Comments at Boxes and Arrows

chuck kukla: Aaron Yes, environmental considerations are some of the factors that could be...

chuck kukla — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:44:31 GMT

Comment on Rethinking Task Analysis and Modeling

Aaron
Yes, environmental considerations are some of the factors that could be addressed. One of the problems we have seen in organizations are that plans used to define and direct the work are only loosely related to those plans used to build the workplace. With multiple and fragmented plans environmental factors can not be directly related to output and hence are often dismissed as not relevant. In addition, plans used to guide the work and plans used to define the necessary supports often do not resemble the plans-in-action (how people actually work). The consequence of this is that corrective action is either off target or late.

chuck kukla: I think this idea is worthy of discussion and would be happy to contribute. D...

chuck kukla — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:08:34 GMT

Comment on using social networks in disaster preparedness

I think this idea is worthy of discussion and would be happy to contribute. Disaster Relief and Reconstruction is a particularly difficult area to get a handle on. How this can be modeled in way that can be useful before, during and after a disaster would provide valuable insight to any complex project effort. I’m working on a planning theory and approach that I think could contribute to the analysis and design of better systems and practices.

Matthias Müller-Prove: Regarding PowerPonts's file size, you can open ppt presentations with OpenOff...

Matthias Müller-Prove — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 12:40:20 GMT

Comment on Understanding PowerPoint: Special Deliverable #5

Regarding PowerPonts’s file size, you can open ppt presentations with OpenOffice.org and use the Presentation Minimizer (extension) to dramatically reduce the size. Works quite nice!
http://www.openoffice.org/
http://extensions.services.openoffice.org/project/Present…

Scot Angus: Been doing it this way for years, although never did anything terribly robust...

Scot Angus — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:26:02 GMT

Comment on Interactive Prototypes with PowerPoint

Been doing it this way for years, although never did anything terribly robust until the fall of 2005 I needed buy-in from a decidedly difficult set of stakeholders.

I did up a full-on site imitation requiring 60-plus slides … no call-outs or anything like on the slides—- just the mock-ups so that, in presentation mode, it really gave the stakeholders a feel for the vision. Different user paths were broken up into sections within the file so that everything could be kept organized; a unobtrusive slide number in the corner to help references to particular screens (that, visually, might be almost identical).

rob fitzgibbon: I dunno - I agree with the author that the fact that a client will “grok” f...

rob fitzgibbon — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 19:27:52 GMT

Comment on Real Wireframes Get Real Results

I dunno – I agree with the author that the fact that a client will “grok” familiar, designed elements faster; however, I’m my experience, it just provides the client an opportunity to rathole into issues such as “that’s not the right button” or “we’re changing that logo next week” or “that grey bar is so ugly.” When you introduce color and style into the content, be prepared for color & style content issues getting in the way of the usability and informational stuff you want to solve.

An equivalent might be forcing a civil engineer to replace his b/w blueprints with color versions, in which the grass is green, the the hay bales that rim the swales a bright yellow (of course with an fluorescent orange line representing the plastic construction fencing) the gravel in bluish gray and the asphalt in brownish black.

Eddie Ortega: Hi Alexa Outstanding. Thanks again for your help. I'll email you in a few m...

Eddie Ortega — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 14:16:22 GMT

Comment on Quick and Easy Flash Prototypes

Hi Alexa
Outstanding. Thanks again for your help. I’ll email you in a few minutes. I really appreciate the help.

Julius – Thanks for the advise. That software looks pretty good too. I think having knowledge in several areas including action scripts doesn’t hurt. The more you know the more valuable you are to a company.

Thanks again,

Eddie

Sean McBride: I disagree with your assessment of Amazon's "Most helpful positive and negati...

Sean McBride — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 04:55:18 GMT

Comment on On A Scale of 1 to 5

I disagree with your assessment of Amazon’s “Most helpful positive and negative reviews” feature. It’s not important that the two reviewers aren’t judging the product by the same metrics. In fact, I’d say it’s desirable. The questions that this answers are “What things did a trustworthy person like?” and “What things did a trustworthy person not like?” Then, the potential buyer can compare the priorities of those two reviewers to their own and decide which factors they think are most important. This mirrors real life. I ask multiple people their opinions about an important decision so that I can see how different people think about the same problem.

Alexa Andrzejewski: Hi Eddie! I guess I forgot to mention that there's a Part II yet to come! Pa...

Alexa Andrzejewski — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 22:32:43 GMT

Comment on Quick and Easy Flash Prototypes

Hi Eddie!

I guess I forgot to mention that there’s a Part II yet to come! Part II covers all of the steps for completing the rest of the tutorial. I’d be happy to send you the rest, just email me at: alexa at adaptivepath.com

Alexa

Colleen Jones: Thanks for a useful article. Risk management is an interesting lens through w...

Colleen Jones — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 11:55:24 GMT

Comment on On A Scale of 1 to 5

Thanks for a useful article. Risk management is an interesting lens through which to examine rating systems. I think it largely works. In addition, I think persuasion is a helpful lens because rating systems are trying to persuade users that the risk is worth taking or there is little risk. In persuasion, the credibility of the speaker / author is a significant factor in his or her ability to influence. The question is what determines credibility in the eyes of the user / customer? Looking at that from the perspective of different persuasion theories would be interesting. Also, ratings systems have much persuasive potential because they include a mix of rational and emotional appeals. The rating itself, especially an aggregate rating, comes across as objective and appeals to our rational side. The comments are more subjective and appeal more to our emotional side, as well as help us determine the speaker’s credibility.

Julius Huijnk: Did you take a look at Axure? It is designed for interaction designers to cre...

Julius Huijnk — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 05:28:06 GMT

Comment on Quick and Easy Flash Prototypes

Did you take a look at Axure? It is designed for interaction designers to create prototypes. Learning actionscript and such seems rather inefficient.

gil rose: how can i do popup in pdf ??? I make diagram in visio and i need to show thi...

gil rose — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 14:14:53 GMT

Comment on PDF Prototypes: Mistakenly Disregarded and Underutilized

how can i do popup in pdf ???

I make diagram in visio and i need to show this in browse, if i can do popup in pdf using visio, i’ll be very happy

thanks

Eddie Ortega: Great job Alexa. I'm fairly new to ActionScripts but you made it very easy to...

Eddie Ortega — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 04:38:03 GMT

Comment on Quick and Easy Flash Prototypes

Great job Alexa. I’m fairly new to ActionScripts but you made it very easy to follow. Thank you so much. I was wondering if you could explain how you did the other steps where you select friends, schools, etc. I really like the drop down functionality. Any chance you could point me in the right direction to learn more on how you did that?

Thanks again for the great tutorial. I do hope to hear back from you.

Cheers,

Eddie

Carlos Zenteno: Nice article! but I find huge the need to learn how to program with Flash to ...

Carlos Zenteno — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 18:53:49 GMT

Comment on Quick and Easy Flash Prototypes

Nice article! but I find huge the need to learn how to program with Flash to do prototyping,
on top of that there is the need to purchase the software and of course keep it updated.
There is a nice little app called Oversite, which does a great job for prototyping, it does not
look as nice as a Flash one, but all the real needs of wireframing, link connections, link testing,
flow testing, etc. are present… it is, I think, a real secret treasure…

Carlos Zenteno: Nice article! but I find huge the need to learn how to program with Flash to ...

Carlos Zenteno — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 18:52:59 GMT

Comment on Quick and Easy Flash Prototypes

Darren Menachemson: Thanks, Chris :) To answer your question, all kind of products or services c...

Darren Menachemson — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 14:43:30 GMT

Comment on Usability Challenge 2008

Thanks, Chris :)

To answer your question, all kind of products or services can be included – it’s not limited to the digital world. Interestingly, most of the Usability Challenge 2008 posts I’ve seen have been about improving the usability of physical things – from train doors to can openers. Personally, I can’t wait to see what they come up with in this space!