Using Balsamiq Mockups to create some handy wireframes

I had realised for a while that Parkatmyhouse was in need of a fresh coat of paint and that although much of the functionality was in place, extending it and explaining what tools were available was proving rather more difficult. After easily spending a couple of years coding and developing Parkatmyhouse using a mixture of trial and error and guess work, I was able to build the first version of the website.

So much time was wasted due to a lack of pre-planning and something that is known as wireframing. I therefore felt extremely relieved to have come across Balsamiq Mockups.

The need for mockups

Let me first talk a bit on the benefits of doing mockups. I would compare this to writing an essay or building a house: you don’t simply start writing when you enter an exam hall or start buying the furniture before the floor plans and colour schemes have been decided.

To us, building a website or online product is the same.

Prototypes in Adobe Photoshop, Fireworks, etc. are good and provide a visually appealing graphic to share and comment on, but they tend to take a long time to create. What is required is a very simple way to drag and drop elements on to a page, work out what each input box, paragraph and label represents and how much screen real estate is available.

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This is not a proper blog post, but more of a status update.

While we prepare to show off some of the new features we have been busy building over the past few months, I wanted to reassure you all that we are still promoting Parkatmyhouse both online and offline (including a great article in the Daily Telegraph’s travel section yesterday.)

More information to follow soon… I promise!

I don’t normally write in depth technical information on this blog but I thought now was the perfect opportunity to document a list of changes that have recently been made to the way the ParkatmyHouse website operates.

For the past three years I have been promoting ParkatmyHouse.com rather than just ParkatmyHouse for the simple reason that we didn’t actually own the parkatmyhouse.co.uk domain. Someone had registered it just a month before I thought of the name and I was under the naive impression that I could offer a token amount to acquire the domain in the future.

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Yesterday Google announced the launch of Street View for the UK which has divided public opinion regarding the perceived invasion of privacy. Personally, I think this tool is fantastic and I’ve been waiting for it to become available this side of the Atlantic since I first tried it out in California a few years ago.

What has this got to do with parking you may ask…?

Well, today ParkatmyHouse.com became the first UK online marketplace (not just parking) to implement street view to enhance our existing service. Not only do we provide you with an availability calendar, pricing information and a secure payment environment to name a few of our features, but we also now let parking space owners show exactly where a driver is going to be parking.

We hope this will remove any doubt on possible size restrictions and the suitability of the area you will be leaving your vehicle. It may also help you find exactly where a parking space is located.

Adding `street view` to your parking space could not be easier. Simply log in to your account and edit your parking space. Under the address tab, you will be able to choose the exact view of your parking space you wish potential parkers to see.

This is a completely `opt-in` service, so anyone with any privacy concerns will simply not have street view functionality available for their parking space listing.

Currently `street view` is available in 12 UK cities and a number of other cities around the world. If it is not currently available in your area, please be patient while the little Google cars work their way around the country.

An example of this implementation is now live around Kings Cross and we expect it to be available in more areas shortly.

Today saw the re-launch of Her Majesty’s Website and myself along with just under 100 others were invited to attend a reception at Buckingham Palace to honour this occasion.

What to ask?

After receiving the invitation back in early January I had been trying to think about what I might actually say to the Queen if I got the chance to talk to her. “Ever thought of renting those parking spaces in the forecourt Ma’am?”, was one of the more popular suggestions. It is certainly a prime location for hedge fund managers, tourists and even visiting Presidents! I am confident that she could earn at least £10,000 per parking spot per year and as you can see from the photo… there is plenty of space to go around.

Preparation

After spending far too much money on a new suit, shirt, tie, shoes and belt and trying a number of different combinations of each, I set out this morning to the palace, constantly checking that I had my invitation stored in a secure pocket. The only dilemma left was to decide on whether to take the tube and walk through the front gates of the palace, or to drive and park inside (I was given a permit!).

Although it would have made a better story if I had driven and parked within the palace walls, London traffic always seems to work against me so I didn’t want to take any risks.

After reading on the tube about Spain’s demolition of the English football team the night before, I proceeded through Green Park towards Buckingham Palace. It was a glorious day without a cloud in the sky and therefore the Victoria memorial was mobbed by tourists and there was a lovely atmosphere about the place. I was 20 minutes early so I decided to take a few photos, enjoy the fresh air and of course send a few tweets on Twitter.

Entering the Palace

On entering through the front gates, I realised that I had walked in to a sea of unknown faces. However I eventually saw a friendly face in Spencer Kelly from BBC Click and went about starting a conversation with him. It is rather strange feeling that you know someone when you have only met through a TV screen.

Once we handed in our coats, (funnily enough, a much more organised system than your average nightclub), we proceeded to the `gallery room` where we were offered nibbles, champagne, orange juice and the opportunity to walk around and enjoy our surroundings.

Mingling with the Crowd

Shortly after, we were joined by a representative from Number 10 (the guy who twitters for Downing Street!) and also Martin Lewis from MoneySavingExpert.

At about 1pm, there was a sudden silence as the doors opened leading in to the blue room (original name). Rather strangely, standing right there in front of me was Her Majesty the Queen dressed in an immaculate light green outfit. Spencer had told me earlier that as soon as she says “that’s interesting” to you, it is supposedly code for “you are boring me”. I wasn’t sure whether to say something interesting or just shake and walk. Fortunately everybody was shaking and walking so the decision was made for me. We proceeded to walk in an orderly line and shake her hand while another gentleman read out our names. Needless to say, he pronounced my name wrong.

The Launch

After gathering in another beautifully decorated room and after the Queen had finished her shaking hands routine, she walked up to the front of the room in front of the TV screen where Sir Tim Berners Lee (the founder of the world wide web) was at the podium ready to introduce the new website.

After a short video presentation of the old site and a showcase on how children use the web now, compared to how they did back in 1997, he thrusted a remote control in the direction of a rather shocked Queen which triggered some sniggering from the audience. After a push of a button the site was officially launched and to be honest, she looked rather bemused by the whole thing (I found out later, that she has never used the internet herself but everyone else in the Royal Household relies upon it).

Some networking… with the Queen

Quail’s eggs, sausages, mini-pasties and some rather tasty smoked salmon tartlets were moving around the room while I continued my conversation with Martin, Spencer, Ian (from Number 10) and we were soon joined by Rory Cellan-Jones. We had started a little discussion about online privacy and the pros and cons of the openness of the web when were told by a member of the Royal Household that the Queen would soon be coming over to talk to us.

After panning out in to a semi-circle, the five of us found ourselves standing in front of probably the most famous person on the planet (maybe Obama has now overtaken her). After she recognised Spencer and Rory from the TV we started talking about her use of the web, how the web has evolved and how people are starting to use the internet at such a young age. She made great conversation and even laughed at and made a few jokes.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get the chance to ask her about her parking situation or that of the Royal Carriage but I did cheekily pass on my business card to a member of her staff. I’ll let you know if I hear anything.

After an interesting conversation with Professor Dame Wendy Hall(another pioneer of the world wide web) and chatting with a few other people I proceeded down the grand staircase to get my coat and make the slow walk back to the front gates.

We were not allowed cameras so I have no photos from inside the Palace, just this one from my phone of me walking back towards the front gates.

Overall, it was a truly memorable few hours and one I would love to experience again. It was a great honour to be invited and I hope that in time, ParkatmyHouse.com will benefit from some of the connections made at the event.

Thank you your Majesty.

With most people really starting to feel the bite of the `credit crunch` and having the majority of their money tied up in their property, finding out new ways to make your property work harder for you is essential.

ParkatmyHouse.com is obviously here to do just that and when we first started we had wild ideas of people making around £400 – £500 (~$900) a year from this practice.

However, today on 21st October 2008, one of our users surpassed the £25,000 ($45,000) mark from renting out his spaces over the past 12 months. No longer can renting out your parking space in a high demand location be classed as a small money making scheme. There is a significant amount of money to be made and would help most families during the current financial crisis.

Another milestone we have reached over the past few months was one of our users earning over £1,000 ($1700) in one single evening from renting out his spaces for a Wembley concert.

Please visit the following link for more information on how to rent out your parking space.