My wife has an iWatch and an iPhone. I got her an Anker USB charging hub. But now, with her new desk configuration, I am looking for something that will change both the iWatch and the iPhone. There is a number on the market, but my wife doesn’t like cables, so I will need to hide the cables on her desk. I am always interested in different ways of looking at solutions. So this has been an interesting thought experiment.
As a long time software architect, I started with the requirements gathering. The easy part (no wires) and the hard part (has to be easy to use) was a struggle at first. In part, the reality of the phrase easy to use always gets me. IT professionals don’t always understand that what is easy for us, isn’t easy for everyone. That balancing act is something that can be difficult to consider. The other side of easy is training.
Training is fairly straightforward when it comes to a charging station.
- No visible wires
- Easy to sue
- Stable enough that it can be on the edge of her table and not slip
Those were the three criteria that I started the search with. I apply the same concepts to designing corporate solutions. It works when you break things down to the simplest moving piece. I started in the software architecture world as a disciple of the system method. I later layered on the teachings of John Boyd (the OODA loop). What I’ve come to realize is the most important aspect of any solution is the person to be using it.
OODA loop, by the way, stands for Observe, Orient, Decide and Act. It speaks to the reality of changing the orientation of the observer to receive different results. It was originally designed to improve high pressure, fast turn decision-making systems.
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Question of
Have you ever heard of John Boyd and the OODA Loop?
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Yes
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No
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Question of
Do you have a system you use to figure out what someone else needs?
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Yes
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No
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Question of
Do you like helping other people?
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Yes
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No
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I agree. It’s easier to solve computer problems together.
Better together, you never what is going on until somebody points it out to you,
The problem is that often folks don’t understand what they need or even want, so they can’t tell you. My girlfriend fought me tooth and nail against digital previz. Now she swears by it, but it took her forever to come around…
Back in the day (when we lived in Indiana) my wife laughed at me about GPS and mapping software. I tried for 5 months to get her to try it.
She was working on her masters and had to visit a place in Indianapolis where she had never been. She got lost. She called me and I got her from where she was to where she wanted to be. She said how? I said that GPS you made fun of.
Now she won’t go anywhere without her GPS (phone or car)!
I make an effort to try new things, especially if someone I trusts endorses them. It gets rid of the middle man
I love that mantra. It is very similar to mine!
I suspect we have much in common…
It would seem we do! Other than the opposite ends of the country 🙂
location is meaningless on the web
That is an interesting way to look at reality.
you can say location is meaningless IRL as well, but reality will assert itself
The issue with the IRL is, of course, the reality of face-to-face.
Over the years I’ve worked with bosses who answered every email.
I;’ve worked with bosses that never answered their email.
But I’ve never met or worked for a boss that didn’t respond to an in-person conversation.
yeah, that would be pretty weird
I am not that knowledgeable about computers and technology but here in NZ most I know don’t know much about them and I end up by working out how to help them.
To change my landline to wireless was a one day nightmare and had to do that all by myself.
Now I have changed companies and gone back to a landline as the company charged far too much and others without wireless had problems ringing us.
So I have now got unlimited nationwide calls and unlimited broadband plus $10.00 less per month a far better deal
It is really interesting the reality of the internet and the computer market today. I am sorry to hear of your struggles but glad to hear to prevailed!
A happy woman who has a husband like you. I have to solve the technology problems myself. Occasionally, I also help a nephew who is much younger than me ?
My wife calls me her personal tech support. I bet your nephew is very smart!
I agree with your wife. The nephew really knows a lot about modern technology like me
That is really important, makes it a lot easier!