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New Post 7/20/2010 4:23 AM
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User is offline Chris
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iRise model referenced by written specification 

Has anyone used an iRise document as a way to convey screen states in conjuntion with a traditional written specification? I'm thinking the specification would have the behaviros in words, then refer readers to the iRise document for the visuals.

Thanks-

 
New Post 7/26/2010 10:12 AM
User is offline Pete Indelicato
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Re: iRise model referenced by written specification 

First things first: I work for iRise.  However, I will do my best to provide an impartial answer to your question.

 

iRise visualizations are highly interactive, as you know, so creating your specifications in a tool that doesn't limit those interactions is key.  Based on that, I have a few recommendations (all tried and used with various levels of success my team and our customers).

 

1)    Use a wiki and iRise SmartView.

iRise SmartView allows you to embed live iRise visualizations in almost any software that can render web content (e.g. a Wiki like Confluence).  Using this approach, you can embed specific Pages, Scenarios or Masters in the wiki and write narrative or atomic requirements around them.   If you are specifying requirements about interactivity, then the iRise Guides or adjacent wiki text can guide the reader through the interactions necessary to “experience” the requirements you are trying to communicate.  Guides or wiki text can also be used to get dynamic pages into the ‘state’ that about which you are writing requirements.  This option works well if you tend to specify requirements in a use case, flow, or scenario-based format.

2)    Use a web-based RM / Issue tracking tool and iRise SmartView.
If your organization thinks more atomically, and uses a tradition RM/Issue Tracking system to capture requirements for specification purposes, then I suggest you try to use an RM tool that knows how to present web content.  That will allow you to embed iRise Content via SmartView similar to the way described above.  Jira and Mingle are a couple of my favorites.  This approach works well if you think of your requirements atomically.

3)    Use iRise Document View.
iRise Document View allows you to write specifications in iRise, in context of the simulation, easily.  The primary benefit of this approach is that it allows you to create a complete specification “package” all in one place.  The primary disadvantages are the lack of attribution and the one-to-one relationship between the spec text and the visualizations (e.g. pages, masters, etc.).  The attribution problem is solved nicely by iRise Connect for Rational RequisitePro.  That is another good option for the folks out there that think atomically or in a traditional  RM sense.  The one-to-one issue is something that will be addressable via some upcoming changes to the iConnect API, but a core solution to this problem is probably a little farther out.  However, the one-to-one issue only becomes a problem when you are using iRise to visualize “fat” applications, i.e. extremely rich user interfaces that you typically find in desktop software, so if you are visualizing a more traditional web application, Document View may be a really good option for you.

4)    Use Movies.
Snagit is one of a growing number of readily available screen recording options.  If your organization follows more of a “big design up front” approach to software development, and you requirements and specifications don’t change much after you publish them, then movies may be a good option for you.  Simply record yourself going through various scenarios or pages in iRise and attach (or better yet embed) those recordings into the specification (or testing) tool of your choice.  Again, this approach works well if your visualization are pretty stable when you publish your specifications, but if your visualizations are in a state of flux, then you will end up re-recording a lot.

5)    Don’t Use Word.
Old habits die hard:  In our research, we still see Microsoft Word as the go-to tool for specification.  Some teams out there manually past iRise screen shots into Word documents (usually with a nearby link to launch the live visualization).  It works, but that’s a nightmare from a usability and maintenance perspective.  It sounds like you are already doing something like this, so you probably have experienced the associated pain.  I recommend staying away from static, flat, alternatives like Word, if possible.

 

I hope that helps.  There is an iRise User Group here on Linked In.  You may get more responses posting your question there.

 

All the best,


Pete Indelicato

Senior Product Manager, iRise

 
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