New to me Today

Jott

Evernote

Ok, first off, Jott is pretty sweet to start. It's basically a free call in memo service, but it goes a step further. Not only can you call a free 800 number (technically 866) and leave a voicemail for you to listen to later, it transcribes the message and sends it to your inbox, or your friends inbox, or a group of inboxes. And with the help of an OmniFocus mail actions script edited by Dr. Drang, you can go straight from Jott to OF. (See the bottom of this post for the file). It's got enough to it, that, if you so choose, you can use it as a action management too all by itself.

Now just image all those late night drunk dials to your buddies voicemail. What if instead you Jott'd them. Not only would you have a sweet message to listen to later (the audio from all memos is also archived for you to listen to, incase the transcription is wrong or jumbled) but you could also be slightly amused by what a computer thinks you are trying to say when your too sloshed to talk straight. As an added bonus, if it's brilliant enough, you can choose to share the memo (audio/transcription) as a public link from Jott! Marvelous!

So, I haven't extensively tested evernote yet, but just by watching the video, I'm hooked. I'm most curious however about the OCR technology present in the software, that evidently can index text from images for search purposes, even handwriting. Like I said, I haven't given it a full hands on go yet, but I'm sure to soon and I'll let you know- for now though, take a look at the Youtube vid of it in action.

I'm also really digging the OS integration with comp to web synchronization. Especially the phone camera to evernote capture. I'm a big fan of none phone app phone functions, like updating twitter from your phone, Twitpic, Jott and Text to Omnifocus by texting to [email]+omnifocus@[isp.com].

Stuff I've been using

DropBox

Mint.com

Now Dropbox is really cool. I found out about it from, I think Mashable, a long time ago when they promoted DB as the next big thing. All the link took me to was getdropbox.com with a simple movie and a beta sign up. I signed up for the beta, but forgot to bookmark the page, then for some reason could never remember what it was called and always ended up on box.net, which I knew was not it. Then I felt stupid every time I tried to tell people about it but couldn't...(It would always go... "oh yea this online thing with windows and mac client thats like iDisk and media fire but better, some kids from MIT... yada yada...no, I forget what its called... :(") Until about 2.5-3 weeks ago when I got a glorious letter to my inbox. It was an invite to the beta of DropBox. I recognized the name immediately and had a little Eureka moment. Needless to say, DropBox is pretty dope.

• Two gigs of space
• seemless integration with os x, including right click options and task bar icons- Dropbox shows up and behaves exactly like a regular folder system on my comp
• Great web side application and menus
• Version tracking and folder invites, plus a public folder with sharing links (no more need for mediafire, yousendit, zshare or the dreaded SendSpace, ew.) [However, Mediafire will still be my top choice for the quick and dirty stuff when I'm on a borrowed computer and don't want to bother logging into DropBox for some reason....which probably won't happen]
• Image management/editing, which, I have not tested first hand but looks sweet in the video
• Version management/backup which is like built in, automatic Apple "Time Machine"
• Smart updating which only changes the delta of the file, not overwrite the entire file- very quick and saves bandwidth
• Virtual shared folders for that act like network shared folders when two people have dropbox

Just watch the video for the full taste. But I do suggest you sign up for the beta and try it out. It's sweet.

@DropBox, just watch your back with that "just works" stuff. You might earn yourself an email from Mr. Jobs legal staff.

Imagine replacing your iDisk, Mediafire, Flashdrive and Shared folder with one application/web solution. Get things done quicker with less mess. Word.

- After signing up for the beta then chickening out and not doing anything with it because I was really skeptical with entering every last digit of all my account numbers, financial passwords and etc into a brand new beta web app. So I waited it out a few months for some giant news break about an internet startup found committing identity theft and financial fraud on a mass scale. This never happened, in fact, some blogs started raving about Mint, so I finally sat down and got "Minty" by setting up my accounts. I gotta say, it's pretty sweet. It's helped me visualize and better track my spending. It also saves me a ton of time by allowing me to see all my info at once instead of opening 4 tabs, each with my different bank statement open and logged in on. Additionally, I'm in love because it allows you to send custom alerts and statements to your email. Now, this seems pretty standard, but since Bank Of America has always and STILL lacks the most elementary alert of sending me a daily balance of my credit card statement (it will do your checking account, but cannot do your credit card), the fact that I could now do this (and more) with a free web app makes me smile. I don't hve to waste time in a browser logging into BoA.com with the multiple password, security checks, instead I just look in my inbox. The way it makes money, I'm assuming, is through the "Ways to Save" tab, where it analyzes your spending habits and financial situation and recommends things you can change to save money. Like switching to a CitiBank Credit Card with 10.49% APR and a better points reward system instead of my BoA card with the 30.9% APR (I never carry a balance, so I don't care). It's definitely a nifty and useful tool. Certainly worth checking out. As a bonus, it's pretty and nicely designed. Check out the demo video.

Just out of Beta

Recently out of beta (at least there no more mention of beta on the site) is CurdBee. I've been playing around with Curdbee but haven't really gotten a chance to use it because I'm already pretty good with my Excel/OmniFocus method, but it could use improvement, so when I get a chance to actually use it, I'll let you know. In the meantime, if you're in need of a cool FREE online invoicing system- take a peek!

Well that's all for now. I'll continue to keep updating as more becomes available, new features arrive and new sweet betas surface. Until next time

The file I promised...

Looking for the compiled version of Dr. Drang's script- look no further, I removed all those pesky line number and compiled it for you here- get it from my DropBox public link: http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/68778/jottactions.scpt

We've been using StreamFocus at my architectural firm for the past 6 months, and we are having a dramatic experience: 50% increase in productivity, a large increase in quality, and happier clients and staff with a growing business. This sounds impossible, but it's a fact.

Please read these articles to find out about the main features enabling us to achieve this large productivity boost:

• Project Templates establish Project priorities and organization
• Workflow Templates and constrained Workflows prevent costly rework and provide easy to use project and action management
• Information made available contextually for the action at hand allows users to move easily from one action to another and stay fully informed on the information they need to get the top priorty job done and collaborate in a powerful way.

With StreamFocus, we are able to customize our project and Workflow templates to optimize our business and continue to improve the flow and quality of our work. Additionally, because the action sequence is captured in the Workflow templates, users are able to benefit from that captured knowledge and operate at higher levels with less direct management input and greater satisfaction levels - allowing me to focus on designing a great project with less time spent managing.

©2007 Organon Technologies LLC

The guiding principle of my firm's priorities is enabling the fastest completion time possible for a given project with the highest level of quality for our clients. We used methods from Toyota's Lean Management with advice from the Lean Software Institute to restructure our business priorities in the following client focused way:

1. We have found that the most important productivity boost has been to listen more carefully and more frequently to our Clients. In the past, a delay in asking for and getting client feedback would lead to wasted effort on designs no longer considered relevant by our clients. A client's decision can radically alter the entire workflow of a project. Understanding and acting immediately on client feedback is now our top priority.

2a. In order to start construction, permits are needed by various regulating government agencies. Without these permits, we cannot build and/or construction can be stopped: Permitting is our second priority.

2b. The most expensive and critical part of a project is the Construction process. A request for information, a change order, or an application for payment as well as other issues during construction, when not acted on immediately, can have devastating impacts on project delivery and construction costs. Construction issues are also our second priority.

3. As architects, we have to integrate our design with the many complex systems that make up a modern building. If we create details and specifications for a part of a building prior to knowing the final engineering design, we will waste the time we've spent in that area and delay the project because of the additional time needed to redesign the area. A day delay in getting information from our Engineering consultants equates to a day delay in completing the project as a whole. Coordinating with our engineering consultants is our third priority.

4. What we architects usually love to do most is design and produce drawings. But because our work can be turned upside down by a functional change request by our clients, by a regulatory change by the authorities, by an unknown issue during construction,or by a change in the engineering design, Architecture is our fourth priority.

We automate these client-focused priorities by setting up the following Project template hierarchy in StreamFocus:

Generating Projects and SubProjects with Project Templates

Once the Project Template hierarchy is established, Projects and Subprojects are created that inherit both the characteristics of the template and the underlying priority. The following is a simplified example of a Project hierarchy:

Setting Priorities Between Projects

Priorities are automatically set between projects based on the priorities established in the Project Template. If two Workflows have available actions in separate projects, and one of them is in a higher priority subproject, that Workflow will be the higher priority. If the two Workflows are in subprojects of the same priority, the Project with an earlier deadline will take priority. Additionally, within a priority level in a set of subprojects, each subproject can be assigned a priority so that an Workflow, all other priorities being equal, will then use the subproject priority.

Next: Constrained ActionStreams Prevent Costly Rework

©2007 Organon Technologies LLC

In StreamFocus, a Workflow is a connected flow of actions that creates a value for the customer. A Workflow template establishes a company-wide template for carrying out a Workflow. The diagram below is a simple example of a Workflow template:

Flow Constraints Within a Workflow

Within the template, constraints are set to control the flow of actions. A solid line indicates a mandatory path, and a dashed line indicates an optional path. An oval shape is an action, and a triangular shape is waiting for action. So in the above diagram, the "Building Survey" action can not be worked on until "Signed Contract" is waiting for action. After performing the "Review Survey" action, either the survey is approved and information can be sent on to the "Survey Files" wait for action, or errors were found in the survey and thus the survey information is sent to "Building Survey Revisions" wait for action and then sent back for revisions in the "Building Survey" action.

Flow Constraints Between Workflows

Constraints can be set on a Workflow which indicate that other Workflows must be complete prior to working on it. This allows for dynamic priority setting when unforseen issues arise. An example Project hierarchy:

For example, the Workflow "14. Model Structure" in the lower right of the diagram above has an available action to work on under SubProject "1. First Floor Plan" and is currently the top priority. Then the structural engineer submits revisions to his design because of an unforseen issue with the existing structure which affects Workflow "11. Prelim Design". Because this issue is in Project priority 3, it overrides "14. Model Structure" and becomes the top priority on the project. Additionally, because "14. Model Structure" is constrained by "11. Prelim. Design", "14. Model Structure" is no longer available to work on until "11. Prelim. Design" is complete.

Setting constraints between Workflows allows simple but effective project management. The combination of Project priorities and Workflow constraints allows for dynamic setting of priorities that flow with changes that occur on most projects, helping the team stay focused on the top priority and avoiding costly rework.

Next: Contextual Information Retrieval

©2007 Organon Technologies LLC

How much time do you spend looking for relevant information when working on a project? For my information-intensive firm, a lot of time was spent looking for product brochures, the latest project prints, old project prints, the latest phone call information from the client, that beam redesign fax from the engineer, the latest email from the Planning Department with the new deadline, etc. It was overwhelming, especially when larger teams were trying to use the same information.

Contextual Focus

With the help of StreamFocus, our high-speed scanner, and scans converted to pdfs, all the information we need for any Action is immediately available. In looking at an Action view, all the relevant information is there including the ability to add information, such as phone call, emails, etc with the click of a button. We know who is working on that action currently and in the past. Additionally, when selecting an Action to view, StreamFocus shows the context to the Workflow and subproject the Action belongs to. This context focus is displayed highlighted at the top of the screen with the ability to move up or down the focus hierarchy changing the context of what is displayed in the various system views.

For example, if you are viewing the participants for the structural engineering coordination action within "13. Final Design", the structural engineer and his staff as well as your staff interacting with the engineer will be displayed and all others who created or were conveyed information about the action. If you select up the hierarchy to the next subproject level, "Contract Documents", all of the participants in all the information created and conveyed below that level will be displayed, and so on. A real-time view of all the relevant participants on a project is obtained by simply clicking on the Project name at the top "200701_Vincent". This same contextual display is true for other views such as Information, Sessions, and in the case of Architecture and Engineering, Products and Keynotes.

Team Collaboration

In addition to the personal productivity gain contextual action information has given us, we have also gained dramatically in team collaboration. For example, at any given time I can see exactly which Action any other team members are working on. If a team member asks a question, with a click on their Action, I am presented with the same contextual Action view that they have so that I can quickly grasp their context, such as the latest call from the engineer or a sketch with a red-lined area of concern, and can answer quickly. This tool is as equally powerful when the team is in the same room or scattered about in different countries. The right information at the right time in the right quantity is a very powerful tool.

Back to: 50% Productivity Increase with Better Quality?

©2007 Organon Technologies LLC