You Should Blog (Again)

I recently gave the same message to share, but for a different community, at the Amsterdam UX Bar Camp.

I volunteered to join the other 23 presenters at UXCampAMS! I'm that first paper in the 12:00-12:45 sessions. #MidasRule

It's Already There...

In recent user research and product feedback I've noticed long-time users of our software suggesting improvements that were already there.

I suspect it's the combination of perhaps three things.

• The way we asked
• The user expectations from knowing the software
• Not wanting to ruin things for others

Ask and You Shall Receive a Response

We've asked, "what would you expect on this screen?" or "would you need this kind of information?"

I'm trying to avoid leading the interviewee, but this kind of question to solicit a response based on the desire to answer. Perhaps the person asked isn't sure or might have a few ideas, but the question itself encourages perhaps a single answer.

Maybe I can leave things more open ended questions and work with our UX researchers on how I can ask better questions.

Midas Rule

As a new customer, I remember asking my first Tridion trainer the difference between an Embedded Schema and a regular Schema ten years ago.

As a new implementer, I remember creating my first Schema(s) and the reaction of my editorial team when they finally had control over their content library a few months later. No more requests to IT to deploy something to Staging to then re-approve on Live!

They eventually explained to me that, "No, we don't publish to Staging. We just publish to Live and fix anything if there's a problem."

As a new consultant, I remember my colleague asking me how I knew all the "best practices." I had four years of experience with the product by then and a few years "managing" content before that.

As a new Product Manager, I remember telling another colleague four years after that, "well, Tridion doesn't work that way." He reminded me that we could change it.

After a decade in the industry and about 13 years in IT, I'm also realizing I'm not so "new" anymore. :-)

Now as a Product Owner for the DX Suite, I'm remembering last week's demo where dozens of UI improvements were implemented in a sprint for the new Graphene User interface (due after Sites 9.1) as well as a "yass!" reaction from an editor to some small, but significant page editing improvements for Tridion Sites 9.

And today I'm letting the Tridion Docs content model slowly sink into my brain after a great session with our lead technical writer.

By the Midas Rule, many of my colleagues and I were not the first to touch this software, nor will we be the last. But we do care enough to be proper stewards of the previous vision, while we work on forging a new one... in Graphene. ;-)

Passing on the Donut

It's already (only) been 2 years since the move to the Netherlands and I'm saying goodbye as the Donut Product Owner and Hello as a POBA.

After joining SDL Professional Services in 2011, moving from my hometown of San Diego to San Jose and meeting many great Tridionauts from across the pond, my original dream was to learn even more about our other products and our customers at the "Tridion Mothership" for at least 2-3 years. Before that, I wondered if I could do Tridion at least part-time.

However, we already had a great Functional Consultant in Amsterdam while at the same time Product Development had an opening for either a Business Analyst or Product Manager with a chance for to focus on the User Interface.

So I thought of course! Coincidentally, one of the interview questions when I first applied to SDL was what might I be interested in doing beyond consulting. My answer was something like:

"Training or maybe development (well not as a developer, but rather, perhaps, maybe... as part of the development team?)."

Getting the job was like being that Excel geek that gets a job with Microsoft.

That first year was about understanding Dutch home/work culture, learning even more about customers, and even changing work culture through new roles and processes while continuing to share, but from within development.

FT1ntegrations

I also had a chance to work with (in) the Translation Manager team for a bit before kicking off the Second Year with even more product add-ons.

Though we started with the safe and boring Team 1/Team 2 format, by #MidasRule, I dubbed our team, "FT1ntegrations" and also brought Legos to the office, to umm... emphasize the metaphor that we connect modular pieces of software. Yeah.

Proper tea has been replaced by a coffee cup to properly anonymize individuals. No, my colleagues aren't actually Minifigs.