Digital Thoughts @ Wesstyware

This post is part three of a series posts covering my progress on the Zany Video Games Quotes (www.zanyvgquotes.com) project. For the full story about the project so far, check out the other posts in the series or the project page for an overview of the project:

• Project Kickoff

It has been a while since I have posted. A lot has happened since I was in Vancouver for the Winter Olympics, and I thought I would start with the progress that I have made with the ZVGQ project. So, here goes.

SketchFlow Version 0.1 Complete

I know that version 0.1 sounds less than impressive, but keep in mind that once the SketchFlow is “complete” (i.e. version 1.0) we will have a complete skeleton of the new ZVGQ site. In any case, I managed to complete the first iteration of the prototype for the new ZVGQ and went over it with Kev. I have posted it on my site here (requires Silverlight 3), and you are more than welcome to check it out. Right now, the pages are placeholders but the main thing this prototype covers is the way users will navigate through the site.

Once complete, I went met up with Kev to go over the prototype to get a couple of things clearly defined about the project itself:

• Confirmation of the vision for the application.
• The definition of success.
• Basic flow for the site by defining how users will navigate through the application.

Vision and Success?

I realize that you might be wondering about the first two items on the list above, but let me explain. While working with David Alpert, I have had many conversations about vision and the definition of success for software project and the importance of having those pieces properly defined. If your stakeholders agree to a definition of their vision and what they see as “success” for the project, then you always have clear way of making decisions about the project itself. With a clear vision and success defined, developers and project managers are able to make decisions about the direction of the project and how to use available resources properly.

So, how does that relate to the prototype? Well, it doesn’t really. At least not directly.

I have worked with Kev on trying to define both the vision and success for the project through many conversations or “requirements gathering sessions” as some would call them. The problem was that after these conversations, I never felt as though I had a clear understanding of vision and success for the new ZVGQ site. This is mainly due to the fact that, I couldn’t guarantee that the experience that I envision for the site is the same as the one that Kev envisions.

With the prototype, I could show Kev what I was thinking for the site and he could actually play around with it. The SketchFlow also enabled me to explain to Kev my reasons for designing the header as I did. Since my decisions were based on the understanding I had about the vision and success for the project, I was able to confirm that Kev and I were on the same page and shared the same vision for the future of the site, along with the definition for success.

Prototype Feedback

On top of ensuring I had the project vision and definition for success defined, we discussed the navigation for the site. Kev had a few comments about the ensuring that the large navigation buttons were kept the same. What does that mean? It means that the random button that I currently have will be made into one of the hyperlink buttons at the top, and liked having all the letters up at the top rather than in the corner. One thing he did notice was that the “NEW” button that is on the current site with the letters is not in my prototype.

The points that Kev mentioned will be added to the header, and it shouldn’t take longer than about 15 minutes. Then I can move onto page layout, which will help in the next step: database design.

Next Step: The Database

I realize that SketchFlow has nothing to do with database design, but it can definitely help with identifying what needs to be stored in the database. I started work on this not long ago, and kept on having to go back to Kev for details about what he expected to display.

I realized quickly that it was my job to tell Kev what he wanted to display and ask him if there is anything else. This is where SketchFlow comes into play.

If you check out a game on the current site, you will see that the majority of the data is quotes, games, and pictures of the quote in the game. Considering that we can do far more than this, I want to show Kev the data we can display to his visitors, not just talk about it.

Ultimately, the next steps for the SketchFlow and I is to build a page that will display a game and add it to the prototype. The link above shows Final Fantasy 2 for the Super Nintendo, and I plan on recreating that page in the prototype. This will give both of us reference point that we can use to compare the future site with the current one.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, the SketchFlow is going to be a very useful tool for requirements gathering on all fronts. The SketchFlow works because it allows me to show the stakeholders how I have interpreted their vision and demonstrate how I believe my design fits with their definition for success.

As we move forward with the project, the SketchFlow will slowly become more complete and we will have a skeleton of what we will be builiding over the course of the next year.

Catch you on the flip side.

Digital Thoughts Cast Member: David Alpert

My work and growth in software development would be impossible without a strong supporting cast. With that, I want to introduce you to the latest addition to the Digital Thoughts cast: David Alpert.

David Alpert (blog.spinthemoose.com) is a Web Developer and Interaction Designer at Anvil Digital and one of the creators of bundl.it. I have found that David is strong with the Force called user experience development/design, and is considered something of a UX Jedi in my books.

Update

Since writing this post, I have updated the SketchFlow for ZVGQ online. It appears that if you are viewing the SketchFlow in Google Chrome, you might have to clear your cache before it will update. I am not sure if there is a remedy to this problem, but I will do some research and see if anything is out there.

With that, if someone knows something about this issue (or if it was just me), please comment and let me know.

This is first post of an on-going series of posts from Wesstyware on the ZVGQ v2.0 project. To find a listing of all the posts in the series, please refer to the posts section of the project page for the ZVGQ project.

Introduction

A very close friend of mine, kiggidykev used to be part of the team for zanyvgquotes.com many years ago. In late 2009, after not being part of the project for many years, he was given the chance to take possession of the site and decided to seize the opportunity to bring some life back into the site.

He approached me with the idea of working on the site with him, where I would take point on the development side and he would take point on the content. After looking over the site, and the source I came to the conclusion that we needed to build the site from scratch and port over the current content.

The Catch

The catch is simple: I am a .NET developer and have been my entire career. That means all of my development strengths lie within the realm of Microsoft technologies and tool. ZVGQ is hosted on a Linux based server, hence the catch. Although, after thinking about it for a while, I too found the chance to seize an opportunity.

I have been a user of Microsoft Expression since WPF was still in beta. Version 2 of the software proved to be useful, but not really full enough to be used on its own. With version 3 release in 2009, I felt as though the software was ready. The thing is without some kind of proof or personal experience showing that it would hold its own, it felt odd for me to recommend that as a tool to my colleagues and co-workers

Enter ZVGQ.com…

The project is a real web development project that can benefit from the tools that the Expression Suite bring to the table. I see the ZVGQ project as the opportunity for me to see if Expression Suite is all that it can be. Here is how I plan on using the software:

Expression Blend: Prototyping & Silverlight Development

Prototyping out this site is a must, and SketchFlow is the best tool for the job. On top of that, I plan on revisiting Blend when we tackle some Silverlight development as there are a few components where I see Silverlight producing a far richer UX for the users of ZVGQ.

Expression Web: HTML/PHP/JavaScript Development

Web is meant to be a web development tool for all types of web development mark up and code, including those that live outside of Redmond. This will be the test to see whether Expression can hold its own considering that all the technologies that will be used within Web will not have stemmed from the depths of Redmond.

Expression Design: Screen Designs

I’m not a designer, nor do I think I have the abilities of a designer. Still, we will want to build some sample screens that have some styling applied so we know what the site is actually going to look like before we release it. For that, we are going to use Expression Design.

Expression Encoder: Media Updates

ZVGQ has a large amount of media that will be updated which includes videos. The plan is to update these videos using Encoder to test the waters and see what we can do to improve the quality of what we have.

Development Schedule

The next thing, is the development schedule and what kind of milestones we have in front of us. This may be changing over the next little while, but here is the plan for the time being:

• Phase 1: Prototyping [January 18, 2010]
• Phase 2: Database Implementation [March 1, 2010]
• Phase 3: Security Implementation [April 1, 2010]
• Phase 4: Administration Section Development [May 1, 2010]
• Phase 5: Public Site Development [June 1, 2010]
• Phase 6: Styling [July 1, 2010]
• Phase 7: Beta Launch [August 1, 2010]
• Phase 8: Go Live [September 1, 2010]

I realize that it seems like development is going to take quite a while. Keep in mind that this is a part time thing for me, and I will be learning from the ground up how to program in PHP. There are many pieces to this software that I will need to research and determine the best way to implement, but with time and effort we will build a new and improved ZVGQ.

With that, I believe that there is work to be done. It is time to kick the tires and light the fires and get this project under way. Add comments to the bottoms to provide some feedback or to ask any questions you may have.

Catch you on the flip side.

With the new year upon us I thought I would take a moment to discuss some of the plans for the upcoming year. Plus, it will be interesting to review this post a year from now to see what I had planned for 2010 and compare it to what I actually completed.

Enter 2010...

Project: ZVGQ.com

If you have been checking out the site in the later part of the year, you may have noticed that a project section appeared at the top. The main reason for this section is the fact that I have a project that I will be working on in the new year. If you want more details, check out the project page here.

Winnipeg .NET User Group

I have been part of the Winnipeg .NET User Group for a while, but playing primarily the role of an attendee. As of late, I have been given the opportunity to take a bigger role with the group by contributing to their events. So far there are a couple of items that have been brought to my attention, but so far nothing is completely solid nor has it been announced. As things develop, I will discuss them further via the blog.

In the meantime, you can learn more about the the group at their website here.

18 (or so) Original Posts + Updates

Last year I had a handful of original posts that actually stirred up some comments from people in the digital woods. Between the Expression Design discussion, Vancouver 2010 Virtual Waiting Room, and the review of Bing from a different perspective I managed to get some people reading and even commenting on my thoughts.

The problem was that I did not really have an idea of the amount of work that it was going to be to maintain the blog. For starters, spam became a serious problem thus responding to comments became exceptionally difficult. Plus, writing a decent post is not something that is simple. It requires some serious thought, and more importantly time.

This year I have a very good idea of the time I need to put into to keep the blog updated and get some digital lifeblood flowing through it. With that in mind, I figure it is possible for me to schedule time to post about one original post every three weeks or so, in combination with the quick updates about events and such.

Other Projects

On the projects page, you’ll notice that there are other projects that I have listed there. I always have ideas of work that I would like to do, but there is only so much time that I can dedicate to my personal projects. The most important thing I would like to see in 2010 is the actual completion of a project from Wesstyware. Considering that Wesstyware is just yours truly, it makes sense to focus my efforts on one thing at a time.

Still, you can probably expect to see other projects either appear or extend over the upcoming year. This stuff is fun for me, and it if it isn’t fun then why I am spending so much time on it?

Conclusion

This is what I predict for Wesstyware in the year 2010 as of December 31, 2009. We shall see how the year goes and meet back here in 365 days to see how I did.

Catch you on the flip side.