Three things I’ll closely watch in 2008:

1. Multipoint User Interfaces
2. Workflow Collaboration
3. Software as a Service (SaaS)

New User Experience Challenge: Multipoint User Interfaces

In my previous Gaming to Boardroom post I mentioned the cost-busting hack of a new type of interface - the multipoint interactive user interface - was starting to gain momentum. This would make much better use of those large wall-mounted LCDs and projectors.

The disruptive technology hack was sourced to the Nintendo Wii remote, a cheap off the shelf component mass produced, a Bluetooth interface, and any PC.

With reflective tape on his fingers, Johnny Chung Lee from Carnegie Mellon’s Human Computer Interaction Institute easily reproduces Tom Cruise’s motions within the groundbreaking Minority Report, a Philip K. Dick short story adapted by Steven Spielberg in 2002.

As I researched further I found out that SpaWar and indeed other military centers have indeed been closely examining this type of interface for their command and control centers.

Here is a quote from one of PC Magazine’s sources confirming that same trend in User Experience (UX) driven hardware interfaces.

From EDS’ Next Big Thing Blog: Predictions for 2008:

This will be the year when we see real deliverables for new user interfaces, moving beyond the mouse. Just like the Wii used a new interface to take some old technology and make it new again, we’ll see similar advances on the PC interface. Gestures, voice, displays… it’s time.

If this is as simple to create as Johnny Lee’s project, we’ll be seeing this on the market in 2008. The key will be what applications will be written to support this new interface, and that may end up being UX’s long term challenge for months or years.

Workflow Collaboration

The author also adds some information about workflow. It’s interesting to me that this validates quite a bit of the same mobile and technical communication markets I’ve been researching for the past ten years.

From EDS’ Next Big Thing Blog: Predictions for 2008:

I’ve been mentioning workflow for a number of years and we’re beginning to see it move from the desktop into mobile devices and that will be common place by the end of 2008 as various COTS applications incorporate mobile interfaces. Collaboration on mobile devices will also take off as part of Enterprise 2.0 activities.

I doubt that we’ll see widespread use of electronic paper techniques in business even though there are some quite interesting capabilities out there now and those devices will drop significantly in price by the end of 2008.

SaaS-y Applications

And of course, here’s a bit about Software as a Service (SaaS) applications, one such I’ve reviewed with the MadCap Feedback Service.

From EDS’ Next Big Thing Blog: Predictions for 2008:

Broad acceptance of SaaS and web based applications will take place but probably not in ways that we may think. A wider range of businesses will use service based approaches to enable their activities and it will be as controversial as offshoring has been.

Summary:

So what will we end up doing with Workflow Collaboration, SaaS, and Multipoint User Interfaces in 2008? 

SaaS is a cheaper way to do business, and can easily amortize the high cost of server technology. Its adoption is just good business sense since it can be cut loose quickly if something better comes along.

Workflow Collaboration will disrupt the current status quo, if it hasn’t already, particularly in the global knowledge management space. This saves time and money, allowing smaller stateside corporations to gain the same benefits as traditional outsourced models.

I see Gaming technology jumping full fledged into the Multipoint Interface market along with some specialized applications for design. I also see this immediately involved in eLearning and more importantly, blended learning environments.

This technology is really in its infancy but with the LCD market so commoditized and screen real estate not being trapped in low resolution with HD content everywhere, it’s a necessary step in our human interaction with our systems.

Clive on Learning had this to say about the space:

RapideL Enhance, which works with Microsoft Word to generate Flash-based courses, but this is a big step forward.

There’s no doubt that desktop tools such as Articulate and Captivate have their advantages, not least in terms of performance, the ease with which large files can be manipulated, and the freedom they allow for authors to work offline. I would have no hesitation for reaching for one of these tools if I was working on a project alone.

Where online tools have the edge is when you’re working collaboratively as a team - writers, graphic designers, subject-experts, a/v specialists, reviewers and so on - and when you are likely to be producing a large number of modules that share assets such as text, images, audio and Flash movies.

Working online, any member of the team can view the current status of a module, add new elements or suggest changes. There’s only ever one current version and this can be exported at any time for deployment on an LMS or on CD-ROM.

What a great concept. This has eLearning innovation written all over it, and I’ll bet that a few of these inspire programmers. From Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites Of The Day

The Best Web 2.0 Applications For Education — 2007

I decided to start putting together various “Best Of” lists for this year, and am starting out with my picks for the best Web 2.0 applications for education.  

This is pure disruptive technology at its finest. If you haven’t priced a multipoint interactive whiteboard lately, just trust me in that it’s not cheap. Dell has them on sale listed in Google.

But I’m seeing a definite market developing for this user interface, particularly in eLearning and Blended Learning not to mention all sorts of uses for my buddies over at SpaWar here in San Diego.

Multi-touch sensors as far they’ve been touted as a high-res, low cost, scalable method to interact with your system. Not to get too Bleeding Edge, but this is like having a six foot iPhone interface.

The possibilities are amazing, particularly for someone with carpal tunnel syndrome like me. Software design does have to keep up though.

Multipoint Interactive Whiteboard: Blended Learning’s Holy Grail

Check out what Johnny Chung Lee, a Carnegie Mellon HCI Researcher hacked together with a Bic pen, LED light, some custom software and the Nintendo Wii remote (Wiimote)

Minority Report Interface: Reality and Yesterday’s News

If you’re a Phillip K. Dick or Steven Spielberg fan, you might recall the Minority Report UI that Tom Cruise used (at top of article).

Johnny came up with a wicked method to do the same thing.

So the end result is that this is Bleeding Edge technology, and finding uses for it falls into the Applications Engineering field.

Wow. Somehow I’m not the only one who’s seen the blending and fusion of Technical Support and Technical Writing. Technical Support through Web 2.0 supplies a conversation to their users who are in desperate need of help.

Repurposing that conversation’s content provides a cornerstone for a savvy company’s knowledge base. An interesting concept for Technical Communicators to consider, along with figuring out the workflow to make life easier and not overwhelming.

Content, Technology, and Instruction - The User Assistance Triangle

I’ve always thought Technical Communication breaks into three distinct user assistance skill sets - Content, Technology, and Instruction.

Rarely have I seen those who master all three and it is difficult to imagine how many years Technical Communicators train, through independent writing along with formal college, eventually through the Masters degree level for most.

The frustration point seems to come for most in attempting to adapt to the technology that is changing much more rapidly than the English language does; providing the challenge in honing that side of the triangle.

Technology Consulting - Filling In The Knowledge Gap

Technical Communicators and Instructional Designers that I’ve had the pleasure to work with hire consultants (such as my company provides) for the Technology side. We in turn listen to what they need to accomplish and either train them directly in how to accomplish that, create the workflow for them, or do the tasks to get the job done.

Stateside Tech Support - Fashionable Yet Again

Career Technical Support technicians and engineers however, trend successfully into the Instruction and Technology elements. With a successful Knowledge Base and product usage demonstrations, the crossover into Content is complete.

A seasoned Technical Writer could easily reshape that Content and really make it shine even in is the age of wikipedia and Web 2.0 pushing Content out. 

From one man writes » Conversation V.I.P.s

I left a comment on the Cherryleaf blog, which I’ll expand on here, but the jist was that I think Technical Communicators are (can be, should be) the social web of the workplace…

…Whether we like it or not, our primary role SHOULD become information guardians. That will mean less writing, and more knowledge/information management and architecture.

It will mean a shifting of skill sets towards new areas, where there is no best practise only gut feel, and the embracing of openness.

Information will still need to be filtered, focussed and published, but once you’ve set it free, you’ll also need to nurture it as it develops. The delivery of information, naturally, becomes paramount.

We are the ONLY people (in the IT space) that can fill this role properly, and so getting a foot on the rung now will stand us in good stead.

Embracing Web 2.0, and thinking about content rather than documents is a small step but a vital one.

And my favorite part which reinforces the same threads of my entire site’s thesis:

Might the lines between technical support and technical authors start to cross over?
Yes. There are already signs that this is happening. Ultimately, a conversation friendly company won’t care WHO is doing the talking, as long as the conversation is taking place.

What we’re looking at is, in this writer/technician’s humble opinion, is the new requirement of the skill set of effective written communication within the ranks of Support Technicians. This is a change that is going to require stronger skills within the support ranks than merely answering phone calls, although that will always be part of their jobs.

Web 2.0: Making Elite Technical Support Compelling

This effective communication beyond the firewall is a competitive edge. The first-language English speaking population may actually make a comeback in Technical Support and keep their positions stateside if that edge is valid.

When it comes to your company’s Technical Support, those who can reach out with Web 2.0 and touch their audience will reap the rewards. Those elite Technician’s companies will flourish as their audience, the existing users along with the potential new customers of their services, comes to trust their judgement and in turn, trust the company who employs them.

They will become the heavy hitters among the front lines of a corporation’s marketing force simply through doing their job correctly and communicating effectively on a personal basis with those they support.

We’re seeing the beginning of a shift in thinking. Outsourcing technical support to those who cannot communicate effectively within Web 2.0’s framework doesn’t engender the same loyalty to a user community. Corporate Authenticity will play an even stronger role in customer loyalty because those who are not authentic aren’t going to play well with savvy consumers who don’t want to arbitrarily plunk down hard cash every year for ‘mandatory upgrades’. 

windows live writer,Microsoft,blogging,web 2.0,adobe contribute

Pains of Blogging Answered

Since day one of use my Contribute 4 version sometimes would just absolutely refuse to post an article, labeling one error message or another.I finally get insanely frustrated with the glitching from Adobe Contribute and break down to evaluate a better blogging tool.

Under time pressure due to my December from Hell (better make that my YEAR from Hell), I finally had enough with the random glitch issue and decided to evaluate using something else that would allow offline editing (WordPress has a fairly decent editing tool built in) and would be fairly future proof.

Notice that ‘Free’ button.

It’s hard to keep from enjoying not paying out cash for a product.

Yet another entry from MSFT into the Web 2.0 space such as with the Silverlight framework which allows two-way communication from a website, and oh yes… this is for free. That’s pretty disruptive.

Note: Contribute is a fantastic tool for light web editing. The Dreamweaver / Contribute combination was a great toolset for Macromedia users keen on keeping web content updated with oversight from a supervising geek who knew DW and how the web should really work. My business usage was in setting it up for others who could modify or maintain basic web sites with it, particularly SOHO business operators.

My issues with Contribute hasn’t stopped me from owning three licenses, it’s just stopped me from upgrading them. I’ve just had doubts that it was worth an upgrade price (only like fifty bucks or so) when they weren’t adding many features into it or fixing bugs aggressively.

So… enter Windows Live Writer.

From 9 Ways to Get More Out of Windows Live Writer - Lifehack.org

In case you haven’t heard about it, WLW is an offline WYSIWIG (What You See Is What You Get) blogging tool that integrates very nicely with most blogging platforms, allowing you to create and edit blog posts from your desktop. Although it is usually great fun to mock Microsoft’s efforts, as it happens WLW is really very cool. If you regularly write for several different sites, it can really help to simplify your blogging life!

Unlike a lot of Microsoft products, WLW makes a strong effort to work with a variety of non-Microsoft services and products. So while it gives Microsoft’s own “Live Spaces” service pride of place in the setup dialog, WLW works well with a variety of blogging platforms, from hosted services like Google’s Blogger and Wordpress.com to Wordpress and other blogging programs hosted on your own servers — it even works with non-mainstream platforms like Drupal, albeit minus a few of the bells and whistles.

Update: I particularly like the glossary addition method (click for full size capture):

Simply by adding terms, I can save myself the pain of having to relink frequently used content, saving time in my blog workflow.

elearning,disruptive technology,technical communication

Here’s a thought: what influence would disrupt the eLearning Learning Management System (LMS) space?

LMS: A Market Ripe For Disruption

The LMS space is still developing and nobody is really happy with what’s currently available.

What would disrupt it more than having the capability to individually address and track around 60 million accessible stateside users who would never need a traditional $15,000 to $30,000 LMS server platform installed?

How much money is that really?

According to Wikipedia’s LMS page:

In 2005, LMSs represented a fragmented $500 million market (CLO magazine[1]). The six largest LMS product companies constitute approximately 43% of the market.

In addition to the remaining smaller LMS product vendors, training outsourcing firms, enterprise resource planning vendors, and consulting firms all compete for part of the learning management market.

The potential for the LMS market is staggering. According to CLOMedia’s article "Report Shows LMS Market Growing Apace" quoting Josh Bersin:

The LMS market grew 26 percent in 2005, reaching the $500 million mark in North America, and it has the potential to grow to the $3 billion mark because Bersin estimates only a sixth of the market has been tapped.

We hate our LMS… But we need an LMS!

People are frustrated and disappointed with LMS’ in general. So they have made do with what they’ve previously purchased and probably scapegoated and fired the manager in charge of the decision.

And now they’re scouting for a wonderful brand new LMS because somehow, magically, all will be made better with the next one.

Here’s some more information from Wikipedia, backed up by raw data:

LMS buyers are less satisfied than a year ago. According to 2005 and 2006 surveys by the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD)[2], respondents that were very unsatisfied with an LMS purchase doubled and those that were very satisfied decreased by 25%.

The number that were very satisfied or satisfied edged over 50%. (About 30% were somewhat satisfied.)

Nearly one quarter of respondents intended to purchase a new LMS or outsource their LMS functionality over the next 12 months.

So according to this data which may have changed (and I don’t have the $600 to buy the 2007 survey) there is clearly a market demand for some type of LMS answer.

Answering the LMS pains… Could you do it with an ASP model?

Another thought: what would happen if corporations requiring basic customer service position skills (retail, fast food, Wal-Mart, Starbucks, etc.) could do their training online without appreciably increasing their data overhead costs? Without the cost of training kiosks within their store?

What if my proposed eLearning audience already owned the proper hardware & was already familiar with the GUI, requiring zero to little GUI based training?

All of this wouldn’t mean much without a commerce system or tight security within the framework. Factor that cost in as well and…Now imagine that it’s already been planned ahead.

There are a couple of marketable concepts I’m researching to allow this possibility. Naturally I’ll fill you all in on it later.

That’s if my concept isn’t quickly snatched up by someone who thinks it might work and they throw money at me and NDA me.

browser,web 2.0,microsoft,ie,internet explorer,ie8,technical communication,silverlight

Quoted from Internet News: Internet Explorer 8 Passes the ‘Acid2′ Test

Microsoft announced Wednesday it has passed an early milestone for the next version of its iconic Internet Explorer. An early version of the pre-beta code for IE 8.0 has successfully passed the so-called Acid2 browser compatibility tests, Dean Hachamovitch, general manager on Microsoft’s IE team, said in a blog post.

From IEBlog, an external Microsoft blog:

For IE8, we want to communicate facts, not aspirations. We’re posting this information now because we have real working code checked in and we’re confident about delivering it in the final product. We’re listening to the feedback about IE, and at the same time, we are committed to responsible disclosure and setting expectations properly. Now that we’ve run the test on multiple machines and seen it work, we’re excited to be able to share definitive information.

While blog posts and links to videos are a good start, publicly available code is even better. We will have a lot more information available at sessions at MIX08 and will release a beta of IE8 in the first half of calendar 2008.

Dean Hachamovitch
General Manager

What do you want to bet that Silverlight will be standard equipment within IE8?!?

Flash achieved penetration of the browser market over 90% in a matter of years. Microsoft could do it in a matter of months with Silverlight merely by making it an option. IE currently has approximately 82% of the browser market share, with a high in 2004 of 95%.

For the Tech Comm Crowd:

This means that your content better be W3C compliant if you don’t want to have to go back and redo it.

Additionally, Silverlight could bridge the gap easily between IE, XBox 360, Media Center, Vista, and Windows XP after this update.

silverlight,flash,flex,adobe flash,microsoft silverlight,rich internet applications,ria,elearning

Here are a few resources for Silverlight:

Silverlight download page - if you want to install it on your system. Interesting but obvious fact: Silverlight will automatically update itself unless overridden within the IE Browser controls.

Silverlight Forums - I’ll be lurking inside here checking things out.

Why Silverlight? - Basically a marketing blurb about all the great things Silverlight will do, in plain English.

Opinions about Silverlight: Silverlight: The Web Got Richer (TechCrunch.com)

The most remarkable part of the CLR
(Common Language Runtime)
are its speed and its size. First of all, the full Silverlight download with CLR and everything else will weigh in at around 4MB - which with current broadband penetration is effortless.

Second of all the CLR is fast, very very fast. In a demonstration today showing a game of chess routines written in .NET competed against native Javascript routines and the result was a speed difference of orders of magnitude. Developers can simple take their existing Javascript and copy it into Silverlight and have it perform multiple times faster than it does in the native browser environment.

Further to that, Silverlight applications can access and manipulate the browser DOM (meaning they can reach outside and into the webpage itself) so once the Silverlight runtime is more common expect to see many developers of web applications tap into Silverlight for both a performance increase and for better visual enhancements and user experience.

Silverlight isn’t just animations in applets, far from it - it is a very serious development environment that takes desktop performance and flexibility and puts it on the web.

madcap flare,madcap blaze,madcap feedback server,madcap analyzer,adobe,adobe robohelp,technical communication,workflow collaboration,technical writing,tech writing,help authoring,product management

Okay, without further ado, here’s the 39 minute MP3 podcast of MadCap VP Mike Hamilton from December 7th at the new MadCap offices located in La Jolla, California!

Here’s a program listing times and events for navigating the podcast.

Some of the highlights include:

Adobe layoffs in San Diego the previous day contrasted with MadCap’s office expansion.

Wiki model not ruled out: Mike talks about Web 2.0 and wiki models / blog style commenting currently available with MadCap’s Feedback Server.

MadCap Analyzer explained – so good it’s scary? Mike explains that Analyzer is key for maintaining consistency within a project, particularly larger ones with 20,000 to 30,000 topics.

Clarifies MadCap’s focus on Adobe: “…we don’t care what Adobe does, we’re focused on solving the problems of the technical writing community… I want to dispel any myth that we’re chasing Adobe.”

Mike elaborates on the competitive edge MadCap has right now in integrating all of their products.

Word vs. Flare? Mike answers the question about Word competing with Flare or Blaze and gets granular about Word & Flare in typical generic user usage, explaining where the breakpoint comes in for the average workload.

Strategy and policy for supporting new Microsoft releases. Mike includes Internet Explorer web browser, Word, and operating system support in his answer.

Is Blaze the sledgehammer I’m thinking it may become? Mike answers this along with explaining how MadCap’s internal programming workflow allows them to release both Blaze and a Flare release simultaneously.

Strategy and policy for supporting new Microsoft releases. Mike includes Internet Explorer web browser, Word, and operating system support in his answer.

… and much more, including the much awaited 7777 Fay Avenue Office Space story as related by Mike.

Here’s a link to the previous blog post from the visit.

Note: Being an amateur at this whole podcast interviewing thing I neglected to follow up with Mike about DITA. I’ll hit that up next time or ask him to comment below on the MadCap focus of DITA. Sorry folks.

Comments? Feel free to start a discussion.