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Cocktail Napkin to Startup (DIY Part Seven)

June 30, 2006

This is part seven of a series of posts describing how we are taking an idea from a cocktail napkin and putting into the real world. Start now, or read along from the start with: part one, part two, part three, part four, part five, and part six.

Our three-pronged project was progressing well:

  • Prong I: hResume plugin development (two developers working on a WordPress plugin) to allow WordPress users to create a resume on their blog using the hResume Microformat (the plan is to build MovableType and other plugins after we finish the first WP plugin).
  • Prong II: Launch an XML-RPC ping server (refactored QwikPing) for the hResume Microformat.  (each plugin would ping the hResume ping server each time the markup was created to modified).
  • Prong III: Launch a skill or resume website using 37 Signals methodology (we may have found someone to help build this site - will know early next week).

In part six I posted the front and back wireframe that I slapped together using Adobe Illustrator.  Ironically, when each coder delivered their version of the plugin I was shocked to realize that neither one followed the wireframe.  Evidently my specification document was not clear.  One of the plugin’s wouldn’t even create a resume page on the blog (you would have to manually create the page and do some coding to point your markup - nightmare!).  The other coders plugin worked, but didn’t follow my wireframe.

While I was working on getting each coder to get their versions either working or looking like my wireframe, I contacted Tantek at Technorati and asked him for a referral to someone who could help look over their hResume markup.  He suggested that we work with Andy Clarke (a superstar designer and Microformats expert) to review our coders hResume markup.  Next we had a conference call with Ryan King (the author of the original hResume markup) to make sure he was okay that we were using the name hResume for the plugin - he had no problem with our plans and offered to help!

Written by Alexander Muse · Filed Under Blog 

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