Capturing the value created by using open source for a project within an enterprise client is influenced by many factors- evaluating total cost of ownership, ease of use and customization and extending the source code to new applications. However, I believe another aspect of value is in viewing a move to open source, as creating a real option within your IT department.

Going through two years of graduate work (and still paying for it) for a MS in Educational Technology was an eye-opening experience. It seems that no matter how old you are, kindergarten tactics for teaching still works wonders. I still marvel at my hard-earned teacher salary going towards instruction content such as "Effective Use of a White Board", "Zen and the Art of the Overhead Projector", and the much-feared "Copyright Law and Properly Setting Your VCR to Record a Show". All of this post-graduate work can be summed up in two sentences:

The various open source communities have been an integral part of computing for over two decades. They provide a platform for development, as well as create a continuous mode of improvement.  However, I believe that the biggest value add from open source is the ability to create flexible extensions and improvements custom tailored to whatever environment it is deployed. Granted, these deployments require specialized expertise, but so do commercial packages- and those packages really do not allow, much less encourage creative enhancements.

We would like to express our gratitude to Tao Starbow, his team and UC Berkeley for all of their outstanding work putting on the Bay Area Drupal Camp.     

Continuing education is an important aspect of the culture here at Achieve Internet. Every employee is encouraged to attend at least one class or seminar every six months. The most important part of this educational experience is the ability to share his or her gained knowledge with the rest of the Achieve team. Upon returning from the educational event, the employee is responsible for hosting a lunch-and-learn event for his fellow team members. The employee is asked to prepare a 1 to 2 hour presentation to the rest of the team on

Please, no more accidental website tourists. Show your visitors the way down the path and you will increase your website results.

Today most retail stores like Whole Foods Markets, Ikea and Victoria's Secret rely heavily on environmental psychology research studies. How you find your way through well-planned stores, airports and casinos is no accident. Nor should it be for visitors to your website.

One of the best articles I have found, that mirrors the way Achieve Internet incorporates Environmental Psychology into the functionality and design of our website, can be found in the PsychNology Journal. David Benyon, does an excellent job of taking the historic roots of Navigation, Landmarks, Paths, and Urban Design, to reaffirm why these principles need to be applied into today's Web design.

http://www.psychnology.org/File/PNJ4(1)/PSYCHNOLOGY_JOURNAL_4_1_BENYON.pdf

Your Web visitors know great design when they see it, instantly in fact. Some studies suggest it takes a fraction of a second for them to make up their mind about a website.

We believe this decisive instant when visitors decide if your website must be explored or evacuated is equivalent to the Gruen Transfer, a controversial term borrowed from the world of environmental psychology and shopping malls. 

Have you ever been to a website and read through a page or two only to find yourself wondering how to purchase, how to get more information, or how to see what other items might be related to what you're viewing?

If you are a marketing professional with the responsibility for your company's website, make sure you don't let your website visitors try to figure out how to navigate your pages on their own. A better approach is to use stimulus-response cues on the pages to guide them through the website and encourage them to take action.