[Sigia-l] UI spec document tool

[Dave Collins]

We are reaching the upper limit on effectiveness of MS Word as a repository
of our software UI spec. Our docs are about 125 pages, mostly wireframes of
each screen with associated text.
Word is getting quite piggish:
-	buggy, too much formatting gets unwieldy, app crashes or is
difficult to cut/paste
-	margins and tabbing is difficult to keep consistent (every line can
be set up differently, cutting & pasting carries all formatting, formatting
difficult to see/manipulate/delete)
-	handles things like table of contents only so-so
-	doesn't handle wireframe art as well as we'd like, clunky, difficult
to search/spellcheck, get bizarre artifacts (orphaned textboxes that refuse
be deleted)
-	hyperlinks used to establish flow between screens often break and
have to be manually redone
-	software is getting modular, would like to be able to mix and match
modules form a master template intoa specific client implementation

The one big, big pro for Word is its portability - that we can guarantee our
clients can read it, manipulate it, print it, etc.
The first, most logical jump might to be Visio, but that's a awfully light
on handling text well.

What do other companies use for a spec of this size/complexity?

Dave Collins
User Interface Design
Phoenix Interactive
4th floor, 137 Dundas St,
London ON, N6A 1E9
V: 519.679.2913 x292
F: 519.679.6773
E: dcollins at phoenix-interactive.com