That the proliferation of 'Smart' mobile devices - phones, tablets, etc - within the general consumer space has lead to a revolution in the expectations of users is undeniable.
Take the iOS experience as an example. The Mail interface has but 4 (four) buttons. "Back", "Edit", "New" and "Refresh". It doesn't take a genius to work out which button to press.
Unfortunately, it has also lead to a perception that anything with a plethora of features and options is 'un-intuitive', that the extra features lead to confusion and a lack of comprehension as to their value.
Lotus Notes has surely suffered as a result of this 'simplification' of IT.
While the acceptance of technology into the lives of many users who would previously not have considered it is a positive step, recognising that there is still a place for powerful desktop applications - especially for knowledge workers - draws a line in the sand between those who need such applications and those who do not.
A recent tweet highlighted this concept:
#Thought4TheDay Give a user Windows Paint, they're an Artist. Give them Photoshop, they're Confused. Sound Familiar? Email v Notes
For those who require 'more power', the misconception that Lotus Notes is an Email application is always the starting point of a users 'frustrations'.
But it's not that hard to turn around.
It begins with the acknowledgement that Lotus Notes is a Database application (or a client framework within which to run databases) and the software interface itself, the Menu's and tools available, are optimised for managing ANY database that is currently open within the Notes client. Demonstrate to users that the "Tool-bars" are the same whether Mail, Calendar, To-Dos, Contacts, Notebook, Blog, Forum or any Custom application that is open in Notes, and they begin to understand the consistency of the interface. Demonstrate that the "Action Bar" contains the options specific to the current application, and users stop looking within Menu's and Tool-bars for commands to perform tasks specific to the current database.
Then demonstrate the integration options available via the Eclipse framework (which I wrote about the other day) and users begin to understand how much more productive and efficient they can be using the Notes client which can bring everything they need together in one place.
Finally, demonstrate the operation of the core PIM databases. Note: I always do this as the last step, once the users gain an understanding of the power of the application in front of them.
Many power users find comfort within the Notes client and recognise how productive they are with 'all the bells and whistles'. They are also the users who understand the framework, the flexibility and many of the options available to them within Notes. Again, from Twitter:
I thought I'd like going from Lotus Notes to Outlook, but I don't
A little education can have powerful results. Changing perceptions and raising understanding is part of this process.
There are always going to be users who need education to help raise their level of understanding of the power of Notes, lest they suffer from: the intuitive misconception.
Using IBM Notes data as a source for Google Maps API
Wed, May 22nd 2013 10:20p Mat Newman During the past couple of weeks I've been consulting for a customer who required some heavy integration between IBM Notes data and Google Maps. That project is in it's final stages and is close to coming online. What that experience has shown me is how (relatively) simple it is to take source data from a Notes application and present that information using the Google Maps API on the web for public consumption. To begin with, the complete Google Maps API (v3) is available here for your re [read] Keywords: ibm
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Getting stated with IBM Notes 9 on Ubuntu 12.10 or 13.04 x64
Sun, May 12th 2013 9:13a Mat Newman IBM Notes 9 installs without any problems on both 12.10 and 13.04 x32 flavour. However, the x64 version has a few tricks that you need to repair before you can run the installation files. Over on Usablesoftware's blog there's a nice reference to the steps required to get IBM Notes 9 installed. With the fantastic assistance of Jason Hatch from IBM, I learned that the only thing required to get Notes 9 running on x64 was to remove some dependancies from the control file in the IBM supplied [read] Keywords: ibm
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Getting Started with IBM Notes 9 - Part 3: The Search Box
Wed, Apr 10th 2013 1:13a Mat Newman In Part 2: Introducing the Masthead, we discussed the new Masthead feature in IBM Notes 9, and briefly touched on the Search box, which has now been moved - with the IBM Social them applied - from the Toolbar to the Masthead. The Search box itself has a fantastic new feature which deserves it's own post, which is: IBM Notes 9 can now simultaneously search all Mail, Including the current Users Mail database and all archives configured for that user! YAY! The option needs to be se [read] Keywords: ibm
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Getting Started with IBM Notes 9 - Part 2: Introducing the Masthead
Mon, Apr 8th 2013 5:43p Mat Newman With the introduction of IBM Notes 9, one of the major design goals was to implement the IBM "One UI" experience with an updated interface to the Notes client. Within the FRAMEWORK utilised by the OneUI design principals, major navigation elements are located across the top of the 'page'. Feedback supplied to IBM designers also indicated that many users 'lost' the quick links to their Personal Information Management (PIM) applications (Mail, Calendar, Contacts, To-Dos, etc) with the intro [read] Keywords: ibm
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Getting Started with IBM Notes 9 - Part 1: Installation
Wed, Apr 3rd 2013 9:16p Mat Newman In this series of posts we are going to walk through all the new capabilities contained within the latest release of IBM Lotus Notes, or rather - the newly reincarnated IBM Notes 9. 17 years after the acquisition of Lotus Development Corporation, IBM has dropped the "Lotus" from the branding of the product, finally bringing Notes completely under the IBM brand umbrella and heralding a new era for the most powerful desktop application available. A raft of new features and capabilities have be [read] Keywords: admin
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How to add Birthdays and Anniversaries from your Contacts database to your Lotus Notes Calendar
Tue, Mar 19th 2013 5:08p Mat Newman Another one from Twitter: Is there any way to show Birthdays and Anniversaries from my Lotus Notes personal Contacts database in my Lotus Notes Calendar" Natively: No. But that got me thinking. Thanks to the "Show Calendars" overlay feature included in Notes a while ago, ANY Lotus Notes database which includes a Calendar view can be overlaid in your personal Calendar. Problem: The Lotus Notes personal Contacts database (names.nsf on 'local') does not contain a calendar view tha [read] Keywords: ibm
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Colour Coding an entire day in your Notes 9 calendar
Mon, Mar 18th 2013 6:02p Mat Newman One really nice feature relating to Calendar Colour Coding in IBM Notes 9 is related to All Day Events. When a user configures a category for colour-coding in their Notes 9 Calendar, and then applies it to an All Day Event, Notes 9 colour codes the background of that entire day in the calendar with an opaque variant of that colour: Figure 1: Notes 9 calendar background for a day changed with an All Day Event I really like this feature as it provides easy visual notification in a [read] Keywords: ibm
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