Last Update
22 October 2003
11 September 2001
What's New - the EPSScentral Reader
03 January 2003
INTERESTING PERFORMANCE SUPPORT TOOLS AND SYSTEMS
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Award winners of the
 Performance Centered Design category
Click a link to see the details!
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 Winners of the PCD Outcomes and PCD Tools categories for 2003 are:
Gold - Outcomes
Logistics and Maintenance Applied Research Center, LandMARC, Georgia Tech Research Institute
Silver - Outcomes
Harvard Business School Publishing eLearning
Gold - Tools
For a complete list of finalists for the Excellence in E-Learning Awards, see http://www.brandonhall.com/public/awards2002/.
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This link takes you to the EPSScentral bibliography.
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Usability Engineering: Scenario-Based Development of Human-Computer Interaction is a radical departure from traditional books that emphasize theory and address experts. This book focuses on the realities of product development, showing how user interaction scenarios can make usability practices an integral part of interactive system development. As you'll learn, usability engineering is not the application of inflexible rules; it's a process of analysis, prototyping, and problem solving in which you evaluate tradeoffs, make reasoned decisions, and maximize the overall value of your product. - From an Amazon.com review
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This brief but important book lays out a specific five-step strategy--called the Core Process--that can always be applied to the development of Web sites and fine-tuned to almost any type of project. Each step--defining the project, developing site structure, visual design and testing, production and QA, and launch and beyond--contains three related but distinct tracks. The text begins with a brief overview of each of the steps, then delves deeper into each with detailed explanations as well as specific forms and project-management strategies. This book does not cover back-end, server-side programming. Instead, it focuses primarily on the visual, conventional components of a Web site. - From an Amazon.com review
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Designing Easy-to-use Websites is much more than a conventional usability book, it's an attempt to make us rethink the entire Web design process. Instead of directly jumping into the fun stuff of design and layout, as most designers tend to do, Vanessa Donnelly advocates a much more structured approach to Web site development that includes analysis and design techniques that enable a Web development team to design usable websites. Read a full review...
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The December 2002 issue of Performance XPress is now available from the International Society for Performance Improvement!
Questions or comments should be directed to Gary Dickelman at EPSScentral or April Davis, ISPI's Director of Periodicals at april@ispi.org.
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INNOVATION
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This is a new section of the EPSScentral Reader and web site devoted to the general topic of innovation - in business, organizations, and content domains. Innovation is at the root of performance, hence the ideas presented in these articles are seeds for PCD.
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New World Innovation
“There is truly nothing more risky than not innovating,
with the possible exception of confusing innovation
with something that fails to create value.”
-- Ruth Ann Hattori & Joyce Wycoff
“InnovationDNA” Training & DevelopmentMagazine
 Do you know why the highly acclaimed creativity centers at Lucent, Ford, Polaroid, and RJ Reynolds no longer exist? Do you know about the fundamental shifts that describe the new way of leading innovation in major organizations? Do you know how to lead and manage innovation in your organization so that it’s not just another program of the month? If you are truly committed to making your organization more innovative, you can avoid the mistakes of the past by reading this powerful article by two of the co-founders of the InnovationNetwork. Click here for a printable, PDF file of this article.
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This link takes you to previous articles on this topic linked from EPSScentral.
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by Jakob Nielsen
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Every year brings new mistakes. In 2002, several of the worst mistakes in Web design related to poor email integration. The number one mistake, however, was lack of pricing information, followed by overly literal search engines.
As the Web grows, websites continue to come up with ways to annoy users. Following are ten design mistakes that were particularly good at punishing users and costing site owners business in 2002.
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Publishers who want to create an electronic book have to choose: try to protect it against piracy or make it usable. In this article, I contrast the extremes of the philosophy and argue for open standards and accessible data in electronic data products. The impact of these decisions on usability is also considered.
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This link takes you to previous articles on this topic linked from EPSScentral.
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OVID (Objects, Views, and Interaction Design) is a formal methodology for designing the user experience based on the analysis of users' goals and tasks. Drawn from the disciplines of engineering, it is ideally suited to interface and component-based development. The method is applied after user goals, tasks and objects have been identified, through other means. The output of the method is an abstract diagram that describes the architecture of the desired design, from the users' point of view. The diagram is used in conjunction with the visual specifications to enable implementation of the final diagram.
The value of OVID is that it is a structured approach which supports a thorough application of desired features and behaviors throughout the design, it produces a design plan which is repeatable in subsequent projects, its thoroughness and level of clarity makes implementation more efficient, and it represents a user model of the design that is understandable to and usable by programmers.
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As recently as two years ago, appliances were being touted as the next big thing to hit the corporate IT landscape. Today, although they are not perhaps as popular as some people would have us believe, appliances are becoming an increasingly common sight, due partly to changes in attitude, but perhaps more so to the increasing variety of appliances available.
In simple terms an appliance is a self-contained device intended to offer one or more network services. Appliances come in all shapes and sizes (literally) and offer a variety of services.
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Interested in Appliances?
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Curious about what an appliance could do for your network? To get you started, Intranet Journal has compiled a brief list of some appliances that could have a place in any business.
A firewall/VPN appliance that offers a range of security related functions. Appliance that searches and indexes Web-based content within an organization. "All-in-One" solution that offers a suite of workgroup applications. Intranet Journal Magazine has a review for you as well. E-mail security appliance that offers spam blocking and virus protection, among other things. Integrated Web Server, e-mail server, FTP that offers a complete Web-based business solution. |
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In the mid-1980's, a team of physicians, lawyers, and public health experts conducted a lengthy study of the nature and causes of medical errors. They published their findings, entitled "Incidence of adverse events and negligence in hospitalized patients," in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1991. Their research indicated that "there is a substantial amount of injury to patients from medical management, and many injuries are the result of substandard care."
The usefulness of personas in defining and designing interactive products has become more widely accepted in the last few years, but lack of published information has, unfortunately, left room for a lot of misconceptions about how personas are created, and about what information actually comprises a persona. Although space does not permit a full treatment of persona creation in this article, I hope to highlight a few essential points.
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This link takes you to previous articles on this topic linked from EPSScentral.
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Online Learning and Training magazines are now one. This is the first issue of Training magazine into which they have folded the sister publication Online Learning. The link takes you to the editorial on the topic, from which you can peruse the issue.
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Corporate "portals" have proliferated like mushrooms for the past several years. Indeed, Web sites that aggregate and dispense information to various groups of employees or customers have grown so ubiquitous that they are falling victim to their own popularity.
Current News
Gevity HR, a Bradenton, Fla.-based human resources outsourcing firm, was spending a fortune bringing managers back to its headquarters for monthly software training sessions. The company cut travel costs by two-thirds when it switched to a collaborative Web conferencing service, but managers soon realized they could save even more. By bringing Web conferencing technology in-house, the company has cut costs while also improving the effectiveness of its training programs.
ANN ARBOR, Mich., Dec. 18, 2002--XanEdu announced that its XanEdu CoursePacks have been named as a finalist for the prestigious 2003 Codie Awards in the Best Postsecondary Education Instructional Solution category. This designation as a finalist by the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) recognizes XanEdu for its innovative curriculum and content solutions in undergraduate and graduate learning environments. Nearly 700 entries were submitted in 40 categories for the 2003 Codie Awards.
BALTIMORE, Dec. 18, 2002--The United States Postal Service (USPS) has selected the THINQ TrainingServer learning management system (LMS) to track and manage training for 750,000 employees in support of a major business transformation ordered by the Postmaster General. The USPS will use the THINQ LMS to launch e-learning courses for 75,000 licensed users to reduce travel and training costs and accelerate performance improvement--ultimately leading to better service for its customers.
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Feature Story
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eLearn magazine is published by ACM, a not-for-profit educational association serving those who work, teach, and learn in the various computing-related fields. Founded in 1947 as the Association for Computing Machinery, ACM's stated mission is to advance the arts, sciences, and applications of information technology. It is the oldest and most respected organization of its kind. eLearn is ACM's first Web-only publication. It will build on ACM's reputation by serving as the most accurate and unbiased source for news, information, and opinion on the now-flourishing field of online education and training. It also offers a community hub for e-learning professionals on the Web, providing a wealth of public forums for the free exchange of ideas.
Content is culled from two distinct sources: News and features written by professional journalists with expertise in education and technology, and columns and tutorials by industry leaders and stars of academia. Our targeted readership includes both providers and consumers of online learning, with a special emphasis on teachers, managers, and administrators working to develop educational programs or classes on the Web.
A Report on the MIT Conference on Distance Education and Training Strategies: Lessons From Best Practices
Over a dozen expert panelists from higher education, industry, and government sectors shared their experiences at the MIT Conference on Distance Education and Training Strategies: Lessons From Best Practices conference held on September 24th at the Tang Center at MIT. This all-day conference attracted about 150 learning professionals from the Boston area and beyond, including a panelist who presented virtually from his office in Nairobi, Kenya.
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This link takes you to previous articles on this topic linked from EPSScentral.
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XML's syntax has brought many benefits due to its interoperability, yet it can be tiresome to author XML documents. Edd Dumbill examines a range of alternative syntaxes for XML, and discusses their benefits and drawbacks.
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Organizations tend to look at content management as content that's good enough for outside folks, while they refer to knowledge management as the sharing of knowledge primarily by inside folks. We think the time is ripe for a collision. A blend of content management systems and knowledge management tactics may provide just the combination a company needs. By examining the following points of overlap between content management and knowledge management, companies can leverage that overlap to boost immediate ROI.
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 Portaling up Customers, partners and employees - Posted 12/17 They can manage iManage extends program, offers catalog - Posted 12/17 Updating UE Improved security, scalability and availablity - Posted 12/17 Pocket KM ServiceWare releases field service solution - Posted 12/11 Visualization and collaboration Cimmetry unveils AutoVue 17 - Posted 12/11 The world according to Optika Acorde 3.0 suite introduced - Posted 12/11 |
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This link takes you to previous articles on this topic linked from EPSScentral.
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Microsoft gets top marks for its Sharepoint vision from the same analysts who turn around and report the software is still years from 'workable.' What's up with Microsoft's portal solution? Jacqueline Emigh reports.
Prioritizing intranet projects requires careful diligence and deft politicking. Carmine Porco sorts through potential intranet projects to find the most benefit for the right buck.
In Part 3 of his series on Making a Home for Your Intranet, Paul Chin examines the pros and cons of outsourcing. Make sure you know all there is to know before bringing an outsider in to build you intranet.
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ENTERPRISE APPLICATION INTEGRATION
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A new category on EPSScentral.
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Cover Story
Maximizing CRM with EAI
Nadhan & Simonson
Properly implemented CRM solutions provide an up-to-the-minute, 360-degree view of customer information across the enterprise. The only way to attain this level of data integrity and visibility is through the intelligent use of application integration technology
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CONFERENCES, WORKSHOPS, PRESENTATIONS, ETC.
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ISPI 2003
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January 27 - 30, 2003
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Truth in E-Learning
We all know that e-learning will change our organizations in ways we can barely imagine today. But, with all the hype and all the promises swirling around, it can be difficult to get the straight facts you need to make the right choices.
That’s why the ASTD TechKnowledge® 2003 Conference & Exposition is dedicated to bringing together e-learning professionals to share case studies, practical ideas, and solutions to common obstacles. Whether you’re new to e-learning or blazing new trails, you’ll benefit from:
Real World Answers
What’s working? What’s not? How are your colleagues integrating e-learning with traditional training solutions? Get the real world answers you need from people who know the challenges you face — your colleagues.
Unbiased Information
ASTD is your best source for the unbiased information you need to make the right choices. Everyone involved in e-learning — from trainers to learning executives … content developers to human resources managers — is there for one reason only: to share their knowledge.
No Hype
At ASTD TechKnowledge® you learn from — and with — your colleagues. You'll hear success stories, hear about problems, and learn how they can be overcome. The focus is on what really works.
Pick the track that best meets your experience level and your needs. ASTD TechKnowledge® 2003 offers sessions for professionals at every stage of implementing e-learning.
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Conferences covering a range of topics, including Instant Messaging, Voice XML, Search Engines, Enterprise Portals, Ultrawideband, and more.
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REPORTS and STUDIES
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Includes:
Software Acquisition Capability Maturity Model® (SA-CMM®) Version 1.03Guidelines for Software Engineering Education Version 1.0 Directory of Industry and University Collaborations with a Focus on Software Engineering Education and Training, Version 7 Hughes Aircraft's Widespread Deployment of a Continuously Improving Software Process Transition Packages for Expediting Technology Adoption: The Prototype Requirements Management Transition Package The Personal Software Process (PSP): An Empirical Study of the Impact of PSP on Individual Engineers Software Process Automation: Interviews, Survey, and Workshop Results A Turbo-Team Approach to Establishing a Software Test Process at Union Switch & Signal Proceedings of the Introducing Requirements Management into Organizations Workshop: Requirements Management Transition Packages (November 11-23, 1996) Best Training Practices Within the Software Engineering Industry Concept of Operations for the ESC Product Line Approach A Case Study in Successful Product Line Development A Mature Profession of Software Engineering IDEALSM: A User's Guide for Software Process Improvement Training Guidelines: Purchasing Training for a Software Organization |
Symantec Firewall/VPN Appliance