Frequently-Asked Questions

Why "holistic"? You're not a health care company.

While the term "holistic" is commonly associated with alternative medicine, we go back to the core meaning of the word -- cross-disciplinary, big-picture thinking. We're a consulting company specializing in what we call usability-oriented development, with our hands in a few other areas as well. But in everything we do, we strive to see the hidden connection that many other firms miss.

What is "Usability-Oriented Development"?

User interface developers need to think beyond quick and dirty screen design, pretty-yet-cumbersome aesthetics, or elegant technical solutions that don't meet users' needs.

We strive to incorporate the best elements of the usability profession into our software programming to create user interface solutions that are easy-to-use and technically robust. Just as object-oriented programming revolutionized how developers of all stripes organized their code, we aim for usability-oriented programming to do the same for user interface specialists.

What about other types of software development?

Although we stress a broad-based outlook, we also understand the need to do a small subset of things well. We work with top-notch server-side and database developers, business analysts, and graphic design people. But our specialty in the technology area is rich user interface development -- on the desktop, on the Web, or anywhere else.

Aside from software and coding, what other things do you do?

Our universe isn't just limited to computing. We also provide writing services in two areas: Technical writing aimed at developers and everyday people; and, to round things out a little, some reflective big-picture analysis (on a freelance basis and through our blog) on culture, technology, the broader society, and the ideologies that shape it.