Steve Neiderhauser

Ivory Tower Architects

There are two kinds of architects who work for companies that develop application programs. Ivory tower architects who make proclamations from on high. Typically, these guys never accomplish anything. Absolutely nothing.

Then there's the common man's architect. This architect helps application developers meet the needs of business stakeholders. There's a small problem, however, that is best summarized by a quote from the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid:

I've got vision and the rest of the world wears bifocals.

-- Butch Cassidy (played by Paul Newman)

Even if an architect paints a picture of the future he still needs to create demonstrations to prove his point, because most people are too short sighted to see the future. So you see why I was amused by the architect who wanted to argue about Ruby on Rails -- Rails helps the architect create prototypes so the rest of company can experience his vision. Now, some people in the Java community are starting to realize that Rails is on the fast track.

With the latest release of Rails, people who want to make change happen will have more tools to move at the speed of business. And when business people, who have had to endure over-engineered business applications, experience the lightweight nature of Rails. we'll start to see more Rails apps in corporations.

tags: Ruby on Rails

Three Act Presentations

During a keynote, Steve Jobs commented that his presentation was like a story with three acts. So perhaps we'd all become better presenters if we knew a little bit more about the structure of screenplay. To build the story line, Syd Field writes in Screenplay that a screenplay requires four basic elements:

• Ending
• Beginning
• Plot Point I
• Plot Point II

As part of an exercise for a screenwriting class, I was asked to analyze a movie and identify the three acts. I chose Back to the Future and noticed three distinct acts:

• Act I - Setup (Michael J. Fox in 1985)
• Plot point I spins into Act II
• Act II - Confrontation (set in 1955)
• Plot Point II spins into Act III
• Act III - Resolution (set in 1985)

After working through this exercise, rivers of understanding will flow together. Now open a copy of Beyond Bullet Points by Cliff Atkinson, and see how presentation and the three act structure build a bridge to your audience.

tags: Marketing, Presentation

Virtual Appliances

Ever imagine that hardware appliances could be turned into virtual appliances? Well, that's what Abe Fettig believes will happen in the future.

So instead of buying a JotSpot appliance, you'd download a software image that is built upon VMware. There's a number of advantages to this approach. Let's look at the benefits from a marketing viewpoint:

• You've embraced the experience economy. Because the technology stack is pre-configured, your customers avoid complex installation instructions -- your product becomes available to a larger audience.
• Your product is built on a platform that adds capabilities.
• Agility -- It's easy for customers to load your product on a number of OS platforms. And that's just one of the benefits of agility. Indeed, agility and marketing walk hand in hand along the path of profitability.

tags: Marketing, Product Platform, Product Management

Raucous over Rails

What happens when an enterprise architect spouts that Ruby on Rails isn't ready for prime time? Well, a small dust up ensues when the creator of the Rails framework, David Heinemeier Hansson, writes a retort.

tags: Ruby on Rails

Selling with Metaphors

For it is with words as with sunbeams -- the more they are condensed the deeper they burn.

-- Robert Southey, Poet

Whoever paints the best picture wins. When Winston Churchill, England’s proud lion, was preparing a speech about the Soviet Union's hold on Eastern Europe, he searched for a phrase that would frame the argument in his favor. The phrase? Iron curtain.

In Metaphorically Selling, author Anne Miller shows how to paint like the masters. First, you need to understand that metaphors pitch to the sweet spot of your brain -- the right side of your brain; the side that specializes in images and craves metaphors.

And because our brains are wired for visuals, if you produce metaphors that people relate to, you have a better chance of winning the argument or closing the sale.

Okay, so how do you create a metaphor? Follow Anne’s four-step model:

1. Determine Client’s Blind Spot
2. Snapshot Client
3. Create Comparison
4. Relate Back to Situation

What’s more, Anne provides exercises to strengthen your metaphor muscles. So if you’d like to see customers connect with your ideas, keep pitching those metaphors.

tags: Marketing

Ruby on Rails

Ruby on Rails is a framework for the Ruby language developed by 37signals. Rails is lightweight, fast, and easy to learn.

Rails uses the familiar Model-View-Controller design pattern so it's easy to get started. And unlike other environments, Rails avoids using a separate language in the view. It's all Ruby -- in the model, in the controller, in the view.

And because Ruby and Rails are well designed, you're limited only by your imagination. After focusing on the interface, for example, Rails could be used to create prototypes at the speed of lightning. Indeed, many people praise Rails for its ability accelerate the design of websites.

So while many IT execs focus solely on cost cutting, they're on a track that dead ends. You see, cost cutting ends at zero, while innovation can soar to the heavens. Rails is part of a trend I've been writing about -- It's becoming easier to write software apps. Expect to see a lot more lightweight tools that allow innovation to take flight.

Just think what will happen when we escape the gravitational pull of the Von Neumann architecture.

The Interface is your Product

Getting Real -- a book by 37signals explores and explains the techniques that have helped this Chicago company deliver five successful software apps and a killer development framework -- Ruby on Rails.

Interface First, a free chapter, provides several cues for building the interface before building anything else.