requirements specification updated
It's been a little while and I have been a little lazy, but I have done some work on the requirements specification for Flip and re-uploaded the latest copy of the document. As always the latest versions of the documents can be found in the Flip Documents section (link on the side).
It's interesting (and tedious) working through the process of documenting all this. Just to give you an idea of how tedious it can get, check out this flow chart of the log in process. We're just logging in! How much is there to logging in? Well, a fair amount.
If the flowcharts can get this complicated with such simple processes, I am going to have to break up the application processes into many (many!) small processes. Time to get intimate with Visio. *sigh*Labels: documentation, Flip, flow chart, requirements specification
business requirements document complete!
I finally completed the business requirements document for Flip today. As usual, you can find the document by clicking on the Flip Documents link over on the sidebar. Now I am on to the requirements specification. After that there is a use case specification and then I will be seeking grants and donations to develop the application. Whew! So much work.Labels: business requirements, Flip
a numbers game
I updated the business requirements document today and added a section on tracking and reporting. This is a section that I have not given much thought until today. I am lucky that the company for whom I work is a software company whose application has a tracking section. Their tracking is for marketing purposes rather than drill and test scores, but it gave me some ideas how to better organize the data for presentation.
Still, as I thought through the prototypical numbers that would be presented, certain types of drilling and testing scenarios threw wrenches into what I thought would be clean and simple numbers. In particular, drilling scenarios where a user ran through a drill multiple times covering the same question multiple times posed a conundrum for how to calculate or present a user's numbers. Additionally, a single card with more than one cue side could potentially pose a question for each cue. In a German-English deck, there might be a card with the values "das Buch" and "the book". Each side could be presented as a cue. Each side could be expected as a response. The card could potentially pose two questions in a drill. How is that counted? How is it presented?
I had to think about it for a while, but I hit upon the idea of a tracking section which provided a list of drill/test sessions that had been run, providing basic information at that level to help identify the session - like the deck name, the drill/test name, the user, and the date/time it was started. Clicking on a session would provide the session's report with a header section that included the session's aggregate data and sub sections that provided detailed data specific to each iteration of the drill that the user ran. The header and the sub sections would have total numbers as well as numbers relative to unique instances of a question to help distinguish where questions might have been covered multiple times in a drill.
The numbers are sure to be confusing to users who may not understand the distinction between "total" counts vs. "unique" counts or why the distinction would be drawn, especially if their drills are relatively simple (only one cue per card) or they only allow one iteration per drill. I can't help users that refuse to read the online help (although I wish there were a way to force at least an attempt at it). I know tracking numbers for the marketing application I support are a constant source of confusion especially where users compare dynamic changing data with data that is static relative to a point in time. This might also be the case with tracking in Flip.
The presentation challenge also got me thinking about revamping the main interface to provide more convenient access to the common areas of the application (like tracking) by offering something similar to Microsoft Outlook's wonderbar. That's something to consider down the road.Labels: business requirements, interface, reporting, tracking, updates
new link added
I added a link to my other blog (dallydoo) which is a blog of home construction ideas. I added a blog entry to dallydoo today, so if home construction is something of interest to you, I invite you to visit there and peruse my findings about home construction. If you are thinking about building, I would definitely check it out. You might happen across an idea or two that will save you some trouble when it comes time to build or more importantly after you build. The ownerbuilderbook site (also linked on the side) is another good site to visit for great ideas. I have gotten a number of great ideas from my visits to that site (which of course I am sharing in a concise format on dallydoo).Labels: dallydoo, home construction, ownerbuilderbook
been working on business doc
I have been re-working a document that offers a high-level overview of the business I would like to start. I believe I have already covered that my proposed business would be a hybrid desktop application/Software as a Service model where I offer Flip for free but provide online services to individuals and institutions to augment their use of Flip. I haven't had a lot of time to do much. I will post new information about the progress of my design as information becomes available. Even after my design work for Flip gets finished, I still have a ton of work ahead of me designing the website and designing the online services part of the business. I can only imagine how much all of this is going to cost. It's probably a good thing that I have a few years before the wife graduates and we have two salaries. Maybe we can save up enough to get started by then. Or I suppose I could go the way of the entrepreneur and beg and borrow my way to funding. Good thing I am listening to CDs on communication and negotiating on my way to and from work. Can't hurt.I think I will start adding a tag line to all my posts:As always, please share comments or any ideas you have.Labels: business structure, entrepreneurialism, Flip
test definition dialog
I revised the data structure definition document so that it more accurately reflected the schema document that it goes along with. I removed the side formatting and validation markup tags and placed them in their own separate document and I removed the profile information and created a separate profile structure definition document to go along with the profile schema as well. The new and revised documents are on the Flip Documents page linked in the side bar.
In the Descriptions of Side Formatting Tags documents, I made a couple of additions as well. For the WTG (Weighting) attribute I added the that a weighting of 0 would keep the response of that side from being scored at all or tabulated in scores and reports. Essentially, it would make the question a survey question. For the MC (Multiple Choice) tag, I added an attribute called AnchorLast which allows an author to anchor the last X number of choices in the multiple choice so that they remain in the last position. Choices of All of the above or None of the above would automatically be anchored in the last position, but for other languages where similar choices would not be automatically anchored, the author has the option to manually anchor the last X choices.
Lastly, I created a document outlining and describing the Test Definition dialog. Here is a mockup screenshot of the dialog. You can read more about it in the document.
Labels: Flip, revision, screenshot, test
SCORM
In doing a little research last night on online testing, I happened across an acronym, SCORM, as it related to some application or another (as in, the application is SCORM compliant). I looked it up and found the following wiki regarding it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCORM.
SCORM stands for Sharable Content Object Reference Model and it is a collection of standards and specifications for web-based e-learning. It defines communications between client side content and a host system called the run-time environment (commonly a function of a learning management system).I need to research this a little more to understand if SCORM compliance is a standard I should aspire to in my designs or not. The main benefit I see is a built in market of clients that insist on SCORM compliance, particularly the government. And the government is no small client, particularly when you consider that public schools fall under some jurisdiction of the government. That said, it would seem that SCORM compliance is important to my designs. However, superficially, SCORM seems to be related to e-learning systems, where Flip is not so much a learning system, as it is a review and testing system (or a drill and test processor if you will). Still, in my cursory purview of SCORM standards I saw that some standards did apply to review and testing functionality. As I mentioned, I need to research this a little more.Labels: data structure, drill and test processor, flashcard application, Flip, LMS, SCORM
profile schema added
I put together a schema for profiles, which includes data definitions for profiles (login and password), results (session data), and Leitner progression tracking. The schema is on the page with the Flip docs.I can't recall if I have covered what Leitner progression/tracking is in this blog yet or not. Sebastian Leitner was an Austrian commentator who developed a system of memorization based on spaced repetition. As a concept was successfully passed, it progressed from one stage/bucket/box to another until a certain point where the concept is considered "memorized". When the learner failed to pass a concept, it regressed or even reset to the beginning point. A system for Leitner-based tracking is considered a required feature in flashcard applications, or in my case, drill and test processors. Flip presents a slight challenge for Leitner-based tracking because cards can have more than two sides and validation is typically on a side by side basis rather than a card by card basis. Therefore, progression through Leitner stages can differ between sides of the same card, or if so designated, progression could be on a card by card basis - an all-or-none basis where all response sides must be answered correctly for progression to occur or the card regresses. I have not accommodated for this option yet in my designs, so I will have to determine where such a designation best fits and add it to my designs. It will be part of the profile schema if it is incorporated, but I need to think it through and how it would be implemented. If it is too difficult I may eliminate the choice and simply go with one validation option or the other.I also need to incorporate options in the application that allow the user to designate how many stages their Leitner tracking can have. Ten is probably more than adequate, but the schema has twenty as the max. There needs to be fields where the user can designate how far a correct response progresses and how far an incorrect response regresses (including an option for reset). Defaults will be +1 and -1.Labels: flashcard application, Flip, Leitner, xml schema
XML schema available
The Flip deck schema has been uploaded to blawblawblog. I revised the list of links on the side and consolidated the retreat files under a single web page and I did the same with Flip files. It makes for a cleaner look. I will start working on a schema file for the security, Leitner progression, and the results and upload those files as they become available. Labels: Flip, xml schema
a little XML knowledge
A couple weeks ago, I had an XML class at work through ExecuTrain. Justin B was the teacher and he did a good job of covering the topic in the time given (which sadly, was not terribly adequate). It provided me another tool to work with in the design of Flip. I have almost completed an XML schema based off the Flip Data Structure definition. I should have it up sometime later today. There will be some modifications from the data structure definition (meaning I will need to go back and modify the DSD as well), but I think I am moving in the right direction with the design.A couple of changes that are being made to the data structure include removing the security, the results, and the Leitner progression from the data definition (as these will be stored either locally or online, but not with the file), and removing formatting tags from the data definition (as they really do not define the data but rather mark it up). I will probably break these elements out in separate documents.And, in case you have not noticed, I updated the design of the blog. The header is a bit generic, but more appropriate for my focus on my design and development efforts than the previous BYU Cougars banner. You may also note that I now have a button for LinkedIn. If you happen across this blog and are interested in following the progression of these efforts, feel free to join my network, but let me know who you are and what your interest in joining my network is. Otherwise, feel free to join in the discussion and add comments to my blog. Thanks for visiting!Labels: data structure, Flip, XML
