The Method Overawes
We arrived with the usual mixture of terror and cockiness. On the first day they took our project apart, as we were introduced to the honest but necessary cruelty of the pitch process. Next day we picked ourselves up and started reformulating until we felt we had a more popular proposition. Once again we were dragged into a bit of revolutionary self-criticism and had to start all over again. Each time we had our egos stripped away and forced back onto the needs of our potential users, and who those users were. As this went along we were introduced to a strange new methodology, 'NABC', 'object orientated', 'boiling oceans'. We started dreaming in Needs Approach Benefit and Competition. Or at least I did, but then I'm highly suggestible. It is rather like being introduced into one of those 70's cults, except a little more user orientated. Now on the penultimate day we feel we have a project that has a strong resemblance to the one we started with but more muscular, in a caring and open sort of way. Like a fire-man in an Athena poster. 6 hours is a long time in the lab, though, so we'll see. And we've got the rehearsal soon.
First time I've had a chance to blog, even though I'm usually Mr Bloggy, at least compared to the rest of the team. Up till now it has been exhausting, continuous, but great fun. Now it is a brief hour of entirely technical build and 'programmer art', so this seemed like a good time to contribute here.
Funny thing is, I've sort of lost my own 'voice' as we've been channeling Charlotte and Derek, our hypothetical users so they can interact with our project demo. Charlotte, our late 20's walker, has been pleased to discover that with her new mobile phone she can take photos on the walk suggested by the BBC and, when she takes them, they are fixed to a point on the map, so others can get a sense of her sturdy outdoor fun. I'm not big on the walking, so Jon and Paul got the sex change and the camera. Derek, our 56 year old retired local history nut, needed some pedantic articles to attach to a point on our map of the Lake District, He uses a 10 year old PC to give us the benefit of his researches and photos along the way. Adding them on his return. Problem is, I can't get out of his writing style. The old rogue.
