Delightful Reveal #23

“I can’t be trusted with things that don’t have a cord.”

What we did:

• Finally finished (V6-FINAL-final.PSD) some technical documentation describing our application’s core concepts + math. Compiled a shortlist of differences between the old system (a spreadsheet) and the new app and reviewed it with executives. Corrected an error in how we calculated profit 😛
• Co-created a list of research goals and questions for a part-concept test, part listening session. Drafted a moderator’s guide
• Kicked off a new, very-close-to-the-end-of-this-increment sprint with a presentation and… a commitment to conducting a strategy workshop to define our next tranche of work. Started noodling on that workshop
• Updated microcopy in response to small usability issues we heard
• Road-tripped to and from Asheville, NC to attend the inaugural Blue Ridge Ruby Conference
• Learned about JavaScript session storage
• Invited a collection of potential users to test the usability of a new platform via UserBrain
• User demos and feedback sessions on dashboards and email wizard
• Designing thread view pages from individual view pages so that a user knows visually which type of page they are on
• Shared a project timeline with a client for some branding efforts
• Wiped a physical server and began self-hosting some services locally. Including an Uptime Monitor and Status pages
• QA’d, fixed some bugs in the prototype, and began conducting unmoderated usability tests!  *

What we’re reading:

• Recoding America: Why Government Is Failing in the Digital Age and How We Can Do Better by Jen Pahlka
• The Testaments by Margaret Atwood
• PeerTube documentation
• A Radical Proposal: Put UX Research In Charge by Jared Spool 
• Origin Stories: Plantations, Computers, and Industrial Control by Meredith Whittaker 

What we’re watching:

• L’Agence
• Somebody, Somewhere (season 2)
• 12 Monkeys
• Flamin’ Hot
• Finished S3 of “The Great”
• The Days (about the Fukushima nuclear disaster)
• Dancing Cat Pen Holder - Stop Motion Animation 

What we’re listening to:

• Slow Burn, Season 8, Episode 3 “I’m their guy” (about Clarence Thomas)
• Sincere Engineer
• The Atlas Obscura podcast

What we’re interested in:

• #self-hosting
• Wallaby
• Alabama barbecue, particularly smoked chicken with white sauce
• Adobe Express beta
• D&D Beyond
• Buying three buildings to tear down

What we’re struggling with:

• The shower water control being hooked up backwards
• Losing the ort ball from the in-progress cross-stitch project
• Aging dogs
• Dirty keyboards
• Getting signed out of Google in the middle of editing this doc
• No hot water in the house
• Accessing Zoom chat from before you joined the call
• Having my internet cables get cut on accident 

What we’re buying:

• Mini-split ductless AC and (surprise!) new water heater. Cry
• Headphones. With a cord. 
• More bully sticks
• A new desk lamp
• GE Extension Cord Plug Replacement, 2 Pack, Polarized, 2 Prong, 125VAC/15A, Ideal for Small Appliances such as Power Strips and Lamps, Great for DIY Projects, UL Listed, Black, 54266
• Lil plant clips to help pothos scale interior walls
• Aluminum pinches
• Washi tape

What we’re celebrating:

• Madison Reading Project: Read(y) to wear fundraiser raised $85,000.00 toward their new bus purchase.
• Becoming a part-time employee after being a summer intern
• Jack’s pronunciation of “recipé” (oh my glob)
• Learning that ort balls are a thing
• Maybe becoming part of a collectively run boutique to sell ceramics
• New roof!

If you’re looking for a team to help you discover the right thing to build and help you build it, get in touch.