In this week’s newsletter, join us for a beer in Chicago, sign up for our “Making Your CMS Work for You” course, and revisit Peter’s essay on how decentralization can inhibit the user experience. You’ll also find an update on our successful cycling team and our long-term work with NPR.
Chicago Is Sold Out, But Join Us in San Francisco
The Chicago workshop is sold out, but we’ll be adding several more workshops with Jesse to our 2005 schedule, so keep an eye out.
If you didn’t get a workshop spot in time, but live in the Chicago area, we’d still love to see you. Join Jesse and the workshop attendees for a drink at Monk’s Pub — located at 205 W. Lake Street. The pub is around the corner from the Institute of Design, and you’ll get a chance to mingle with our friends, colleagues, and attendees while enjoying a beer on Adaptive Path’s tab.
Our January CMS workshop is right around the bend. Join Jeffrey Veen and Peter Merholz in San Francisco for “Making Your CMS Work for You,” a workshop that will answer the question, “Why do so many CMS projects fail?” Whether this is your first time considering a content management system, or you’ve been burned by failed implementations in the past, this workshop will teach you how to do it right.
Seats for the workshop are limited, so sign up today. Newsletter subscribers get a 15% discount off this workshop by using discount code FOAP during registration. You can register here.
And more information on “Making Your CMS Work for You” is here.
Encore Essay by Peter Merholz
Organization in the Way: How Decentralization Hobbles the User Experience
Contrary to all the books, articles, Web sites, and workshops that suggest otherwise, the biggest problem in user experience design today is not one of practice. Any competent practitioner can dip into the current toolbox of methods and create a satisfactory product.
Right now, the biggest obstacle to good design is poor organizational structure. The fundamental makeup of most organizations runs contrary to producing quality designs, and as organizations get larger, this becomes increasingly apparent.
Read the rest of Peter’s essay »
Adaptive Path Cycling Team Update
Back in April, we announced our co-sponsorship of the Joe Bar/Adaptive Path cycling team. Now that the racing season is just about over, we couldn’t be more excited to tell you about our team’s success.
In its first year, the team posted 15 top-10 finishes across the men’s and women’s squads in races on the West Coast and in Colorado. In June, the team participated in the grueling Mt. Hood Cycling Classic in Oregon, one of the West coast’s most challenging multi-day races.
In September, Peter Nelson won the World Solo 24-Hour Mountain Bike Championship in his age group in Whistler, BC. Supported by his teammates, Peter pedaled nearly non-stop through the rugged terrain for 24 hours straight. And speaking of rugged, while the rest of us have been bundling up in preparation for winter, Leo Katolik and J. Juelis have been racing through the cold rain and mud of the Pacific Northwest’s cyclocross series. Just before Thanksgiving, at the State Championship, J. placed second in the state of Washington in his age group. He’s decided to represent the team at the Master’s National Cyclocross race in Portland.
We’d like to congratulate our team on its long, successful season, and wish everyone a well-deserved rest for the holidays.
NPR Changes Site Structure
As part of our ongoing work with National Public Radio, Adaptive Path outlined a long-term Internet strategy for the company. In accordance with those recommendations, NPR recently launched extensive changes to its site structure.
The site used to be organized by programming schedule, but made the switch to a topic-based format. Interviews with NPR listeners indicated that they preferred content organized by topic, so they didn’t need to remember exactly what time they were listening in order to access more information online.
In addition to the new topic focus, NPR now offers features like “Most E-mailed Stories,” “Most Popular Transcripts,” and “Links Heard on Air.” We’re pleased with the results. See the changes for yourself at NPR.org.
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