[Belated] 2007 round-up
+ 2007 began with us completing our contextual inquiry into Internet cafe's in and around downtown Johannesburg. We had received a Progress Grant from the Information Architecture Institute for this research which helped me, Tegan Bristow and Marc Pienaar complete this, the largest pro-active piece of research yet conducted by jh-01.
+ The Greater Good SA launched their new website www.myggsa.co.za. jh-01 worked throughout 2006 with them in re-inventing the relationship model to be used in this channel between givers and receivers. This non-profit is a leader Internationally in the space of 'online giving marketplaces'. This launch included jh-01 presenting the concept with members of the GGSA at this years Sangonet conference in Johannesburg.
+ We were asked to advise another non-profit, the Home Coming Revolution, to critique their website and explore what the appropriate user journey for a returnee could look like. Given the huge problem of the drain brain in SA we jumped at the chance to assist.
+ In March, Jason attended the IA Summit in Las Vegas to present the outcomes of the Internet Cafe research. The paper was entitled: "Communal Computing and Shared Spaces of Use: a Study of Internet Cafes in Developing Contexts" (download the audio for this presentation at http://www.iasummit.org/proceedings/2007/communal_computing_and_shared). He also presented a second paper addressing the issue of practising and promoting IA in environments where it is unknown and unappreciated. The paper was entitled: "Annals of experience: hacking it alone or the importance of being earnest or being mercenary"
+ At roughly the same time we successfully won the pitch to redesign the South African Airways website. The deadline was absurd, so our solution was to refresh the look & feel and put in a place a more customer centric architecture which we could continue to develop upon in a phase 2 roll-out. The delivery was a success (the website generated record sales the day it went live) and although far from perfect (in the user experience and technical delivery) we have received very positive feedback.
+ This year marked the start of our relationship with Ford and Mazda SA. We embarked on two initial pieces of analysis: a competitor / benchmarking analysis and a statistical analysis. Following this we have begun work on the regional (Asia-Pacific and Africa) redesign of the Mazda website. For this we conducted in-depth customer interviews, dealer visits and interviews and CRM workshops. Out of this we have created the user journey for the website and the online CRM plan.
+ We have had an amazing year with Pam Golding Properties, our longest standing client. We completed the in-depth information architecture design for their new website and worked extremely closely with their business analyst in developing the functional specification. The project sponsor has moved on and jh-01 has been asked to step-in in representing the businesses interests in the project - a compliment and show of trust that we deeply appreciate. Additionally, we are piloting a new content creation offering ('The Fine Content Company') on the Pam Golding Properties website project.
+ More on Pam Golding: Phil Barrett has begun work on redesigning their Intranet (Goldnet) for jh-01 (we'll also be offering assistance with the interface design). Later in 2008 we'll be working together to create the user experience design for an integrated platform of systems to run off the Intranet, Goldnet.
+ Just a few months ago we won the Virgin Mobile SA pitch (with Saturn). This will be our second chance to assist them with their user experience design in 2008.
+ And then there's Microsoft SA. Following an introduction by Phil, we have begun working with Microsoft to deliver user and customer experience solution to their larger corporate clients. Our first project is with Standard Bank (a visioning of how branches should function in the future) and it looks like we might be helping Liberty Life too.
+ Our interest and investigation into communal computing and shared spaces of use continued with us helping artist Terry Kurgan and urban developer John Spiropoulos (of Kagiso Urban Management) in a cultural and needs based intervention into the area of Yeoville. One product of this project will be a (real) community website that will be the default home page on computers in the Internet Cafe's in the area. We assisted with the research, user experience and information architecture for the website.
+ Jason was invited to participate in a panel discussion at the Johannesburg Art Gallery as part of the Africa Remix exhibition. The discussion investigated and debated issues relating to art and technology in Africa
+ jh-01 launched the SA UX Forum. This has been coming for several years but it is the first public and open user experience centric forum in the country and has assisted in broadening awareness of the field and stimulating conversation between practitioners.
+ Jason was nominated to be on the board of the IA Institute but never quite made it. Nonetheless, his term as advisor was extended by another year and he continues to be a voice for developing countries in a multinational organisation. He also contributed the rather tongue-in-cheek article "Am I an Information Architect?" for the IAI website and has been working on the Local Groups initiative with certain members of the board.
All in all, we've had an amazing year and though we certainly could have done more (between 2 and 6 in the morning) we have created a really strong platform for a power year in 2008:
> Our company strategy sessions this year cemented our purpose and values and laid a path to get us to 2009
> Marius Burger has done an amazing job getting us business ready and generally managing things. Marius will continue this role in 2009.
> Phil Barrett is helping us on Pam Golding and will be playing a more active role in forming a Cape Town base for jh-01
> We have brought Kathy Jenks on board as a full time team member and IA
> We will be launching our (graphic, interface, ...) design department in February
> We'll also be launching our content offering (The Fine Content Company) in February with Lisa Cohn at its helm
> Marc Pienaar will continue helping us with everything from research & analysis to SEO and content delivery
Other things to look forward to in 2008:
- We will be expanding our Joburg premises to take the rest of the 7th floor of National Bank House. We've wanted this for some time and we'll be occupying in Feb / March. It's worth noting that this building is a heritage site (it makes the building over 80 years old) in the heart of the financial district of downtown Joburg next to the Johannesburg Library. Taking premises here (it's a three year lease) is a commitment to our belief in the regeneration of Johannesburg and where we are headed in South Africa at large.
- We're hoping to hold the first conference in SA focusing solely on User Experience design in Q3
- We have three partnership agreements in the pipeline which will create a powerful base for our future and ensure we're the leading UX company in South Africa with International ties (can't say more now or I may just jinx it)
Clients for 2008 include:
- Pam Golding Properties (their website, Intranet, enterprise operations systems and content development)
- Mazda (regional website redesign for Asia Pacific and Africa, content development and email communications)
- Ford (content development and email communications)
- Standard Bank (branch front end visioning)
- Liberty Life (usability and interface design for an internal system)
- Virgin Mobile (website redesign)
- South African Airways (phase 2 website redesign)
- Hotel Yeoville
There is more in the pipeline but I can't say yet...
So that's it. Well done to everyone in the team and welcome to all the newcomers. What we have done and what we are managing to do is testimony to the need and value of UX. I wish you all a merry Christmas and all the best for 2008 which will no doubt be massive.
