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
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
security model
I was thinking about the security model for Flip the other day. As I have it currently, the security is maintained as a part of the file itself. But I need to re-examine whether the security should be part of the file itself, maintained separate from the file, or whether the user should be provided the option to decide where the login and password is maintained. Part of the consideration has to do with Leitner tracking.Leitner tracking is a model whereby the memorization of a concept is quantified with boxes (or buckets to use a development term). Once a concept hits or exceeds a certain threshold, the concept is considered memorized. Answering the concept or card correctly advances the score for that concept towards the memorization threshold, while wrong answers decreases the score away from the threshold (or resets the score to zero altogether). More advanced models provide means to customize the incrementation and decrementing associated with correct and incorrect answers as well as set the thresholds for what is considered memorized. I still need to design the Leitner tracking system for Flip.Maintaining the tracking file for each user has its advantages and its disadvantages for both inside the file and outside the file. If the file is maintained inside the file, then the Leitner tracking can be maintained as the file is moved from one computer to another, but the file size gets larger, quicker. If the file is maintained outside of the file, then the file size doesn't grow too large, too quick, but the tracking resides on one computer and you lose that tracking if you use the file on another PC. The best option is probably to maintain the tracking in an online repository so that the file size does not grow too large and the tracking can be accessed from one computer to another. This might even lend itself to online accounts individuals can create where their tracking, results, and analysis is maintained. The accounts could also have online communities dedicated to certain topics and offering online help in those areas of study. It wouldn't be necessary to use the application, but it might be an added benefit that some people would be willing to pay a little extra for.I had to authenticate my computer for using SalesForce at home today. It finally dawned on me how useful that is to prevent hackers from stealing a password and using it from their computers. It's definitely a model worth following when I finally put together my company. I'll have to ensure that logins are people's email addresses the way SalesForce does. The more I think about the Software as a Service (SaaS) model, the more I like it.Labels: Flip, Leitner, SaaS, security, tracking
deciding on a direction for the blog
It's been a bit since I last posted. I have been busy with life in general as well as revising the specifications for Flip (yes, the specifications on the side are now officially outdated, although they still provide a solid foundation of what I am working on). I downloaded a document that explained specifications and how to write them up to industry standards, so I am revising them and putting together specifications that fall more in line with what the industry expects so when the time comes to actually develop the application, I can convey what I want in a document that falls in line with what the developer is expecting.
I think that I am going to start focusing this blog on my development efforts, which for the immediate foreseeable future means specification revisions and such. I need to upload my revised specifications in the near future. I think I'll move entries of a personal nature to the family blogs (which are not getting a lot of use currently). If you like following a business in its nascent stages (idea, conception, planning) then hopefully this will be of interest to you as I work on this.Labels: blog, Flip, purpose
