Joe Stangarone – Page 51 – mrc's Cup of Joe Blog

7 web application development mistakes that kill usability

By Joe Stangarone / Usability, Web Development

No web developer wants to create a bad user experience. Nobody sets out to make a confusing and frustrating interface that drives users away. But, the sad truth is…this happens far too often.

How often?

According to the online marketing institute, the problems caused by a poorly designed interface are substantial. The numbers indicate that:

85% of users abandon a site due to poor design
83% of users leave because it takes too many clicks to get what they want
62% of users gave up looking for an item while shopping online
40% of users never return to a site because the content was hard to use
50% of sales are lost because visitors can’t find content

The fact is, usability is becoming an essential aspect of web application development. User expectations have changed. Modern end users expect to pick up a web app and understand how it works. Confusing interfaces will only frustrate users and drive them away.

However, many developers build applications which do just that. They unwittingly make development mistakes that hurt their web application’s usability. In doing so, they accidentally alienate their users.

What are these mistakes? In what ways do developers accidentally create interfaces that frustrate their users? We posed those questions to a few experts in the area of usability, and have compiled their feedback below. Here are 7 development mistakes that kill web application usability:
…

7 web application development mistakes that kill usabilityRead More »

Weekly recap: Why big IT projects fail, a wake-up call for CIOs, and more…

By Joe Stangarone

Every week, I share the most interesting and useful tech articles that I’ve found over the past week. This week’s top articles focus on why big IT projects fail so often, a new look at the “native vs. mobile web” debate, and more. I hope you find them useful:

Smartphones: Business Risk or Opportunity
Business owners, CIOs, and IT leaders face a dilemma: How to harness the efficiencies of mobile devices while defusing the security risks. The fact is, many end users just don’t practice safe security habits. Those end users could very well compromise your company, unless you approach mobile the right way. My advice: The same thing I’ve said for the last couple of years. Treat the device like a thin client and use mobile web apps. This approach doesn’t store data on the device itself, and lets you keep your data safe behind your own firewall.
…

Weekly recap: Why big IT projects fail, a wake-up call for CIOs, and more…Read More »

6 common IT practices that should be eliminated

By Joe Stangarone / CIO Challenges, IT Errors

In a past article, we explored the growing need for IT evolution and outlined 6 keys to a high-performing IT department. The fact is, keeping the lights on is no longer good enough. Modern IT organizations must move quickly, and drive the business forward.

However, I noticed a problem. While all of the keys outlined in that article will help IT departments improve performance, it ignores a critical issue: common IT practices that kill productivity and waste precious resources.

The fact is, you could follow each one of those points perfectly…yet still struggle. If your IT staff focuses its energy on time-wasting and resource-draining tasks, you’ll never drive the business forward. You’ll be caught in a never-ending cycle of being busy, yet ultimately unproductive.

So, what are these common time-wasting and resource-draining IT practices that must be eliminated? We posed that question to a few experts in the area, and have compiled their responses (as well as some of my own thoughts) below. Without further ado, here are 6 common IT practices that should be eliminated.
…

6 common IT practices that should be eliminatedRead More »

The dangers of choosing the wrong reporting software

By Joe Stangarone / web reporting

What’s the only thing worse than running a business without good reporting software in place? Running a business with bad reporting software in place.

The problems caused by bad reporting software can range from small inconveniences to major financial losses. For instance, bad reporting software can lead to:

Lost productivity
Wasted money
Security breaches
Flawed business decisions
and more…

How so? Take–for example–the most commonly used reporting tool: Spreadsheets. Why are spreadsheets a dangerous reporting option? Two reasons: They’re inefficient and dangerous:
…

The dangers of choosing the wrong reporting softwareRead More »

Weekly Recap: 10 old-school IT principles that still rule, how to leverage BI for executive reporting, and more…

By Joe Stangarone

Every week, I share the most interesting and useful tech articles that I’ve found over the past week. This week’s top articles focus on how old-school IT principles have adapted with the times, how to leverage BI, and more. I hope you find them useful:

Four ways to leverage BI for executive-level reporting
While data is growing at a rapid rate, many don’t know how to turn this data into actionable insights. Why? It boils down to a lack of appropriate tools and processes.
…

Weekly Recap: 10 old-school IT principles that still rule, how to leverage BI for executive reporting, and more…Read More »

6 critical guidelines for Business Intelligence beginners

By Joe Stangarone / Business Intelligence

Business Intelligence (BI) consistently ranks as one of the top priorities in various CIO and IT surveys. A recent Gartner survey puts BI as the top CIO priority for the last two years running. Forrester comes to the same conclusion.

The fact is, many companies are (or are planning on) adopting a Business Intelligence solution for the very first time. With data growing by leaps and bounds, it’s no surprise that more businesses are looking for ways to capitalize on that data.

The only problem: Most BI implementations fail. It’s no secret. According to various surveys on the topic, anywhere from 60% – 80% of BI projects fail. Yikes.

This paints a grim picture. Implementing BI is the #1 CIO priority, and many businesses will start a BI project in the near future…but most BI projects fail.

Today, let’s explore a few ways to lower those numbers. What must companies who are new to BI do to ensure success? What critical tips should these companies follow? We posed those questions to a few experts in the field, and have compiled their advice (along with some of my own) below. Here are 6 critical tips for BI beginners:
…

6 critical guidelines for Business Intelligence beginnersRead More »

Weekly recap: 9 hottest mobile development skills, strategic tech trends for 2014, and more…

By Joe Stangarone

Every week, I share the most interesting and useful tech articles that I’ve found over the past week. This week’s top articles focus on the hottest mobile development skills, Gartner’s strategic tech for 2014, and more. I hope you find them useful:

Combatting the information deluge
Information is exploding at an unprecedented rate. The burden falls on companies to not only turn that data into actionable metrics (like this user-defined dashboard, for example), but also secure and store that data.
…

Weekly recap: 9 hottest mobile development skills, strategic tech trends for 2014, and more…Read More »

5 new realities that developers must learn to accept

By Joe Stangarone / Web Development

Web application development has changed. Driven largely by the rise of mobile and the growth of cloud-based applications and services, modern web application development is much different than it was just five years ago.

What’s changed? I classify these changes into two categories: Trends and realities. What’s the difference between a trend and a reality? A trend is optional. A reality is not. For instance, flat design is a trend. You don’t have to use it, but many people do. The rise of mobile users is a reality. No matter how much you may tell yourself otherwise, you can’t ignore the very real fact that smartphone and tablets are here to stay.

Today, let’s focus on the realities. How has web application development changed, and what new realities must web application developers learn to accept? We posed those questions to a few experienced developers, and they provided some excellent advice–which you will find below. Here are 5 new realities that developers must learn to accept:
…

5 new realities that developers must learn to acceptRead More »

The need for self-service reporting

By Joe Stangarone / web reporting

Did you know that a full 90% of the data in the world has been generated over the past two years? We’re creating more data than ever before, and this trend is only growing. The only problem: Many businesses still aren’t sure how to capitalize on all of this data.

Oftentimes, the data is inaccessible to the very people who need it most. Salespeople have no way of easily viewing their sales data. Marketing managers can’t easily create the reports they need to view prospect data. As a result, all of that data goes to waste.

The fact is, as businesses generate more data than ever before, self-service reporting becomes increasingly important. You must give your employees a way to pull that data out of your systems and turn it into meaningful management information–without going through the IT department.

Unfortunately, this is still a problem in many companies. They still force end users to go through the process of requesting reports from the IT department, and then waiting around until they’re delivered. While all too common, this process often causes 3 big problems:
…

The need for self-service reportingRead More »

Weekly Recap: 5 mobile app questions to ask the CIO, IT’s failing reputation, and more…

By Joe Stangarone

Every week, I share the most interesting and useful tech articles that I’ve found over the past week. This week’s top articles focus on mobile questions to ask the CIO, why IT’s reputation is so poor, and more. I hope you find them useful:

Why everyone wants a private cloud
Concerns over security and control in the “public” could make the “private” cloud model tempting to many companies. But, is this a solid strategy? Perhaps a better question: Do your applications give you the flexibility to deploy anywhere–private or public?
…

Weekly Recap: 5 mobile app questions to ask the CIO, IT’s failing reputation, and more…Read More »

Author name: Joe Stangarone