It seems that about 90% of my New Year’s resolutions are broken the very first day they are supposed to go into effect, or at least put on "pause" while I nurse a hangover and recover from the New Year’s Eve festivities. Why do we often begin a new year in the worst possible shape? All my juicy work-related resolutions stand still for the day, and I'm pretty much okay with it. I call it the "human factor" and in the real human world, our smudged-past often bleeds over into our shiny, clean future, whether we like it or not.
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I've received more a handful of condolence e-mails in the last few months from some non-industry friends - over the current state of the financial market and my assured fiscal demise. Since the finance sector is currently rather appalling those of us in the financial arena must be in dire straits as well. I suppose there's logic in this as unfortunately plenty of people are hurting, and to say that a large part of the market currently sucks is an understatement. However, reassuringly - there are exponentially more of us that still have jobs, active projects, and deliverables.
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In previous newsletters, I’ve been focusing on the financial design process, usability, and dealing with types of data delivery (both portals and financial dashboards). However, a goal of this newsletter has always been to inform and "lightly educate" those interested in the design process.

Judging from recent feedback, there is still considerable confusion regarding what exactly the creative process is and how a designer fits into the product development life cycle.
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"Financial portals are dead", a colleague recently advised - no further explanation required. Having worked on two portal projects in the last year, I understand how a good portal project can spin out of control and end up resembling a galactic black hole into which good ideas slip and vanish. But when things go right, portals are powerful tools that increase productivity and help you market your offerings.

From my work on portals in the last year, I know that the concept isn’t dead yet. I’d like to consider good user interfaces and how they can go a long way in helping a portal pop – and how a bad user interface might make a portal flop.
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Generally, the term "usability" refers to how easy something is to use. In financial applications, "usability testing" helps in measuring how well someone can interact with your product to achieve their purpose. Many times a new project will be driven by management’s expectations, and design teams must work to make it "look cool" instead of catering to actual user needs. In financial applications, "function before form" still rules; however, user testing produces results that allow you to make educated decisions and end up with function AND form.
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What's the latest in financial UI today? If you think the answer is found in complex reports and spreadsheets maybe it's time to think again. Today's dashboards allow for at-a-glance financial snapshots of individual portfolios, business lines, and market positions. Dashboards allow for a level of user interactivity and customization that leave spreadsheets in the dust and can only help contribute to the bottom line.
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