[Sigia-l] We could just use whiteboards instead.

[Adrian Howard]

On Monday, August 18, 2003, at 04:52  pm, Listera wrote:
[snip]
> Nope, I'm sure you're a fine teacher, but you're a bad listener. :-) 
> They
> don't need to learn or become fluent in Visio, because, like I said, 
> *all*
> you are asking them to do in Visio is to create a (movable) box and 
> put some
> text into it, which is all what a post-it is and which can be thought 
> to
> anyone in about a minute.

It may be all you ask them to do, but its not all I ask clients to do. 
I want them to do more. That's why post-it notes are a better choice 
for my working practices. I don't want to change my working practices 
to fit the constraints of another tool just because it happens to be 
digital rather than analog.

Let's list a few of the things that clients can do with post-it notes 
apart from move them around and write some text.

They can stick them together to make bigger notes
They can rotate them to make diamond shapes
They can annotate them with symbols
They can use different coloured notes
They can write text in different coloured pens
They can underline text
They can write BIG and small text
They can write text in two columns
They can tear corners of them to make different shapes
They can tear them into strips
They can use dozens of them on a surface several meters square and 
still be able to read all of the text
They can stick them together to indicate grouping
They can have multiple people adding notes at the same time
They can have multiple people annotating notes at the same time
They can have multiple people moving notes at the same time.
They can leave my notes displayed 24 hours a day where an entire team 
can see them just by looking at the wall.
	
Some of these you can replicate with Visio (or whatever) - but you do 
need to learn how to use the application. This takes hours. Give a 
client some pens and a pack of post-it notes and they're doing it in 
minutes.

Some of the above cannot be done in Visio (or whatever) because you 
have a small screen, limited resolution, and an application designed to 
be used by one person at a time.

This is why I use post-it notes, index cards, whiteboards, etc. Because 
they support many of my everyday work practices better than Visio, 
Denim, Illustrator or whatever. Especially collaboration. I just pick 
the best tool for job.

>> If I'm not misunderstanding your point I find this odd. It wouldn't
>> make my work practices any better if I moved all my analog 
>> face-to-face
>> meetings to IRC channels just because they're digital - would it?
>
> *IF* people had the ability to (easily) create *digital* prototypes of 
> their
> *digital* products, I have zero doubt they will do away with these
> Neanderthal contraptions.

If you gave me a tool to create digital prototypes that had all the 
advantages of the "Neanderthal contraptions" I would enthusiastically 
adopt it.

But you can't.

Those "contraptions" can do things that Visio, Denim, Illustrator or 
whatever cannot do at the moment. That's why I'll carry on using them 
until something better comes along. Not for any wishy-washy tree-huggy 
reasons. Because they do things that I find useful, and that the other 
tools cannot do.

Of course Visio, Denim, Illustrator, etc. can do things that post-it 
notes, whiteboards and index cards cannot do. When I need those 
features I use the digital tools.

 From what I understand, your work practices mean you don't need the 
features that whiteboards, etc. give you. You use digital tools because 
the advantages they give make your work practices more effective. You 
pick the best tool for the job.

Why should I pick an inferior tool for my working practices just 
because it's based on bits rather than paper? I just pick the best tool 
for job.

>  For a long time, people ignored  the fact that
> they would create digital documents, print them out (analog), fax them
> (analog), get corrections (analog), re-edit their digital document 
> (digital)
> and repeat the process. Now many realize that the 
> digital-analog-digital
> conversion is/was an insane waste of time and money. And most don't do 
> that
> anymore. I predict the same will happen to the process of
> creating/prototyping of digital products.

You're right. But only when the advantages of the new tools outweigh 
the disadvantages of the old.

For example, while I write and distribute my documents electronically, 
I still print out anything over about twenty pages if I need to 
copyedit it. Once we get good high-resolution, high-contrast portable 
displays with pen based input I imagine this will change.

However, until that technology arrives, paper is a far more efficient 
medium for me to work with when copyediting since:

-	I can read about 25% faster on paper than online
-	I can work longer without fatigue
-	I can work in many more environments

No wishy-washy anti-technology reasons. I just pick the best tool for 
job.

>> My goal is a good intranet, website or application. A Visio diagram 
>> (or
>> whatever) is no more an intranet, website or application than a
>> whiteboard or index card is.
>
> Yes. And this is *precisely* why I advocate going to a fully functional
> *digital* prototype as soon as possible. Sooner the better.

I don't think I've ever disagreed with that have I?

I'm a firm believer in creating  real code as early as possible. You 
don't get to understand many problems until you have a working 
application in front of you.

I fail to see how this conflicts with using non-digital tools as part 
of that development process.

>> I use whatever tools and practices I find make me most effective at
>> reaching my goals. In many situations I have found my work practices
>> better supported by tools like index cards and whiteboards than by
>> diagramming applications and databases. Familiarity, ease of use, etc.
>> is often more important to me and the people I work with than edit
>> history, freedom from geographic constraints, etc.
>
> Yes, and this too will change, like fax. I'm sorry to be a foreteller 
> of
> your bright and efficient future, just slightly ahead of its time. :-)

When the tools arrive I'll start using them with glee! Until then, I'll 
use the best tool I have available for the job.

>> I keep finding these humans involved in my web applications (defining
>> business plans, running the company, writing content, meeting customer
>> orders, talking to customers, etc. :-)
>
> Unlike any other previous artifacts in our homo sapient history, 
> online apps
> are 100% synthetic and digital. I guess it'll take a bit of time for 
> people
> to recognize the historical uniqueness of this situation, and then 
> they'll
> adjust.

I still fail to see the connection between the technology used in the 
end product and the technologies used to develop it.

Typeset books were the first artefacts in Homo sapient history to allow 
the mass preservation, production and distribution of information. That 
didn't mean that all  communication about the creation and writing of 
books need involve people setting type. Face to face meetings, 
handwriting and waving of hands did not suddenly become completely 
redundant.

I feel like you're trying to persuade me to use a printing press to 
write my book outline, rather than writing it out in longhand, because 
they'll be typewriters in a few years time!

I'll use the typewriter when it actually exists. Until then I'll use 
the best tool for the job (are you noticing a theme :-)

[snip]
> Just in case you haven't been following my rants on this, I advocate 
> getting
> rid of these titular fiefdoms all together
[snip]

Thank heavens! Something we can agree on!

Cheers,

Adrian