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It's too complicated: educate the user or change the product?

When testing a new product interface, we at Websystems have our ears out for comments that sound like "it's complicated" or "I can't figure out how to do this." For us, when these comments are made repeatedly about a feature or a page in AceProject, it means we've made...

Posted to Go Ahead, Manage (Weblog) by Karine on 07-14-2008
Upgrade VS clean install

The opinion one will form of a product will be different along the life of the product. Let's take the example of software. When you do the first installation, everything is fresh and it feels like the system work perfectly. Once you upgrade (to a new version, for example), you will see the full...

Posted to Go Ahead, Manage (Weblog) by Karine on 07-04-2008
Living in the present: it's easier to keep promises this way

I was reading this excellent post about being taken seriously and it made me realize how important it was to product management. The first element of David's post is about telling people what you have done instead of what you will do. It seems like common sense at first, but how many times have you...

Posted to Go Ahead, Manage (Weblog) by Karine on 05-12-2008
AceProject 4.5 is out! Now what?

It's finally online: you can use AceProject 4.5 online now! What's new? You can read the release notes here, but in a nutshell: New, cooler, shinier Gantt charts Dynamic templates Easier time sheets Better custom reports Skins AceProject 4.5 took about 6 months to make, and we are very proud...

Posted to Go Ahead, Manage (Weblog) by Karine on 04-25-2008
Training: the best usability test

Today I'm going to give a training session at an insurance company. I always enjoy giving training, because it shows me, in real time, how easy it is to learn to use AceProject. I like to see how new user navigate AceProject, where they click, how they make sense of the system. Here's why I like...

Posted to Go Ahead, Manage (Weblog) by Karine on 04-23-2008
It's a tool, not a magician's hat

Tools are only as good as those who wield them. What good it the project management software if no one is willing to use it? What does it take to convince a team to change its ways? Patience It takes a while to change a team's habits, and I have yet to see a team who is not at first put off by having...

Posted to Go Ahead, Manage (Weblog) by Karine on 04-21-2008
When the project is too big, break it down

I remember that first term paper I had to write when I was in school. It seemed so long! How could I ever have 20 pages to say about any subject? I felt overwhelmed by the size of the task. I think the teacher saw the same look of discouragement on all our faces, so she gave us a hint: make your table...

Posted to Go Ahead, Manage (Weblog) by Karine on 04-18-2008
Sometimes, you just have to listen to something you don't want to hear

No one likes to fail. No one likes to admit that they went wrong. That's why sometimes we keep trudging on with a doomed project for a long time, before we finally accept that it has failed. We can see this more clearly with software and product development: the product launch keeps getting pushed...

Posted to Go Ahead, Manage (Weblog) by Karine on 04-11-2008
It seemed like a good idea at the time

It seems product development - like project management in my opinion - requires adjustment from the theory of it (or its planning) and its reality (how things actually happen. Case in point: Last year, before we closed for the holidays, we sent a nice email to every AceProject user, thanking them for...

Posted to Go Ahead, Manage (Weblog) by Karine on 04-02-2008
From users to fans

You know when your user base is turning into fans when people start making tools to improve your product. They are so committed to your product, they are willing to improve it themselves. To the creator of the product, this is one of the most rewarding gestures a user can make. Jason Skowronek has been...

Posted to Go Ahead, Manage (Weblog) by Karine on 03-17-2008

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