My blogging last year was pretty pathetic, I'll admit. But with the new year come new promise(s).

My true purpose here is to quickly follow up on my earlier post on the significance of RI.gov . As I said then, high levels of usability come "baked into" the "ubiquitous platform" approach. This is one of many great advantages that this method of web and web services development. 

But...would it really? Happily, the answer is "yes", at least as far as my anecdotal evidence goes. 

I recently renewed by auto registration via the RI.gov web application. I won't go too deeply under the hood, but three key factors showed that usability was a key design criterion. 

(MORE AFTER THE JUMP)

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Some of my local contacts pinged me recently to ask "What's up with RI.gov winning awards?"

The short answer: THIS! IS! MASSIVE!

First, let's get a few things sorted out. RI.gov has been a successful program for several years. This award is _recognition_ of existing excellence. So it's not like the state websites suddenly got great. They've been great (or at least great for government sites) for some time now. In fact, they've received other awards in the past, but only now broke through to this big win.

More important is that people understand that RI.gov isn't a website, or even a group of websites. It's a web publishing platform that's available to all kinds of state and, potentially, municipal entities. Adherence to existing standards represents a cornerstone of web usability, and, as a ubiquitous central platform, RI.gov "bakes in" a good portion of the usability. 

That basic concept - a very high quality platform that can support a wide range of government functions - is tearing across the government IT space right now, at least at the federal level. More typically (like, if you're not working directly for POTUS) major and massive change in governmental computing is _NOT_ a fast-moving situation. Thus it has taken some years to build up and build out the RI.gov websites, and, more importantly, train up the user base (aka, state workers) in producing content via RI.gov's content management system (CMS). 

Clearly, the project has reached a level of attainment, hence the award. But beyond recognition, this puts Rhode Island into a select class of states demonstrating genuine IT leadership. Chief among these is Virginia, to which state we can look for examples of more than just IT. 

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Consultants love the phrase "complex adaptive systems." In the jargon, it ranks right up there with "systems view" and "change management". Like most jargon, it becomes cliche when overused, but it's overuse comes from its essential core of truth. Understanding the qualities of complex adaptive systems is crucial to managing the successive waves of change that sweep through business, non-profits, governments and society with each new technological upgrade.

"And this has what to do with New York City?"

At the Providence & Beyond transit cafe last year I sat at a table that discussed issues related to cycling in the city. Philip Marshall from Roger Williams University talked about cycling in New York, and how the tensions between cyclists and drivers were so much less because the standard of attention is so much higher. This rekindled a notion I've been toying with for some time about how pedestrian traffic in New York is a non-stop complex adaptive system worthy of our consideration and study.

Now, many months later, I ask the question, "How is it that millions of people can move at that New York City pace without more collisions?" It's a network that senses and reacts quickly, of course. But there's something more - a simple set of standards and a high expectation of compliance. 

More after the jump.

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