It's Contagious

I've concluded from personal experience that the results of good design are contagious. A little over a year ago, I bought an iPhone. I didn't buy it for the great functionality (frankly, there are plenty of smart phones with more functionality than the iPhone). I bought the iPhone because, once I held one in my hand and used it, all other smart phones were ruined for me. The design, which resulted in a unique user experience, sealed the deal for me: the feel, the user interface, the intuitive use won me over. Shortly thereafter, my wife decided she wanted an iPhone too...same reasons. Last November, I switched over from a PC to an iMac to my home machine. I only considered an iMac because of the halo effect from my iPhone. Then I discovered the lower total cost of ownership, the higher reliability. Then I used one for a few minutes and another unique user experience as a result of the iMac/OS X design, so I made the leap. Any guesses what happened next?

I spent a few hours this weekend setting up my wife's new iMac (actually, she fired it up; I just moved her data from her Windows box and installed a few software programs). She's working with it in her home office (down the hallway from mine) as I write this. Every few minutes, I hear a laugh of glee as she discovers more about working with the iMac and OS X. Seems Apple has yet another convert.

I've written here before about how design matters. Seems to me that the folks at Apple have the design thing worked out pretty well, especially in terms of interaction with the end user. OS X is a much cleaner and more intuitive interface than Windows XP or Vista (Windows 7 too, although I haven't seen the latest beta). Not to mention no Blue Screen Of Death, no viruses (although that could be changing even as I write this), etc. Even opening the packaging for an Apple product is an experience. My takeaway from my Apple experience (so far) is that people care about design in terms of the way in which they interact with a product or system. In other words, design is not just about form but also about function.

Let's take the idea of design into the world of enterprise software. When is the last time anybody heard some laugh with glee over the user interface for an enterprise application like my wife is chortling over her new iMac (I just heard another one)? While I don't think I've heard such a reaction to an enterprise app UI in years, I do believe we may see that type of reaction in the future. Some of the UI features I've seen in Fusion Apps are pretty exciting. I've also seen some really cool things in the works at Oracle's Usability Labs, where they're emphasizing the manner in which design affects the entire user experience. So it really doesn't matter whether we're talking desktop computers or enterprise applications (or cars or toasters or refrigerators), the relationship between design and the user experience matters. And when you get the design right, the joy of your users can be downright contagious.

Back From A Brief Hiatus

This is a bit of a self-indulgent post, but I though I should explain why it's been some time since I've posted here. A few reasons for the hiatus:

• Busy, busy: lots of things going on in the personal life...all good, but currently very time-consuming. That's what being the parent of seven children will get ya!

• Writer's block: had a hard time coming up with things to write about. Not for lack of events in the industry, just struggling about writing things up.

• Blogging fade: personally, blogging lately has felt like working with a stone tablet, hammer and chisel. There are lots of different and less labor-intensive ways to get your thoughts out and get a discussion going.

I've pretty well worked through the first two items, but the third still weighs on my mind a bit. Still working through my thoughts on it...

If I Were Going To Collaborate

I'm not attending Collaborate 09. Tough economy, tight budget, massive workload...you know the story. It's a real shame I can't make it, as I see Collaborate as an event that provides a substantial return on investment.

If I were going to Collaborate this year, there are a few things I would focus on and watch for:

1) As Oracle continues to advance through acquisitions, integrating the various software components becomes a continually large piece of their evolutionary process. In that process, the Applications Integration Architecture is becoming even more significant. I'd spend some time at Collaborate learning about AIA.

2) There seems to be significant activity around an impending E-Business 12.1 release. If I could get a look at EBS 12.1 at Collaborate, I'd take the opportunity to do so.

3) The Oracle story these days continues to revolve around Fusion Middleware. Collaborate will provide some opportunities to hear some customer experiences about Fusion Middleware, especially BPEL (which sort of leads us back in the direction of AIA, doesn't it?)

4) Collaborate will include a "live drive" of Fusion Applications. If you're attending Collaborate and haven't seen Fusion Apps yet, the demo is definitely worth the time you'll invest.

5) With maintenance becoming such a significant portion of IT budgets, this is not the year to neglect gathering new information on Oracle Support. Learn how to get the most value from your maintenance dollars by spending a few minutes with any member of the OAUG Customer Support Council.

6) There is an old saying in the enterprise applications world: "applications come and go, but the data remains." Truer words were never spoken. If you're an Oracle apps user and you don't know much about the database, you're missing knowledge on the most critical element of your software technology stack. Collaborate is a great place to start learning about the database.

OK, I'm admittedly painting with a pretty broad brush here. That's one of the best things about Collaborate...there's some much to see, hear and learn. For more detail, check out my previous post on "What Looks Good To Me" from Collaborate 09. Ya'all enjoy the conference...