Race for 2008 Presidency: Spanish Language, does anyone Care?

This is the start of my series of posts on the US Presidential Run for 2008 . For starters I stumbled on the web site on each of the current front runners ( yes, I did my own triage on that aspect). Hillary Clinton , Obama, John McCain and Rudolph W. Giuliani . Yes every one of these web sites must be backed and implemented by some savvy web designers and information architects but the one thing that seemed missing at the first glance was the lack of support for Spanish language. By ignoring the second most common language are these candidates doing the right thing? According to the 2000 United States Census, Spanish is spoken most frequently at home by about 28.1 million people aged 5 or over. Of these, 14.3 million reported that they also spoke English "very well". United States is home to more than 40 million Hispanics; the fifth largest Spanish-speaking community in the world, after Mexico, Colombia, Spain and Argentina. Yes, the experts would say that the Internet users of this Spanish community would not be challenged by English version of these sites but as the presidential candidate they need to make a more personal connection with their base and having a Spanish based language sites would be a good start in my humble opinion. What do you think?

PS. I am not a Spanish so it is not a personal agenda of mine.

Dump the Golden Rule: " Treat people the way you want to be treated"

Well these famous words may actually do more harm than good and hence the statement dump it!!! But why! The genesis of this statement is that two humans are alike and the human community is one homogeneous whole. But this is far from truth. Every individual is unique and has different thinking style, preferences and values. If that is the case, how can I assume what is right for me , correct in my style of thinking, precious in my value system is good for my peers and recognizable by my bosses and considerate for my subordinates ( don't have any :)). I just believe we need to recognize the cognitive differences and appreciate the heterogeneity of the people around us and treat them the way they would recognize, appreciate and acknowledge!!! What do you think ?

Winter Storm and Remote Working

Today we experienced the first winter storm in Maryland as a result of 8-10 hours of continuous nature blessing of sleet, ice and snow. I managed my way to the office but as expected, the attendance there was thin. I wondered if organizations capable of running operations remotely would have faced the same situation and have an adverse impact on productivity. But organizations that did not embrace openly the remote /working from home policy would have encountered significant productivity losses. An organization having 250+ employees would have lost almost one man year in one business day. Yes, lot of organizations allow remote working but are far from a position where they can avoid loosing significant productivity on such a day. The organizations do not have the processes and the code of conduct for working from home. Not allowing to work remotely/home means loss of employee hours which is a direct measurable cost. However these lost hours can result in significantly more loss in terms of schedule slippages on projects and revenue dollars in lost opportunities.

My organization is slowly getting into the mode of remote operations but it is more in the early stages than otherwise.It is a fundamental cultural shift of being able to collaborate and work as a team without face to face interaction. There is the no organization empathy and alignment and blah and blah. But at the same time we know many organizations are doing this effectively. It is a cultural shift and warrants code of conduct, orientations to enable the mind shift. So before we face the next winter storm ( I hope it is next year, don't want to spend time on road trying to go over snow hurdles, slush piles and the little but extremely dangerous black ice) , I hope my organization is able to embrace the remote model of operations. What do you think? Does your company have the desired code of conduct or it is more adhoc in nature?

Synopsis of a MMIS RFP

I have to admit that the brains behind this is Mike Morgan but I have attempted to tailor his article such that this reads as if a State (referred to as me) is enlisting requirements of an MMIS project in a RFP. The content of the MMIS RFP reads something like this ..

Please design and build me a MMIS system. I am not quite sure what I need, so let’s get started. My system should be aligned with all the MITA business processes even though I am not sure of what they are?. Just make sure the designs are such that the MITA processes can be easily adopted as they mature in their details. When you bring the blueprints to me, I’ll make the final decision about what I want. Also, bring me the cost breakdowns for each configuration so I can arbitrarily pick one at a later time.

The requirements go on..

As you design, also keep in mind that I want to keep yearly maintenance costs as low as possible. This should mean the incorporation of automated workflow like single click magic buttons and autonomic computing using industry intelligence standards (If you choose not to use industry artificial intelligence standards and products, be prepared to explain you decision). Please take care that modern design practices and the latest techniques are used in development of the system, as I want it to be a showplace for the most up-to-date ideas and methods. To assure that you are building the correct system for our entire state, you will need to contact each of our sister agencies and their managers and team leads. My sister agency X has very strong feelings about how the system should be designed, since the agency uses the system once every year for some strange reasons. Make sure you weigh all these options carefully and make recommendations. However, I retain the right to overrule any recommendation you make. Please don’t bother me with small details right now. Your job is to develop the overall plans for the system and get the big picture.
Also, do not worry at this time about time and the resources to build the system itself. Your first priority is to develop detailed plans and specifications. Once I approve these plans, however, I would expect the system to be up and running within 18 months.

And to top it all...
You must be thrilled to be working on such an interesting project! To be able to use the latest techniques and technologies and to be given such freedom in your designs is something that can’t happen very often and its great for your company's future market.

Does that sound familiar to your State MMIS RFP and requirements or a similar state IT project....

Note: Any references are purely coincidental and any resemblance purely unintentional.

Corporate Stress and the Certified Asshole Test!!!

I recently stumbled on an article(click here for the reference) which was on stressful living. Filled with sarcasm, the article divulges on the inclinations of a typical corporate manager (I read the article with my workplace and self context),which all lead to more stress, less productivity and less happiness (as if it counts). One of the most poignant of the five points was our tendency to "attempt to control everything". The reason I could align with this more than any of the other four was that I experience and live that everyday in my workplace. The key is that we really have little control over anything but there is that illusion of control. With the illusion of control comes the weight of acquired responsibility. All being a recipe of daily overdose of stress, pressure and anxiety. Yes, in the world of healthcare business all of these are special conditions of disorder and there are experts trying to solve them. Anyway, back to the stressful living article. We "Try to control other people; both what they do, and also what they think" Does that sound familar? The control phobia is so dominant and embedded in our minds and it is more since we perceive other people to be difficult, incompetent, and unreliable. The author writes that "the stress factor here lies in the fact that trying to control other people is much like herding cats; requires enormous effort, and you know deep down that it’s futile and ridiculous to even attempt. But if you manage to hold onto the illusion that you can actually gain and preserve absolute control over other people, this can be easily integrated into your everyday life as a reliable source of stress." The other four are also interesting and worth a read as well.
Close on the heels to further force the issue on the control phobia and its associated corporate management perils I need to mention the recent book title 'The No Asshole Rule' by Bob-Sutton. I took a small test (ARSE) and came out close to a certified 'asshole'. For example if you answer this question 'True' then you are pretty much certified : Do You feel surrounded by incompetent idiots – and you can’t help letting them know the truth every now and then? ....
Anyway, I hope we become more sane and respectful of our human surroundings. It's a slow transition for me and I do take two steps forward and one back but I guess I am getting there!!! Where do you Stand?

Experience vs Youth

It so happened that in matter of few hours in two different conversations, the same fundamental question got raised. Which is more important? Youth or experience. The first setting was an industry conference call for MITA where I (with five years of domain knowledge) was trying to exchange ideas with a stalwart of the industry (25 years of domain expertise). Note my use of knowledge vs. expertise. The second setting was on DC 980 Sports Talk with Coach John Thompson where the new trend in NFL for hiring young coaches was being challenged. Well it is a classic and a never ending debate. I believe that experience is needed and it would be not sane to ignore or disrespect the experience of an individual. At the same time experience can be debilitating if it makes one resistant to change and not open to new ideas and approaches. The youth brings freshness, energy, vibrancy and frevor of a child willing to try the untested; explore the unknown and experiment the new. Yes it is a very risk and fraught filled approach. But as many would point the greatest innovations, discoveries are due to this mindset and philosophy. Does age and experience reduce these dispositions and makes you less risk taking and resistant to change? Yes and I think its biologically supported too. But if the experienced people would allow for an open critical thinking of the as-is and the youth respect and imbibe the experience of the seniors as a control board, we can make significant progress. As for Coach John Thompson, I think the marriage of two: have a youthful head coach and very senior assistant head coach is the solution and it is no shame or disrespect to work for a younger person if he honors and recognizes the value of your experience and maturity.

Super Bowl: Colts Vs. Chicago Bears.. Finally Happened....

Its finally happened. Colts overcame the Patriots lock on coming from behind. It was more sweet than just a victory since many pundits would have said at the half time that New England game plan is working and Brady is money down the wire. It was not to be today....It was Colts Day...Yes calls and luck were against them to begin with ( fumble and recovery on the offensive touchdown for New England) but things turned around one step at a time. And to top to all to win by coming back down from 21-3 is really sweet. Infact, it is the largest comeback in the play-off history.
Not that I am a fan of Mannings but I definitely align with Tony Dungy personality. His calm demenaor and maturity is admirable and the victory well deserved. The Super Bowl is more interesting with two black coaches going head to head for the first time. Both of them are also close friends. Anyway, it would be something to watch two weeks from now. Also more because there would not be any Patriots!!!

Is your company the best Company to Work For?

I was reading the latest cover story on Fortune where Google employees were shown in all frenzy and the company was named the best company to work for in terms of employee benefits and perks. Every year this reading makes you reflect on your company benefits. The HR department always vouches we offer equal or even better benefits as compared to other companies of our size. Alas, there are no onsite doctors ( well health is a personal responsibility : why do we need one), no onsite car washes ( why buy cars and pollute the environment ride the Metro), no all paid annual ski trip ( we don't like cold, we are warm blooded animals), free gourmet meals( we don't want to create gluttons) and on and on it goes. On a serious front, these are some significant benefits but recognize with all these benefits basically work is home and home is work! Yes they are truly in direction of being employee friendly but we need to recognize that there needs to be a boundary between home and office and between family and work. As of my company, they are embracing remote working (with closed arms though :)), have a pool/ping pong table( can only play after office hours), free soda and discount kababs (term for meat skewers). But plethora of benefits cannot offset the nature of work, team players around you and as of now I am where I should be. Do I know about tomorrow? Not yet!!! What about you and your company?

The Fanatic Pace of Web Exchange

When I wrote my first blog almost 2 years ago, I was seeing myself as one of the early adopters of upcoming web tools and stuff. I was definitely not religious in continuouly writing about topics though many crossed my minds but today, when I look back at the nature of web information publishing, the scale of blogging, multi media publishing like mytube, myspace.com etc, it is mind boggling. Also, all of this is being accepted with open arms by the new generation. Aagh., I am no longer the latest generation. Yes, I am 33 years old and trying to run at a break neck speed to catch these phenoms but definitely loosing inch every week if not every day. Its true there shall be tools and technologies that would eventually fade out of masses and remain prevalent in their loyal followers but it must be said, that the world of web continues to expand exponentially. There would be lot of people that this is not true collaboration but it is definitely the mixing bowl of ideas and at the intersection of all these varied ideas/schools of thought/streams of knowledge lies the next innovation. Do surf and explore these blogs, myspaces.com etc and not only look for that great idea but see if you can create something out of the fusion of these. So happy surfing,blogging and web collaboration

Winning the FCW Rising Star Award

I was recently recognized by the Federal Computer Week with the rising star award. The award was a recognition to my contribution to the design of the next generation Medicaid Management Information System. http://www.fcw.com/risingstar/. Even though I feel proud of the fact that this endeavor resulted in a fundamental shift in architecture of solutions offered by the industry, there is yet that need to execute these hugely critical systems more efficiently and effectively. The implementations continue to be held captive to misaligned incentives between the State Goverment and the Vendor. I think we ( my organization CNSI) continue to make small but yet inherently strategic shifts in making implementation less rough and turbulent. At the same time we need to learn not only from other software implementations in different line of business (which are more fluid and dynamic in nature such as ERP implemenations in supply chain) but look for true cross pollination of ideas by exploring totally different industry lines such as ship building and /or home building. The exploration continues....

Simplicity and Demystifying Technology

I was not only amazed at discovering the simple but uniquely powerful concept of Barefoot College. It is a college and a social research center in one of the poorest villages Tilonia, Rajasthan India. The endeavor started almost 30 years ago; creates self sufficiency among the rural folks; where villagers with primary education are working with computers, maintaining solar panels etc This is truly achieving simplicity; demystifying technology. Even though, I was proud of this fact but at the same time it created a deep sense of hollowness in me and my work. Is my work really valuable? Am I paying my dues to the society? Even though, my work may not value up to the mark of social contribution I would ensure I do a tad bit to contribute back to this society.
What do you think?

Maine's Medicaid Mistakes : A Balanced Perspective

This is in reference to an article in CIO titled "Maine's Medicaid Mistakes". The article continues to dig in the past without providing a guidance and assumming the reader to take their own prespective of the events. However it surprised me the overzealousness of the author to identify shortcomings of the State government to execute a project with a detailed chronological trail of events without acknowledging the good work being done to adapt to the precarious situation. The author identifies implementing unproven technology as one of the lessons learned, however mentions the use of J2EE systems later in the article as "the Ferrari of software code, which some of the largest corporations are now using to run their global operations".
We need to all recognize that the Medicaid market is dominated by a set of vendors who have exploited the states by repackaging 20 years old solution for 35-75 million dollars and yet have failed in some of those implementations. State of Maine acted as pioneers and did suffer as pioneers and early adopters typically do but at the same time need to be credited for giving the industry a new technology paradigm. Even the existing giants recognize this paradigm shift and in-fact one of these vendors is engaged with a State to implement a similar technology platform solution.

Agile / Traditional approach- Why not hybrid?

Let’s discuss what are your options if there are some constraints which are preventing you from using agile methodology or simply if your customer does not want to use Agile methodology.
Well, why not use hybrid of Agile and Water fall approach.
Tie your deliverables as required by your customers to water fall steps. Let’s look at the following steps
Requirements Gathering
Designing
Coding
Testing

Go ahead and create requirements and design document and submit it to your customer for sign off.
Take your coding and testing steps and see if you can use some of part of Agile methodology in these steps. Try doing following in 2-4 week iterations:
Create stories from your requirements document
Assign points to your stories
Prioritize your stories
Develop and unit test your stories
Perform automated acceptance tests and deploy

Deploying every 2 week gives your Business Analysts a chance to validate and verify your software. Any resulting issues can be fixed early and will be less expensive to fix. Deploying every 2-week gives your team a short goal which your team can try to achieve and once the team’s goal is achieved, the team will get a sense of achievement and hence this will boost team’s moral. The team will get confident each time an iteration is successful. Not only that, by deploying every 2 week you can measure the development velocity of your team and hence will have more insight in to when the whole software can be delivered. You can take necessary steps if you feel that by this development velocity delivery of the software will be delayed.
Another thing which I want to highlight here is that Agile is less document oriented. No big requirements document, no big design documents, just enough documentation which you feel is necessary. For example, some times we create very detailed design documents explaining how the screens will look, which database tables will be used, what will be the pseudo code , what will be the sql query etc.
Instead of going in so much detail why not a screen design and few words about its functionality. In fact I would prefer to draw the screens with my hand and update the screen when the developer has developed it. Believe me you would save a lot of time and probably be able to code your screen in the time you will be writing your detailed design document. Another reason not to write design documents in so much detail is that no one can be 100% sure about the sql, the database tables and code logic and no one can guarantee that these won’t change. We must welcome change and if we don’t we will fall in our own trap where in the end we will realize that we are running out of time and then these very detailed design documents are left untouched and now suddenly your code and the supportive documents are not in sync. Otherwise also if we know the things will change then why write it. Let coding take its own course, let the development happen with bare minimum documents and in the end produce your documents from your code / software and not the other way around.
All of you who have looked in to RUP and if ever tried to produce those documents will probably realize the pain of doing so much documentation. Sometimes we forget our main goal. Our main goal is to produce working software and not lot of unnecessary documentation just to comply with a methodology. If just by writing few words can convey a software function then please do not write hundreds of lines just to convey the same function in detail. I have seen low level design documents with various sections inside those (For example, Screen Design, Description, Constraints , Database tables, Sql queries, interacting units.) Lets make it simple a screen design ( hand crafted) and just enough detail about its functionality.
Another thing if your customer is not requiring you to submit these low level documents then why make these so much great.

My suggestion lets make our life simple by making things simple, by reducing variables, by not over engineering anything , by being open minded and by welcoming the change. Let’s not make a methodology our religion (be it RUP or Agile or any other) and then keep believe in it for the rest of our life.

Agile or Some other Methodology. Are we still thinking?

We are still debating in most projects whether to use Agile or use traditional approach.
I find at least two reasons as to why its difficult in moving from traditional water fall / other approaches to Agile (1) our customers are unaware of how agile can help them build something they actually want.
(2) Some of us have made traditional software development approach as our software development religion. We feel threatened by the fact that what ever we have learned in our schools and during our past experiences of developing software applications using traditional approach is suddenly not the right approach.
In traditional approach the design won’t start till the requirements is finished. Coding won’t start till design is finished and the testing won’t start till you are done coding. The reason which was given was that you must gather all and correct requirements before you design because if a requirement is wrong then everything from design to test is essentially a waste. I guess in doing that we missed one major thing and that is human factor. First of all we should stop the over use of the word “Requirement”, and try to find out what are the preferences of our customers. Preferences change more frequently than requirements. (An ideal software solution would be one where there are no requirements but only preferences.)
Let me ask you this, if you plan to build a custom home for your self, can you write each and every detail of your house in a piece of paper, give it to builder and then come back when the house is completely build. Do you think that whatever you were imagining while writing your so called requirements is exactly what you got? You might be getting something close to what you were thinking but not exactly what you want and sometimes it could be totally different then what you have thought. That’s where the difference lies; there is a difference between what you think you want and what you actually want.
Now instead of building the whole house and then showing it to you, if the builder shows you every week or so what he has build so far and what he will be building in next week and each time asks you if you are satisfied? Now let’s say you are not satisfied with what ever was built last week or so and you want the builder to redo or change something. If the change is simple builder would probably do it for free. But lets say doing that change would cost some extra $ . Now you will have three choices (1) Not to do the change (2) Pay extra $ (3) Trade in some other feature of your house. (E.g. may be not to build the deck and instead do the change which is more important to you). The outcome would be totally different if the builder used this approach. At least there won’t be any surprises when the builder finally delivers you the house. Similarly if there are no surprises when the software is put to production then you have a satisfied customer and hence a successful project.
Water fall or other approaches works fine if there is no change in the requirements. No change means you were able to document exactly whatever your customer was thinking (not saying) when you were documenting the requirement. Another issue is that sometimes we don’t know exactly what we want until we see it. Take the example of buying a car. How do you decide that you need a particular car? Well, simply put, you will actually look at a car and if you like it, you will go ahead verify other specifications and buy it. You requirement is that you need a car but which particular car buy is your preference.

We all have seen that most of the time when software is delivered it does not meet our customer’s needs and preferences and then we start blaming our poor requirements gathering, wrong software design and may be bad technology selection. But I guess the blame goes to the fact that we were not ready to accept that fact that requirements could be poorly documented. Human beings to some extent are afraid of change, simply because changes are unpredictable and so we do not welcome changes easily. I guess time has come to solve this software problem and instead of resisting change why not welcome it.
Traditional approach resists change but Agile welcomes change. Agile software development methodology eliminates element of surprise by releasing software in short iteration (2-4 weeks). In each iteration you plan, design, code, test and then release your software. Every 2 week your customers get a chance to look at your software. With each iteration, they will have more insight in to what they will be getting in the end. They are welcome to change their preferences and even after 2-week, if what ever you have developed, is a waste then let it be. It’s far better and more productive than keep working on developing software for a year and then realize that more than 50% of the software is waste. At least we all know that changes done in early stages of software development are less costly compared to changes done in later stages of software development.
In the end I would say that I am not sure whether Agile will work for real-time and satellite/rocket software’s where whole system must be designed and tested before it can be put to use but I assure this approach works for rest of the application software.

World Economic Forum 2006

The Annual Davos Meet continues to act as the greatest trendsetter in terms of laying new directions and establishing new paradigms in the world economic trends. Every year the visit is limited in invitation to the Who's Who's of the world. The Top CEO's like Charles Prince of Citigroup, Edward J. Zander of Motorola, Stephen A. Schwarzman of Blackstone Group, Henry A. McKinnell of Pfizer, Sir Martin Sorrell of WPP, Arun Sarin of Vodafone, David J. Stern of the NBA, Kai-Uwe Ricke of Deutche Telekom are there to name a few. But the strange aspect of this meet, which creates the unique yet powerful air to this summit is that, all participants are by invitations only. So, don’t feel cheated if your company CEO, COO is not on the list. I guess, they are not deemed special by the WEF selection board. But what made me write this BLOG is a comment on the WEF Blog titled "The elephants in the room" by Dan Bilefsky. The elephants being mentioned are India and China. The thing that peeved me off was the comment that the WEF forum shall discuss reforms/ideas to address the messy democracy of India. It fails to impress me that how could you point the democracy of India in that derogatory nature. I think it is high team people realize democracy is "by the people" and you got to appreciate and respect the settings of any democracy. Every country cannot be run in the US mode, which claims healthy public opinion, issue based elections, healthy infrastructure for entrepreneurship and capitalism as the only form of valid democracy. India chooses to establish its own path to success not only producing healthy entrepreneurs in the process (India has one of the most successful small business sector in the world) but also excelling with 7-8% GDP growth in the post liberalization world. Just because the developed countries feel that they are being beaten at their own game by the locals entrepreneurs does not warrant system changes. Play the game by the Rules of the Game. Home team has a distinct advantage. It is not that Indian system cannot improve and it may take some of the ideas from America, but I hate to see immature comments and use of terms such as messy democracy by people who have little to no knowledge about the rules of the game in India. India and Indians would continue to succeed with their hardworking attitude and strong moral and ethical backbone. I wish all the participants good luck at this year WEF Forum

Yet Another Reason to be in Augusta, Maine

Well for all the gentleman and excuse me ladies here is some interesting news from the central city in Maine. In our ongoing quest to find incentives for people to travel to Augusta, Maine, we may have discovered yet another gold mine. Well it is store Spellbound in downtown Augusta. And it may be one of the first stores in the nation to use live models clad in bustiers, garters and itty-bitty pieces of metallic fabric and have them in the store windows. Ladies may also be in for a surprise with live men in tuxedos but that may be Version 2. So be careful when you go out to Augusta, since wide eyed men have been reported to slip on ice as they walk by this special store. Volunteers to Augusta, Maine......

CNSI Annual OffSite Meeting Year 2005: Team Building ... Jeopardy

As I write this quick blog entry of CNSI Annual Off Site Meeting, sitting in the flight back to Maryland from Miami, I am hoping everyone would write back to me with equal verve and enthusiasm with their adventures and experiences over this trip.

Jeopardy remained the highlight of this year’s managers meeting. Hold there! It is not the CNSI Jeopardy buzzer contest game that I am talking about, but I am referring to the jeopardy of drinking too much and then falling from dance floor and spending the rest of the trip on two shots per day dosage. I also wish I could refer to the jeopardy of what eCAMS acronym stands for but I would prefer to acquaint you with the perils of gambling and the persistent effort to loose money as if it was being funded by Bank of Jaytee like some of our famous projects are! I wish I could refer to the jeopardy of who is older, Jaytee Kanwal (last clocked at 44++) or Reet Singh (leading with 44+++) but I am talking about the risk of carrying 60 pounds of luggage on a three day cruise and having to move your two-pieces in other people's luggage . Also it is no less of an insurance risk of having 50+ year old people running up and down in 80 F and scorching sun.

Well there was more than the jeopardy game that was played as a team building exercise. We had the beach Olympics which however appeared more of a beer guzzling challenge, scream your way to victory and 'blow it' competition than.. . Anyway, I cannot get away from referencing the fine gentleman who appeared to had spend more time in the gym than .... and could walk away with a job of a life guard or a modeler for special extra short, extra... swim trunks and add to his list of diverse work experiences (Taco bell fryer etc).

At the end, I cannot close this entry of the blog without referring to the "Finds of 2005" for CNSI. First, Bhanu (pronounced Banu), who represents West Virginia equally well as she does Chennai, not only surprised everyone with her drinking capacity but by her ability of being spontaneous, and a playful teaser . I think we can all see a healthy competition developing for a coveted title and position in CNSI upper echelons. Second was CK Kumar ( Head of CNSI India Operations) who amazed not only by his ability to perform a table top dance with a calendar girl but by his ability to constantly stream out with comments and one liners, though they made sense only to him most of the time.

This was the summary highlight of the meeting but more vivid and detailed blogs shall follow and I hope to get some good contribution from my fellow team CNSI members. After all this off site meeting was dedicated to Team Building Right!

Dialog Box, a bad user interface design element-Part 2( Alternative to a dialog)

In part-I, I wrote about how dialog boxes can make your application look infested with bugs. In order to solve this, as a designer your aim should be to minimize dialog boxes as much as you can and if a dialog box is really a need then think about making it a modeless dialog box.
Let us assume you have a web application where you want to create a web page to display a list of items. Consider its design; you need a list page and an button to add items to this list. Now, as a designer, in order to provide the add functionality, you will either create another webpage or you will create a dialog box depending on the information you need to display and capture. If the input form has less number of fields (3-4 fields), then most probably you will choose a dialog box. Reason being, by using a dialog, you are letting the user to add the item and also letting the user to view the list of already added items at the same time. Now think what happens if there is a pop-up blocker and pop-ups are not allowed on your site? User clicks on the ADD button and your web page will probably blink and that’s it. Your well thought dialog will be eaten by the blocker. Now you can rely on the user to figure it out or expect to get a maintenance call. In the first scenario, you are relying on user’s consciousness and yeah, he should know what you were thinking while designing your application.
My suggestion is let’s try to be innovative and let’s design for the user and not for the application.
Now regarding the above dialog issue, we can add input fields, which we were displaying in the dialog, at the top of the list page and provide button and a button next to it (See fig. below).


----------------------------------------------------------------
Headers--> First Name Last Name Email Address
----------------------------------------------------------------
Inputs--> Field1 Field2 Field3
----------------------------------------------------------------
List-->
First Name1 Last Name1 Email Address1
First Name2 Last Name2 Email Address2
First Name3 Last Name3 Email Address3
First Name4 Last Name4 Email Address4
First Name5 Last Name5 Email Address5

For editing you can either provider edit image/button in each row or a EDIT HTML link.


In the list above we achieved the same functionality as of a dialog box and much more. Much more? Well using this approach you can easily provide copy row functionality also. Consider the list below; a user can enter values in Field1, Field2 and Field3 for First Name, Last Name and Email Address and press to add a new row. User can also click on edit button/link next to each row, which will copy the row data on Field1, Field2 and Field3. Now user can edit the data and press to save changes or change something and press to create new row (copy functionality).
Hope this helps. I will be back soon with more user interface design issues.

Lavar: Undisciplined Talent?

Lavar Arrington, wearing the now famous 56 jersey ( sales of his jersey were the greater than every other jersey sold), and the Redskins continues to be in the mix of controversy as he has been relegated from being the center of defense to a non starter. Theories abundant, comments galore but the fact remains Lavar is on the bench.Lavar can blame his injury for his current miseries but it is more of his relationship with the coaches that is at the root cause of this issue. Lavar, football is quintessential a team sport and if the coach and the rest of the players ( it is amazing discipline on the part of the rest of the defense not to comment either way) do not have trust in you to play team football,I think it is the end of the road for you at Redskins. Ah!! it is going to impact and challenge the marketing returns on the dollars that have been put behind Lavar and the only thing that may reinstate some of it is an injury to couple of key players in the current defensive line. Until then all the loyal Lavar fans and Redksins fan do not bet to see him on the field making plays. Yeah you can plan to see him sacking Brunnel since he may be shopping out for another team who can use his great football talent at the expense of his sometimes undisciplined approach on the field. As for Redskins, we may loose yet another top of the league talent since our coaches could not use the strengths of a man who in his hearts is a true Redskin!!!

Make Ganguly : Coach of India Cricket Team

It is a huge disservice to the cricketing nation of India for both Chappel and Ganguly to go at loggerheads. There is no questioning the track record of Ganguly as a captain and as an aggressive,fearsome leader on the field. But at the same time Chappel was bought for a purpose to address some of the apparent weakness in the team and prepare the team for the WorldCup 2007. My only suggestion to Chappel is that even if he had the right intentions for the team, his approach has left much to be desired. He wants to approach his job as if he is coaching the Australian team. You do in Rome as Romans do. Moreover, his unability to motivate Ganguly to adhere to his coaching regimen may be seen as personality clash.However, I think Chappel needs to adapt to the situation. Either way nothing is going to get accomplished in a fragmented team mode which is unfortunately the current situation. I hope better sense prevails and everyone can focus on the game called cricket rather than scheme yet another soap opera episode. Food for thought How about Ganguly being the Coach and Dravid leads the team? Sorry Greg: It is India After All