I have a background in graphic design and consider myself a design elitist (thus my love for Apple’s industrial design). Changing from a designer to an analyst is quite a different world.

Example:

In an enhancement revisions to the housing lottery system, authentication for first-year freshman and transfer students is going to be handled differently than in prior years. Freshman and Transfers have to fill out different forms to secure their place on campus, which is also different from Returning students.

End users will now be required to enter some personal information, which is compared to data that has already been submitted to the University. Returning students will have to authenticate differently, using a pre-existing authentication method.

The programmers said there would be three login screens:

1. Returning Students
2. New Freshman
3. Transfer Students

The designer in me cringes at this response. Having students self select could lead to issues with new students not understanding what their classification is, e.g. I took an AP class, does that make me a transfer student or a new freshman?

By limiting end user choice increases the likelihood that they will select the appropriate option.

New Freshman and Transfer students are authenticating on the same criteria, but their status is held by the University, thusly they can be routed to the proper form by the system not by self selection.

Oh the difference between a designer and a programmer. If it just works, it doesn’t matter. If it works effectively, it makes a world of difference.

I recently read a blog posting which linked over to Kelly Johnson’s 14 Rules of Management and I was intrigued by his principles of management and how they can relate to a design shop. I have been interested in Skunk Works ever since I had read a Popular Mechanics article on the organization just after the first Gulf War and learning of Kelly’s rules of management, I immediately been can to co-relate them to running a design shop. Below are Kelly’s rules of management with my thoughts on each and how they relate to design management immediately below. They are numbered SWD: Skunk Works Design.

1. The Skunk Works manager must be delegated practically complete control of his program in all aspects. He should report to a division president or higher.

   SWD 1. If the project manager must have control of the project.

2. Strong but small project offices must be provided both by the military and industry.

   SWD 2. Small, competent teams should be provided by all parts of the project (web, print, programming, etc.)

3. The number of people having any connection with the project must be restricted in an almost vicious manner. Use a small number of good people (10% to 25% compared to the so-called normal systems).

   SWD 3. A project does not need everyone’s input, especially on the client side.

4. A very simple drawing and drawing release system with great flexibility for making changes must be provided.

   SWD 4. The project system should facilitate that changes be made easily.

5. There must be a minimum number of reports required, but important work must be recorded thoroughly.

   SWD 5. The project system should not get in the way of the design process, although client documentation of approval must be recorded.

6. There must be a monthly cost review covering not only what has been spent and committed but also projected costs to the conclusion of the program. Don’t have the books ninety days late and don’t surprise the customer with sudden overruns.

   SWD 6. Project costs should be reviewed regularly by the team, any changes or projected changes in costs should be reported to the client immediately.

7. The contractor must be delegated and must assume more than normal responsibility to get good vendor bids for subcontract on the project. Commercial bid procedures are very often better than military ones.

   SWD 7. If you have to subcontract out, make it for less than you charge but that you are willing to take responsibility for the results

8. The inspection system as currently used by the Skunk Works, which has been approved by both the Air Force and Navy, meets the intent of existing military requirements and should be used on new projects. Push more basic inspection responsibility back to subcontractors and vendors. Don’t duplicate so much inspection.

   SWD 8. Basic proofing should be done well before the client sees the project. Proofing should be done by those who will directly approve the project.

9. The contractor must be delegated the authority to test his final product in flight. He can and must test it in the initial stages. If he doesn’t, he rapidly loses his competency to design other vehicles.

   SWD 9. The client should be kept up to date with thumbnails, sketches and rough ideas initially, if not you are designing it wrong.

10. The specifications applying to the hardware must be agreed to well in advance of contracting. The Skunk Works practice of having a specification section stating clearly which important military specification items will not knowingly be complied with and reasons therefore is highly recommended.

    SWD 10. Specifications for the project must be spelled out well in advance.

11. Funding a program must be timely so that the contractor doesn’t have to keep running to the bank to support government projects.

    SWD 11. Billing, invoicing or charging should be quick. Don’t leave the client guessing what the bill will be.

12. There must be mutual trust between the military project organization and the contractor with very close cooperation and liaison on a day-to-day basis. This cuts down misunderstanding and correspondence to an absolute minimum.

    SWD 12. There must be trust between the project manager and the client. If daily updates are needed, they should be given to cut down on misunderstandings. If they are not needed, don’t do them.

13. Access by outsiders to the project and its personnel must be strictly controlled by appropriate security measures.

    SWD 13. Clients should not interact with the design team, they should interact with project managers. Maintain a sense of team security.

14. Because only a few people will be used in engineering and most other areas, ways must be provided to reward good performance by pay not based on the number of personnel supervised.

    SWD 14. Rewards should be based on performance, those who consistently hit the mark should be rewarded more.

What do think about these Skunk Work Design rules?

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p>I found this post via one of the blogs that I regularly read and to summarize:

• Technology serves humans. Humans do not serve technology.
  The user shouldn’t feel stupid if your technology breaks
• Design is not Art.

  The litmus test. When people enjoy Art, they say “I like that”. When people enjoy Design, they say “That works well”. This is not by accident. Good Design is something that works well.

• The Experience Belongs to the User.

  Designers do not create experiences, they create artifacts to experience.

• Great Design is Invisible.

  Bad design is obvious because it hurts to use. It is awkward, difficult, and complex. In a great irony of the world, bad design is much easier to see than good design. It raps us on the head like a bully. Because of its success, great design is often invisible.

• Simplicity is the Ultimate Sophistication.

  Simplicity is treading a line: knowing what to keep and what to throw away…it comes across as magic when it works, because none of the complexity is transferred to users…only simplicity.

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p>This list is the crux of what I have been trying to get across to the class that I have been teaching. I have been harping on the difference between Art and Design. My definition of the Art vs. Design debate is this:

An artist can wait to be inspired. They personally pour themselves into their work and their value is tied to the product that they produce.

A designer can’t chose when to be creative, they must produce on the client’s schedule. Designers can not express themselves in overt ways through their product, they must meet the client’s needs. A designer must be satisfied with a client who is happy with a design that is not perfect.

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p>I totally love this article and I plan on using it this week! Thank you Josh Porter, thank you very much.

My mother-in-law is a crafter. She make cloth pumpkins, bobbin angels, and wine-bottle lights. She’s painted, sewed, cross-stiched, knitted, scrap-booked, decoupaged and quilted. Tonight, during a baby shower, she brought by three wine bottles that have a hole drilled in them and Christmas lights stuffed inside. They are nice, I enjoy the unique labels and they will make nice winter decorations, but I think that this is the indicator of a larger problem.

That problem is the crafted tchotchkes.

I subscribe to a minimalist style, I want clean lines, sparse decorations, no clutter. My mother-in-law, with her craftiness, is quite the opposite. She falls into more of the Victorian style, which essentially means that every surface needs to be covered by something, with some type of decoration.

I foresee a looming war with tchotchkes. I have put it in writing so when the first shots are fired in this war, it can be said that saw this coming.

Times New Roman was a rip off of Times from Linotype by Monotype Corp, is finally being replaced?