Think Say Do - Web Applications, User Experience

Business Plan 2010: Part 1

Ok, so last week on Twitter I mentioned that I would be talking about Think Say Do’s new business plan. Here is the first quick service overview and how it can benefit your business or organization:

Web Application Strategy & Management

Web applications are web sites that help you run something in your business more efficiently. For example, The Art Press in Indianapolis uses an iPhone web application to estimate their screen printing costs during a sales visit with a prospect. The web application enables people to know an exact cost amount within seconds - no waiting for a quote, no form filling… just a conversation and an immediate quote. That’s the power and efficiency of a web application for your business. And there are hundreds more stories just like that.

Think Say Do offers Web Application Strategy & Management services to help you find uses for web applications within your business. Call me today at 317-489-9184! I’d be happy to talk with you.

~Collin Schneider, Founder / Systems Designer

The Secret to A Maintainable, Growing Site!

Everyone wants a successful web site or web project. Success can of course be defined in so many ways. It is subjective at times. But, there are certainly objective measures of success too.

One aspect of a successful project is maintainability. Maintainability is the ability to update and grow a project long after it completes. It’s the hundreds of changes made after a site goes live. It’s the years of service a solid site gives it’s patron. Businesses benefit greatly from the low cost of ownership of a maintainable site. Web sites and applications continue to live, breath, and evolve long after a project finishes. As an example, I still make regular updates to a major site I wrote over seven years ago. In fact, I just spoke with the IT director today about adding some major new functionality… to seven year old code!

Over the years, I have tried many methods for writing web applications. From old “spaghetti” code (a mess to maintain over the long-run), to basic OOP, to MVC (like Ruby on Rails), to event-driven programming (like Visual Basic). In fact, I enjoy researching and reading about different programming methodologies. But, at the end of the day it is about being able to maintain and grow a site for years to come.

Maintainability is especially important for small, one-man shops and small non-profits and businesses. Here is the secret to great maintainability: a short development stack.

What do I mean by that? Years ago, growing up in a town village of about 150 people in rural Illinois, we used to go to the local bar/coffee house. I remember as a kid being asked if I wanted a short-stack or a tall-stack of pancakes. Of course, the tall stack looked tempting with all those layers of syrup, but ultimately the small stack proved to be the best option for a growing boy.

The same applies to you if you are a small business, non-profit, or one-man shop. You want the shortest stack possible on your web site. By that I mean, you want the fewest layers of code you can have that makes sense. Each layer of code adds more complexity and distances the developer from what is really going on.

For example, on most web sites you have these layers:

1. Web Browser (Safari, Firefox, Chrome, Internet Explorer, etc.)
2. HTML/CSS
3. HTML/CSS Framework (Custom, Blueprint, etc.)
4. Javascript
5. Javascript Library (jQuery, RightJS, Mootools, etc.)
6. Web Server (Apache, IIS)
7. Programming Environment (PHP, Java, Ruby, ColdFusion, etc.)
8. Programming Libraries
9. Web Application Framework (Zend, Ruby on Rails, WordPress, etc.)
10. Web Application (WordPress, Expression Engine, etc.)
11. Custom Code

See that tall stack? And it can be far taller too! So, when you are evaluating options, look at the complexity and depth of your stack … the shorter the better usually. You can more readily track down bugs, add new features, and adapt to changes. It allows you to work like the Internet with agility, moving at the speed of modern business. And, it keeps your sanity. Maintainability is key to a successful long-term project.

~Collin Schneider
Founder / Systems Designer
Think Say Do, LLC
P: 317-489-9184

The 2010 Plan

Things have been so busy the past few months with year-end projects. Here’s what I’ve been up to, and what to expect in 2010…

• Online Donation System training in Fort Myers, Florida, with an inspiring non-profit, New Mission Systems International
• Machinery inventory system updates for Peterson Machinery in Casa Grande, Arizona
• Automatic SEO page generation system for The Art Press in Fishers, Indiana
• Gift Planning mini-site for Hephzibah Ministries in Macon, Georgia
• FormSpring integration for MyShirtSize.com, a service of The Art Press
• Online School Application System database testing for Associated Training Services through e-Media Resources in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin
• Policyholder Payment System for Illinois Casualty Company in Rock Island, Illinois
• Site migrations from one server to another for e-Media Resources
• Finished phase one of our top-secret internal project, which included writing a custom language parser and interpreter, writing a yet another database abstraction library, and a completely new web application framework

What’s Coming in 2010?

• Digital conversion of printed materials to PDF & Word for a non-profit client - includes editorial services as well
• Several major non-profit site redesigns, including nine mini-sites
• Several small business site redesigns, including writing a custom CMS
• Developing the streaming video infrastructure for StreamPilot.tv, an e-Media Resources project - 2010 is the year this project gains traction!
• Lots more exciting projects! I’ll be posting details as they become available, and I’ll try to get some videos out here soon too to show some of our incredible design and programming work.
• Finally, our top-secret project will be launching in 2010 as a SaaS application. I am so excited about this project, three years in the making, with many delays. Hundreds of hours of research, coding, scribbling notes, talking with people, thinking. As with anything, there’s risk for me to be putting so much time and energy into this. But, I’m hopeful that it’ll pay off and small businesses (my passion) will find it a valuable tool. A redesigned ThinkSayDo.com will be launched shortly after the project launches too. More on this project by Q2 of 2010.

If you have a project you would like to discuss, let me know! I would be happy to talk with you, even if it’s only to provide some technical insight. Lunch is on me! Call me right now… if you don’t reach me, I’ll call you back asap: 317-489-9184

~Collin Schneider
Founder / Systems Designer
Think Say Do, LLC
Business Systems Designed for People.

After Thirteen Years: Blog, Twitter, Gmail... Still No iPhone.

Believe it or not, after thirteen years of resisting, I have started to blog, twitter, and gmail. That’s amazing, because I’ve worked as a web consultant for thirteen years! And, I’m young — a prime target for all things social and online. Yet, my life is too real to interface conveniently with the online social scene. I’ve never had the desire, need, or time to continually post what I’m thinking or doing. And who in the world would want to read what I have to say anyway? There are too many interesting voices these days. So, why would I start now?

Good question. Here’s why I think I am starting now:

1. Because I have the desire to connect with other people to see how we can collaborate — two minds might be better than one. And I have the desire to share what I am working on and thinking about.
2. I have the need to promote my new consulting firm, Think Say Do.
3. I have the time to write now — I am now my own boss after all. And, I have thirteen years of pent up words!

Here’s what I’ve learned in my first few weeks of being web-connected:

1. Observe others: read your favorite blogs and think about why you like reading them
2. Practice makes better: write often and you’ll get better with each post
3. Find a voice: initially posts/tweets sound formal and dry, but with time you’ll find your own voice, the way you actually write and think
4. Create hooks: be provocative in your writing and headlines, then go on to say something useful
5. Make contacts: keep up with your writing, keep up with your contacts, keep learning and growing your connections

For even better tips, check out Pam’s site.

So, while I have finally started to join the modern web scene, I still don’t have an iPhone. I’m not a consumer of tech gadgets, so maybe once Apple starts making them completely recyclable, I’ll join the crowd.

~ Collin Schneider, Founder / Systems Designer / Blogger / Tweeter / Gmailer / Environmentalist

A Quick List Of What We've Been Doing

For those of you not familiar with Think Say Do, LLC, here’s a quick list of what we’ve been working on in 2008 and early 2009:

• Training Application System for Associated Training Services
  Allows applicants to apply for classes online and apply for financial aid. Ties in tightly with legacy applications in MS SQL Server. Applicants can save their progress and return later for status updates. This project was in partnership with e-Media Resources, LLC.
   
• Customer Information Management System & Visual Query Builder
  for Chamberlain Research
  Allows potential research participants to sign up online and fill in extensive background data. They can opt into and out of research panels. The system also includes a sophisticated Visual Query Builder for Chamberlain Research staff members to build participant lists in real-time. I’ll post more on this project in the future. This project was in partnership with e-Media Resources, LLC.
   
• Online Donation System for The Wesleyan Church World Headquarters
  (See earlier post for details about this project.)
  
  
  
• Inventory Management System for Peterson Machinery
  Prior to our involvement, customers were waiting several minutes to view a massive list of inventory on their browser screens. We reviewed the process and rewrote the entire system to allow searching and browsing. In addition we developed a back office management piece to allow staff to manage their complete inventory, including location information, as inventory is spread across several states. The site was a big success and has streamlined inventory management. As a final piece, we added a dynamic email quote builder to automatically create machinery quotes based off inventory data.
   
• A Bride’s Choice Florist, An award-winning wedding florist in Indianapolis
  Although we don’t often do web site designs, we took on this project for enjoyment. The site is built on a custom Content Management System (CMS) that allows staff to make content updates themselves. We also did some SEO work to assist with search engine ranking.
  
  
• Real-Time Sales Quotes iPhone Web Application for The Art Press
  The web application allows staff to generate real-time t-shirt order quotes for clients. Sales staff just visit the web application, add the job requirements, and they can get a real-time cost complete with material costs, labor costs, and delivery fees. The application can also take completed quotes and send them directly to customers via the iPhone’s email software.
   
• Custom Artist Stores for Vardagen Brands
  Vardagen prints private-label shirts for bands, artists, and small independent lifestyle brands. As part of the deal, artist get their own private-label store through Vardagen where they can sell their shirts to fans. Totally sweet gig. Vardagen fulfills the order and the artists get a generous cut of the proceeds. Think Say Do wrote the custom code for Shopify to allow per-artist private-label stores. Check Vardagen out!

We’ve been doing even more than that, but I wanted to list the major projects. If we can assist you in any way, let us know! Call us at 317-489-9184

~ Collin Schneider, Founder / Systems Designer