Need someone to lead product management at your software company? I build high-craft software and the teams that build it. I'm looking for my next opportunity. Check out my resume and get in touch.

This is the blog of Adam Kalsey. Unusual depth and complexity. Rich, full body with a hint of nutty earthiness.

User Experience

Adobe usability

Freshness Warning
This blog post is over 23 years old. It's possible that the information you read below isn't current and the links no longer work.

Mike Swaine admits that he is not the typical Web user. He doesn’t use a common browser, and has JavaScript and images turned off. Nonetheless, he has some advice for Adobe’s new Adobe Studio site:

  • Make sure that you don’t keep users with non-standard browsers from reaching your site. Not everyone uses Internet Explorer and Netscape.
  • Don’t assume that your users all have large monitors and run their browsers full screen. They don’t.
  • Leave out the legalese. I shouldn’t need an attorney to figure out what I’m allowed to do on your site. For a good terms of use, take a look at Oxo’s.
Read Swaine’s Frames: An Open Letter to Adobe September 28, 2001 issue of WebReview.com.

Recently Written

Think Systems, not Symptoms
Dec 15: Piecemeal process creation frustrates teams and slows work. Stop patching problems and start solving systems. Adopting a systems thinking approach helps you design processes that are efficient, aligned with goals, and truly add value.
Your Policies Aren’t Your Culture
Dec 13: Policies guide behavior, but culture is the lived norms and values of your team. Policies reflect culture -- they don’t define it. Netflix’s parental leave shift didn’t change its culture of freedom and responsibility. It clarified how to live it.
Lighten Your Process Burden
Dec 7: Everyone hates oppressive processes, but somehow we keep managing to create them.
Product Add-Ons Are An Expansion Myth
Dec 1: Add-ons can enhance your product’s appeal but won’t drive significant market growth. To expand your customer base, focus on developing standalone products.
Protecting your Product Soul when the Same Product meets New People.
Nov 23: Expand into new markets while preserving your product’s core value. Discover how to adapt and grow without losing your product’s soul.
Building the Next Big Thing: A Framework for Your Second Product
Nov 19: You need a first product sooner than you think. Here's a framework for helping you identify a winner.
A Framework for Scaling product teams
Oct 9: The people, processes, and systems that make up a product organization change radically as you go through the stages of a company. This framework will guide that scaling.
My Networked Webcam Setup
Sep 25: A writeup of my network-powered conference call camera setup.

Older...

What I'm Reading