Shadow Footprints

People search differently, according to Peter Morville when he talked on Ambient Findability and the Future of Search. Needs and prior knowledge differ. Websites are often badly designed for entering via search engine. (This blog is an example, with its categories.) People usually find things despite the website. Contextual clues are needed for people who land on a page. Multiple paths should be provided to the same bit of information.

With taxonomies, one side does not fit all, and each should be designed for the audience.

The afternoon stream I chose was Building Big on the Web by Cal Henderson of Flickr. It was not as useful for me in the present as it relates to change control. I'm not going to instigate that sort of change in my current position, but if the developers want to do it, I'll support the change. I can see advantages of the continuous approach being used in a way to ensure better testing by staff outside the immediate team.

It did finish making me want to work for Flickr.

Getting Unstuck, or Finding the Flow in Workflow with Kelly Goto started with one critical step:

1. Admit you are stuck

It talked about how to get out of a rut (my words) and adding a bit more flow (not process) to make the day easier.

People get stuck in many areas of their lives and in many ways, and these can impact on the other parts of their life. This can be relationships, health, work, creativity. Writer's block is one example of being stuck.

Fundamentals needed to be unstuck are:

• Vision and Purpose
• Support and Buy-in
• Tools and Platform
• Attitude and Fearlessness
• Collaboration and Synergy
• Knowledge and Ability
• Progress and Results

2.0 culture comes from the bottom up, and often Management is fearful. Dealing with the fear is the way to get unstuck.

• Embrace Dialogue
• Focus on a solution
• Find common factors
• Be good at what you do
• Keep it simple (my biggest failing)
• Make mistakes happen
• Have fun!

Any solution for becoming unstuck requires answer to full structure of culture, team, and process. Your context is the intersection of the three.