’t have to be a big company to do big things. (The internet levels the playing field and allows you to be discovered – allows you the customer reach that once required huge investment by big companies.)

Perhaps 37signals’ biggest competitive weapon is their mindset.

Simple is Hard

For the past few days, I’ve been working on developing a web application with a partner of mine. Our goal is to offer an application that is intuitive to use and contains just enough features to make the application extremely useful. A small software company called 37Signals has long professed this philosophy.

Being an old time I.T. guy, my DNA drives me to design feature rich applications, where every conceivable need is addressed. Too often, the result is an application that is so complicated, that no one uses it. The kind where you need to provide an hour’s training for a 5 minute process.

For our latest project, we began by brainstorming all the possible features we’d “need”.

And then we spent three days eliminating most of them.

Just when we thought the application couldn’t get any simpler, I invited a friend over, who happens to be a subject matter expert (and a potential customer). I can always count on him to give me the unvarnished truth.

Three hours (and four beers) later, our application had lost another 30% of it’s features, and 50% of the copywriting had to be changed.

I’ve learned a few things from this experience.

It’s very difficult to get outside one’s own head – to really see the project from the customer’s perspective. To eliminate your biases. To expose your assumptions. To fight against the compulsion to complicate.

Simple is hard.