[Sigia-l] What do you call that place between the database and the live site?

[Jay Morgan]

I've heard it called "sandbox", "staging", "test server", "dev(elopment)
server".  What do you call it?

Also:
Do you actually get to work on it or in it?  If yes, how do you interact
with it?  (Sample answers: Yes, I shape it w/ SQL.  I do QA on it.  I own
it.  I built it.)

Why I'm asking:
I want to know what you all call it because I want to discuss the value of
that intermediate space between data and live as an integral part of how to
do Design.  I think there's more potential in that approach than in linear
design approaches - i.e., conceive, define, design, build, launch.  This
will lead to a presentation and an article.  Hopefully, it will lead to all
my future employers adopting the practice of enabling their teams with a
sandbox or staging server within arm's reach.

Background:
Several years ago, I worked for a content management ASP.  As a systems
analyst there, I worked on an application called "Intranet Administrator,"
affectionately known as "IA".  (No, this is not about the coincidence
between that name and my current job title.  Just to be clear, I'll call it
IA*.)  IA* was the backbone of our intranet, a 'site' used by thousands of
clients across the country as a reference point for what was about to go
live.  The genius of IA* is that it was a tangible, living display of the
client's information architecture.  On my desktop, I worked in four windows
simultaneously:
- a SQL database UI (proprietary, I think)
- IA* (a proprietary app)
- a staging server (between IA* and the live client site)
- the live site (belonging to our clients, e.g., cars.com)
I could analyze and diagnose problems on the live site, query our database
in the SQL UI to get at the root, then manipulate IA* to achieve the desired
results, proof the results in staging area, and then launch to the live
site.  (The live site had some delay, naturally.)  That three-tiered
perspective makes my heart swoon.  No Design tool or approach has compared
to that in my eyes.  To paraphrase Almashi, that is my favorite place on a
company's information architecture.

Thanks,
Jay
-- 
Jay Morgan
Applied cognitive scientist practicing information architecture, interaction
design, and corporate culture manipulation