8 out of 30 and Loving It in Silicon Valley
Oracle is celebrating its 30th Anniversary. Time served for me amounts to 8 years and change, all of it at the Silcon Valley headquarters. It is not that long compared to fellow architects who are 20+ year veterans. I did stints in the Tools, Applications, and Corporate divisions so maybe that is why it feels longer. Anniversaries are often a time for reflection and this one made me think about a number of things.
I would like to say that I called the dot com meltdown at the end of the previous century, but I will only claim that I had a vauge feeling or suspicion about an impending crash when I left my startup. In reality the initial reason for hiring on at Oracle was the covered parking (classic cars are my hobby) and the heated swimming pool (middle age dictated more exercise). As a pragmatist I believe that User Centered Design is "what you make it". Business, technical, and other objectives always compete with it, in any corporation, non-profit, or consultancy. So that one was a wash, or so I thought...
What I have found in 1999 was an atmosphere beyond accomodating. Despite it being a large company it still encouraged innovation. It rewarded individuals who took reasonable risks. It rewarded hard work. And most recently the executives placed a large bet on user experience as a competitive differentiator. It remains a cool ride, a fun place to work, and there is nothing wrong with having 7 cafeterias to choose from during lunch.
In addition to internal perks and a good corporate climate for UI work we are also fortunate to be close to the most hyperactive and creative beehive in the world. Silicon Valley fosters an environment unlike any other. Here is a sampling of recent events, or things we were able to take advantage of:
-A group of us went over to visit the Human Factors folks who work at NASA Ames. How cool is it to be able to swap notes with professionals designing space shuttle cockpits? They came over for a reciprocal visit and got to know our enterprise software focused methodology, but the approach and issues were remarkably similar. Were there major divergences? Their gift shop had better prices.
-We organize brownbags for the internal usability community at large. We had the guys who were responsible for launching Yahoo's design patterns, as well the IDEO co-founder, Bill Moggridge. His Designing Interactions book is a neat departure from the publishing standards. The included video snippets of the luminaries are truly humbling.
-We invited IBM Almaden Human Factors guys over, too, and found that our ethnographic research findings were remarkably similar. Not to mention that the location was more like a resort in the Swiss Alps.
-Xerox PARC is next door. It is considered by many to be the birthplace of computer human factors as a discipline. Its monthly lectures are a treasure. Once again, we are spoiled to have this resource.
-Stanford and Berkeley both have human factors programs. We have worked with students from the latter and attended lectures put on by the former.
And for the finale of the why this is a fun place to work let me turn back to the internal ecosystem, and this one is location-independent. A UI guy can be compelled to jump around from flavor of the month to trendy consultancy every 2 years. But in reality we have that excitement right here. The variety of the product oferrings, cutting edge devepment methodologies, and amazing talent mean that you are never bored. There is almost no need to take advantage of the education benefit provided through human resources. Every project represents a new domain, an opportunity to find out what tax experts, supply chain planners, or database administrators live and breathe. Most of them have magazines dedicated to their specialty! Learning about their worlds is always fascinating, particularly when compared to more common, or generic consumer applications. The intellectual challenge is the most important retention factor, at least for me. It is why I come to work.
A comfy chair and Indian food in building 600 do not hurt, either.J
You never know when you may encounter something exciting on the Intranet. It is best to be buckled in. Don't tell Facilities.
