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

Donna Maurer donnam at maadmob.net
Tue May 15 06:11:27 EDT 2007


Lisa Goldberg wrote:
> Jay,
>
> I have a few thoughts regarding the "sandbox" thread. I am an IA who has a
> fair amount of experience working with custom content management systems. I
> also worked briefly in a RUP environment, so I think I understand where
> you're coming from. However, IMO the "sandbox" environment does not add much
> to the UCD process until you are near the end of the design cycle and can
> usability-test your designs for validation.
>   
A sandbox may not add anything to the UC part of UCD, but it adds much 
to the D part of UCD. There is only so much playing around you can do 
with paper and pen. Sometimes (actually a lot) the sandbox is the best 
place to do some of the iterations in the design process. Things don't 
feel as real on paper - designers learn much by playing with a 
closer-to-real thing.
> Furthermore, if usability testing uncovers serious problems, changes might
> be required to the requirements as well as the design. Is it worthwhile to
> set up that sandbox until you have validated the design and requirements in
> the first place?
>   
That's like saying that three year olds don't have the cognitive skills 
to build sand castles so you shouldn't let them play until they are 
ready and able. Of course it is worth playing in the sandbox - if 
nothing else it can be used to show ways that requirements may be met, 
which inevitably changes the requirements. Better to get this out early. 
And it also starts to show up pita system constraints that don't appear 
on paper - they're real and you may as well work with them.
> Someone mentioned the problem of content not fitting the templates. A
> sandbox tool would be helpful in that situation. But even better would be a
> fully developed UCD process so that you don't run into those snags with a
> content-driven site. 
A fully-developed UCD process would not help with this at all. People 
who have written content and implemented content usually know that 
content doesn't fit planned containers. Experienced writers always 
comment that the work writes itself to some extent. Quite often an IA, 
based on a UCD process, fails to fit the needs of the content. I see 
this a lot when I follow UCD consultants into a project - one that I'm 
working on now did a textbook job of designing for user and business 
needs but did no content analysis, so the content just isn't fitting 
into the structure.
> To sum up, I think that the sandbox is best used for small QA adjustments
> near the end of the design process, unless your IAs prefer to design using
> this tool and it is cost-effective for them to do so.
>   
I love it when I have the ability to play in the sandbox. My work is so 
much better than if I'm just working on paper; and the result is much 
better than if I work on paper and hand it to someone else to build. The 
real world just isn't neat enough to design before development and have 
expected outcomes...


-- 
Donna Maurer
Maadmob Interaction Design
e: donna at maadmob.net
web: http://maadmob.net/maadmob_id/
book: http://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/cardsorting/




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