2012 ends, so what for 2013?

So what a year, both form a technology perspective and personally. Personally I got to complete my Churchill Fellowship and spend 9 weeks travelling around the world. I got to meet some interesting people and saw some interesting sights and project. I have come back with much in the ways of ideas but still looking for the opportunity to actually apply them.

Currently I am the vice president of the WA Churchill Fellowship Association and this year we ran the National Conference which was great. I got to meet and talk with many other Churchill fellows from around Australia. We got some great ideas and looking to a very active year next year 2013. We are holding a number of events; We have decided to separate the Returning Fellows and the presentation night of the new fellows. A cocktail party and finish the year with a Churchill Birthday Bash. We are hoping to generate interests and value to becoming a member of the association and relevance.
 
Rotary I have accepted to take on the Presidency of the Rotary Club of Heirisson in 2014/15. But first I serve as President elect for a year 2013/14. We have the Duck Race in March and I have taken on the design and graphics.

Musically Enchant Unlimited was looking to close down but a number of the members spoke to me and asked if I could keep things going. So from February 4th we start and are looking to kick off with 10+ singers. I have started to put a program together just having to come up with a name, one is "Broadway to Hollywood" but that is a work in progress. I look like I will have a great support team and looking forward to a great year.

Still in Cornerstone lodge and many will have a chuckle to themselves when they hear that I will be the Chaplin for the ensuing year. The master of the lodge said he was wanting me to take on the role as he considered it a role where someone would network among the members.

So what about the technology were do I think it will go this year.  As I indicated last year this was the year of the tablet and it can only get better. The three contenders with operating systems have now come to what I believe is a level playing field, with Windows 8 which Microsoft is considering changing its name. Windows 8 is a 180 degree change in the way you interact with a computer. It took me a very little amount of time to pick up and I really love it. Finally I have got an operating system that is starting to get to the point of working at the speed I am thinking. Its fast, intuitive and works.

Android and Jellybean is great to. For the Nexus 7 I have it too does what I need and want. Apple still continuing along its track. This year for Apple was just evolutionary and no revolutionary changes. Their life cycle has reduced and I don't think that is good. The price people pay for their technology, especially for Apple I don't think people are too happy buying expensive equipment to have it superseded only 6 months later. I am looking forward to see what Apple does this year but there is no indication of anything new on the horizon only further upgrades to existing products. The mini iPad I believe totally missed the point for its size but maybe it was an introduction in to some of the size issues with iPad's. I suspect that we will see a new iPad that is thinner and has more technology under the hood but not much more than that. It is concerning that Apple has return to selling bits and bytes. Steve Jobs would sell the dream and that is what people brought into it was the dream not the bits and bytes.

Windows 8 has had some resistance but from what I have read to date most reviews have either not even use the operating system or only judged it based on a cursory trial. I use all technology and I buy technology to do a job, if it does not do the job I get something else. Windows 8 is a complete revamp, yes a complete change but something that now is starting to work. After a little time with a tablet I liked it so much I put it on my desktop.

The next piece of technology I am really waiting to get my hands on is a device that has been developed by Leapmotion. This device will make using a computer very interesting especially with the new Windows 8 operating system. I have two on order and keenly wait for it to arrive early Jan/Feb.

The other area that will grow will be the mobile phone cross with 7 inch tablet. the 7 inch tablet I believe will develop in the area of screen resolution and the size of the screen within the 7 inch area. The point of these devices is that they fit in your pocket and are the size of a paperback. That is where the iPad mini just totally missed the point being that much bigger than your pocket means you have to carry it in a bag and if you are going to put it in a bag then why not go the full distance and get an iPad. This will become more relevant with the next iPads. I believe that the next iPads will become smaller in thickness, more powerful and higher resolution screens. The screen area will grow and the masking on the screen will reduce. As this happens then the iPad mini will become more irrelevant.

I believe that the Phone and 7 inch tablet will get closer and the next area will be the Bluetooth ear pieces will become more sophisticated so that you can use the phone function on these devices with more ease. Jawbone technology is going to become more prevalent in this area as well. Another area due for more attention is voice recognition. Less visible interaction with devices and voice driven.

The main thing I believe will come in 2013 is a 7 inch Microsoft Tablet, fingers crossed.

Disruptive Innovation Apple and the Future

Disruptive Technology

"As companies tend to innovate faster than their customers’ needs evolve, most organizations eventually end up producing products or services that are actually too sophisticated, too expensive, and too complicated for many customers in their market." - Clayton Christensen

Many of these factors can be applied to apple except maybe the complicated to use. But what has changed recently is the speed with which apple is bringing things to market. So far this year we have had the iPhone, 4s, 5 and already predictions of 5s early next year. The iPad has become the New iPad, iPad 4 and the mini iPad. Again a new mini and possible iPad predicted early next year.  Apple produce high quality for the most demanding users but how are they feeling with their investment being superseded so quickly? How many times will they return to buy a new device if it is being improved and upgraded so quickly? or will they start to take on the "Osborne Effect". Early in the PC era there was a company called Osborne Computers. They started in the market quick promisingly but soon after starting they would start to market what was coming next. People were buying their computers which were quite expensive in those days. We are talking the 1985-1995 period. So buying a computer was a big decision. Buyer were encouraged to buy more as is the norm you got some technology you can always do with more as it will make thing easier to do. But what happen was the sales people of Osborne Computers were starting to suggest to their buyers to buy the latest computer, but in the next breath inform the client that if they waited a little longer there was a bigger and better computer coming. As most of the computer being used were performing well businesses would wait. The next computer came out and business would delay. The sales teams would then hit the market, they had a growing client base so to keep them they would continue to service them. But decisions to buy were taking time and the computers were still being effective. Again the sale people would try to make the sale but again the next breath suggest waiting for the next greatest system coming out. The only problem is that business did keep waiting as the next computer was going to be bigger, faster, better but there was one problem to this model the company needed to sell its current technology more consistently to support it future technology development and sale. Buy the time they realised this the company had gone.

"Companies pursue these “sustaining innovations” at the higher tiers of their markets because this is what has historically helped them succeed: by charging the highest prices to their most demanding and sophisticated customers at the top of the market, companies will achieve the greatest profitability." - Clayton Christensen 

For quite a number of years Apple has been on a sustaining innovation track. Many of their innovations have been ground breaking and game changing to a number of different industries outside of computing. Much of this innovation lead by Steve Jobs, a founder and CEO of Apple. A lot of these innovations have been quite large jumps and Apple has been a market leader in consumer electronics with the release of the iPod, iPhone and iPad. These were massive game changers and were what I believe Blue Ocean devices. In true Blue Ocean Strategy they eliminated the competition, for quite a while there was no competition, Apple owned the space.

"The cornerstone of Blue Ocean Strategy is 'Value Innovation'. A blue ocean is created when a company achieves value innovation that creates value simultaneously for both the buyer and the company. The innovation (in product, service, or delivery) must raise and create value for the market, while simultaneously reducing or eliminating features or services that are less valued by the current or future market. The authors criticize Michael Porter's idea that successful businesses are either low-cost providers or niche-players. Instead, they propose finding value that crosses conventional market segmentation and offering value and lower cost. Educator Charles W. L. Hill proposed this idea in 1988 and claimed that Porter's model was flawed because differentiation can be a means for firms to achieve low cost. He proposed that a combination of differentiation and low cost might be necessary for firms to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage." - W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne

But as indicated with Disruptive Innovation Apple has open the door to "disruptive innovators" at the bottom of the market. The likes of Samsung, HTC, Google and many others enters the bottom end of the market. These companies produced products which allowed a whole new population of consumers to access the technology that was historically only accessible to consumers with a lot of money. Apple products were not cheap and they are still in the top end of the price market. As many have experienced Apple controls their market price and no one can discount. For Apple this is good, it keep the position of the product in the market and their margins are high. The thing with disruptive innovation is that is does not address the top end of the market due to a number of factors. The product is inferior, does not have the polish or capabilities of the higher end product but one things it does have is price and an approximation to the high end product. The buyer are not so fussy and are prepared to put up with these deficiencies. But what happens next is the part that many industries have failed to take into account is the speed and veracity of development and improvement. Due to the price companies are able to turn over more product and then develop further product. At each iteration they start to improve their offerings and each offering is then purchased with much more zeal. This cycle of improvement then moves them closer to Apples customer base. For a while now Apple would then present to the market a product that was well hidden and a leap above the others and again secure their foot hold and market presence. Another factor which Apple has always claim to be their ability to do so well is that they own the entire Apple eco-system. That is both the hardware and software, which has given them quite an ability to manage and control how their products and services worked together. But again this is changing.

"Characteristics of disruptive businesses, at least in their initial stages, can include:  lower gross margins, smaller target markets, and simpler products and services that may not appear as attractive as existing solutions when compared against traditional performance metrics.  Because these lower tiers of the market offer lower gross margins, they are unattractive to other firms moving upward in the market, creating space at the bottom of the market for new disruptive competitors to emerge." - Clayton Christensen

So there is not much in the margins in the bottom end of the market for Apple. Their products are high quality and high value designed for the most demanding customers and to change that would lose that market. In the last year we have seen so many different devices coming out and competing with Apple and trying to find their market place and customers. Apple has not paid any attention to the lower end of the market as those products and services were not competing with Apple as they did not have the quality or compare to what Apple was offering. But as disruptive innovation has moved we are now seeing that the likes of Samsung is knocking at the door as are many companies. Google developed their open source platform "Android" and now Microsoft with Windows 8. Apple has resorted to the legal avenue which for Samsung has been a great marketing campaign. It is totally a perspective but to be compared to being like or similar to Apple has raised its profile. Apple had to protect its patterns and IP and they were dammed if they did and dammed if they did not challenged Samsung. But what has been the fall out. There has been so many Android Tablets released and now Windows 8 Tablets they are all similar and some different but none stuck out like the iPad. That was until Apple made us aware of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 until then it was one of many. Now as the court case was in every days news reports. That is from a tech perspective we all started to look deeper at the other offering. Why, well if Apple was worried and spending so much to stop these companies then maybe there is something that might be different or better. Better you say, but who knows let just check them out. In doing so we started to see there was alternative to the totally controlled ecosystem that Apple offered. It wasn't as good initially but we were able to customise and design to our tastes, this became infectious and others started to look the rest is history. We now have considerably more offering in the tablet space. Each offering its own type of experience and not just one view.I hear many people now saying but that's ok Apple could never fail they are just to big and they are the best. This won't stop Apple they will keep going. I would suggest that if Apple does not take heed to "Disruptive Innovation" this may not be the case. Many industries have been in the exactly same position as Apple and very sure they would continue forever, but time has proven otherwise. They did not just become dumb or the people working in them did not sabotage their futures, they were displaced by disruptive innovation. ie

• Main Frame Computer > Personal Computers
• General Motors > Toyota > Hyundai > (China and India Car Companies)
• Super Steel Mills > Mini Mills

These are just three industries but there are many more. To get a better appreciation of Disruptive Innovation check out Clayton Christensen's book the The Innovator's Dilemma: The Revolutionary Book That Will Change the Way You Do Business

Update: I have recently come across an interview with Clayton Christensen and here is what he had to say about Apple and their future prospects.

What We Do and the Passion We Put In

When someone asks me what I do for work, I happily tell them that I don't work. Close to 32 years ago I got involved with technology. This just happen to be one of many of my areas of interest and passion. At the time I was in the Army as a cook at Puckapunyal Army Base. Then I worked cooking for a living as a soldier in the army. Over time I progressed my interest into running a business "Pucka Computers" which at the time didn't go to far. I started with the Sinclair ZX80 and progressed through a number of different computers. In 1984 I was offered a full time position in being involved with selling computers. I had helped out over a number of months in a computer store in Footscray, Victoria,  Australia. to the point I was invited to work for the company as a store manager. At that point in time I was being offered three time what I was earning in the Army to go do what I was passionate about. From that day on I have basically done just that, been paid to enjoy my hobby. My hobby has taken me through a variety of different role and positions in and around technology. 

I am now more involved in the delivery of technology solutions and the supporting methodologies and strategies. Moving more to align myself as a management and technology strategist. Much of what I have done over the years has been from the abstract, creative, physical understanding and interpretation. Finding the simplicity within a complex environment. I never really put a label to it as I thought that it was my own interpretation and method. 

Since I completed my master of management which was a major highlight in my life and career, I have continued to read and learn. Recently I spend close to ten weeks overseas researching mobile technology and trying to understand how we got to where we are. I mean that technology was suppose to make our lives easier but it had made it more complex. The more that technology improved and increased in capability and capacity the more the environment became complex. That was until Steve Jobs. It was not that Steve Jobs was the perfect shining model of management, you only have to read both his biography and other book and stories about him to see that. But it was the insights and inspiration that he created. He showed that technology no matter how complex and sophisticated could deliver the experience that empowered people. That has been so successful that people will refer to design of other products as why not make it like the iPad or Mac. And it was that I was interested in finding out how we could achieve the same results with other technology and systems. 

It couldn't be just something that only Steve Jobs and Apple did, there must be something to be distilled to show light on what and how. With that in mind I applied and received a Churchill Fellowship in 2011 and then took my research trip in 2012. What I distilled from my experience is that there was no great secret, that the answer has always been there, in the room but we were not focused on the right question. 

That then raised another point being the question, what was the question and how do you find the question? So again I went looking and reading and listening. What I found was an idea which was generated from a design company in Palo Alto, IDEO called design thinking. I did not realise the value and extent that this way of approaching things from a human-centric perspective. Nor did I really appreciate being in Stanford where I could have visited that school, but that will happen in time. 

I now been going through the work of Tim Brown the CEO and president of IDEO on Design Thinking and how to go through the stages of inspriation, ideation and implementation. Initially I have been reading his HBR article of June 2008 and lately his book Change by Design. The whole process is around five key points. 

1. Empathise
2. Define
3. Ideate
4. Prototype
5. Test

These are repeated multiple time the goal being to take divergence ideas through synthesis to convergence and analysis to implementation. Tim Brown had a great quote to explain design thinking which is:

"What we need are new choices - New products that balance the needs of individuals and of society as a whole; new ideas that tackle the global challenges of health, poverty and education; new strategies that result in differences that matter and a sense of purpose that engages everyone affected by them." - Tim Brown - CEO and President, IDEO

Conventional problem solving practices over look the capacities we all have which design thinking awakens. This tool looks to be very powerful and is something I have gainfully engaged with and awakening other to. But in context to what I am doing I find that many of the theories I have been working through and learning are now coming together and forming what I hope to be a new beginning. The other thoughts and ideas are in the areas of Clayton Christensen's disruptive innovation. The work of W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne of INSEAD in the area of Blue Ocean Strategy the overall area of strategy and how we apply it to business, shifting the boundary. All of these strategies have started to focus more and more in what I do and what I how to do in the future. What seem to be complex has started to become simpler and I am coming across like minded people who I believe could be the opportunity I have been looking to find. 

On my wall I have a great quote of Steve Jobs who is someone I may not really have like to work for but have found inspiration in his words and ideals.

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't let the noise of others opinions drown out your own inner voice.

You have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn't matter to me Going to bed at night saying we've done something wonderful, that's what matters to me. - Steve Jobs"

 As many people will know I don't go the the drumbeat of others and my inner voice has always been quite loud. I see the dots starting to come together and in my gut the time is coming. I want to make a difference. I do what I love and that is being the glue that binds and idea. The trick about wealth came from a lecturer I had a number of years ago. Do what you are passionate about and help other people. The rest will come. I know this is so because it is always getting better. So if you are not happy where you are there is only one person that controls that. Stand up and go look in the mirror. You might not recognise the person, maybe you have been look at someone else. I am sorry to say but there is only one person that controls your future. As Dr Peter Drucker says in on of his sayings.

If you want to predict the future, Create It!

That means you and no one else but YOU!

Day 1 - FutureGov Conference

Just before leaving I was invited to attend the Asia FutureGov Conference. At this conference I was asked to give a keynote speech and participate on a panel about Cloud Computing. 


I flew out from Perth at 4:25pm heading to Kuala Lumpur straight off the plane and to the next plane to Colombo. On the timetable it showed that I would only be 55 minuets to Colombo but quest what there is a 2:30 hrs difference as well so it was a 3:40hr flight I arrived at the Colombo Airport through customs and found the person who then drove me to the hotel, Cinnamon Grand Colombo. I arrived at the hotel at 1am to my room by 1:30am.


The day started at 6:30am after show and dress I headed for the restaurant for breakfast. I caught up with Richard and talked about my presentation and when the event starts, which was 8:50 so back to the room clean teeth and grab my tablet computer.


To be continued ....

Day 62 - Interviews with Dr Leong Mun Kew and Dr Mahendran Maliapen

Day 62 - Wednesday / Daisy 2 days to go


Today I have an interview with Dr Leong Mun Kew who is the Deputy Director, Institute of Systems Science, National University of Singapore and Dr Mahendran Maliapen, Director, Academic Informatics Officer and Associate Professor (Adj), School of Public Health and School of Computing, National University of Singapore.


I meet with Dr Leong Mun Kew at the in the SkyGarden at a Japanese restaurant. Within a few minutes we hit it off and were discussing everything and a myriad of topics on technology, to Enterprise Architecture and the challenges and tribulations within government and government institutions. Many of our experiences were very similar and it was interesting to discuss many of these topics with a kindred spirit. We had many similar ideas and approaches in the way we both had worked and addressed issues within our own respective jobs and career. 


I was fascinated in a lot of the research that Dr Leong Mun Kew had done in the area of hand writing recognition and voice recognition. Some very interesting and funny anecdotes he recounted, especially with working on a certain project and at the crunch point finding out one point that was not considered. Many lessons learn't especially in the area of usability and testing for all eventualities. Dr Leong Mun Kew then dropped me off at the National University Health Systems building where I then meet Dr Mahendran Maliapen who is the Director, Academic Information Officer and Associate Professor (Adj), School of Public Health and School of Computing.


I was shown through a number of systems which had been designed to be delivered on mobile devices and the work that he had done to secure the devices and how he had addressed the responsibility of managing the data in the control of the user. The biggest issue with mobile applications especially with the data is who is responsible for the security of the data. Many times this falls back onto the organisations and where there is a breach it the organisation that is left to manage the fall out. In the model that Dr Mahendran had developed they saw it as a service that people wanted but that if they wanted the convenience then they had to take on the responsibility of managing the data. Before anyone can access the data they have to agree to a number of terms but especially the responsibility of the device and data where their's personally. After a few minuteness of though I understood how powerful this was. It gave the practitioners the flexibility but also the responsibility of the management and access to the data and the device. If in the situation a device was lost they were responsible to notify IT of that loss within 24 hrs. 


The next couple of days was relaxing with my wife before heading home to Perth. Our son Thomas then meet us at the airport and took us home. This is the end of the blogging for this trip but after two days I then headed off on another trip for the FutureGov Conference. 

Day 57/58/59/60/61 - Heading to Singapore and meeting up with Frances

Day 57 - Friday / Daisy 7 days to go
Arrived at the Vienna Airport waiting to travel to London. While sitting here in the lounge looking out the window it just started to pour. Looks like the rain did follow but at least its at the end and not the start. First part of the trip is to London and then catch the flight to Singapore. I will update further after arriving in Singapore and have chilled a little.


Day 58, 59, 60, 61 - Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday
Sight Seeing


Arrived in Singapore and meet my wife Frances at the Airport. We have been spending some time together and relaxing. I have had my appointment cancelled in Singapore, luckily I have a contact at FutureGov, Richard Pain. Richard has been able to find me a number of contacts which have proven to be quite fruitful. I meet up with two of them tomorrow.

Day 56 - Last Full Day in Vienna

Day 56 - Thursday / Daisy 8 Days to go

Today is time to re-pack my case for the last leg of my trip. I head off to Singapore on Friday. Once my bags are ready I will look to do one more visit into the city. But before I head in I have to put some materials together for my Key Note that I am giving on the 18th July in Sri Lanka. I am giving a spech on Mobile Security.

To be continued.....

Day 55 - CURE / USECON

Day 55 - Wednesday / Daisy only 9 days to go


Today was a late start at CURE due to last night I was invited to a meeting which finished about 9:45pm, but then continued 3:30am, boy was that an interesting night. The dinner was to fair well a number of members of the lodge as they were heading off to new locations. Quite a number of the members are diplomats for different countries. The meeting was interesting as it was held in French, I did not understand but I new the work so could identify sections of the evening.


I arrived at CURE around 10:30am attended to some emails then had a discussion with Dr Ernst Kruijff. We discussed some of my findings and questions that had been raised over the last day or so. These were of interest with respect to how I address what I am doing. The question that was raised in my presentation yesterday was "During my travels where did I see UX and the understanding in organisations?" What I believe was that we are at the verge of a tipping point or in fact just over that tipping point. This I strongly believe in no small part to what Steve Jobs has done with the Apple products. Not to claim that they have the only technology that addresses this issue but the fact that he has raised the profile of user experience. Its pervasive entry into the market has given people a taste of what can be done with you have good design and experience together. It has raised the questions with people so why can't we do this with all our technology. Lots of people are trying to shoe-horn the Apple solution to fix all but its more that we should understand the fundamentals of what it is that Steve Jobs and Apple have achieved. 


Looking at the outcomes that are wanting to be achieved and understanding how to approach the issue from a different perspective, as Steve would say Think Different. Yes, Apple has a big lead but I believe that the work of Google and Microsoft over the last couple of years are starting to level the playing field. Other companies, manufactures are also looking at how we interact with physical products and addressing design and function at that level. So yes we I believe are just starting to cross the tipping point and things are starting to take on what was professed in the past that this technology is there to help and make life easier. 


We are not their yet but we are starting. My trip here to Vienna and my time with CURE and USECON has been of great value to the questions that were raised and the perspectives. As they say the more we learn the less we know, so I have to keep reminding myself to keep focused. 


A couple of other good questions were what is Usability or User Experience (UX). There are many interpretations of this science. The other is how do you quantify UX, unless you understand what it is trying to define a measure is also difficult. More areas of research. :)


The other areas is understanding approaches in how to approach a piece of work and derive the value proposition for the business to engage in this type of work. As I started off with the four perspectives I believe it is an alignment of those perspectives which will give the answer to these questions. Better understanding of business and their outcomes and then communicating the message of the value to business with out the jargon is the main part. 


So to Dr Enrst Kruijff and his team thank you for your time and having this opportunity to discuss my research.

Day 54 - CURE / USECON

Day 54 - Tuesday / Daisy only 10 days to go

Today I get to meet more of the team and to hear from then of what and how they do their work. I also get to present what I have been doing and some of the things I have gleamed in my trip so far.


Yesterday I borrowed a book from the CURE library to read on Usability. The book "Selling Usability" highlighted for me that one of the perspectives that I am applying to my research is correct in that there need to be an alignment between the practitioners of usability and business. Business gets caught in the traps of the past in many respects as that if they don't understand a topic they pass it on to others or are not buying in to the topic, no matter the savings. That is because the practitioners of this topic rarely have the knowledge of business to communicate on the terms of business. 


In the book they gave a great example which outlines two ways to communicate the message needed to get the job done. One is the way of a usability focused person:

Techie Talk

"A recent usability test indicated that 17% of users do not understand how to enter the discount code. Furthermore, they indicated that the entry field is too short and should be larger. We are confident that the results are statistically significant given the sample size and experimental design" 

Business Talk

"We know that customers can't figure out how to enter discount codes on our web site. I reviewed this with our sales team; we're losing about $24k per month. They also indicated that we're at risk of losing 10% of our customers permanently. I spoke with the design team and we can fix this problem for $80k. "

Selling Usability - John S. Rhodes - WebWord.com

The second conversation did not speak about user experience as per the UX jargon. It talked about loss, risk and a fix. It has indicated that the ROI would be relatively short with a longer term  benefit which the business can understand and realise within 3-5 months.


The important part is the understanding that these topics and expertise needs to be shown to a business in such a way to show the business the value proposition. In doing this business can see and realise the loss and risk and understand the cost and ROI of the proposed solution. It a better understanding of how that response is given which will further this topic.  


During my time today I had three meetings. First up was a team meeting with the CURE and USECON team members. I presented what, why and how I was doing my research as well as some of the findings that I felt I had learn't to date. After that presentation it was open to questions and I got some really get questions. 


"Where do I feel the adoption of UX is with other organisations and companies?" was one, but the question that I felt was more interesting was after a presentation of one of the team members on her methodology in assessment of usability was "What is usability or user experience?" this created some discussion as there are many definitions. It raised a further question unless you know what it is you are assessing then how do you measure it. How do you quantify usability and or user experience. There was some discussion and some views but I could see that this is quite a large question and has given me some more food for thought and further research to carry out.


Following that meeting we went to lunch and on our return I then has a meeting with two members of the team and we discussed a number of different things from what I had been working on and what they were doing at CURE. After this meeting I then meet with Michael Bechinie Senior Consultant / Team Lead and Peter Strassl Senior Consultant. In our discussion we covered many and varied topics but the interesting one was our discussion on methodology of approach to work in UX. 

Day 53 - Visit to Cure

Day 53 - Monday / Daisy 11 Days to go

Today started off quitly other than having breakfast at the bakery and then heading off to get a hair cut. I was going to wait until I return but I could not wait any longer. Now even with the heat I feel a little cooler. :)

I headed off to visit CURE and so left with an hour to spare. I had three small train trips then walk a block to their facility. The only problem was when I got to the location I realised I had forgot to sync my Evernotes to my phone. This is an application I use to keep notes on my different devices. Then remembering I had my slate I then proceeded to start that up, then as it was booting I realised I had entered it onto the website. So the next task was to find free wifi, McDonalds. After buying a frappy icecream they informed me that it was not working. :) Then pointed me to a terminal on the wall. Finally I just found the CURE website found the map to their location and I was away. Lesson learnt, confirm details before leaving the building. :)

I arrived at CURE just past 2pm and fortunatley was let into the building and caught the life to level 1. Arriving at the reception area where I was meet by Dr. Ernst Kruijff a Research Coordinator at CURE. We headed to the kitchen so I could get a drink of water and sat down to discuss my research. Initially I discussed what and how I had been going about my research and then Dr Kruijff then outlined what and who CURE and USECON are and what services they provide.


CURE being more in the research area providing Services, Laboratories, Usability and Project work (International, National, Publications and Project Partners). 


USECON more as a consultancy service in the area of usability, user experience (UX) and user interface design. Their work centred around the users the way they interact with applications, software, websites or systems. Working closely with the end user and aligning their expectations with the outcomes of the application, software or systems. This is carried out in close association with their research are CURE.


Tomorrow I will be giving a small presentation on what and why and am doing my research and the gems and items of interest that I have found to date with my research so far. Then open for questions and further learning.

Day 50/51/52 - Vienna, seeing the sights

Day 50 - Friday / Daisy 14 days to go

I left Salzburg, talk about by the skin of my teeth. This is why it is important to have a reliable travel agent. My itinary had me leaving at 9am, I did not check the ticket which after my first experience with the trains that were arranged I should have learn't. On my way to Germany I flew in at 2pm and was to catch the train at 3:50pm on the itinary, but that time I caught it and the train was booked at 9:18am. So I was suppose to take the train before I had left London. 

I was early as is my habit when travelling alway giving myself time so as to relax. So I dropped the car off, the hire company dropped me at the bridge to the station. Great, I had some large array of stair to climb with the cases. Went over the the top and down into the station to find out I had 10 mins to get to the platform to catch my train as it was leaving at 8:10 and not 9am. So made it to the train with minutes to spare. The trip was quite uneventful and arrived in Vienna at 10:45am. I then took a taxi to my accommodation. Again flights of stairs, I got the lift from the ground floor to the 3 floor and then 3 flights of stairs to the 4th floor and then one more for good luck to the room I was staying in.

Finally settled grabbed the camera and hit the town for the sights. Took a hop-on hop-off bus ticket for 48hr so will return tomorrow to explore more. After a few hours headed home to prepare for a function that I had been invited to. Black tie event, but without black tie due to heat. I finally returned at 1:30am, very interesting night. So quite tired but quest what the place I am staying the son who has gone for the week left his alarm set for 6:45am so finally killed the alarm, back to sleep and 10 mins later again the alarm went off. So I have set it for 10:45am as I could not shut if off and about to get up and head into the town to see market.

Day 51 - Saturday / Daisy 13 days to go


Yesterday I had brought a hop-on and hop-off ticket for 48hrs around Vienna. So I headed off to see more.

But before I did that I went to see the Naschmarket which was recommended buy a person I meet last night at a lodge meeting. The market was enormus and it had standard fruit and veggies, then there was a trash and treasure area, but most of what I saw were antiques. Everything from Roman artifacts, world war two and one artifacts and paintings, books and anything you can imagine from the 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th century. When I get full internet access I will upload pictures.
 
Ater that I then headed for the bus tour. The buses carried out three tours, red, green and blue. Today was the blue loop, which took in the Gieant Ferris Wheel, over the Blue Danube, that also included the New Danube and the Old Danube and I was staying near the Danube Canal. After that we went past the Danube Tower, UNO City which is a modern area of Vienna and then returned to the State Opera House. I just noted a couple of places to return to at a later stage. 

I then took the green tour and visited the Schobrunn Place which was really beautiful, but again very hot and sticky. Photos will come laters in Singapore when I get better internet. After that I completed the green tour noting the other palace for tomorrow. Due to a 2am return after a function on Friday I returned home about 2pm and crashed until 7:30pm when people I had meet the night before took me to dinner. Really great and I had a traditional Boilded Beef dinner. 


While we were their Marco received a call from another person from the night before. After dinner which was 11pm we then dropped his wife off home and then meet up with this person at the old Hospital which was now a university but the grounds were full of pubs and drinking places. Again returned home at 2am and crashed. ;)


Day 52 - Sunday / Daisy 12 days to go
Today after surfacing around 10am I headed back into town to visit the last palace I had found. Schloss Belvedere Place, this was more of an art gallery. There were some interesting old paintings but no camera. Some large gardens but not so well maintained. After walking back to the center of Vienna I then headed home to crash again. I need to stop the early morning take a lot out of me especially with the oppressive heat. It is now 8pm and I am looking to pop out for a quick bite and hopefully some reduction in the heat.

Tomorrow starts the interesting part with respect to my research. I head out to CURE (Center for Usability Research and Engineering) where I have been invited to join them for a number of days starting Monday afternoon through till Thursday. I am giving a presentation on Tuesday of what I am doing and what I had discovered to date on my trip.

Signing off 8:10 pm 

Day 49 - Salzburg University

Thursday - Day 49 / Daisy 15 days to go



Today is my last day in Salzburg. As a Sight seeing destination it has been a big one. I was only able to obtain a small amount of time with Astrid at the University. Taking with institutions involved in Human Factor Engineering or Human Computer Interaction was a wild shot. I have had a little success on understanding this areas of study which has given me a better appreciation of what it is I am trying to capture. But I am still learning more of this field, I believe it is the underpinning of all that we do in the areas of usability but understanding it from a far high level of details and science.


I was initially recommended to explore this area from one of my contacts at C.U.R.E. in Vienna, Lars Ellensohn. Unfortunately he no longer works at C.U.R.E. and I have not heard from him. I recently re-connected with the centre and they have offered me 3.5 days of their time which I am keenly looking forward to.


After doing a little research for a contact at Salzburg University and the HCI department I came across Astrid's details and made contact. I believe her work focusing on the evaluation of usability, user experience, social acceptance and societal impact of human interaction with advanced robotic systems in collaborative working environments could be of interest to what I am looking at. The area that I am working is not robotics but it is human interaction with technology. Mobile technology may not be as interactive as a robot could potentially be but it is still a user experience and social acceptance and impact to the people we work with. I believe there is some synergy but I will find out more this afternoon.


Before I headed into the University which I had confirmed a few days ago when I was in the older part of Salzburg, I took a dry run to the car hire location. I do this for two reasons, one so I know I have the correct way and location and to confirm with the company what time I can drop off the car and if I can get a lift to the station. After doing that I then headed into town to the car park which has been carved out of the hill that surrounds the old part of Salzburg and which the fort is located on. The car park can hold upto a 1000 cars which is great and very central. I then head to a very famous cafe called the Cafe Sacher which is famous for its Sacher Torte (The Original).



From the Hotel Sacher website


The story of the world-famous Original Sacher-Torte began in 1832, when the all-mighty "coachman of Europe", Wenzel Clemens Prince Metternich, ordered the creation of a particularly palatable dessert for spoiled high-ranking guests.


"Take care that you do NOT make me look a fool tonight", he warned. That very day, however, the chef was unavailable! The order was reassigned to a 16-year-old apprentice in his second year, the quick-witted chap Franz Sacher...


One thing was certain; the speciality which was finally presented to the masters and mistresses was a resounding success: a soft and fluffy chocolate cake with the tasty apricot jam under the icing. Franz certainly never forgot the great success of his ingenious idea within this exclusive circle. He spent his apprenticeship working for the Count of Esterhazy, first in Bratislava and then in Budapest.


When, as a fully qualified cook, he started to work on his own account, he offered his successful composition once again, this time on a large scale. He was successful and soon the "cake by this man named Sacher" was in great demand, and the victorious career of the probably most famous of all cakes began.


So I ordered an ice coffee and a slice of Sacher Torte. (The Original)

After that I then headed over to the  ICT&S Center to meet and talk with Astrid Weiss. I recorded the whole session for review and my notes for later. Initially I commenced with the background to what, why and how I was doing my research and some of my findings todate and then Astrid explained what she had been doing with respect to evaluation of usability, user experience, social acceptance and societal impact of human interaction with advanced robotic systems. The topic not being totally related to what I was researching but many of the aspects did relate. We discussed that the unit she worked for was a research arm within the university and that they were responsible for 90% of their revenue to sustain their unit. 

We covered the changes in the understanding of usability and human computer interaction and how the market place is changing. That companies and users are realising that there needs to be more understanding of the expectations and the ability to deliver for effectively with technology. That there needs to be a far better understanding of how business actually achieves its outcomes with technology and that technology alone or usability alone can not delivery the outcomes required.

It was good to get some further insights into what and how research do to delivery better outcomes using technology. The other part that I had come to understand that the elephant in the room is Human Computer Interaction (HCI) and Human Factor Engineering (HFE) which has been there all the time. But the important part is that where my research is approaching this from four perspectives that of the user, developer, manufacturer and business it is an alignment of all these parties with the HCI and HFE that is required at the start. Understanding the needs, expectation and then engineering a result that delivers on the outcome. To better understand what it is that all these parties don't know that they don't know. 

Again more information to my swiss layer cake and knowledge and trying to understand how we work to building a more intuitive and easier solutions.

Signing Off 6:03pm

Day 48 - Waterfalls and Gorges

Wednesday - Day 48 / Daisy 16 days to go


On my trip yesterday I was told of a gorge where there was a path along a cliff face to a great waterfall. So going to check it out. The other I found when looking for waterfall, a place called Dark Gorge. I shall show you on my return.


To be continues....

Day 47 - Head for the Hills, well actually the Alps

Tuesday - Day 47 / Daisy 17 days to go


Today I am heading for the Alps and the lakes area. It is about an hour south. On my return I should have some interesting stories and pictures.


Yesterday I started to put some flesh around my final report but the first exercise I did was to list my acknowledgements. In some ways I have been feeling that I have not achieved much for the time that I have taken to carry out this trip as well as the effort that I had put into planning this trip. This trip has been the culmination of a years work. Contacting total strangers in the field of Usability and Mobile Technology. Telling the story of how and what I was doing and requesting valuable time of theirs to a total stranger. 


When I left I had high hopes and lots of people to meet. As I progressed some of those meetings fell through, but from the meetings I did have I then was able to obtain more. Total strangers assisted me as well as good friends and business associates. To all of these people thank you. So as I was building my acknowledgement list I realised that I have achieved quite a lot and meet many and varied people. I have been shown and introduced to lots of new ideas and concepts and have I believed learn't quite a number of key points in my endeavour to answer the question of how do we make technology easy to use. The main point being the elephant in the room. The knowledge and capability has always been there, but there needed to be an alignment between the different groups responsible for the design, delivery and ideas behind the technology.


Steve Jobs was one of those people who was capable in achieving that by bringing the focus and simplicity as well as in his words, "Think Different". To that end I believe I have some concept on how we can approach this issue and create similar if not better experiences that Apple has in the past and now, as well as Microsoft in their up coming Windows 8 and their Surface Tablet, in Android with ICS (Ice Cream Sandwich - Android v4) and (Jellybean - Android VX.X). People as starting to "Think Different" and there is an alignment between all parties, the user, developer, manufacturer and business.


So that is my start of my thoughts, and I am heading for the hills / Alps.  :)


What a day, a cable car, boat and ratchet train up a mountain. The best part of the day was returning to find and email confirming my visit to CURE in Vienna and that they had offered me 3.5 days with them. :)

The cable cart maximum 4 people

The top of the mountain

Going back down 

The boat I took to get to the train 

The crank train I travelled on

The Mountain top I reached

The boat that I took to return

Day 46 - Day of Rest and Research

Monday - Day 46 / Daisy 18 Day to go now


Today I decided to relax and get my breath. I also starting to work on both my final report and a keynote speech that I will be giving at the FutureGov SAARC Summit in cinnamon Grand, Colombo, Sri Lanka. My Keynote is "Securing Mobile Government" looking at:

• Rethinking information security for the mobile channel
• Access control for endpoint devices, and
• Remote management of compromised devices

This speech is part of the discussions that I have had on my way around the world with people with regards to mobile technology and the deployment and management of these devices. Looking at the change in attitudes which are leaving both government and corporations exposed. The rapid change and introduction in technology, the consumerization of that technology and the powerful aid and damage BYOD (Bring Your Own Devices) can bring to the party.

The other part is to my report. Part of what I have been doing is researching a number of books which have been recommended to me on my way. One of those books was  "Beautiful Visualization: Looking at Data through the Eyes of Experts "  by Julie Steele and Noah Ilinsky. This book was recommended by one of the contact I received from Isabelle Sigal whom I stayed with in New York. Here name was Zoe Fraade-Blanar we unfortunately were unable to catch up but I have received a number of correspondence from Zoe and the information she recommended has been great.

I also had a couple of books recommended by Clay Shirky they being two he wrote which after readying the intro I obtained copies. They were "Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organising Without Organisations" the second was "Cognitive Surplus - Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age" both of these indirectly have added to my research. Thank god for Kindle software and digital books. The final book which is utilising mobile technology is using the services of Audible an audio book. I tried to obtain the book written by another of my contact who worked at the John F. Kennedy School of Government. That was Zackary Tumin and his book "Collaborate or Perish" which was written by him and William Bratton

"William Bratton former Los Angeles police chief and New York police commissioner. They lay out a field-tested playbook for collaborating across the boundaries of our networked world. Today, when everyone is connected, collaboration is the game changer. Agencies and firms, citizens and groups who can collaborate, Bratton and Tumin argue, will thrive in the networked world; those who can't are doomed to perish. No one today is better known around the world for his ability to get citizens, governments, and industries working together to improve the safety of cities than William Bratton. 

At Harvard, Zachary Tumin has led senior executives from government and industry in executive sessions and classrooms for over a decade, burnishing a global reputation for insight and leadership. Together, Bratton and Tumin draw on in-depth accounts from Fortune 100 giants such as Alcoa, Wells Fargo, and Toyota; from masters of collaboration in education, social work, and the military; and from Bratton's own storied career. Among the specific strategies they reveal: Start collaboration with a broad vision that supporters can add to and make their own Rightsize problems, and get value in the hands of users fast Get the right people involved - from sponsors to grass roots Make collaboration pay in the right currency - whether recognition, rewards, or revenue Today companies and managers face unique challenges - and opportunities - in reaching out to others, thanks to the incredibly connected world in which we live.

Bratton and Tumin provide practical strategies anyone can use, from the cubicle to the boardroom. This is the ultimate guide to getting things done in today's networked world."

Quoted from the Audibility Write up

I tried to get a digital version for the kindle software but the copyright issues were stopping me. Crazy, I could buy the physical book or the audio book but not the digital book, crazy.

There is an example of Department of Social Service and the changes required in the Department to get Families, Social Works and many other parties.

So with all this in mind I am using this time for some study and research.

Signing Off 3:00pm

Day 43/44/45 - Friday/Saturday/Sunday - Salzburg

( For my Daughter Daisy who is counting down the days for my return - 21/20/19 Days to go )

I left this morning on the train from Heidelberg after 7 days there. I had two interviews with SAP. This week I will be here in Salzburg.

I will be catching up with Astrid Weiss Astrid WEISS is working as a HCI Research and Teaching Assistant. She holds a PhD in social sciences (2010) and a master’s degree in sociology (2005) from the University of Salzburg. During her study she specialised on methodologies of empirical social research. She joined the ICT&S Center in 2006 and engaged in the FP6 EU-project ROBOT@CWE, focusing on the evaluation of usability, user experience, social acceptance and societal impact of human interaction with advanced robotic systems in collaborative working environments.

Currently she is working for the Christian Doppler Laboratory for Contextual Interfaces to investigate key factors influencing human-robot collaboration within the factory context and the EU FP7-project IURO, that aims at developing interaction paradigms for an interactive urban robot. Her specialities are user-centred design methodologies (ethnography, cultural probing), user studies in HCI and HRI, statistical data analysis.

So for the weekend I will be checking out Salzburg and the surrounding areas. I will update this entry as the weekend progresses.

Saturday- Day 44 / 20 Days before I am home Daisy

Today I walked from the car park which was at one end of the hill across the ridge, to the fort and down the cable car. To give you a better idea. I started at the orange circle in the top left of the map and the green trail is approximately where I walked. I took many tunnels and passages between the streets as well but this will give you a general idea.

Sunday - Day 45 / 19 Days to go Daisy
Today I went to Hellbrunn. The main building of Schloss Hellbrunn Castle or the Hellbrunn Palace it is more of a manor and pleasure ground than a proper palace, to be quite honest, was built between 1613 and 1615.

It is a rectangular court with two pavilions on the front corner. The three storeys are divided in the façade by so-called "Kordongesimse" decorations. A double-sided stairway in the front leads to the central main gate of Schloss Hellbrunn Castle. Under this staircase you will find a grotto - fountain by Santino Solari. On the first floor of Hellbrunn palace, you will find the remarkable "Fürstenzimmer" or "Prince′s chambers", most significant the "Festsaal". A long alley connects Hellbrunn with the city of Salzburg. 

It was decorated by Arsenio Mascagni around 1615; the Italian painted the walls and ceilings completely with street scenes and 12 very plastic, golden Caesars. 

The plastic mode of the painting simulates a peristilium or "pillar court". In a similar fashion, Mascagni painted the octagonal "Musikzimmer" or simply "Octagon", a music room which borders the Fürstenzimmer.


I also toured the trick fountains and the park before heading back to Salzburg for a Segway tour. 

The three faces of Jesus, God the Son, God the Father and God the Holy Ghost. Pope Urban VIII  band this type of picture in 1628

I then headed back to Salzburg for a Segway tour and to do some night shots of the city.

My tour guide

The house in the Sound of Music

Again from the Sound of Music

Statue to Mozart

Fountain to Neptune