[IxDA Discuss] UI design for digital books with extensive footnotes

[Juan Lanus]

Peter Sikking wrote:
> After two days of discussion on widget level, I would say
> let's prepare a basis for some architectural decisions.

Peter is right. A design has to be built on a vision.
I'd try to identify some of application's use cases, in real life.
For to design for the users.

The widget-level discussion is for fun, and we get involved in such
discussions frequently in this list, but cannot be taken as sound
advice because we are throwing uncommited, non elaborated, opinions
about the few paragraphs Steve wrote.
In fact the widget-level discussions draw downwards the subject levels
of this excellent list. But I enjoy them ...

The best would be to talk with prople who will use the service and
have goals with it. The questions are like "what do you want to do
with whis?" for to find out what they are willilng to use the thing
for. Not the newwer system, which the users don't visualize in
abstract, but the existing one. Different subgroups of users might
have very different goals, these might be ... hmmm ... students,
teachers, writers, retired men, ...
This questions are for to understand the users "conceptual model" of
the thing, be it on binded paper or on screen.

Once the goals are identified the next step is to ask "how do you do
this?" for to understand the methods and their drawbacks. Because the
new system is expected to have all the strengths of the existing one,
and no drawkacks.

Do not ask "how do you want do do this?" because you end up with a Homermobile.

This methodology is about textual use cases (no diagrams) and you do
not need to be nothing special for to use it, the hardent skill needed
is to write in your language. And to follow a set of guidelines.
--
Juan Lanus
TECNOSOL
Argentina