Manifesto

From The Vision Thing

Note: this is a draft just to get a sense of direction. Add to it, take stuff away, refactor, hack it, I think we know where we're all at so we can trust each other to sharpen this up. And isn't it ironic we're doing this with a wiki? :-)

[edit] Manifesto Draft

Real people are important. Regardless of what your investors, management, clients or colleagues think it's about how real people are going to interact with your work. If you are doing something that benefits a shareholder but makes life less vibrant for a user, don't do it.

Learn the value of control. You can't change anything if you don't control the process. If you have to work to eat, then you are not in control of your time - so bid yourself high and start building that FY Fund now.

Technology is a tool. This business is about process. Nobody cares about that nice cross-browser, whizz-bang, flashy user component. They care about what it is they're there to do. Be aware of what is they're there to do and then make sure that process is as simple as possible.

This business is about process. Process and meaning. There is no such thing as 'cool'. If you do something because it's cool, it's probably wrong. Think about meaning instead, and the ideas get better.

Provide tools, not functions. Great tools are ones that can be subverted by the user to do things you never thought possible. Blog tools are the best example out there, but think about whether all you're providing is something that could be replaced by a single click in a desktop app, and if you are stop and reconsider.

Two legs good, no legs just as good. Some people are disabled. Sometimes in ways you can't imagine. Sometimes in a way you don't consider a disability. They might have problems typing, using a mouse, seeing things moving, they might just be colour-blind. Remember them every time you make a decision. WCAG 1.0 is a good starting point, but it's not the same as talking to people with disabilities and asking them what they want.

Look after yourself. This might seem a bit cuddly for some, but your health and state of mind are important. No wonder you're angry if you've been pulling 14 hour days building a tool nobody cares about.

We must never reach this stage again. Maintain on a life long commitment/visual against the resurgence of froth. Froth is simply a natural by-product of innovation; but we need the awareness/infrastructure to detect it earlier and clean it up faster. When we think of Dotcom1 we think 'avoid the excess'. When we think of Web 2.0, we should think 'avoid the trivial'.

Deprecate stuff that's past it's sell-by date. For example: MSIE6, Java, Windows. We need to be rid of them, there are far better alternatives.