ISV Kaizen

In this short post I’d like to share a real case of user interface improvement that we implemented in the upcoming release of the Dr.Explain 4.0.

In previous releases of the Dr.Explain we had a problem - much of screen space on the top of the application window was not used effectively.

Before (old versions of the Dr.Explain):

We reworked and united the toolbar and tabs to eliminate the unused space. Here is a solution:

Now (Dr.Explain 4.0):

With the new design users have more space for work, not for application buttons.

Check if your application interface has unused areas that might be used for real work.

This year our Dr.Explain help tool team is proud to be a sponsor of The Conference for Software User Assistance by WritersUA.

The focus of the Conference for Software User Assistance is on developing the best possible user experience for all types of software applications through well-designed interfaces and helpful and accessible support information. The Conference includes over sixty sessions Sunday, March 21, through Wednesday, March 24.

Success in improving the software user experience depends on applying the right skills and technologies to maximum advantage. The conference targets this need by providing an array of sessions demonstrating effective techniques, case studies demonstrating best-in-class designs, technology updates, and much more.

This year’s Conference features seven interest areas with information on:

• Emerging Skills
• Technology Updates
• Design Strategies
• Tool Techniques
• Content Development
• Open Standards
• Special Interest

Registration is open! Early discounts in Effect!

If your host uses Spam Assassin to protect your mail box from SPAM then read this post!

We use Spam Assassin on our host to filter out SPAM. Recently, it was discovered that the Spam Assassin had a bug. It added extra 3.4 SPAM scores to ALL e-mails dated 2010 or later.

I’m afraid we lost some incoming e-mails that were filtered out due-to false SPAM suspicious.

Currently we’re running beta testing of Dr.Explain 4.0. All feedback is extremely important for us! Missing e-mails is unacceptable.

If you sent us a e-mail in 2010 but haven’t received a response yet, please resend it. Sorry for the inconvenience.

… and …

If you’re using Spam Assassin then either update or add 4 points to your filter thresholds.

Thank you Microsoft for the MSDN Subscription. Now we have a New Year & Christmas Tree in the office.

Does my application need a colorful bright interface with amazing icons, animated skins and cool sound effects?

First, think about how much time does an average user spend working with your application per session and what does he use it for. If user spends more than 20-30 minutes per session within your application (which is not a game of course) then he might get tired of all these bells and whistles very quickly. The best GUI is the one you don’t even think about. It must be invisible and just lets get on with your job.

Think why Adobe Photoshop is gray like a dirt. Because, it must not divert designer’s attention while he is working with own image documents. Gray is one of the most invisible colors.

For example, we used this principle in our TBS Cover Editor - 3d box shot maker application.

Our first intention was to make a smashing GUI with the coolest effects ever. However, we stopped on a plain almost monochrome interface in order not to bother users with our coolness but let them fully concentrate on their box shots and cover designs.

Think if your GUI is invisible.

This is a meaningless emotional post about a great achievement of our small development team - Indigo Byte Systems in partnership with True BoxShot Software.

Our application, TBS Cover Editor was selected by Embarcadero ( owner and producer of Delphi and C++ Builder) for their Delphi application showcase: http://embarcadero.com/application-showcase

Without any hesitation our team is very proud of this fact.

It proves that even an application made by a relatively small workshop of several developers can be a high quality product that meets the highest standards.

That’s very inspiring for our team and I hope for all ISV teams!

If you deal with software development technologies, services, or programming tools then you likely have some useful articles on your web site or blog that you want to share with other software developers. General purpose social sites like Digg.com, StubleUpon.com or Reddit.com are good but their audience isn’t well targeted and has pretty low conversion rate.

In addition to those common resources I’d recommend to submit your articles about software development to the specialized sites. Here is a list of my favorite resources mainly devoted to programming for Microsoft Windows platform:

• DotNetKiks.com
• DotNetBurner.com
• DotNetShoutOut.com
• DZone.com
• WebDevVote.com

Feel free to submit your interesting and quality content to those resources but double check if your content is not just pure hype or a sales copy. Your submission must be topic relevant and must have real value for readers. For example it may be a how-to article, troubleshooting, use case description, in-depth review, technology report, tutorial, manual, or another useful content.
If your follow this simple rule people will actively vote for your submissions and you may easily receive hundreds of targeted visits to your web site or blog.

If you know more similar social resources devoted to software development then feel free to mention them in the comments. I’ll appreciate your feedback.

We actively use AdWords for marketing of our software products. AdWords is not “setup and forget” tool. To improve and maintain its effectiveness I permanently track our campaigns and test different approaches, ad variations, targeting settings, bids and so on.

Also, I’m hunting for new and fresh ideas how to make the AdWords’ performance even better. Today, I’m happy to share an excellent article: 31 Killer Writing AdWords Ads Tips.

The article isn’t really new and fresh. It was published in October 2007. Nevertheless, I’m sure it’s actual and extremely useful for everyone who deals with AdWords. Check it out!

Recently, we’ve discovered that up to 40% of the Dr.Explain website’s organic (non-paid) traffic that comes from search engines do actually land on pages of our on-line manual. This proves that on-line documentation is not only a helpful tool for existing customers and users. It’s a good marketing and sales tool as well.

If you already have published your product documentation on your website then check if it’s properly optimized from search engines’ points of view. Don’t try to over-optimize your on-line manual. Just follow the simple rules to make your help pages to display higher on a search engine results page (SERP) for relevant search strings:

Use appropriate words and terminology in content.
This must be the same terminology that your target audience uses daily. They will likely use the same words and terms in search requests.

Use unique and keyword-based titles for your pages.
“Topic 2330: Transparency” is a too general title. “Transparency Settings - Cover Designer Advanced Customization” is a better title.

Use topical keywords in file names of your help pages.
Again, “topic2330.htm” is a bad name. “cover-designer-advanced-settings-transparency.htm” is a much better name.

Use header tags for titles.
Wrap your headings and subheadings in H1, H2, H3, and so on tags to make them more meaningful for search engine ranging algorithms.

Mark specific terms and phrases with bold.
Write specific terms and targeted keywords in bold (strong) font to highlight their importance and relevance.

Cross-link your help pages.
Insert links to certain help pages in content of other pages. Use keywords for link text. For instance, “To read more about boxshot rendering click here” is a wrong way. “Read more about boxshot rendering” is a SEO-friendlier approach.

Create or solicit external links to your help pages.
A big number of external links that point to your help pages means a bigger page rank and higher position on SERP. Put links to your on-line manual wherever it’s possible on your product and company websites, partner websites, support forum, and so on. If some topics of your documentation can be considered as a standalone articles with useful content (trouble shooting, glossary, reviews, problem overview, etc.) then try to gently solicit links from third-party websites: topical forums, article directories, industry blogs, and resource collections.

User manual is a huge bunch of words, highly targeted words, which are specific to your product’s market. People use these words in their queries when they are looking for specific solutions on Google, Yahoo, Bing, or other search engines. On-line manual will increase your web site rank in relevant search results and will bring highly targeted traffic to your web site. Let the manual work not only for your users, but for your business as well.

A really interesting marketing case was disclosed by Derek Sivers in his post “Emphasize meaning over price = More paid sales“.

In brief:

A band was doing the usual thing of selling CDs for $15. They’d mention it once or twice from the stage, and sell about $300 per night on average.

A consultant asked the band to try a different approach:

1. Say to the audience, “It’s really important to us that you have our CD. We worked so hard on it and are so proud of it, that we want you to have it, no matter what. Pay what you want, but even if you have no money, please take one tonight.”

2. Mention this again before the end of the show, adding, “Please, nobody leave here tonight without getting a copy of our CD. We’ve shared this great show together so it would mean a lot to us if you’d take one.”

It changes the request from a commercial pitch to an emotional connection. (Replace market mindset with social mindset!) Allowing them to get a CD for no money just reinforces that.

The band did this for a while, and soon they were selling about $1200 (+300% increase in sales) per night on average, even including those people who took it for free! The average selling price was about $10.

But the important part came next:

Because every person left each show with a CD, they were more likely to remember who they saw, tell friends about it, listen to it later, and become an even bigger fan afterwards.

Then, when the band came back to a town where they had insisted that everyone take a CD, attendance at those shows doubled! The people that took a CD became long-term fans and brought their friends to future shows.

Think if this approach is applicable in your ISV business.