Post WebDu 2011 Conference
Hi everyone,
Just a note that my WebDu Slides and Support Material will be posted up here in the coming days.
The will be made available at:
http://chrisiona.com/webdu/
UPDATE: They’re now available above
My favourite JavaScript snippet of the day
// Extend Number's prototype returning leading zero for values < 10
// Returns (String)
if( typeof Number.prototype.padding == 'undefined' ){
Number.prototype.padding = function(){
return this < 10 ? "0"+this : this.toString();
};
}
// Example Use
var seconds = 5; // outputs (Number) "5"
var paddedSeconds = seconds.padding(); // outputs (String) "05"
How to Write Clean, Testable Code
Late last year, Google held a GoogleTechTalk on “How to Write Clean, Testable Code”. So why not put aside an hour of your time, to invest in what you do for a living 
Atlassian’s Jira should have a Preview mode
The Issue Navigator in Jira has really come along way since I first used it. Atlassian has focused on some pivotal User Experience principles, keeping it fun, interactive and adopting a core principle of Progressive Enhancement – respecting the users choice of device and user input.
As a strong advocate for keyboard shortcuts in web applications, I find the interactions within the application not only make me more productive, but make good sense. From the Issue Navigator, I can reopen, close, comment, apply a label, edit, assign, watch or even clone a task without having to actually go to the Jira issue itself, saving me an expensive traditional HTTP call.
It therefore stands to good reason that I should be able to Preview an issue or task without having to actually go to the Jira. Think of it as a lightweight version of the QuickLook feature on OSX. The modals are already build into the interface, and the AJAX methods and RESTful interface are already there.
Referencing the aforementioned core principle of Progressive Enhancement, providing the functionality and letting the user/s decide how they interact is inline with great user experiences.
Look Atlassian, I even created a mockup for you! #subtleYetGentleNudge 
WebDu 2011 Conference preparations begin
Today, I received the WebDu 2011 Speakers Welcome pack, signifying the beginning of my involvement and commitment to the conference. So I thought I’d start putting together the story boards for my presentation on Applied Agile, Scrum and Kanban over the weeked.
I’ll start posting some teasers for my presentation over the coming weeks, with support material posted here after the conference.
If you haven’t bought your ticket yet, you can still get early bird tickets at a discounted rate until February 15th. So don’t delay!
WebDU 2011 – The web developer’s conference
It’s no secret that I’m a heavy advocate for progressively enhanced web development, and productive Agile teams. That’s why I’m highly recommending the WebDU conference in Darling Harbour (Sydney, Australia) this April 14th – 15th.
This year sees many talks covering the best of HTML5, CSS3, New Age JavaScript, Agile Project Management, Front-End Performance, and many more topics. It’s divided into three conference streams – “Beyond HTML”, “Experience”, and “Team”. The full agenda is available here.
I am also a speaker this year, with my topic of “Applied Agile, Scrum and Kanban“. It is always a great way to network with others in our industry, and usually a lot of fun too!
So if you’re serious about your web development, user experience, or development team, you should be at this year’s WebDU Conference!
BigCommerce is PCI Compliant
So I’ve been at BigCommerce now for 5 months, and one of the key outcomes asked of me was to lead the Payment Card Industry (“PCI”) certification project through the last part of implementation. It surprised me how complicated and challenging it can be if you do it properly. You see, there is the opportunity to complete PCI compliance following the self assessment process, but that comes at a risk (albeit at considerably less upfront cost).
Ed and Mitch, the BigCommerce co-founders, like to do things properly – so that’s what we did, and although it took a little longer than initially thought, it was worth it. The good news is that the “get certified” mountain has been conquered. The maintenance requirements are relatively easily in comparison.
The team worked some extraordinary hours, achieved some feats of wizardry, and when the prize was in sights knuckled down and drove this project home. It was a very proud moment for me.
You can read about our PCI compliance here:
http://www.bigcommerce.com/pci-compliant-shopping-cart-software.php
"Essential JavaScript And jQuery Design Patterns" – A Free eBook
A pretty good read for a free eBook
Improving your efficiency with Web App Keyboard Shortcuts
Anyone that has worked with me will tell you just how much I love using keyboard shortcuts, especially to navigate Web Applications. Implementing elegant and speedy shortcuts should be one of your top agenda items when planning the interaction and interface design of your Web Application. Well as usual, Atlassian have delivered it all with version 4.2 of Jira.
This version also sees further alignment with Google’s web app keyboard shortcuts, which is great for us here at Interspire (and BigCommerce) because we use both app suites every day.
If there’s 1 thing you could do today to improve your day to day efficiency across the Atlassian (and Google) app suite, it would be to learn their keyboard shortcuts.
