We need a name. Four names really. Okay, maybe five.

So far we’re stumped.

Every decision, every action has been the product of collaboration and passionate discussion, yet this elephant in the room seems to receive sporadic attention, or inattention. It’s the blank screen problem on a billboard scale.

Its seems that this one area of the project has been relegated to our quiet contemplative moments – almost as an ... [more]

I just got back from an intensive two-day brainstorm / working retreat with the team up near Mount Tremblant in Quebec.

It’s difficult trying to make the best use of such a short period with everyone in the same physical location - it’s only happened one other time - at the beginning of this project - and it’s unlikely to happen again.

The highlights of the meetings:

• A lot of progress was made on how we integrate the customer management, customer portal, and team collaboration modules.  We discussed where they overlap, and how we can ensure smooth transitions for all of the different roles of the people who will use the ... [more]

This is going to be a good week. The MG guys are all going to be in town for one last monster session before the final push in the development of the four products. This is where the designers and developers will start working together to deliver the most innovative CRM possible. I know that Scott A. and Mike will be interested in what the BV02 guys come up with on the ... [more]

This morning Andrew and I had a breakthrough design session.

Despite weeks (months?) of him telling me he felt outside the development process and unable to insert himself in the project, and weeks of me responding EXACTLY the same way (”then change the process!”), I feel we broke past the communication barrier and established a new level of collaboration.

We’re starting to come up with some pretty fundamental and game-shifting ideas.

I’m not ... [more]

Scott and I grabbed a quick sandwich at Goonies on Friday. A series of last-minute meetings and the need to deliver on a speech request (read: It’s 9:30, I need to see something from you by 3:30, but I can’t meet you until 11:00) had hijacked what was supposed to be a casual Friday after a long week.

In an abridged meeting, Scott and I talked applications, we talked community, ... [more]

We spent a lot of time talking about the right message for Mercury Grove’s splash page before there was much to show for it.

I think that this particular task took on serious significance for Scott A. There’s a lot riding on this call to action and so it needs to be just right. We need to hit the right chord with potential customers/ community members, find our voice and phrase it smoothly enough that readers won’t give it a second thought. It’s a lot to expect from 50 words.

With several discarded drafts, it’s easy to lose site of the progress being made – however incremental. Our meeting at Dunn’s was valuable – there’s nothing like blueskying over ... [more]

Since we are getting really close to the official re-launch of the MG site and the re-design of the MG blog, Jeff Meldrum, Scott Annan and I got together to go over the final messaging for both sites. Not having a background in communications, this process was a bit new to me. It was great to listen to Jeff because he is a pro and does the communications for some many big wigs around Ottawa. Even though ... [more]

The one frustrating thing about working with social media companies that is that alot of them are not very social when it comes to customer service. Setting up a simple Linkedin group for Mercury Grove is a great example of this. It begins with filling in a short form that describes the group you are setting up. Ok simple enough. I fill it in and am told that my group will be reviewed shortly and to stay tuned. I thought that was interesting at the time since it introduced a social component to the sign up. That means a "real person" was going to review what I submitted and make a decision about it.

I was really surprised when a day later I got an email saying that ... [more]

Today marks the end of the first month.  We’re now one quarter of the way into our “project” to launch four apps in four months.  We’ve spent weeks preparing strategy, building wireframes, discussing tactics, and creating code (lots of code).  Specifically we have:

• Defined the team and roles and ... [more]