http://www.jamesbielefeldt.com A practical look at strategy, project management, technology and design for today's web. Tue, 11 May 2010 16:13:50 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Spend more time on learning what users really need, not what they say they want Put more emphasis on your people and less on your tools Think of all solutions as temporary Stop trying to predict the future Build less complex apps Shorten timelines Spend less time on figuring out how to get three more years ... http://www.jamesbielefeldt.com/?p=655 Prodevia Learning Get any 10 PDU course FREE with any paid course enrollment through May 31, 2010. Gantthead presents PMXPO 2010 Gantthead is once again excited to be bringing you our annual virtual conference and exhibition on May 20th 2010. Learn, network, earn 6 PDUs for FREE and gain valuable knowledge from the ... http://www.jamesbielefeldt.com/?p=651   The question, “What’s the best way to document a project?” often comes up at PMI meetings I attend and in conversations with clients. Every project is different in one way or another: methodology, technology, size, features, requirements, stakeholder needs, to name a few. The answer isn’t so simple, but here ... http://www.jamesbielefeldt.com/?p=645 I hate new technologies. Well it’s not that I actually hate them; it’s that they are risky and I don’t like risk. Take VHS vs. Betamax tapes for example. Back in the day, both were marketed heavily and a lot of people purchased both formats, but in the end VHS ... http://www.jamesbielefeldt.com/?p=640 Almost gone are the days of pure person-to-person communication in the blogsphere and in online communities. Business always finds a way to invade and monetize any new communication media or platform. From FTC disclosures to self-promoting blog and forum comments,  what once was no-mans land for commerce is now the next ... http://www.jamesbielefeldt.com/?p=636 I recently bought some Field Notes memo books. There was a small glitch on their site, so I sent them a note. To my surprise, when my order arrived they had sent me an additional set of colored note pads just to say, "Thanks for the heads up."  Very cool. Thanks Field Notes ... http://www.jamesbielefeldt.com/?p=629 I love to bass fish and since fishing is more fishing than catching, there’s a lot of time for thinking. Thinking about fishing and thinking about everything else. Maybe that’s a big part of why I like it so much. I find myself using fishing analogies as I explain business concepts ... http://www.jamesbielefeldt.com/?p=623 Nowadays there are all kinds of great events one can attend to get the latest and greatest information about the web world. The mackdaddy is South by Southwest Interactive followed by numerous conferences about technology, start-ups, blogging, video, UX, you name it. It would be great to attend these, but ... http://www.jamesbielefeldt.com/?p=611 I have been having an issue with Worpress publishing a post I wrote. The admin just hangs when I try to publish the post. After a week of troubleshooting, my hosting company tells me they have SQL injection prevention software that is stopping the execution of the process becuse it ... http://www.jamesbielefeldt.com/?p=600 It all depends on my workload, but I read quite a few blogs. Most of them are technical, since I’m often looking for information. Recently, I find myself reading more non-tech blogs because they are linked to the tech blogs. Either geeks are becoming softer, or more people are becoming ... http://www.jamesbielefeldt.com/?p=619 There a lot of reasons why clients’ needs aren’t met in interactive projects and most of these reasons are not unique to interactive, but can be found in any project. Here are four essential activities, if done well, that make meeting client needs not so difficult: Accurately Defining Needs No good solutions ... http://www.jamesbielefeldt.com/?p=542 I've worked with companies where the web department is managed under marketing and where it's managed under IT. Where to place the web group seems to be a puzzling decision for most organizations. My experience has been neither marketing nor IT works well. There always seems to be tension ... http://www.jamesbielefeldt.com/?p=307 The 2009 Forrester Groundswell Awards were divided into several categories which I thought were very appropriate. They were listening, talking, energizing, embracing, supporting, managing, spreading and social impact for both B2B and B2C companies. These action words are what businesses do every day and are great ways to think about online ... http://www.jamesbielefeldt.com/?p=308 Fact: It is almost certain, if you are half done with work activities at the half-way point of the schedule the project will be late or un-estimated man hours will be needed at the end to make the deadline. Most people think if half the work is ... http://www.jamesbielefeldt.com/?p=309 I recently had an encounter with another IT person that ended badly. My company built a web site for a new client that was his client. Let's call him Ted. While working with this new client, we had been informed they wanted to switch hosting companies because they were ... http://www.jamesbielefeldt.com/?p=310 50 JQuery examples using default code base and plugins. Why write this stuff from scratch? Via on design. http://www.jamesbielefeldt.com/?p=311 A successful web site, or any piece of communication for that matter, must be presented in a fashion that is reasonably, easily absorbed by the intended audience. As we work on the information architecture of a site one of the first things that can cause issues is the difference between ... http://www.jamesbielefeldt.com/?p=313 The Microsoft Web Platform gives you the framework, web server, database and tools you need to build and run Web sites and applications on Windows®. I'm not used to seeing this, but PHP is included along with several open-source apps. http://www.jamesbielefeldt.com/?p=314 Visibility, support and software for professional Web Developers and Designers - at no upfront cost! Heck of a deal. http://www.jamesbielefeldt.com/?p=315 There's a leader and in the beginning, there's excitement about the possibilities ahead. Each member has his/ her own role, but all invest in the whole. Individual proficiency carries the group as chemistry grows and takes the capabilities to the next level. Members are inspired by each other's work. ... http://www.jamesbielefeldt.com/?p=316