[Sigia-l] RE: Visualization of web site structure

[George Olsen]

On 4/16/03 1:06 PM, "Lisa Agustin" <lisa at dynamicdiagrams.com> wrote:
> Also, I agree with Jason, that this type of diagram is not what you want to
> use if you require rapid and iterative prototyping.  Rather, we use
> z-diagrams as a way to visually depict the new IA based on requirements and
> recommendations that came out of the analysis phase.  We've found that this
> diagram is particularly helpful in terms of getting project buy-in and
> understanding at the management and/or non-technical level.

I agree it's different tools for different jobs.

The advantage of "3D" diagramming is that in my experience it does help
people see the whole (and relationships among the whole) in a way that flat
diagrams don't do as well. Don't ask me why, but it does. But it's a style
that also best suited for higher-level views because it doesn't scale well.

That said, if you're willing to invest in a little math and a little set-up,
I actually found it didn't take that much longer to maintain them.

The key thing is figuring out the offsets for elements, as well as skewing,
rotating, etc.  _and then writing them down_. Then, in Freehand at least, it
was pretty easy to move stuff around "by the numbers." (Freehand lets you
add/subtract within its Move tool, but you can to the same with a calculator
in hand.)

The other critical thing is doing the setup work properly. Freehand,
Illustrator, Visio have some powerful tools for selecting particular
elements -- but only if you've set up the file properly. If you don't do
this, you waste lots of time selecting items within the diagram.

George