The Hallmark Channel is running a different kind of Superbowl this Sunday - its Kitten Bowl (#kittenbowl), where dozens of adorable kittens will be slugging it out on the gridiron to promote animal adoption. Those who are members of the PetDays sharing app will be...
The Usability of Things: IoT Grows Up
We are now firmly in the age of the Internet of Things (IoT). The objects in our lives are no longer isolated but are participants in an increasingly connected world. Unfortunately, far too often IoT devices still behave as just that: things with some thin veneer of...
User Experience (UX), User Interface (UI), Human Factors, and the difference between them
There are a number of reasons why the user’s experience - and user experience design - are more important than ever: Users talk. Users can talk to other users about their experiences quite easily now. If your application is usable, intuitive, and highly functional,...
Onshore or offshore software development? Weighing the real-world tradeoffs
Admittedly, given that I run an onshore development company, we can assume I am biased about this. But I also have some real-world experience that, all bias aside, can help you weigh the tradeoffs of onshore versus offshore software development. First, let’s just...
Empathetic Versus Manipulative Applications
“I’m studying to be an application developer. What courses should I take?” When I’m asked this question, I always recommend, in addition to the obvious technical courses, classes in psychology and theater. Why? Psychology and theater - when done correctly - both...
What they don’t teach in coding school
The business world is suffering from a shortage of real, commercial-grade software developers. Which is a serious problem, because the world now runs on software, and today’s cloud-empowered customers have come to expect the very highest standards in intuitive...