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It's all in the User Interface
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You'd think that if I was going to start posting again then I would start by talking about what makes a good Architect or something given my last post, but I want to start by listing out some thoughts that I've had about user interfaces,
The current and next big thing in architecture is the user interface. This has been stated for some time now and anyone can see from Web 2.0 and AJAX that there is a shift towards more interactive and friendly UI's. I'd like to go one step better though and put out there that the major competition to come between organisations for customers in the future will be in the UI space. And it won't just be between who has the friendliest online banking application. Rather, it will be between who provides the funkiest, smartest application that integrates best into the customers' lifestyles. This won't be a simple matter of creating the best web site or mobile phone application either. In an ealier post I suggested that Windows client applications provided advantages from various perspectives (architecture, development and end-user) over Web applications. My thinking has evolved again from there now.
I'm suggesting that the up and coming savvy consumers of today are using a wider and wider range of technologies, are understanding the capabilities and uses of these technologies and understand where they fit into their lives and when and for what they would like to use them for. Add to this a range of technologies that are just around the corner in terms of wide-spread adoption and today's Architect should be looking much, much more broadly than just a Web UI in designing applications.
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Second Life. Personally I find the concept of shopping in a city that looks like a city with shops that look like shops while being at home and online to be quite fascenaticing. I feel that it holds some of the keys to the future. Universities holding courses online and companies holding meetings in Second Life is just the start. Look to some of the real world organisations like Australia's ABC that are extending their real-world presence to Second Life in ways that they Web just can't allow. While some of the security and business-model issues need to be solved there is a lot of promise there and Architects would well be advised to get their minds around the concepts.
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Microsoft Surface. I was lucky enough to use Surface myself earlier in 2007 and I can say that it does work just like the videos show. It is, to me, the single biggest advance in technology in an awfully long time. It represents a completely new way of interacting with people and objects and there are a huge variety of applications where surface could be applicable. It is a viable application development platform and Architects should examine it and understand it even if just for its pure technology factor.
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Microsoft Photosynth. Another completely innovative technology - sort of Second Life on the web with a digital camera. Yes the demos are very cute and the technology is very cool, if a little hard to explain but I can see some wonderful opportunities with Phtotsynth from a business UI perspective. The ability to navigate and select objects in a 3D world that can be readily created without serious programming or modelling (very nearly by an end-user even) could provide some powerful UI options for online stores, builders, car retailers etc.
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Game Consoles. Yes, Microsoft is now doing well with the 360 but if you thought the battle for the game console market is just about units and games, even if games are now higher-grossing than movies, then I would suggest that you look more closely. The games console is no longer a games console - it is an entertainment hub and as such I am keeping a careful eye on the 360 in particular as Live becomes more powerful and the line between Live and the Web and the 360 and the PC becomes more and more blurred. This might not mean the 360 surfing the web though, but I would not be surpised to see people shopping online for general products or doing onine banking throught the ubiquitous games consoles in the near future.
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Media Center et al. Vista brings Media Center to the masses and as the platform powers up we'll see it and products like it start to change the face of home entertainment devices beyond the enthusiasts that currently use it. Accessing content and applications from Media Center will become a perferable way of performing common tasks for home users and they won't want to use the Web.
So, as you can see this is only a short list of new UI paradigms that are just around the corner or are ready for development now. I would suggest that as Architects and Developers we should be considering these, and other technologies that I haven't listed, when designing applications so that the best outcome is always achieved.
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I'm Back
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Well, I'm surpised to see that at least a couple of people are still reading this despite the fact that I haven't updated this in, like, forever...
Since the last time I've updated this page I have been very busy with life and with a new role at work that has taken much more than its fair share of time. I now work as a 'Delivery Manager' for Infosys Australia. This means that I'm responsible for things like people, project governance and a whole pile of things that aren't related to Architecture. It's also lead me to question the relevance of bing an MVP for Architecture and what help I can be to other Architects and developers.
I decided in the end though that I can be a lot of help to people. You see, while I'm not exactly an Architect myself anymore I do manage about 60 Architects and 60 Developers and I do oversee a number of projects and consulting assignments that these Architects and Developers are undertaking across a range of technologies. This gives me great insight into what makes a great Architect, how Architects can succeed and achieve, what really works from an architecture perspective, and what works from a project or methodology perspective.
So, you can expect to hear more from me in future about these things and other things that interest, without giving away anything about my employer or our customers of course!
All the best, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!