Erich Stauffer

Category: Technology

  • Cost Publishing Media Group Crazy about eReaders

    Cost Publishing’s media group, which consists of over sixty blogs, has just under 10% of it’s web sites devoted to the ereader market, which consists of electronic readers, or read pads and their corresponding ebooks, covers, and accessories. Some are specific to particular brands such as Barnes & Noble’s Nook and Amazon’s Kindle. Both cover the ereader devices and accessories to protect them, but one focuses on Nook covers mostly.

    It’s no wonder that Cost Publishing has decided to focus so much on the ereader market. 2010 seemed to be the year of the ereader as new models seemed to come out almost every month. Both major big-box, brick-and-mortar book stores (Borders and Amazon.com) started selling ereaders along with Target and Wal-Mart. Amazon.com reports that its Kindle is their number one selling item and it sold more in Christmas 2010 than any year before that. All of that leaves people craving information about where to buy ereaders, what they will do, and how to protect them, which is what Cost Publishing provides.

    Cost Publishing also publishes about food, health, politics, and news. According to their website, “Cost Publishing was founded in August 2008 by Erich Stauffer and Jason Cobb. The word ‘Cost’ is a contraction or portmanteau which uses the first two letters of Cobb and Stauffer’s last names. We value innovation, entrepreneurism, and intelligent design.” If their goal is to add value to the Internet community by providing guides to those seeking products and services, then they have succeeded.

  • An Introduction to Staffing Models

    Staffing Models is initially a two-step process of identifying the organizational mission, what metrics to track, and what processes there are. The next step is to find out how long it takes to do each task, how much volume they typically have, and then provide the tools to both track and report that information.

    Utilization Reports

    Utilization is a measure of how much work was accomplished with the hours spent. Tasks are determined to take an average amount of time, which is multiplied by task volume and divided by billed hours. The utilization report displays that information to evaluate and track the effectiveness of a department. Utilization is reflected in percent and optimal performance is considered to be between 90% and 100%.

    Excess Capacity

    Excess Capacity is the difference in time between what it should have taken to complete production and what we actually used to complete production. The white bar represents the time needed to complete the reported volume for each day and the red bar represents the excess capacity for that day in hours. Excess Capacity is a complementary metric to use in conjunction with Utilization to help management make staffing decisions in the future.

    Dashboard Views

    Executive dashboards provide an up-to-date snapshot of ongoing performance and trends. Dashboards should deliver clear, visual displays of a large set of data where performance is measured against expectations, goals, and deadlines. Production data is entered into the another tab within Excel for the appropriate date. The result is presented in final form on the “Report” tab, which is seen here to the left. This particular report uses micro-charts called sparklines and is designed to contain a rolling quarter year. This means the report will always have the previous two months data and the current months will be entered real-time at the bottom. Each rolling quarter is then archived for historical reporting at the end of each month.

    Wedding Clocks

    “Wedding Clocks” are a newly developed method for visually representing deadlines using special in-cell charts. In this example, the chart indicates the expectation for branches to have all batches transmitted by 6:30 PM, which is straight up and down on a clock. This chart points straight down (50% filled) at that goal and any result that varies from that (greater or lesser than 50% filled) is a reflection of meeting or exceeding that goal. Wedding Clocks are called this because Erich Stauffer noted that it is good luck to start a wedding at the bottom of the hour to catch the upswing of the second-hand. The range on both sides of 6:30 in this example is 3 hours (from 3:30 to 8:30).

  • Business Analyst Glossary of Terms

    Business Process Management (BPM)

    A field of management focused on aligning organizations with the wants and needs of customers (internal or external). It is a gestalt view of management that promotes business effectiveness and efficiency while striving for innovation, flexibility, and integration with technology. Business process management attempts to improve processes continuously.

    Business Requirement Specifications (BRS)

    A document that contains the basic requirements of customer that are to be developed as software project cost schedule target dates.

    Component

    Applications in the R/3 System are combinations of components. The components are held in a hierarchy, which can be displayed in the R/3 Reference Model, that describes the functional scope of the applications in a top-down fashion. The number of components and the number of levels an application has in the hierarchical structure depend on its functional scope.

    Enterprise Area

    Part of a business area. An enterprise area is a grouping of organization units that have closely linked work and contribute to discrete business processes. The Enterprise Area is the first level of the
    Process Flow View within the Business Navigator. Examples are Procurement, Logistics, Organization and Human Resources, and External Accounting. Also called Enterprise process area.

    Event-controlled process chain (EPC)

    A graphical display form used in the R/3 Reference Model to describe in detail the logical sequence of business functions and events carried out by the R/3 System. The EPC is the fourth level of the model and
    may be accessed by drilldown from the scenarios and processes.

    QDAR

    An acronym for “Question, Data set, Analysis, and Report / Revision”, which are the four primary steps to any business analysis.

    Requirements Analysis

    A document that determines the needs or conditions to meet for a new or altered product, taking account of the possibly conflicting requirements of the various stakeholders, such as beneficiaries or users.

    Software Requirement Specification (SRS)

    A document detailing the functionality, interfaces, performance, attributes, and design constraints of a project.

    STAIR

    An acronym for a problem-solving strategy that “States the problem, Defines the Tools, Algorithm (procedure), Implement, and Revise,” which was developed by Andy Harris at IUPUI’s Computer Science department. These are are general steps that can be used to theoretically solve any problem.

    Structured Analysis (SA) / Structured Design (SD)

    Methods for analyzing and converting business requirements into specifications and ultimately, computer programs, hardware configurations and related manual procedures.

    Zero One or Infinity (ZOI)

    A rule is a rule of thumb in software code suggesting that arbitrary limits on the number of instances of a particular entity should not be allowed. Specifically, that an entity should either be forbidden entirely (zero), should be allowed once (one), or any number (infinity) should be allowed. Here are some examples of the zero or infinity rule.

  • The Zero One or Infinity (ZOI) Rule

    I learned something yesterday that I wanted to share really quick: there is no two in programming, but this can apply to troubleshooting and database design too.

    What this means is that there are units that either aren’t allowed to exist, are allowed (or supposed) to exist only once, and those that are allowed to have no limit – but there is no other kind, no other in between those types.

    For example, in Excel there can only be one name for a cell or range, but a near infinite amount of cells.  In Access there can only be one primary key, but a near infinite amount of entries.  In HTML there can only be one H1 tag, but many H2 tags.  In CSS, div id names must be only used once, but div classes can be used more than once (infinite).

    It’s called The Zero One or Infinity (ZOI) Rule.

  • Change Management

    Change control within is a formal process used to ensure that changes to a product or system are introduced in a controlled and coordinated manner. It reduces the possibility that unnecessary changes will be introduced to a system without forethought, introducing faults into the system or undoing changes made by other users of software. The goals of a change control procedure usually include minimal disruption to services, reduction in back-out activities, and cost-effective utilization of resources involved in implementing change. Change control is a major aspect of the broader discipline of change management.

    The following is an example of a change control process:

    Minimize Disruption

    • Work during off or down time.
    • Test changes first (if possible) and/or roll out to limited group first.
    • Notify users who will be affected and/or front-line staff.

    Reduce Any “Back-out” Time Activities

    • Create/save back-ups of any files changed.
    • Record what files are being changed any configuration changes to settings or within files.

    Efficient Utilization of Employees

    • Empower affected users and/or front-line staff to give feedback on any issues and/or improvements.
    • Have the most experienced person with the system make the changes.

    Review Process

    Before

    • Why is the change being made?
    • Is the change approved? By who?

    After

    • What was the effect? Was it the desired outcome or something different?
    • Do we need to roll back the changes?

    Report Process

    • What metrics to report?
    • Report to who?
    • How often to report?
    • Suggest or ask for needed or wanted changes.

  • Business Process Management

    Business Process Management (BPM) is a field of management focused on aligning organizations with the wants and needs of clients. It is a holistic management approach that promotes business effectiveness and efficiency while striving for innovation, flexibility, and integration with technology. Business process management attempts to improve processes continuously.

    A business process is “a collection of related, structured activities that produce a service or product that meet the needs of a client.” These processes are critical to any organization as they generate revenue and often represent a significant proportion of costs. As a managerial approach, BPM considers processes to be strategic assets of an organization that must be understood, managed, and improved to deliver value added products and services to clients. This approach can be supported, or enabled, through technology to ensure the viability of the managerial approach in times of stress and change.

    BPM enables business to respond to changing consumer, market, and regulatory demands faster than competitors – creating competitive advantage. Erich Stauffer practices business process management.

  • Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2010

    As a fellow business owner I can understand that it’s been a wild ride over the last couple of years.  Since I created Erich Stauffer back in 2007 we have seen markets rise and fall, businesses start and fail, and entire economies collapse.  Next year promises more of the same, or worse, but we have reason for hope.  There will always be a place for the kind of business owner that adds value to each customer interaction because people will always have needs to be met.  Meeting customer’s needs and exceeding their expectations no matter what happens will continue to pay dividends despite the economy.

    We have gone through several changes since 2007. We added more services as our customers have asked for them, such as search engine optimization (SEO), social media management, and traditional advertising assistance in addition to our original web design and development services.  Jason Cobb, Chris Hendrickson, and most recently my wife, Suzanne Stauffer, have all worked hard to serve our customers since 2007.

    Jason Cobb and Chris Hendrickson have served as executive and sales managers, respectively, but will both be transitioning into sales support role part-time as they take on new roles in other endeavors.  Because of Suzanne’s work over the last year I have promoted her to Marketing Director and Vice President of the company, while I am remaining as CEO. In this role I lead and guide the direction of the company.

    I want to personally thank you for your business over the last year and together look forward to not as things are, but as they could be.

  • Chrome OS is Finally Here, Sort Of

    Chrome OS is really cool until you find out that Chrome OS has to run on proprietary hardware.  What?

    As WebProNews said, “The biggest news in tech and business that wasn’t related to Wikileaks this week.”  On Google’s official blog, CEO, Eric Schmidt boldly announced that Chrome OS was “something computer scientists have been dreaming about for a very, very long time…The kind of magic that we could imagine 20 years ago, but couldn’t make real because we lacked the technology,”  and in an even grander tone predicted that, “In 20 years time, I’m certain that when we look back at history it will be clear that this was absolutely the right time to build these products, because they work—and they work at scale—I’m confident that they’ll go on to great success. Welcome to the latest chapter of an epic journey in computing. Welcome to Chrome OS.”

    Welcome to Chrome OS

    While Chrome OS is the ‘operating system in the cloud’, devices running it surprisingly don’t require that you’re always online. Most webapps are completely capable of running offline, but you always have the option of enabling a cellular data service that’s built-in to the device. Service is available from Verizon and you get 100MB of free data every month for two years. Similar to Apple iPad’s agreement with AT&T, there are no contracts for use and plans start at $10/month.

    Some standard apps include the normal Google faire (Google Reader for RSS, Google Maps, Google Talk, Gmail, Youtube, and the Chrome Store), but also NPR, the New York Times, and a Notepad program.  If Chrome OS Apps are anything like the ones currently available for the Chrome browser in the Chrome Web Store, some ‘apps’ may be no more than downloadable bookmarks (favorites for those IE users left in the crowd).

    Back to Business

    Microsoft may finally have to worry.  I say that specifically about the Citrix offering.  You know corporate buyers will love a simple OS that runs on lean (read: cheap) hardware and that will run Citrix desktop programs (virtual desktops, applications and business services on any device).  This is all possible due to the built-in

    Citrix Receiver, which allows organizations to manage the proliferation of new devices entering the workplace by providing secure, high-performance delivery of virtual desktops and Windows, web and SaaS applications on any user device.

    According to Citrix’s website, the receiver, “Gives today’s increasingly mobile workforce fast, simple and on – demand access to virtual desktops, enterprise applications and IT services from any device they choose by:

    • Enabling the delivery of business applications to any user on any device
    • Ensuring secure access and complete IT control and visibility
    • Allowing users simple, self-service access to Windows, web and SaaS applications”

    So will you use it? The real question is: why wouldn’t you?

  • How to Build a Mini-Site Around a Micro-Niche in 10 Steps

    Mini-sites are web sites setup to cover very specific things (micro-niches) and are not usually updated, or at least not updated that often. A mini-site that is updated often stops being a mini-site and becomes a blog. Mini-sites usually answer a question, act as a guide, or help filter information to help searchers find answers about a particular micro-niche. A micro-niche is simply defined as a smaller, sub-section of a niche that together with other niches make up a market, which together with other markets make up an economy.

    Mini-sites provide value for both the visitor and the vendor. Sometimes it is hard to find what you need online because the niche is so small that no one has thought to gather the information together before into a micro-niche. When you do that in the form of a mini-site you add value to the visitor and in return get value in the form of ad clicks or affiliate purchases. Think of it as organizing the web into specialty areas that provide the content that search engines need and you see how building mini-sites can be a very noble endeavor.

    Below is a Checklist for How to Get Started Making Money Online in 10 Steps:

    1. Decide which Affiliate program you want to use (Clickbank, CommissionJunction, Paydotcom, Amazon, or LinkShare, for example) and register.  You may need to have a website first (chicken and egg, I know), but you can get a blog for free at Blogspot.com or Tumblr.com to get started.  If you already have a web site, make sure it has some content.
    2. Browse around their respective marketplace and look for 5-10 products which look interesting to you, but that are hard to find. For example, if you joined Amazon Associates, browse Amazon to find 5-10 products that interest you, but but that you could add more information to, group, or sort differently to help people find them easier.
    3. Use the Google Keyword Tool to find keywords (key phrases) that advertisers are purchasing which receive between 1,500 and 20,000 exact searches per month.  The difference between ‘exact’ and ‘broad’ is that exact has to occur in order as if in quotes, but broad can have the keyword out of order.  Run competition tests on each of the keywords you find. If there is a page or web site in Google ranking in the top 5 results with less than 100 backlinks, then it’s generally a good keyphrase to go for.  Otherwise, keep looking until you find some.
    4. Go to Bing and search for link:www.site.com –site www.site.com to view backlinks from other sites to that site (replace ‘site’ with the actual web address).  Google hides their backlinks, but you can find out more detailed information on your site by using Google’s Webmaster Tools.  However this doesn’t help while researching other people’s web sites. If your competition has more than 5 homepage results or more backlinks than you are willing to spend the time and money to compete with, then start over at the top of this checklist.
    5. Decide on a final keyword (just one) that you want to go with. If a lot of them are similar in statistics, just pick the one you know the most about and make this the title of your web site and home page.
    6. Purchase a domain that is very relevant to your keyword and/or includes your keyword(s).  A keyword-relevant domain with good content and backlinks will toast the competition based on Google’s current algorithm setup.
    7. Make sure your site has at least 4-5 pages of relevant, unique content with at least 400 words per page.  Add at least one picture to each page to help with promotion later and to get traffic from Google Image Search.
    8. Install Google Analytics so that you can track how many visitors your site is receiving and see where they are coming from.  This will help you measure success and help you decide when and if to change things up.
    9. Design or purchase a theme for your web site and install it.  This should be done after writing content because content is more important than design.  Let me repeat that.  Content is more important than design.  Yes, design can affect the helpfulness and value of your site, but it is far too easy to get caught up tweaking a web site for weeks before a single post has been written.  Don’t fall into this trap.  Save the design work for after the content and before the promotion period.
    10. Its time to promote your web site.  Submit to search engines, find relevant forums that contain signatures and get involved, find relevant blogs to comment on, and consider writing articles for submission to other web sites.  It’s all about creating backlinks to your site from areas relevant to your keywords.  Keep working on building backlinks until you rank in the top 5 results on Google and you are receiving at least 200 visitors per day.  Only then should you tweak your design to help increase revenue.

    Now go make some money online!