Google Analytic example - How business view can help you ?

Yesterday, I received a request from a customer: create a tool to track statistic data on email campaigns. We must find the solution with cheapest price and lowest development cost.

Actually, I've used a lot of statistic tracking tools like: Google Analytics, SiteMetter, ... However, I thought that these are tools for web sites (not for email) because the real mechanism behind these tools is: the client (browser) must run a piece of Javascript to send statistic data into their server.
With email client, we can not run script because of some limitations regarding security.


I get in stuck.
How to solve this issue?
The CTO told me: I see that some companies use Google Analytic to track statistic data related to their marketing email campaigns.
Oh, really? I can not believe in that.
Search on Google, and this is the result:

http://www.epikone.com/blog/2008/11/04/email-tracking-with-google-analytics/

This is just a very simple idea: adding parametters into the link we want to track in email content. When user reads the email and open the link, Google Analytics will track this.
To view statistic data, user will use the filtering parameters to select data they want to view.

Oh! my god. Great
Actually, this is not a quite 100% good solution. However, it can make use of Google Analytic in a new way.



I think this is invented by a business man, NOT from any developers or technicians.
WHY I said that?
NO developer can find this - because they always think about complete and quite 100% good solutions.
In the mind of a business man, he wants to make use of everything. So, tricks are good ways save his money and make use of everything was available.

Do you want to be a developer with good business mind? I am trying my best to be that.

Apply accessibility to web projects

Recently, I see there' re many persons misunderstand about Accessibility. Someone can not distinguish it with Usability. So, I post this entry to help you have a general overview about this.
I also post some ideas related to the way we apply Accessibility into web project under 2 views: Company view and Project view.


Outline of this post:

1. What is accessibility?
   
   
   
   1. WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines)
   
   
   2. ATAG (Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines)
   
   
   3. UAAG (User Agent Accessibility Guidelines)
   
   
   4. EARL (Evaluation and Report Language)
   
   
   5. WAI-ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Application)
   
   
2. Why we need to support accessibility?
3. How to apply accessibility?

What is accessibility?

This is the Web accessibility definition from W3C

Web accessibility means that people with disabilities can use the Web. More specifically, Web accessibility means that people with disabilities can perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with the Web, and that they can contribute to the Web. Web accessibility also benefits others, including older people with changing abilities due to aging.

You can find here some scenarios that People with Disabilities Using the Web

From now, when we talk about Accessibility - we're talking about the ways to support people with disabilities to use the web.
So, do not confuse this definition with Usability.

Web standards for Accessibility

W3C composed a standard for Accessibility called WAI. These are a collection of guidelines to help us create web site and tools to support Accessibility.
There are 5 standard groups in WAI

1. WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines):
These are guidelines for web content. If we are a web based solution company - we should follow this. I need to explain to you more detail about this because this is what we have to support in our web projects.
In this document, there are 14 guidelines:

• 1. Provide equivalent alternatives to auditory and visual content.
• 2. Don't rely on color alone.
• 3. Use markup and style sheets and do so properly.
• 4. Clarify natural language usage
• 5. Create tables that transform gracefully.
• 6. Ensure that pages featuring new technologies transform gracefully.
• 7. Ensure user control of time-sensitive content changes.
• 8. Ensure direct accessibility of embedded user interfaces.
• 9. Design for device-independence.
• 10. Use interim solutions.
• 11. Use W3C technologies and guidelines.
• 12. Provide context and orientation information.
• 13. Provide clear navigation mechanisms.
• 14. Ensure that documents are clear and simple.

Each guideline has one or many checkpoints with 3 types of priority: 1(MUST) , 2 (SHOULD), 3 (MAY).

If you can support all checkpoints with level 1, you get Conformance Level "A".
If you can support all checkpoints with level 1, 2, you get Conformance Level "Double-A".
If you can support all checkpoints with level 1, 2,3 you get Conformance Level "Triple-A".
2. ATAG (Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines)
These are accessibility guidelines for tool to create content. Eg: WYSIWYG Editors, media tools, ...
3. UAAG (User Agent Accessibility Guidelines)
These are accessibility guideline for Web browsers, media players, and other user agent.
4. EARL (Evaluation and Report Language)
Evaluation and Report Language (EARL) is a machine-readable format for expressing test results. The primary motivation for developing EARL is to facilitate the processing of test results, such as those generated by Web accessibility evaluation tools, using a vendor-neutral and platform-independent format.
5. WAI-ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Application)
WAI-ARIA, the Accessible Rich Internet Applications Suite, defines a way to make Web content and Web applications more accessible to people with disabilities. It especially helps with dynamic content and advanced user interface controls developed with Ajax, HTML, JavaScript, and related technologies

Why we need to support Accessibility?

• Provide equal access and equal opportunity to people with disabilities


• Web accessibility is required by laws and policies in some cases. You can see here some list of relevant laws and policies around the world


• This is a new trend in 2.0 web sites. If you can support this, it is an added value to your customer.

How to apply accessibility?

In my point of view, I think we have 2 views to apply this.

Apply under organization view

The first thing we need to do is: training for web developers about Accessibility and its importance. Your developers must understand about WHY they need to follow it.

Second, you should have HTML coding standard document. This is a guideline to help your development team can follow it and transfer to the new one. Before doing this step, you should select the conformance level that your company will support by default. Actually, I haven't seen any site get the Conformance Level "Triple-A" (except http://www.w3.org/WAI/)

Apply under project view

If you want to apply WCAG. You should create a process to support this. In my point of view, the simple process should have 3 below roles:
1. HTML designer: he/she must make sure the output HTML design follow WCAG standard.
2. Web developer: he/she must apply HTML design into the code by proper way that create the final version matching WCAG standard.
3. Content checker or QC: check the final output.
4. Content developer: when your site is deployed into production, content developer takes responsibility of creating/editing content. He must has knowledge about Accessibility to follow that.
As a process, you must have document, guidelines and checklist to support it.
Roles in process are up to you. I just raise some default roles in a simple way. You can create your customized version to follow the default support conformance level (of your company) in WCAG.
Good luck!

Top reasons that manager should write blog

Some managers told me: forget it, I do not have enough time for blogging. We should save time for other more important things!
Actually, I sympathize with them. However, blogging has a lot of advantages. It may help you manage your team efficiently. You don't believe? :) See top reasons I've listed below to understand why.

• Blogging helps your employee understand and sympathize with you more: if you have difficulties, or something need to explain to your employee - you can use blog. If you're good at writing, you can tell them about your emotion, what you're thinking ... However, do not tell any stupid thing when you're angry. That may create side effect of your blogging. :)


• Blogging helps you to practice the writing skill: writing skill is one of must have skills of manager. Practicing it with blogging is a good way.


• Blogging is a very useful tool for training (if you can make use of it): I see some of my friends post some entries to train the team in his blog. He received a lot of feed backs. That's a good signal to know your team can understand what you want to transfer.


• Blog is a good tool for communication: through blogging, you can announce some thing and explain easier to your team. Actually, people like reading blog than reading the news board/policy board in the office.


• Blog is a good place to create relationship: a lot of people tell me that they like making friends through blog. That's the great point that you should make use of. If each employee has a blog, introducing their blogs to others is the best way to help them understand each other fast and strengthen the relationship.

Why don't we try from now?

Product manager - who are you?

I had a chance to work with a big customer in a web 2.0 project. From this project, I've learned a lot of things from business to techniques.
After 1 year, our client gets financial support from one big Capital venture organization (over 3 million dollars) and this project becomes one of top 100 raising web 2.0 sites this year.
(I am so sorry because I can't tell you more information about my customer , and my project business - that's my principle)
One of the most important factors help this project to be success is: product managers. They created good road map and a good product positioning for our product.
In this entry I will help you understand more about this position and how it is important.
I also share to you some experiences when we develop a product from idea.

What is Product management?

First, we have to know what Product management is.

Product management is an organizational function within a company dealing with the planning or marketing of a product or products at all stages of the product lifecycle. (wikipedia)

So, more detail - in product management, what we have to do?

Product planning

• Gathering market requirements


• Defining new products


• Building product roadmaps, particularly Technology roadmaps
  


• Product Life Cycle considerations


• Product differentiation

Product marketing

• Product positioning and outbound messaging


• Promoting the product externally with press, customers, and partners


• Bringing new products to market


• Monitoring the competition

So, what is product manager?

Product manager

Product manager is the person who takes responsibility of Product management in an organization.
In production companies, there are usually 2 separate staffs takes important role in product development: sale - marketing + product management staff. Sale & marketing staff research the market, predict market trend in the future and send it to Product management staff. Product management staff will research to create product to follow market trend.

How important this position is?

As you can see above, product manager takes care of all things related to Product management. It's a very important role because:

• This position determines the success of product and strongly affects to your business
  


• It determines the development trend of a company in the future. If your company is built only one product, the product management strongly affect to the vision and mission of your company .
  

How to develop a product from idea?

This is a big question, so I can not write all related things in only one entry. I just give you some questions that you need to answer before deciding to develop an idea:

• Who are end users that your product/service serves?


• How your product/service earns money? (What is your business model?)


• Who are your competitors?


• What is the most important difference of your product with others? (differentiation).


• Why users must use your product (not others)?

...
These questions are not enough. I will post a series of entry related to this question.
Wait and enjoy!
Do not hesitate to feedback me if you have any other ideas.

What wordpress.com must be improved?

I am a SEO consultant. The first thing I like in wordpress.com is: it has some advantages may help me get a page with high Google page rank. However, there’ re a lot of things that wordpress.com need to be improved more if they want to attract more users.

I’ve read a comparison between wordpress.com and blogger of Google. You can find it here http://pulsed.blogspot.com/2007/07/blogger-wordpress-chart.html

From this article, we can see that WordPress limits a lot of things that a blogger needs to improve his site for SEO.

I do not want to repeat all things in above entry here. I just want to add some additional points and press some strong factors (in my opinion):

1. Should allow user can customize meta tags of a specific page (description, keyword, …). It is necessary for SEO

2. Should allow user post JS script or adding embed tags. I know that is risk because some hackers may make use of that to do some Cross site scripting hacks. However, why blogger allow that? It makes user feel more convenient.

3. Should allow user customize the HTML structure of the template. That help user can create creative theme page and SEO friendly whenever they need.

All of professional bloggers need their page must be SEO friendly and easy to customize. If wordpress can not improve these feature, it will be only a shadow beside the Google giant.

Wait and see what they will do in the future? who knows?