Is Focus Group effective?

Focus groups have always been used to gather feedback on certain requirements or business processes but after being involved in a few of these focus groups, one thought came to mind. Are focus groups effective?

The problem with focus groups is that it's usually held for the people at the operational level and even though they might have certain ideas on how things are to be done, it may not suit what the higher management has in mind. It also depends on who attends the focus groups. Are they vocal? Are they truly concerned on improving the process?

Therefore, whether the focus group meets its objective or not, the facilitator of the focus group must know what the higher management is thinking, and shape the discussion of the focus group in order for it to be fruitful. True, higher management may already have a certain direction they want to undertake, but if the facilitator of the focus group is able to shape the energy of the people at the operational level into thinking what they can further improve on that direction, at the very least the operational level people have a little control on what comes next.

Focus group will not bring about life changing events for the very fact that usually there is already an idea on what is the direction. It's still useful though if the audience will voice out their thoughts. Who knows... The focus group might prevent you from heading to a wrong direction.

Find your iDevice Serial Nos

Recently I had a friend who lost the iPhone. However, it seems that Apple does not have a process to track or flag lost or stolen product. You can however report the lost iPhone to the authorities. I'm not sure providing serial numbers is any help but you might want to.

To find your serial numbers, just login to the Apple My Support profile here using your apple ID. After logging in, you can find all the serial numbers of your mac products, as long as you have registered your device online.

Of course you can also use the Find my iPhone feature to locate your missing device, display a message on its screen, make it play a sound at full volume (even if on mute), remotely lock it, or remotely wipe (erase) it to protect your privacy. You can find more information about this in the apple article here.

Change your thinking by changing your circumstances

I quote from Adlin Sinclair:

You are the embodiment of the information you choose to accept and act upon. To change your circumstances you need to change your thinking and subsequent actions. 

Do not blame others for circumstances that you have the power to change. Laziness can become a habit.

Thinning trees due to ezlink implementation for buses?

Recently I've been noticing that the trees have been thinning, especially the trees near the roads. The reason why my attention was diverted to the trees is mainly due to the very hot weather. Previously, I recall that the trees used to block the sun from reaching the concrete floor, which resulted in a cooler environment. Nowadays the weather has been getting hotter and hotter, and I've noticed we have lesser trees to shield us from the fierce sunlight.

Why the trees are thinning? For some reason, one thought came into mind. The buses. The buses I believe are using GPS to detect their current location to calculate the fares to be paid by ezlink. The problem with GPS is that if there are obstructions, the accuracy of the GPS will be affected. This will cause problems in the calculation of the fares.

Are the trees thinning more than usual so as to improve the GPS accuracy of the buses? Hmm...

User experience should always be the main point

I know that certain technologist focus more on the functionality and features than user experience. Since I started going on the technology path, I've always try to put user experience as the main point in any design that I make for the very simple reason that if the user experience is not easy to understand, no one will know how to use your function.

Simple concept, but very difficult to implement. The problem with simple user experiences is that to the end user it might seem very natural , but the problem is that thinking of such an interface actually takes a lot of research and sometimes, programming effort to make it effortless for the user to execute the function. The user may think its actually very simple to do, without realising that a lot of backend functionality is being done without their knowledge.

Simple user experience. Looks easy, difficult to do, and under appreciated by users. The sad life of a technologist.

Inflation is up 5%

Updated 23 Aug 2012: Realised that the calculations are wrong. Updated the numbers

These are the Singapore inflation rates for 2012:
January: 4.8%
February: 4.6%
March: 5.2%
April: 5.4%
May: 5.0%

Transport and Housing are leading the pack, rising by 9.2% and 8.2% respectively year on year. Inflation was generally weaker than the expected 0.1% to 0.2% drop that I've estimated, which I believe was mainly due to the housing rebates that were distributed. Transport was the only sector that buck the trend, no thanks to the every high COE prices that seems to defy gravity. I always wonder who are the ones who are willing to pay $50,000 for one piece of paper that is valid for only 10 years.

This month's inflation may be slightly lower by 0.3%-0.4% compared to May due to the recent Europe crisis affecting prices across the board, the drop in oil prices. July is a crucial month to determine if the downward trend will continue. All eyes are now on Greece, Spain and Italy.

PhoneStacking!!

In the recent turn your screen off day, there was mention of a new phenomena called Phonestacking. The idea is quite simple. Before a meal with friends or family, everyone stacks the phones face down in a pile in the middle of the dining table. Before the meal is over, I believe there will definitely be cases where phones will start to vibrate or ring. The first person to crack and check their phone has to pick up the bill for the entire table.

Cool right? Good way of getting people to pay for your meal! :)

Self Worth

I quote from Sydney Madwed:

Poor is the man who does not know his own intrinsic worth and tends to measure everything by relative value. A man of financial wealth who values himself by his financial net worth is poorer than a poor man who values himself by his intrinsic self worth.

Not everything needs to be measured in terms of financial net worth.

Competition and Creativity cannot co-exist

I have been interested in the topic of creativity recently and have been reading articles on it. Apparently, someone believed that a competitive spirit can sometimes inhibit the creativity that it requires, which I fully agree.

The reasoning is simple. Creative people usually do not follow the crowds. They seek out so-called blank spots on the map, and instead of being the fastest on the well beaten route, creative people move through "wildernesses" nobody knows. In a competitive landscape, it's extremely difficult to create value because in order to create value, you need time that a competitive environment won't give you.

In summary, the competitive landscape undermines creativity and thus innovation. And everyone knows that innovation is the key to a successful company.

Use RFID to track shopping carts

Recently I was reading about NTUC losing their shopping carts to inconsiderate shoppers who do not bother to carry their own trolley bags and choose not to return the NTUC shopping carts.

One relatively simple way is to install all shopping carts with RFID sensors and to put such sensor gates at the entrances/exits of the supermarket. If the cart leaves the supermarket, which can be detected through a network of RFID receivers, a loud alarm will be sounded. At the exit, there can also be a counter selling trolley bags for shoppers to purchase if they wish to purchase something to help them carry their groceries.

Seriously, just because you're shopping at the supermarket doesn't give you the right to take the shopping cart away from the supermarket and deprive other shoppers from it. With this sensor, you may not even need to install the device that requires someone to slot in a $1 coin in order to take the cart.

It's time to send a message that taking shopping carts away from the supermarket is an unacceptable behavior that needs to be stopped.