[Sigia-l] Tool standardization (was about visio or not tovisio)

[Listera]

"David Heller" wrote:

> Central issue or only issue, ok? But it is indeed an issue and in larger
> organizations you have less and less control over that issue.

One of the reasons why large orgs are not conducive to innovation. :-)
 
> And quite honestly it is behemoth organizations that create standards (more
> so than professional organizations).

This used to be the case, not any longer. Just look at all the
Internet-related standards. (If Microsoft had its way, you'd be using
Blackbird today, instead of HTTP/HTML.)

> Other issues:
> Training, interopability, hiring all make having a single standard tool very
> easy.

Training? For an obtuse tool? Against the knowledge and experience of a
professional already accustomed to another tool? I don't even want to
imagine the obscenely gross amounts of money wasted on teaching Office apps
around the world.

Interop? You're cruel. :-) Pluging into various Office ops is not interop,
it's lock-in!

Hiring? By restricting your company to a single tool you are limiting not
expanding your options and potential talent pool.

> This being said, Ziya, I was not advocating for Visio, I was advocating for
> standardization (well advocating is a bit strong).

I understand. And I object to both. As I said elsewhere, I'm all for
standardizing on open, interoperable file *formats* not tools.
 
> You know I am not satisfied w/ Visio. I think it falls way short.

Yes, to your credit.

> But omnigraffe cannot be an alternative solution b/c it is only on Mac.

Absolutely. But the interesting thing is neither I nor any other user of
OmniGraffle ever advocates making OG the "status quo." We're not shoving OG
down anybody's throat. We're not saying everybody should standardize on it.
Ever wondered why?

> Like it or not 95% of the world is using pc.

I think Todd ably illustrated the utter silliness of this oft-repeated
nonsense. When you can design your wireframes on that PC at the checkout
counter, let me know.

> Personally I'd love to work for a company that allowed Macs ...

Have you tried?

> Didn't happen and isn't going to soon b/c of my specialty in Enterprise
> software.

Interesting. While Apple itself hasn't targeted the enterprise, some of the
largest enterprise apps and websites around the world are made with/run on
Apple technology. 
 
> That being said, about 2 years ago I started an e-mail list to talk about a
> new tool. It went nowhere.

Yes, and I told you then (and I'm telling you now :-) that you shouldn't
concentrate on Visio.

Ziya
Nullius in Verba