[Sigia-l] Web browser based diagramming

[Stewart Dean]

>From: Listera <listera at rcn.com>
>To: SIGIA-L <sigia-l at asis.org>
>Subject: Re: [Sigia-l] Web browser based diagramming
>Date: Fri, 24 Mar 2006 15:45:28 -0500
>
>Stewart Dean:
>
> > The Expression tool set is not an IA toolset - it's a web design 
>toolset.

<snip>

> > but no experience structure tools.
>
>What's that?
>
>The value proposition of Expression is that *unifies* the design and
>development process on a common XAML platform, which travels between
>designers and developers without change, reinterpretation or 
>transformation.
>With Expression you create actual OS widgets that are fully functional
>without writing code. They are not placeholders or simulations. As a
>designer you get to give them behaviors and interaction.

Read on.

> > An experience structure could be created to work with diffrent back end
> > systems and with different user interfaces so,  in my view, my vision of 
>an IA
> > tool is independent to both at it's core.
>
>Which is in some contrast to Expression in the sense that Expression 
>doesn't
>single out one phase of app creation and isolate it from others as a
>disjointed deliverable.

I'm saying there is a phase missing.

<snip>

> > I covered the Microsoft tools elsewhere, they're all miles away from the 
>IA
> > problem in my view and miss what I see as the core of user expience, the
> > strucutre and flow.
>
>"core of user expience, the strucutre and flow" is not something that needs
>to be abstracted out of the design process, in the Expression paradigm.

It's not so much as abstracted out as missing.

>You
>don't need to abstract it as a disjointed deliverable, precisely because 
>you
>imbue that within the iterated, ongoing prototype. The application speaks
>for itself.

It's about adding application flow and site structure back into the process 
rather then concentrating on page level implimentation and hoping to fix 
things at that level.  There's no overview and structure.

>I point these out not to underline whether you misunderstood Expression or
>not, but to fundamentally question the notion of a "true IA tool," whatever
>that may be.

I understand Expression well as it's essentialy a viaration on a theme of 
front end interface design - in this case you can go from visual design to 
working interface integrated with backend. So it covers visual design, 
interface design and is used to impliment structure, much llike many other 
tool sets. But it has not strucutre and flow aspect to it. In short it's 
missing and that's what I would look for in an IA tool.

Just to repeat structure and flow is at the heart of IA and so it would be 
at the heart of an IA tool.

Stew Dean