[Sigia-l] regarding mental model diagramming and gap analysis

[Derek R]

Peter wrote:

>| I would suggest an essay written by my partner
>| Janice about how we used mental models and gap
>| analysis for PeopleSoft:
http://boxesandarrows.com/archives/rearchitecting_peoplesoft_from_the_to
p_down.php


Is it fair to say your company http://adaptivepath.com/ was brought into
the PeopleSoft redesign to deflect internal heat-and-friction, resulting
from the change-process, away from executives and senior managers who
prefer to preserve working relationships with their subordinates? 

I ask this because it appears PeopleSoft already had a planned course,
so that, in essence, your company was hired to facilitate an
executive-ordered redesign using conciliatory methods (i.e. all the
interviewing, inquiry, and hand-holding):

<quote - near end of article>
"This validated our belief that best solution was not three separate
sites, but rather a single site that would dynamically change when
current customers and partners logged in."
</quote>

<quote - beginning of article>
"PeopleSoft hoped to consolidate three highly trafficked-and highly
redundant-sites into one site that would be served dynamically to a
range of user types from a single content management system."
</quote>

and 

<quote - middle of article>
"PeopleSoft currently had (or was planning to add) ample content assets
to support most of their users' tasks and goals. Based on the strength
of these findings, we agreed that a task-based navigation system would
work well for PeopleSoft."
</quote>


I wonder to what extent IA consultants are hired for 'outsider-produced'
deliverables for executives to point at for accountability despite
pre-arranged company plans (i.e. the consultants end up the 'patsy' if
the whole project blows-up)?
	 
Also, is it possible to call facilitation a 'user experience'
design-methodology? Hmmm... why not, with some feathery explanatory
language?