KISS?

I was reading this wonderful article about the importance of designing products that will help to satisfy the needs of the majority of the users rather than just focusing on power users or what the top management feels the product should have.

This reminds me of the current state of some of the websites nowadays, especially their homepages. For me, it doesn’t mean that if you have the expertise to showcase all your coding capabilities or you have tons of info, you should use them all at once.

Don’t try to cram everything on one page, especially your homepage. It’ll just create unnecessary mental load to our dear readers. When they feel overwhelmed, users will always take the next available and easiest choice to them. They leave.

Just think as your homepage as a hotel lobby. Simple and elegance. Try putting your place in your users’ shoes once in a while and then you will know…

Phew, one down, another one to go

Finally today, after mustering up all the courage in the world, I sat for my PTK’s exam. And the verdict? I believed I covered most parts that are required to pass the exam. Hopefully, I can achieve better than that. We’ll just have to wait and see, Insya Allah…

Oh ya, the exam this morning was for the UMUM’s part. I didn’t dare to take the KHUSUS this time around. I’m not a fully practising QS, so it’ll take a while for me to cover the whole syllabus. And until April comes around, which is when the next exam date is due, 6 months would be adequate right… Or is it?

Top Ten Places to visit…

This post is dedicated to my sis and her family who are now residing somewhere in Rochester, NY. Boleh dijadikan panduan masa nak gi jalan2 nanti …

During the 2 years time in the States, there were a couple of things which basically prevented us from exploring the nature to the fullest. Err, make it 3 things.

One was definitely classes. Second got to be what usually comes after each class, assignments and final projects. And the last one which was a no-brainer, money, money & money. But still, when opportunities knocked, off we went with our rented cars (thanks Enterprise for the supa dupa cheap weekend rates).

So, here are the top ten places in the States that will always be there in our memories…

• Bennington, VT
  This quiet and serene small town went straight to the top due to its sentimental value it brings to our family. We were there in late autumn of 2007, just 2 days after we celebrated Eid Fitri. The scenery was just too majestic. You simply can’t afford to miss the fall foliage at Bennington. We really had a lots of fun on that wonderful day…
• Disneyworld & Universal Studios Orlando, FL
• Key West, FL
• Boston, MA
• Chicago, IL
• New Haven, CT
• New York City, NY
• Philadelphia, PA
• Niagara Falls, NY
• Grafton Lake, NY

So, there you go. And err, kalau pi jalan2 tu, jangan lupa beli fridge magnets aaa. Duit nanti claim kat Puan Manager Kacip Emas kita tu…

Berhijrah

Sesungguhnya Allah tidak akan mengubah nasib sesuatu kaum melainkan kaum itu sendiri mengubah nasibnya
(Surah Ar-Ra’d ayat 11)

Prior of me leaving for the States to further my studies, career-wise I felt I was in a comfort zone. A really comfortable one. But now that I’m back home, the thought just struck me. How wrong was I back then. Spending 2 wonderful years in Troy was just priceless…

Err btw, I’m going to sit for my first PTK’s exam tomorrow at PICC. Wish me luck you guys

Phew, TGIF…

I’m just glad the weekend is just around the corner. A hectic week indeed…

Monday
What a way to start off the week.  I dived in right into the thick of the action. From early morning till late afternoon, I was supa dupa busy with all the last minute preparations for the QSIC and Eid Fitri scheduled for Tuesday/Wednesday and Thursday/Friday respectively.

Tuesday
At 8:30 in the morning while listening to my iPod, I found myself going round and round in circle trying to find my way to Istana Hotel. Why oh why we can’t use Google Maps or Yahoo Maps in Malaysia? I really miss that. The odd of me getting lost here in Malaysia is much2 greater than me finding ways to Ground Zero in New York City. Perhaps it’s about time for me to invest in Garmin…

This year QSIC was like any other QSICs I have attented prior to this. I was inside the hall for barely 1/2 hour  before I found myself quietly exited the convention hall using the back door hoping to catch some of my friends.

Yup, true enough. I found a few of them were busy gossiping (errr, among the topics were issues on contract procedures and IBS) somewhere at the back while enjoying some hot coffee (most likely to help them stay awake on that Tuesday morning) . Sudahnya, sampai ke petang kami layan berborak.

Thursday
There I was standing handsomely in my baju melayu johor (kaler purple you) trying to act busy and important as the Chief of Penyambut Tetamu for Majlis Eid Fitri, hehehe. Actually, I was supposed to attend PTK’s workshop that morning, but I requested to be excused for the morning part  (yup, believe it or not, it’ll be my first PTK ever next Tuesday at PICC).

I saw lots of familiar faces especially those who retired while I was buat2 busy burying myself in all the thick books of web usability and user experience design at RPI. It was good to actually spend some quality times talking with some of them. Nway, I noticed something quite prevalent. Those retirees looks much2 more happier now than before. Why aaa? Errr, stress factor maybe?

Anyway, as soon as the event ended around 1:00-ish yesterday, I changed back to my normal office attire (ye lah, takkan nak bersampin lak attend kursus tak? Kursus kahwin pun orang tak pakai cam gitu) and off I went to the PTK’s workshop.

At first cuak juga sikit2 nak amik exam ni, tapi lepas dengar some explanations for the lecturer, I’m beginning to get some clear picture of what I will be facing with in the exam hall next week.

So, wish me all the best!

Happy Birthday, Spidey Boy!

Happy 5th Birthday Aqif!

Our youngest member of the family celebrated his 5th birthday last night. And he’s a happy boy when he woke up this morning. All thanks to Pak Su and Auntie Nana who bought him Ben Wolf as his birthday present. Not forgetting to Mama’s friends for all the wonderful gifts and presents. Aqif birthday cake for his 5th birthday? A Secret Recipe’s Chocolate Indulgence with Batman’s pic on top of it…

Last nite’s event was also a test-run for us to find out whether it’s permissible for us to hold an open house originally scheduled for next Saturday. Bila semua dah berkumpul (ada la dalam 12 orang), the living room nampak macam tak muat jer… Cam na nie?

Jack of all trades, master of none?

When I first started on doing website, there was a lot of things I need to cover. All ranging from the designing stage up till production and maintenance. To make the story short, I really tried to learn as many things as possible. At the end of the day, I may have achieved or learned a bit but to say that I’m an expert in web maybe an overstatement.

But after a few years in the field and the pinnacle of all, when I continued my studies, I just realized something. All the great people who succeed in their fields somehow or rather, tend to specialize in one thing. Just that particular thing that make them outstanding or extraordinary than the rest.

I think it’s about time for me to venture into that area…

Reunion @ QSIC ‘08

Next week, I’ll be attending Quantity Surveyors International Convention ‘08 which is going to be held at Istana Hotel. Tugas pakcik? Macam biasa, jaga booth. Sejak dari 2001 sampai sekarang, tak pernah pergi ke convention tu sebgai peserta. But, I don’t mind actually. Cause the best part is I get to meet up with all friends. It’s like a yearly reunion thingy . And the best of all, we get to eat first before the participants come out for break, hehehehe…

We’re back in Shah Alam!

Alhamdullilah, after spending 2 wonderful and exciting weeks in Alor Setar, we’re now back in Shah Alam. Aduss, reality check. Esok dah start kerja, malaih betui nak pi opis lepas cuti lama cam gini …

Day 3 of ASC’s workshop

The workshop at Giat Mara, Alor Setar continues today with some serious stuffs about PHP codings, CSS dan kawasan2 yang sewaktu dengannya. For the past two days, I’ve guided our trainee thru all the design and interaction design principles which mostly I learned from my years at RPI ( * yawn2, BOOOring ). To top things off, yesterday we applied all the guidelines to come up with the mock-up designs for the homepage and internal page to be used for the competition later next month.

As for now, we are slicing things up using CSS and do some PHP coding. It’s time to get geeky . Our expert for today who is also my friend arrived from Kay Ell via the last flight from KLIA last nite. His level of expertise in PHP: Mighty Morphin Power Ranger Peringkat Terulung @ Master Sifu. Reason being he prefers to hand code all his stuffs using text editor rather than going for Dreamweaver snippets. How cool is that, huh?

Definitely I will learn some useful things from him today…