Friday, 14 November 2008

Using smart-survey.co.uk for online surveys

I used to use monkey-survey for my online surveys but I was finding the whole process just a tad too complex. It has many features, however, the interface felt clunkyand cumbersome. So I have moved to using www.smart-survey.co.uk and it is markedly easier to use - well, it's sort of dummy proof really.

Creating a survey was easy as was the whole production effort (or non-effort). It took me no more than 15 mins to design and produce a 6 question survey from scratch. Then 5 mins to get it online and to mail out the invitations to respond.

Checking on results is easy and all the steps are clear and straightforward.

I'm going to keep up my commitment to let go of the sofwtare and hardware that no longer seem to be productive and take the time to switch to ones that suit me better.

Sunday, 9 November 2008

New way of searching; where search meets research

I am finding the new search engine http://www.middlespot.com really helpful in turning my regular web searches into something a lot more practical and useful.

The added features increase productivity when working alone and also helps me share my findings.

The search results come up as a summary as well as screenshots (makes you concentrate on how you show info on a page if you are a web designer!). You can then save your choices to an online workpad, thus coordinating what you are collecting. If you then want to share your results with someone else you can, very easily.

Under "tools" there is a browser bar you can download and add to Internet Explorer, Firefox or Mozilla, so you can search directly.

If you're interested in productivity then this is a useful tool.

Online chart builder; create picture or embed into website

One of the key activites for an improvement leader is displaying data graphically through the use of charts. While most of us are comfortable using the regular software packages like Microsoft and in some cases more sophisticated stats packages, sometimes we need something a little different.

I've been looking for ways to embed charts into my website - or blogs. Of course these can be embedded as pictures though this is less flexible. Also, how do I create a chart when I am using my netbook with web access and no software on it?

There is an online charts builder at http://charts.hohli.com. It takes a little while to wrap your head round it, but if you follow the instructiosn it is quick, easy and very flexible. I'll be using it as a way to create embeddable charts and as an alternative to PC based software.