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

[frank.shepard at att.net]

Hal wrote "The point that I was trying to make is
that the things that are important in the development of tools (tools here
in the sense of end product of an AI) are not necessarily the same things
that are important in *using* those tools."

Just to get us back on track here, I believe that this discussion was
initially concerned with prototypes:

pro·to·type     n.

1. An original type, form, or instance serving as a basis or standard for later
stages.
2. An original, full-scale, and usually working model of a new product or new
version of an existing product. 
3. An early, typical example.

The deliverables that you refer to don't seem to be prototypes for digital
products. You are producing documentation. The deliverables under discussion
(it seems to me) are the end products or their prototypes.

Here's a new question: Is it really possible to disengage the "end product of
an AI" from the "end product of development?" Perhaps this is akin to
questioning the status of IA as an independent unit? What is the IA's role in
the transition from his/her "end product" to the development stage?

Frank