Chuck and I were talking about using setup wizards and easy setup steps to virtually walk people through complex or involved processes. We covered a bunch of different topics today. One of them was MVC or model view controllers and how splitting things into different levels allows for more modular code. The thing that changes the most is the view model (display). The other pieces tend to stay fairly similar without huge changes between versions. Chuck would like me to speak with his wife about some of those different levels and some tips and tricks on keeping them separate. She worked with a client that does government work and they were setup with really good deafferentation between data layers, business logic layers, and view or display layers. She is also familiar with a number of different frameworks and possible options there.

As we were talking, Chuck said that one of his goals is going to be working on layouts, use of whitespace, and number of clicks to get something done and finished. Those sounded like good goals to look into and work on for adilas projects. Next, we chatted about navigation, layouts, and the concept of an artist with a pallet and being able to change the layout and control your space (work environment). Sometimes the word space is too deep for people to grasp. They think of stars and constellations. We are currently talking more about personal space and configuring your own environment or working space (homepages, nav options, preferences, dashboards, etc.). Chuck would love to help develop some really cool dashboards and such. That would be awesome.

More talk about wizards and easy bulk setup options. We would love to configure some almost hands-free setup options. Think of what a cost saving this would be. Basically, if we could make the setup easier, we could eliminate some large costs and time savings by letting the users set it up themselves. That is still a long way out, but a great goal. Along those lines, we were talking about how both settings and permissions really need to dictate displays, options, and work spaces. If we did it well enough, we could even offer a free trial or something along those lines. Right now, it takes too much to setup it all up and get someone trained. We can't do it for free because it takes someone who know the system to setup it up, configure it, and get the people trained on it.

If we could get things done in bulk or through simple handholding wizards, that would really help the process. Those handrails or wizards turn mountains into smaller icebergs (perception of what is there to take in or acknowledge). We talked about some possible mini apps or standalone modules for the current adilas platform. Timeclocks, timecards, uers, payroll, expense tracking, point of sale, CRM (customer relationship management), ecommerce, etc. All of the main 12 business functions. Fun little meeting and some good ideas. We would like to include and even start working on the fracture project with some of these ideas. That is and has been a big goal and driving force for what we are doing. What is the next step and how can we get there?