Defining the problem is part of the task; prototyping can help clarify / validate; the preliminary part I don't think requires client knowledge of technology, nor consultant/company knowledge of client problem - it is a discovery phase, which is equally important when you _think_ you have a grasp of what is needed.
There is no one "right" or "best" strategy, but a bagful... but one thing common is "rapid prototyping", or mockups, _and_ effective listening (that is NOT jumping to solution - a common engineer's behavior, necessarily: we are those who solve, after all) are all part of it. In terms of web application solutions, malleability of "look", presentation to user is something that helps delivery (underlying business logic is perhaps the most stable component of a solution, evolving rather than so much changing; we seem to have the DB / backend part in pretty good shape). Proposed engineering adjuncts / solutions like Appcellerator I think need to be evaluated in the light of how well it serves the engineering needs as I outline above, particularly support of effectively being able to iterate as client needs are better understood & discovered through a process. On Thu, Oct 30, 2008 at 7:40 PM, achipa <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > We were talking about the tech part of prototyping (the idea to > prototype phase of project). The prototyping you outline contains also > a preliminary part - the development of the idea itself. Often the > client does not really know what he wants or has a very limited grasp > of the technology and solutions available. In these cases, good old > pen and paper (even if electronic like google docs, or just annotated > mockup screenshots) are a very valid and good way to go to get an > actual spec, which then can go to tech people to be prototyped and > developed/refined further. > > On Oct 30, 10:38 pm, "Steve Shepherd" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Just to pickup on the prototyping discussion, > > I have pulled my hair out about this for over 3 years. > > The key to prototyping is to allow very quick changing of ideas to match > the > > GOALS of the user. > > If you code it you start pouring concrete and immediately start building > > walls to further innovation. > > The more effort a coder invests in developing the prototype the more > > resistent to changes the mind automatically becomes. > > I finally settle on a simple Google doc with hand drawing of the screen > with > > implementation notes at the bottom. > > Its not perfect but it does allow collaboration with google docs and it > > doesn't have a whole technical knowledge thing to breakdown. > > > > Below I have included an example of a screen I am developing for an > > applicaiton: > > (The square brackets are buttons and dropdowns) > > > > The Marketing Manager Main Page > > ------------------------------ > > * > > [Add a Campaign] [Select an Action[v]]**- (1 to 2 of 15) Campaigns > > * *Select* > > *Title > > * *Information > > * *Responses* > > * > > ( )* > > *Messages to Prospective Students for Hort 2 Course prior to them > signing > > up* > > (4) Messages, Horticulture, Agri Learning Category, Followup, Modified > > Yesterday, By Me The Information section is a combo of a number of fields > of > > information. > > (10) People linked > > (2) Sent a Response > > (20% Responses) > > (3) Added last 10 days [Adjust] > > * > > * *(*)* > > *A Welcome for new Hort 2 Students before course starts.* > > (2) Messages, Horticulture Category, Countdown, Modified Last Week, By > Jan > > Davies > > > > *Include > > * *Filter the Campaigns > > * [X] > > Horticulture > > [X] > > Agri Learning > > [ ] > > Sport > > [X] > > Last 7 Days > > [ ] > > Last Month > > [X] > > By Me > > [X] > > By Others > > *Options* > > *Add a Filter* > > > > ------------------------------ > > Design Info You can hover over the 2 and change the number of records on > a > > Page. etc etc > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "web2py Web Framework" group. To post to this group, send email to web2py@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/web2py?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
