Catalyze New Logo
Catalyze Update September 18, 2007
Greetings!

Thank you again for joining the Catalyze community.  We will be sending out bi-weekly email updates like this to keep all members up-to-date with links to the lastest new content, discussion forums and events.
 
Last week, Catalyze set another milestone when we broke the 1,000 member barrier and as of today we have more than 1,150 members - and this is all since the beginning of June.  The Catalyze LinkedIn Group has also proven to be very popular and now numbers more than 225 connections. 
 
Beyond adding members, the key to our long-term success is to have all members actively participate on a regular basis. 

Please keep recommending and inviting your friends and colleagues who may be interested in Catalyze by forwarding this email to them or telling them to check it out.
Next Catalyze Monthly Webcast - This Thursday
Thursday, September 20 @11am PDT/2pm EDT
Carol Miller from Advanced Concepts Center (ACC) will show us "There's More than One Way to Find a Requirement."
 
Go to the Catalyze Events page to register and to get more details.  If you miss the original webcast, we will be recording it for future upload into Catalyze.

Monthly webcasts and teleconferences will be part of the regular programming for Catalyze.  Please contact me if you have a topic or are interested in participating as a speaker or moderator.
Check Out This Great Content
Business Use Cases are often discussed but rarely defined clearly. This article poses a suggested definition and discusses how these requirements components differ from traditional business processes.
 
Here is the free Chapter 5 download from Robert Hoekman Jr.'s book - Designing the Obvious which is available from his website.  This chapter covers "turning beginners into intermediates, immediately".
 
This essay on prototyping is Chapter 10 in a book edited by Terry Winograd from Stanford's HCI Group and d.school.  While the book and essay were published in 1996, the ideas presented are quite relevant in today's user-centered design world.
 
Many IT organizations have a tough time aligning their service offerings with the businesses that they serve. The answer to this problem is product management, a discipline that has been used in software and internet development with great success.
Read this article "Achieving Customer Delight - The Kano Model Influence" as we continue in understanding the details of requirements and how to articulate them from BA's point of view.
 
In this article from Boxes and Arrows, Milissa Tarquini (Director, User Interface Design and Information Architecture at AOL) discusses the myth about the importance of being above the fold or in the scroll-line. 
 
Remember, all members can post content to the Resources section.  If you have a favorite article or link that you would like to share with the community, please upload it to Catalyze to the Members Upload folder.
Catalyze LinkedIn Group
Expand your network with LinkedIn 
LinkedIn is the leading business and professional networking site with over 12 million members.  Since many Catalyze members are also members of LinkedIn, we have created a special LinkedIn group for Catalyze members to leverage this connection.
 
When you join the Catalyze group, you will get a Catalyze group logo in your profile and you will be able to search for other group members.
 
All members are automatically pre-approved for the LinkedIn Catalyze group - simply click this link to confirm your membership in the LinkedIn Catalyze group.  (note, you need to use the same email address used to join Catalyze or you will be added to the pending approval list which generally clears in less than 24 hours).
Thank you again for helping make Catalyze the number one destination community for business analysts and usability professionals. 
 
Please contact me if you have any questions or comments.
 
Sincerely,
 

Tom Humbarger, Community Manager
Catalyze Community