A Wealth of Hidden Talents - I had fun at work last week, wow'ing myself and other people with creative fixes. Now I've been goofing around with HTML (web design) code since about 1998 or so. I usually search the internet for tutorials, sites with nice features, and other copy/paste opportunities to try things out and then make them work. It's really just a matter of common sense --> If you see something you like, copy / paste / edit, and poof you have working code again.

When another team "hired" me to get involved with web design and maintenance, I learned a little bit about a software program (Vignette) that works like a machine to put out really large, detailed websites. When an earlier project team had me helping with their project documentation, I got to see a large website built on top of another large platform (SharePoint), and helped document where you click to make things work. So I've been soaking up a variety of unusual back-end web maintenance skills for the past year that I didn't have before I came to this job.

This summer, I helped promote a project that won some funding in a Summer Challenge, and we've been "building" the tool that we proposed. We decided that it was best to build the tool on top of one of those big software platforms (SharePoint). We made mockup drawings of what the tool should look like and how it should function. Then I got to sit down with the *actual* designer and help guide him into *good* design for our tool (instead of brainstorming doodles). Then I got to work with the actual *programmer* on how to implement the design ideas, and how to build a working user interface that would be pretty AND functional. *AND* I've had to explain to the Project Manager where the designer and the programmer were in the project, trying to correct her jargon when she clearly had no idea what we were talking about.

Insert problem here: Some of the functionality / design that the Project Manager *WANTED* to have wasn't possible with the way we built the tool on the software. Why? Because we built it right, and not with built-in problems from her uninformed design ideas. But she was still committed to "The user has to see XYZ, and has to be able to click on XYZ!" *sigh* Yes, it would be nice, but there aren't any filters that work that way in the system....

Hey wait. What if I just created that sort of navigation in some static code? Could I paste a nice, stable, static table in the *looked like* some dynamic links? Hmmm.... poke around, poke around, attempt a few things, have some failed experiments, and then finally accidentally stumble on the solution! Sure, it takes some extra copy/paste more than usual, but it will work! *DANCE around in GLEE*

By the way, if you hadn't guessed, the "Work Parable" I wrote was about the software. It's just a simple home library for our group. At our final review, people from other groups were there to see what we'd completed. Their questions seemed so ridiculously off-the-mark, the only way I could vent about the issue was to write a Parable and draw some parallel metaphors. Yes, my brain thinks in comparative metaphors, all the time.

And Then There's This Week - Oh. Gracious. How do I describe what happened this week, and still be diplomatic? I'm not certain I can. Let's see.

Project Manager has me designing an automated form on-again-off-again for months. A simple Word doc, clickable fields. Okay, sure, no problem. Later, Team creates software. The database has matching fields to my form, can take data entry and auto-populate my form, can take information from other automated documents and auto-populate my form, and manage all the information in one place. Okay. Lovely. Project Manager says, "hey, can you document our software and write the User Guide?" Sure. Okay. Suddenly, I start documenting a bunch of tool bars and features that showed up out of nowhere, and I'm ready to cry because I've been in the office since "super early" and wasn't going to get to leave until "super late." Fortunately the Project Manager sent me an online message a few minutes later to check in, and we found out that (a) those toolbars weren't supposed to show or be left turned on and (b) I could just crop the images and keep going. *whew* Okay, so I finish everything, feel good about it, go home happy. Even more than that, happy because my boss is happy and he thinks I can just relax coming in this morning because I worked late.

I get here. I get surprised. They've changed the footer and added text. They've changed the toolbar and added a new button. The button goes to a page that's broken, and hasn't been designed yet. I'm beyond the need for tears. It was all I could do not to rant, when talking to someone about the problem. *sigh*

But I got it done. I got it fixed. I uploaded all the files and notified everyone.

And then I wrote a STRONGLY WORDED "Post Project Feedback" that included several additional folks on the cc: line of the email... complete with BOLD and Red-Text-Highlights and ALL CAPS FOR SOME SECTIONS to say "hey, you cannot keep doing this!" *sigh* I tried my best to use phrases like, "It is my opinion that this message needs to be shared with Group ABC and Group XYZ because this is affecting All-These-Long-Lists-Of-People." And I wrote up some descriptions of how hard it is on the documentation team (in any workplace) to "just fix a little graphic." Um, no. It's a much bigger issue than that, and so I spelled it out to them.

I so rarely have to put my foot down and say "HEY!!!" but I did so today. We'll see what happens after this. *sigh*

I'm going to have sushi with friends for dinner, have a pedicure and sit in a massage chair (whenever I have the time), and put this all behind me.
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This weekend is filled with activities (big surprise, I'm sure). Bunches of laundry and computer work to finish tomorrow morning (my normal day off). A trip to San Diego to work with a friend on "land tetris" for a large upcoming camping event. An event at the neighboring college Saturday morning, and a musical event at a friend's house that evening. Brainstorming / Planning day with the Pentathlon team Sunday afternoon. Kol Nidre Sunday night and Yom Kippur Monday. Break Fast Monday night.

I think I need that massage chair now.

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Today's Blessing That I'm Thankful For: Sunset photos, bright blue shirts, shuffle on my iPod