As an exercise for myself, I built a small CSS framework in building simple, fluid and usable forms. Just for personal use :)

A wound of compassion

It was already 6pm, my wife and one of her small group members, Paula, came across a mother and her child (daughter) inside SM Makati. The mother and her family were recently rendered homeless because of a fire, and were begging for help. If there’s one gift my wife has, it’s detecting sincerity.

Elain and Paula thought of buying them food instead of giving them money. Elain told the mother, “Antay lang po kayo dito”. Elain started walking towards the grocery, the 7-year old daughter suddenly ran up to Elain and accompanied her. As they were walking, Elain got to know the name of the 7-year old daughter, her name was Iris:

“Ilan kayong magkakapatid?”, Elain asked.

“8 po kaming magkakapatid. May isa rin kaming kapatid na 12 years old, may anak na po.”, Iris replied.

“Nasaan tatay mo?”

“Nasa kulungan po, kasi nagnakaw siya ng hikaw na suot-suot ng isang tao”

The conversation went on as Elain and Iris handpicked around 150PHP worth of grocery.

“Wag kang gagawa ng masama ah, kahit sabihin ng ibang tao ‘ok lang yan’. Tutulungan kita ngayong araw, promise mo sakin magsisikap ka ah? Wag kang aasa lagi sa paglimos ah, asa ka kay God. Lagi kang magpray.”

“Nagprapray naman po kami, bago kumain.”

“Hindi lang bago kumain, magpray kayo tuwing may problema, tuwing may masayang bagay na nangyari. Naka-kain ka na ba ngayong araw?”

“Hindi pa po.”

“Ilan na ba tumulong sa inyo ngayong araw?”

“Isa palang po. Kayo palang po.”

After giving 2 cans of sardines, 1 pack of milk and 1 kilogram of rice, Elain told them to go home and eat dinner, because if they get caught by the guards in SM something else might happen. The mother and her daughter Iris, thanked Elain profusely.

Elain, moved by this experience, called me up:

Sobrang sincere nila Ace, nakita ko sa mga mata nila.

Compassion

Now me and Elain are here, at home, and I’m typing this at my laptop, in our air-conditioned room. We can just go downstairs to our food-filled refrigerator and grab something to eat. I got reminded about the amount of inequity the financial world has set upon us, I got reminded how much I take a lot of things for granted just because, I got reminded why the ‘masa’ would vote politicians who promise them free things. Poverty is a place where circumstances force you to live in lack, it is a place where you have little-to-no opportunities and options for escape.

There were 2 recent fires that rendered 200 families homeless, one in QC and another in Divisoria. Whether what the mother and her daughter said to Elain was true or not, one thing is for sure: they were in poverty.

“Do you think they deserved to be there? I think it’s in their upbringing. They shouldn’t have done X, they should have done Y. How come? Do you have ideas how to solve poverty? etc etc”

These are conversations and questions that often leave us with a sense of judgment against the poor coupled with a twisted sense of gratitude for the grace of God, cheapening his grace for pieces of paper. I for one am guilty, but right now, as I write this I feel I’ve come across a simple yet more important question:

Do I know what will happen to Iris and her mom after today?

Honestly, me and Elain don’t know. One thing is for sure, if this question is the first thing that comes to your mind, it will wound your heart to think about it and ultimately, it will compel your body to move with that in mind. That wound is called compassion.

We cannot become starched Christians, too polite, who speak of theology calmly over tea. We have to become courageous Christians and seek out those (who need help most) - Pope Francis

Why do business analysts and project managers get higher salaries than programmers?

Whether project managers get higher salaries than programmers and business analysts, at all exist as a class, depends squarely on the software world you live in.

A simple answer to this question would be “because in our societies, we still think the salary is bound to the position in the hierarchy.” But this answer, whilst reflecting the fact that people are paid based on their perceived value, doesn’t explain why PM and BA are on top of the hierarchy in many software organisations. Another question, why does the management go for this hierarchy in the first place as a structure of choice for software project teams? These are the two questions that seems to be really worthy asking.

Organization Types

Broadly speaking there are two categories of software making organisations. I will call them ‘Widget Factories’ and ‘Film Crews’.

‘Widget Factories’ are born out of management school of thought revolving around motivation Theory X proposed by McGregor: rank employees are lazy and require constant control and supervision, jobs are held in the name of a pay check, managers are always able to do their subordinates’ jobs to the higher or, at least, same standard. This thinking lands to a natural idea that the entire team can easily be replaced with and represented by the manager alone. With this said everyone else on the team is either easily replaceable, or there just to enhance the manager’s ability to complete tasks. Hence the hierarchy as the structure for the team which provides rather horizontal job roles.

‘Widget Factory’ management operates on the assumption that software can be manufactured out of a specification prepared by a business analyst through a clearly defined process run under the close supervision of a project manager. The manufacturing is taken care of by staffing the project with enough qualified yet interchangeable programming and testing resources. Work is driven by a prearranged budget based on the initial business case prepared by PM and BA.

Management that runs a ‘Widget Factory’ is easy to spot just by paying attention to the way these people talk. They are likely to be on about resources (including when referring to team members), processes, operating efficiency, uniformity, repeatability, strict control over use of resources, clear-cut job roles and defined process inputs and outputs. They’d casually mention the actual factory metaphor when trying to convey the image of the ideal software development operation as they see it.

Then there are ‘Film Crews’. They are based on the notion that people are intelligent, self-motivated, work really hard and enjoy their jobs as much as kids enjoy playing. Film Crews recognize that due to specialization individual contributor abilities may by far surpass the abilities of people organizing, coordinating and directing the work. Since the manager can no longer substitute for everyone, the hierarchical structure just doesn’t work that well. The people in the team have to cooperate within a much flatter and complex formation to get things done. Job roles themselves tend to be much more vertical - start to finish - and involve a broader variety of skills. This management thinking is underpinned by McGregor’s Theory Y.

A director of a ‘Film Crew’ knows that her vision for a piece of software can only come true should she be able to assemble a great crew, fascinate the imaginations and help the team to gel and work together. Her role is to inspire, guard the vision, provide direction and focus the efforts. Every single person matters because the “director” believes that quality software results from a combination of worldviews and abilities of all participants, which results in a unique way the group carries out the work together. Everyone recognizes from the onset, the importance of getting the stars to join the crew – star performers increase every chance for success. Vision drives budget and attracts funding.

Compensation

When it comes to compensation ‘Widget Factories’ deem that the most value is derived from the work done by the project manager and the business analyst who reside on the top of the hierarchy. Due to this viewpoint, the project manager and the business analyst have to be compensated accordingly, the rest of the team doesn’t matter that much as long as they’ve got the right qualifications to convert requirements into working code. PM and BA work hard to maintain their position on top of the pack by restricting free access to the sources of project information to the rest of the team. Without formal access to the primary info sources the team struggles to make any value judgments or come up with good solutions, programmers are relegated to taking orders from above and working on the problem as defined by PM and BA. This situation further reinforces the ‘Widget Factory’ notion that programmers are akin to factory shop floor workers only capable of mechanically carrying out though technically complicated, but nonetheless standard tasks.

In a stark contrast ‘Film Crew’ acts as a more egalitarian formation; members are given unrestricted access to primary information, encouraged to form value judgments and are free to select a course of actions to fulfill and contribute to the vision. Leadership structure is based on ability rather than a specific role within the team. Compensation reflects how desirable getting a specific person to take part in the project. Its often tied to the perception of how much more valuable the end result will become if that person can be convinced to devote their energy to creating that piece of software. In this environment the role of a project manager becomes less prominent as he is unlikely to be the creative leader; the role comes down mostly to administrative support and external relations. Business analyst’s duties are partly replaced by the role of visionary (I called her earlier “a director”) and partly absorbed by other team members.

Now, it won’t come as a surprise that most in-house software development teams and some consultancies are run as ‘Widget Factories’ relying on a process to produce consistently boring software; it is these environments where project managers and business analysts are routinely paid more than programmers based on the assumption that they bring the most value with the environment structured accordingly, making it difficult for programmers to prove the management wrong. This can result in the degradation of software quality and the increase in expenses due to the technical debt accumulated from wrong technical decisions and viewpoints.

Successful software companies tend to adopt ‘Film Crew’ viewpoint, any other philosophy would hinder their ability to attract great people that they rely on so much to produce great and lasting software. It’s unlikely you’d ever see a business analyst role in that setting and project managers are less prominent. The PM and BA routinely get paid less than great programmers.

Programmer’s Stack Exchange

100 days of being married

Hi “2011 Ace”

I wanted to write to you today. I wanted to know how you are doing after all the things I’ve heard from you since last time.

You told me you liked Elain, and you’d want to take her out to dates and eventually get married. That’s nice! It’s kind of exciting isn’t it? To have a “girlfriend”, I know that feeling. Knowing you, you’d want to get married 3 to 5 years into the relationship. Until you get critical mass in your bank account and until you got to know her better, yep, that’s right. That’s pretty much you :) very calculative and deliberative. I’m pretty sure you’ve got it all figured out kung paano liligawan si Elain.

But I heard you got dumped by Elain.

I’m sorry man. I know how that feels, there’s a certain weight around your chest that you just can’t seem to take out. One thing we both learned: things don’t go our way, no matter how perfectly we planned it, because God always has His plan. It’s a better plan, I assure you.

I wrote to you today because it’s been 100+ days since I got married to Elain.

Surprised? Yeah, I was surprised too.

If you honestly ask me, the wedding feels like it was just yesterday, the proposal feels like it happened last week. Ace, it was beautiful and surreal. You got married at Barbara’s, and you and Elain planned it. You wouldn’t even imagine that plan at “2011”. Me and Elain are grateful to everyone who went to the wedding, grateful to our suppliers, grateful to our Ninongs and Ninangs, to our family and friends - and most of all, grateful to God.

You might be asking why we got married earlier. Well Ace, let’s leave that for another interesting conversation :)

“2011 Ace”, If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that no matter how hopeless or impossible it seems, if it is from God - it will naturally happen. Nothing on earth can stop it. It was raining the day that you proposed to her, and yes, you made the girl of your dreams cry out of pure joy.

A lot has changed here at 2013, the world, the country, the people around you and most especially, us. We’ve changed - a lot. It’s only been a hundred days so I’m still adjusting, there’s a God-given mantle upon us now as the head of the family. It’s scary and exciting at the same time. So many changes in such a speck of time, to think that when we were 11 years old, a year seemed like eternity. Despite all the changes in this world, there’s someone we both know who never changes -

God.

He’s been there for the both of us. 2 years ago and 2 years from now until the sun doesn’t shine and until the earth would fade away. Right now, it seems dark on where you are - I assure you that better days will come so keep putting your faith in Him.

Always remember, His love never fails and never gives up. It’ll never run out on you.

From “2013 Ace”

P.S.: I’m also waiting for a letter from “2018 Ace” :)

People mostly see end products, no one sees “works-in-progress”. Recently, I finished an iteration of our website with Raymond and Unix doing the copy. Here’s a sneak preview .

Moving forward, together, slowly at one iteration at a time :)

On copy writing and landing pages

Recently I was tasked to create a landing page for a product, it’s easy to be tempted into diving right in since it’s only a bunch of pages, but it’s better to be orderly. So, out from my head and into paper: I produced a simple set of guidelines to follow.

On copy writing and landing pages

There’s a lot of relevant reading that can be found all throughout the internet regarding good copy writing for a landing page. A good landing page that converts visitors into something more has two essential elements: good copy writing aided by good design.

The Landing Page

By definition: what is a landing page?

> A landing page is any page on a website where traffic is sent specifically to prompt a certain action or result (3).

Basically it’s a “sales lead” page. The single goal of a landing page is to provide visitors with just enough content to get them highly interested in acquiring your services. This content is known as “copy” in marketing terms; text that is designed for direct-response advertising, text that is specifically structured to sell your product. Writing “copy”, or “copy writing” has it’s own techniques and quirks.

Important note: there are two types of landing pages: the “reference landing page” and the “transactional landing page”.

A “reference landing page” or a “product page”, (4) is a page that is relevant to the visitor. It usually contains information about the product and other details that the visitor is purposefully looking for. Unlike the “transactional landing page” (which a lot of people have just simply called it “landing page”), it is not specifically designed to capture sales and persuade people into taking action. A product page might have actions that can lead up to capturing sales, however, it’s sole purpose is to provide further information.

You can also write a product page with copy in such a way that the page can capture sales. Many successful product pages apply this: www.stripe.com, www.dropbox.com, www.trello.com, etc.

Copy versus Design

Great copy is always more important than great design. Filling up the ‘lorem ipsums’ of a polished HTML template after you write your content is not advisable (7). The purpose of the design in a landing page is to visually aid your visitor on the copy. The design alone will not prompt your visitors to take action. Open up a text editor, type up the copy and exchange it with your teammates. After polishing your copy, then you make it flow with the elements on your wireframe.

Practical tips on copy writing

1. As much as possible avoid using “We”, use more of “You” and “Your” - Visitors don’t care about who you are, how big your company is and what you can do. Visitors care when your tone on the copy focuses on them, on their current problems and how you can help them. Scientifically, “You” is a power word. The usage of “You” in copy is highly recommended, along with “Free”, “Because”, “Instantly” and “New” (6)
2. Headlines - A very crucial element of the landing page, in fact it is the most powerful element in a landing page. Make your headlines speak to a pain your visitors have, the rest of the copy should follow easily.
3. Persuade, don’t attack - “Your business is losing revenue – ” How does that feel? It feels condescending. Don’t attack the visitors. Persuade your visitors and empathize with them, don’t tell them that what they’re currently doing or their current workflow is wrong. Instead, emphasize on the pain of their current workflow and how your product addresses these frustrations. (7)
4. Verbs are more powerful than adjectives - Write action-oriented sentences instead of “description-oriented” sentences. Unless you’re building a product page (a page to describe your product), your visitors don’t care if “YourApp is smart, intelligent and beautiful”. On the other hand they do care if your product “delivers”, “produces”, and “examines” for them.
5. Check your grammar - Anyone can get turned off by sloppy grammar. You’re writing about a serious matter, it’s on the subject of getting their money and attention. Check your grammar twice, make it clear and concise.
6. Show, don’t tell - Don’t tell them that they’re frustrated with their current workflow, show them how their current workflow creates frustration. (7)
7. Check the flow - It’s generally a bad idea to chunk up ideas in one paragraph and jump to a totally different subject on the other. Stop writing in paragraphs, start writing in narratives. The entire landing page should be a single narrative.

Practical tips on designing a landing page (4)

1. Place compelling content above the fold - Users spend 80% of the time above the fold, it means they rarely scroll down (1). If a visitor scrolls down, most of the time they just skim past by the content. “Above the fold” is a specific margin on the web browser, around 570px to 600px. (2)
2. Avoid bombarding it with links - The focus of the page is to get someone to take action. Avoid distracting your visitors by deliberately providing options for them to wander around. Get them oriented and focused on your copy. Go easy on the links.
3. Page optimization - Sometimes sales may come from inside large megacorps that have slow internet due to bandwidth issues. Optimize page loading times, they just stumbled upon it, make sure it loads smoothly and quickly.
4. Design ‘obviously’ and keep it simple - Make your call to action button clearly visible, and clearly clickable. Use a one-column format with proper typography and use of white space to increase readability. Avoid inserting “additional stuff” and using multi-columned paragraphs. Don’t group up paragraphs, break them down. Format your layout to use the F-pattern (5). Make it a priority to think of the flow of your layout, is it properly “aiding” the visitor through the copy? Making it pretty should be the second thing in mind.
5. Consistently use the same color palette and visual elements - Don’t place random images and clip art, make everything consistent from the margins and line-heights to the tone of the images you use (flat or skeumorphic).
6. Check your competition - Go through their landing page, keep notes on your frustrations with their UI flow (UX). Go back to your own design and compare.
7. Keep your input forms simple and extremely usable - Never make your visitors feel like they’re filling up a government form. Just get the minimum amount of information.

Getting it right

The above material has worked for a lot of people, but to you it’ll just be assumptions and theories if it doesn’t get tested and applied - go and test your assumptions. Test the layout and test the copy. Validate it. Iterate the copy and layout until you get to a version where you are getting satisfactory results. No one gets it perfect the first time. You can easily test assumptions using A/B testing. use http://visualwebsiteoptimizer.com/ or https://www.optimizely.com/

That’s about it, here ends the summary of the guidelines I follow, it may differ on certain cases but at least I got it down on paper.

Resources

• (1) - Above the fold - http://econsultancy.com/ph/blog/5630-web-users-spend-80-of-time-above-the-fold-nielsen
• (2) - Above the fold vs below the fold - http://www.thewebshowroom.com.au/blog/above-the-fold-v-below-the-fold-in-website-design/
• (3) - Landing Page - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_page
• (4) - Landing Page - http://www.copyblogger.com/landing-pages/
• (5) - Jakob Nielsen’s eyetracking research - http://www.nngroup.com/articles/f-shaped-pattern-reading-web-content/
• (6) - Scientific Copy Writing - http://www.copyblogger.com/scientific-copywriting/
• (7) - Step-by-step landing page copywriting - http://nathanbarry.com/step-by-step-landing-page-copywriting/
• (8) - Online Copywriting that Converts – 5 Lessons from 250 A/B Tests - http://contentverve.com/online-copywriting-for-higher-conversions-what-i-learned-from-300-ab-tests-4-years-of-research/

The Acceptance of Defeat

Losing

There’s a lot of losing streaks that Filipinos, on a simple level, were emotionally attached to. Manny Pacquiao (Boxing) and Janine (Miss Universe). As life progresses, all of us have go through it once in a while: accepting defeat in daily battles.

People who choose to accept defeat and live life taking lessons from such an event may not get the same recognition as winners from the world. But in the end, you may want to think about it - it doesn’t really matter. Crowns decay and trophies get lost after a couple of centuries.

What matters in the end: Did you point to Jesus enough? It matters that we live a life that enjoyed Him in order for Him to be glorified through the light that was shining. Even during defeat.

The sincere acceptance of defeat humbles you enough in order for you to receive a different kind of grace that cannot be experienced by winners. This stance of accepting defeat requires a kind of powerful character that is not attached to any worldly reward. A different kind of character is needed, one that is attached to living a life of commitment to a craft, attached to a dedicated life in listening and answering God’s call.

Accept defeat graciously. Smile, sincerely smile.

Move forward with God.

Where was God during the Sandy Hook shooting?

I totally agree with Mark Huckabee, people have been systematically escorting God out of their lives and they seem to be in shock when something bad happens to them.

Blast from the past: Thesis Code Snapshots

These are some snapshots from my thesis project back in 2008. It brings back a lot of fun memories.

Enjoy :)

• Weird class names
• Disorganized solution structure
• Inline SQL statements with parameters concatenated directly
• Hilariously useless try-catch blocks
• Irrelevant comments and puns on the word ‘Thesis’

That’s definitely a project made by good ol’ college me :)