Just a lil' update

December 19, 2006

Today I only got to attend one of three usability sessions. It went great; my first project has passed trial by executives and is passing trial by users, so I couldn't be happier. In the afternoon I crashed a meeting about my hiring manager's main project (he's out of the country, so I weaseled my way in as a replacement). I had a flashback to when I was shadowing my manager in a meeting about this very project on my first or second day of employment. There were half-dozen or so designers & product managers clamoring over mockups sprawled over the conference room table, defending their turf and explaining the method behind the madness of a rather difficult predicament they had been funneled into. At one point I interjected to propose what seemed to me to be a very simple, direct solution to all of their problems. My suggestion was appreciated, but quickly whisked under the rug as being simple-minded and completely unrealistic given the advanced stage of the project. Fair enough.

Back at today's meeting, that simple-minded, crack-headed concept I had was somehow still alive and looked at as the "If only we could start over, we'd do it that way... but maybe it's the only way we can pull this whole thing off at all" option. Sigh. I think there's another meeting for this project on Friday, but I have a sneaking suspicion there'll be another called on an emergency basis before then.