Jinn of Quality and Risk

In many cases, though, it is not possible to have one person whose job description is based upon information architecture. The project manager may have to nail down the site goals, the code jockey may have to develop the sitemap, the designer may have to test the interfaces and the developer may have to optimize and fine-tune the search functionality. While the role of "information architect" has drawn much attention, the power is in the idea of information architecture and the application of its principles by everyone on a project. [via cognitiveArchitects News] 

The art of storytelling is powerful, but neglected in modern times. Polyphemus's one eye is a single point of failure; when Odysseus pokes it out, he is much less able to defend himself. Polyphemus's alarm is ignored [by other Cyclopes] because Odysseus said his name was Nobody, so he winds up shouting that nobody is trying to kill him... Polyphemus finally has to let the sheep out to graze -- it's a mission-critical function -- and Odysseus and his men then escape by masquerading as legitimate traffic (sheep). [Counterpane: Crypto-Gram] 

Scheduling, issue tracking, source repository, document library, communication management. Successful product development is the result of collaboration. Superior results are achieved by increasing the number of minds working on any given project. Allowing multiple developers to address project issues in an open environment brings products to market faster with greater efficiency than traditional methods. 

a klog apart advocates blogging project status reports and suggest a couple of report formats. While I really like the idea of feeding status reports through blog channels, I much prefer a format that focuses on variance — i.e. signal where and explain why we are not going according to plan. It's easy to scan and helps keep meetings aligned with the objective: raise and manage issues and risks in order to successfully complete the project. Detailing and describing how one is meeting milestones and producing deliverables according to plan is a complete waste of time. Only tell me if you're missing or expecting to miss milestones. Then tell me what you're doing about it, whether you need my help, and what cross-project dependencies might be impacted. 

Radio lets us navigate through a database of our items; render them in html and xml; publish, syndicate, and aggregate them. Radio creates web forms that let us create new content using the blog item structure. ... Take it to the next level of abstraction. Let me blog multiple kinds of payloads. vCards, iCalendar events, event channels, resumes and CVs using the HR-XML and SIDES standards, purchase orders, semiconductor recipes, project management tasks and assignments and status reports. [emphasis added; a klog apart via John Robb] 

Swiss National Exhibition, Land of the Three Lakes. Le Temps propose un guide pratique, assorti de ses coups de coeur, forcément subjectifs, des pavillons à ne pas rater pour visiter Expo.02 avant la clôture, dans un mois. Pourquoi ressentent-ils le besoin pressant de souligner que leurs coups de coeur sont forcément subjectifs? 

In the late 1950s scientists discovered the existence of crystal-free (that is, amorphous) metals. [Liquidmetal's amorphous] alloy based on titanium and zirconium is 2.5 times stronger than titanium or steel and less than half their weight for the same amount of strength. ... Besides its strength, the alloy is easy to shape — just like plastics. Even metallurgy is undergoing major development. [Forbes Global] 

Scripting News: Did you know that there are almost 60,000 ex-Apple employees floating around out there? Organizing a reunion is quite a job, it turns out. On a tangent, I've observed that after their multiple rounds of layoffs, there are more ex-employees of Sapient than current employees (probably in a ratio of 5:1, excluding from consideration the hordes of expensive labour they've retained in India). Thus all the habits and best practices that the company accumulated over a decade have now spread out through the whole industry; so have some worst practices, one would conversely expect. Some knowledge and practices are almost certainly lost when such a large proportion of employees is told to leave over 12 months. 

Marc's Voice: Creating or authoring multimedia is not a real-time process. It's something that's well thought out and methodically produced. This changes the nature of interchange, creativity and certainly conversation. ... What happens when we explore further the spectrum between publishing and communication?