Inside Logicept

An interview with Jaron Rubenstein, Director of Technology at Logicept.com.

Conducted via email by John S. Rhodes (30-July-2000)

Introduction

What exactly are web applications?

A Web application consists of a Web-based User Interface, a software back-end, and, in most cases, a database. Web applications enable the creation of Web sites with dynamic, interactive features, data-collection capabilities, and e-commerce functionality. One of the first kinds of Web applications were search engines. For instance, Yahoo is a Web application that provides an easy-to-use search interface to an enormous database of Web pages. A Web application also allows a Web site to customize its pages to each user, creating a more personal user experience. Without Web applications, there would be no search engines, no online banking applications, no user polls or feedback forms, and no e-commerce. Because of this, Web applications have been integral in the growth of the e-business industry. With the advance of Web technologies, a Web application can do everything that a traditional Windows/Mac application can do.

How can web applications improve the user experience? Generally, why is a dynamic web site more valuable to a user than one that is static?

A well-designed dynamic Web site is built with the user's experience in mind. Dynamic sites allow site users to interact with other users through discussion boards, user feedback opportunities, and real-time chat. They provide personalized content and remember key user attributes. A dynamic site also allows a Web site operator to provider fresh content to users through live news feeds, constantly evolving/changing features, and updated information. It's well known that you need a "sticky site" to encourage repeat visitors (and longer visit lengths). "Sticky sites" require fresh content and interactive features that can only be provided by a dynamic site.

Let's take an example. Explain how you would set up a web site to recognize users and track user behavior. What is the value of this activity for users?

There are several different methods for accomplishing such a task, each of which takes different assumptions about your users, server loads, and choices of technology. The most common way to accomplish the above is via the use of cookies. Cookies are simply small amounts of data that are stored within a user's browser and retrieved whenever the user accesses the site. Through the use of cookies, a user's session can be tracked throughout their user experience. Through standard Web metrics tools and/or a customized Web application, the site operator can track user's trails through the site.

The value of this data to a site operator is immense -- the data can be used to evaluate a user's site experience, determine potential turn-offs or features that are difficult to understand, and better position products and services to target their audience. The value of this information to a user is that the site can evolve to better serve their purposes.

What tools, techniques and software do you use to develop your applications? How do your choices impact development costs and options for clients?

Logicept deals almost exclusively with Open Source technologies. These technologies include Web applications programming languages such as PHP, Perl, Mason, and Java. We generally utilize Oracle or MySQL for the back-end database. The majority of our site and application hosting is done on the Red Hat Linux operating system running the Apache Web server. Using Open Source technologies ensures a reliable, stable environment for hosting and applications development, while ensuring that our clients' start-up costs are kept to a minimum. For example, a Linux hosting server, including the Apache Web server and MySQL database, costs less than $100 in software costs. A similarly configured Microsoft Windows NT/2000 server might cost nearly $5,000. Since many of our clients are large dot-com sites, they employ multiple Web servers for a single site. These per-server costs add up quite quickly when dealing with commercial software. By using the freely available Open Source technologies we cut our client's software and hosting costs, allowing them to build more robust Web sites at a fraction of the cost.

Investigating Mobile Solutions

Logicept is the first company I've seen use the term M-Business. Could you tell us about this idea and explain your solutions?

M-business is a new industry forming around the technologies that enable business to provide services through pervasive computing devices. Devices such as Palm pilots and Web-enabled cell phones can be used to access the Web in a variety of ways. The possibilities are endless -- buying movie tickets via your cell phone, making/changing airplane reservations, and accessing your important e-mail are possible with these new technologies.

Why should users care about WAP and WML applications? Why should your clients care?

WAP, or Wireless Applications Protocol, is the technology that allows cell phones (and other pervasive devices) to access the Web. WAP acts as an interface between wireless devices and the HyperText Transport Protocol (HTTP), the protocol of the Web. Sites providing Wireless Markup Language (WML) versions of their sites allow users to access their company information and services right from their phones. The combination of Web applications and WAP/WML provides the ability to access a myriad of resources and services via your phone.

What resources do you recommend? Are there any good web sites and books we should look at?

There are a number of good resources available. Logicept is in the process of making some of its own technologies available via the Knowledge section of our web site. In the meantime, some of the best resources are:

Phone.com's site
The WAP Forum
O'Reilly Network Wireless DevCenter

Content Management

Logicept is on the cutting edge with its web application expertise and mobile solutions. Could you tell us more about your content management system?

Logicept's content management product is WebPublish!. WebPublish! is a complete content management and site administration tool written for the non-technical site administrator. WebPublish! allows our clients to manage their site quickly and easily via an intuitive Web-based management application. WebPublish! provides the ability to easily publish and unpublish site elements (articles, feature stories, interviews, etc.), manage site users and discussion forums, and schedule site-wide changes all at the click of a mouse.

What are the usability implications of a content management system? What are the core user benefits?

In working with our clients, Logicept quickly realized that many of our clients had little or no experience managing complex Web sites.

Before WebPublish!, site changes would need to be submitted to the Web development firm and be changed by hand through a complicated series of steps. At Logicept, our goal is to put our client in charge of their own site, enabling them to fully administrate their site without having the technical knowledge of Web site protocols, programming languages (HTML, etc.) and the behind-the-scenes details. Through the WebPublish! system, a non-technical user can make editorial changes to site content and publish their changes without any intervention from Logicept. This allows our clients to quickly and effortlessly keep their site content fresh and updated on their time schedule.

Wrap Up

Tell us about yourself please. What is your background and training?

My formal background is in Psychology (B.A.) and Computer Science (B.S.). I spent a good deal of time studying Human-Computer Interaction and the design of intuitive computer interfaces. I've been a software developer for almost ten years, developing applications for DOS, Windows, Linux, and now the Web. My software development experiences include the development of high-end financial trading applications, flight-critical software for the aerospace industry, and now, mission-critical Web sites for a variety of industries. I've written chapters for several technical books and am currently working on courseware for a Linux Systems Administrator course.

Have I missed anything? Do you have any final thoughts or words of wisdom?

Don't let technology direct the project, let the project's requirements drive the technology. I often see implementations of technologies because they're the, "latest and greatest," and not because that particular technology was the right tool for the job. The results are generally difficult to use, and unnecessarily flashy. If you don’t make user experience and site aesthetics your top priorities, nobody will ever use the site's technology-driven features.

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