Software Interface Design

Good user interface design has traditionally been a low priority in the world of network management applications (except for a few companies like my own that seem to get it).  But a recent interview with Cisco’s new CTO, Padmasree Warrior, may be a bellwether of changing priorities:

What’s Cisco’s most immediate technology need?

I don’t think it’s a Cisco need as much as an industry need. If you think about what’s happening with the industry, you can think of it as either a convergence or a collision. Convergence because we are truly merging content, communications, computing and commerce. It’s a collision because different industries come at it form different angles. Google and Amazon come form the application down into the infrastructure; infrastructure companies are going up. Wireless and wireline are converging as well. So it changes the landscape of who competes with whom in the future and who becomes your friend.

So what I think what Cisco needs more of in terms of technology and talent is moving from infrastructure to more providing the applications associated with the infrastructure. You have to think about how users interface with the technology. So user interface becomes a very important aspect that we have to think about. As the enterprise gets more consumerized, it has to be very simple, it has to be one click. It’s user interface, usability – how simple is it to set up. It’s that kind of focus that we need more of.

Original article: http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/062508-cisco-cto-warrior.html?page=1

Padmasree, you give me hope!

I was recently interviewed by a student in the University of Texas at Austin MBA program on creativity:

1. Do you find any business processes get in the way of creative ideas?

Not really. Deadlines and pressure are actually good for creativity. To create we must work within bounds — limited possibilities do not strangle creativity, they make it possible.

2. What do you feel is the best method for fostering creative ideas?

I believe you must combine energy, pressure, and cross-disciplinary exploration. Energy in the form of excitement and drive to achieve, pressure to achieve something great within an ambitious time frame, and lastly the search for ingredients outside of our normal scope. We often create by taking a concept or idea from another discipline and twisting or turning it to fit our needs. There is so much that software designers can learn and be inspired by in the fine arts.

3. What is it that led you to a creative position, and how do you stay competitive?

I believe everyone is creative. No question. As for staying competitive, it’s very simple — you must apply yourself in ways that benefit the business. You must always keep your eye on the money. If I’m not wrong, I believe that much of the old masters’ works were created based on what they were commissioned to paint; not whatever they felt like painting. Find the intersection between what you want to do and what will benefit your company or customers.

4. How do you measure the success of ideas?

With regard to the software we design, we actually have objective measures in place such as efficiency and effectiveness that help us to determine if we have improved a design. We also use less objective measures such as satisfaction surveys and word association exercises that provide us with good feedback.

5. How is creativity rewarded within your organization?

Creativity is rewarded at NetQoS by turning the right ideas into products or product features. I say the “right” ideas because not all creative ideas make business sense. I’m also reminded of a quote from Harry Truman: “It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.” For me, seeing my work in a product that people need to do their daily jobs is the ultimate reward.

6. Would you rather be in charge of a creative failure, or an ordinary success?

I’m not sure what an “ordinary success” is, but I would not be happy being in charge of a creative failure. No success in our business (high-tech software) is easy or ordinary.

TechSmith interviewed me about using their product Morae for usability testing: http://www.techsmith.com/morae/interview/rwilson.asp