iRise Online by OneSpring

Textual Requirements Management

We are curious what tool or software most of you use to manage your textual requirements.  We are not referring to a few hundred requirements but 8-12k requirements per project.  Also have you found that text is still king when it comes to handing over the final deliverable?

HTML Showing In Visualization

We rendered a page today in one of our projects and noticed a few lines of HTML displaying on the simulated page.  

The culprit was a combination of a less than symbol (<) combined with an apostrophe (') as the default in a text input field. 

 

If this happens to you, just remove the apostrophe and the HTML will go away.

Black Boxes When Running iRise In Parallels

If like most of us here at OneSpring use iRise on an Apple Macintosh running Parallels, you may get black boxes around the menu items, icons, etc.

Parallels has a problem displaying transparent images that use a black background.

There are two fixes.  The quickest is to change your screen resolution to 16 bit.  In Windows XP, Right-click on your desktop and select "Properties".  Click on the "Settings" tab and change the "Color Quality" setting to "Medium (16 bit)".

The slightly more complex fix is to find the "iRiseStudio.lax" file, open in WordPad and add the following line to the bottom of the file:

sun.java2d.nodraw=2

Save the file and the black boxes should disappear.

Updating iRise License Files in Windows 7

There is a quirk in Windows 7 that caches the iRise license file.  When a license expires and you save a new one into the iRise Studio directory, you need to also clear the cache.

– Place the “irise.license” file in the – c:/program files/irise/studio – directory
– Go to your username folder at c: 
– Delete the entire folder at – local>virtual store>irise – (it will be recreated) 
– Start iRise

That's it!  iRise should now recognize the new license file.

OneSpring is hiring!

OneSpring, the leading Visualization firm has current openings for exciting new roles, Visualization Analyst & Visualization Designer.

Visualization Analysts and Designers are a new kind of consultant. In other organizations they might be known as "User Experience Professionals" or "Business Analysts". Because our approach combines the best practices of both disciplines, we need those who understand, appreciate, and have a passion for the value of User Experience and vice-versa. We are looking for talented/high energy individuals looking to take on new challenges. As such, you will be responsible for gathering and documenting high-level and detailed functional requirements for large modernization efforts for the federal government. You will be part of a team of other business analysts and user experience professionals working on this task.

We are looking for someone with 5-7 years of Business Analyst experience or User Experience Design. Excellent verbal and written communication skills are a must. Must be strong at gathering and documenting user and functional requirements and have a solid foundation of best practices around these disciplines. The ideal candidate will be proficient in iRise and any other products used to define software requirements. Must be able to facilitate JAD sessions and have an understanding of the various software development methodologies; including, RUP, Agile, and Waterfall. Business Process Management BPM background is a plus, but not required.

To apply please visit http://www.onespring.net/aboutus_careers.php or send your resume directly to jobs@onespring.net

Datasheets and the value they add

I'm sure there will be plenty of blackash on this one but trust me when I state datasheets can be more trouble than their worth. Over the last several years we have nearly stopped using datasheets as we find the work to maintain them is simply not worth the gain. Instead we've delivered hundreds of demos and visualizations with merely clipboards and have found nearly if not identical end results. This is not to say we've entirely done away with them as there are certain cases where they become extremely vauable.

As we train several hundred users per year this is one topic that often is learned by trial and error. Many new users of iRise tend to over visualize thus making poor use of it's most powerful feature "the instant ah-ha" moment. more to come as my iPhone battery is dying, stay tuned.

iRise Find References Feature

Earlier today I was drafting functional requirements for a portlet within my visualization.  The portlet was created in iRise as a Master.  In order to ensure I captured requirements for the portlet that considered every instance of use in the visualization, I used the iRise Find References feature.  Here's how it works:

Locate the object to which you need to find all instances of use; in my case, a portlet.  Right click on the object and select 'Find References'. 

  

iRise will present a list of all locations in the visualization that contain the object.

 

The Find References feature works not only for Masters, but also:

• Scenarios
• Pages
• Decisions
• Clouds
• Datasheets

When iRise presents the list of References, you can quickly navigate to each location by selecting a location and clicking 'Jump To...".

Making Drop-down Menus Required in Forms

How do you make drop-down menus required in iRise?  Unfortunately, iRise does not give you this ability built-in, but here is a work-around:

1. On your form submit button, create an identical alternate view.  One view will be for when the drop-down has been filled out, and the default will be for when the drop-down has not been filled out.
2. On your drop-down menu, set up "On Change" Switch View Actions for when a value has been entered, and one for when no value has been entered. 
3. When a value has been entered in the drop-down, switch the form submit button view to "good". 
4. When no value has been entered in the drop-down, switch the form submit button view to "missing drop down". 

Depending on how you're displaying error messages, you could string together actions to display them.  If you have multiple required drop-down menus you'll need to create unique form submit buttons multiple views for each.  

It's not ideal, but it's one approach to it. 

The rebirth of iriseonline.com

After a long 18 month hiatus we are dusting off the first and at one time, the only resource dedicated to the iRise platform.  With this rebirth you'll find more content as a number of OneSpring employees and contractors will be contributing tips, asking questions and providing insight into their perspective of iRise and Visualization.  

In addition to iriseonline we have launched a sister blog over at www.jointapplicationmodeling.com which will focus more on the process of our trademarked approach to delivering visualization services and our JAM Session™, our JAM Lab™ and the evolution of the Visualization Maturity Model.

Thank you for visiting and we welcome your comments,

Scott McDowell
Managing Partner
www.onespring.net

Hidden Form Elements and Character Field Limits

As part of our new iRise Tips series, here are a few pointers related to hidden table elements:

Tip #1: Hidden elements of a table can really mess up the vertical spacing of a visualization page.  In order to maintain some order be sure to check your row height attributes.  Its important to set this field to null (empty) for each element of the page that is being hidden as iRise seems to distribute the spacing for these hidden elements throughout the rest of the page.  We've found that setting this to null produces a more consistent result.

Tip #2: Try to avoid spacer rows in hidden sections for the above reason.  If they are absolutely necessary, try slowly increasing the row height until you have the results that you want with, hopefully, minimal impact to your page.

Tip #3: If you find your text field elements in a form wrap to a new line unexpectedly, its likely that they are set to a null/empty field length.  Try expanding the width of your text area slightly using your mouse, and the handle elements on the text area, and this should resolve your issue.

Anatomy of an Ikea product

I've heard about this process in the past and this is the first time seeing it in print. Although it has little to do with simulation the article touches on many great points relating to process. There is a point where the author talks about the prototype and just like we see everyday with iRise it's not until you actually touch the product can you truly understand what the objective is.

"When you see something on paper, it looks great," Marston said. "But it's not until you touch it that you say, 'Aha, if you turn it this way, we could get 10 arms out of this length of wood instead of 7."

View the article.

OneSpring creates the first iPhone simulation for iRise

Our iPhone iRise simulation video has been updated with narration and a glimpse at the upcoming iPhone SimDK™.

Watch the video

iRise + YouTube = $20k

So, what does it take to win? Are you passionate about iRise? Has iRise changed your life or the way you do business? Are you creative? Do you have a great idea for telling the world about the power of visualization?  Do you have a great way to motivate others to buy iRise?  Help us tell the world by creating a 30 to 60 second commercial about iRise and you could win $15,000.

www.irisevideo.com

iRise Virtual Training

We finally did it, we've converted our popular instructor led onsite iRise training course into the industry's first virtual training class for iRise. The goal was not to produce a watered down CBT but instead create real value by delivering instructor led training and mentoring at a reasonable price. The curriculum includes three classes; iRise Basic, iRise Intermediate and iRise Advanced. All three classes are delivered through a combination of web conferencing software and VOIP, which has proven to be very successful in our first international training class. For more information please contact us at 888-472-1840 or learn@onespring.net, or download our Educational Services information sheet.

Checkbox logic problem

I have a form that displays a data table containing 2 columns: Include? and Location.  The first table cell contains a checkbox that indicates whether the user has chosen to include that location in the content of another screen.  There is a GetRecord Action pulling include and location from a datasheet that contains the userid, location, and an include column.  If the include = 1, then the checkbox displays checked.  If the include = 0, then the checkbox displays unchecked.  When I change a checkbox on this screen and click the submit button, the change takes affect and the results are what I expect.

However, what I'm trying to do is add a text widget within the section this table is in called Select All that, when clicked, checks all of the boxes on the display screen, but doesn't update the datasheet.  Likewise, a text widget called Un-Select All that, when clicked, unchecks all of the boxes.  I don't want the changes to take affect in the datasheet until the user clicks the Submit button. 

I've tried using alternate views of the table section but when I run the simulation and click Select All, the screen refreshes and the alternate view displays, but in the datasheet, the value of the include column has changed to a blank.  As soon as I click either one of these text widgets, the screen refreshes, but the checkboxes are blank.  The datasheet changes the include to a blank even though the Submit button was never pressed.  Once it blanks out this include field, I cannot change the field value even if I check the checkbox on screen and submit.  How can I get the text widgets to update the screen, but not commit the change to the datasheet until the user clicks a button?

Accordion Menus?

I know 6.0 offers a lot of new functionality for doing AJAX-like functions. However, it mainly appears to only handle horizontal transitions and not vertical. Has anyone figured out how to make Accordion style menus like those found on apple.com?

See you in Vegas,
s-

Vegas Baby, Vegas
-Swingers

version 6, now SP2 this week - anyone using this?

I've just downloaded the SP2 for 6.0 but I personally had not run into any specific difficulties using the first version of 6. Anyone care to share what they found?

The only thing that's now tough is that it now doesn't support IE6, just IE 7.

Has anyone else any learnings from the new features on version 6 that you'd like to share?

I am focusing more on RIAs now - hoping that I can create simulations more easily with this new release.

Mac Users viewing iDocs?

I work in a large corporation and of course provide iDocs to internal clients who work on PCs. Soon we'll also be sharing deliverables with Macintosh users who want to look at iRise simulations. Since the iReader is not available for the Mac OS, how are others handling this situation? What are you other iRisers doing out there?

Catalyze

A new site called Catalyze is in the works for the UX and BA professionals. I'll be posting the URL once it goes live, this is a test post for the RSS crawlers over there to pick up.

iRise and Requirements Management Tools

Hello All, I am curious if and how the iRise community has incorporated the iRise simulation tool with other Requirement Management tools? 

Spell Check

If you are using iRise Manager in conjunction with iRise Studio you can download a free plug-in for MS IE that will spell check the content within IE form fields thus providing a round about way to spell check your iRise requirements.

Linking Processes/Flows

One thing that has come up recently which I think would really improve iRise is the ability to create common processes/flows/scenarios that can be linked to from pages.

My thought is that these processes or flows would be a new category of chapters within the simulation (on the same level as pages, decisions, etc.) and can be used repeatedly, just as chapters can now.

I can't think of the specific example at the moment, but as soon as I remember the project I was working on where I thought this would be useful, I'll post it - maybe there is already a way to accomplish what I'm trying to accomplish with this kind of functionality.

Deleting Tool Tips

Has anyone had any luck deleting Tool Tips text from fields?  I have a situation where the client had initially decided that they wanted Tool Tips text on the fields, as well as on a question mark help icon to the right of every field (redundancy).

Now they want to remove the Tool Tips text from the fields, leaving it on the question mark help icon.

My problem is that it doesn't appear that iRise will let me remove the Tool Tips text from the fields.

Is this is a bug?  Is there a workaround (other than creating new fields)?

Scenario Page Links

I think this has been discussed on this blog before, but it would be really nice if iRise provided the capability to create scenarios, with pages included in the scenario, and allowed you to show linking between pages or page/process/screen flow, without actually creating the links on the pages within the scenario.

The grey text links that it creates at the bottom of the scenario pages are annoying and not necessary - often times those same links have been accomplished using navigation/menus that are handled in masters (and the links/nav in masters are not represented at the scenario level).

It would be nice if iRise gave you the ability to determine if you wanted links created at the scenario-level to be displayed on the page-level or not.

iRise Quick Chart

I'm reposting this as several people have experienced problems downloading from the first post.

Download irise_quick_chart.zip