Did You Hear About The Three Blind, The Elephant And The Systems Analyst

If this story doesn't sum up the average relationship between System Analysts and End Users then I'll turn in my Palm Pilot!

One day three blind men encountered an elephant.

Upon touching the elephant's tail, the first blind man exclaimed "I declare, an elephant is exactly like a rope."

The second blind man, bumping into the elephants side, said "No sir, you are wrong. An elephant is exactly like a wall."

Then the third, having grasped the elephant's trunk, declared "You are both mistaken. The elephant is exactly like a snake!"

Yes, it's all a matter of perspective. And it's that simple word: perspective that creates one of the biggest disconnects between System Analysts and the users they are trying to serve.

The elephant in the room in this case is one called the "abstraction barrier". That barrier represents the difference between how users see a software development project and how analyst's view it.

Users are by nature modal. They see software from the perspective of the data elements that they are required to collect and enter in order to do their job. They see the elephant being represented as "screens" of data that either collects information or displays it.

Most users care very little about databases and tables, properties and procedures, functions or compilers. All they really care about is seeing a visual representation of the screens that they will encounter and use once the software is developed and deployed.

So, why fight city hall?

Once the requirements have been gathered, why not take the easy route and test your understanding of the user's needs by presenting them with the one thing they understand the best? A visual representation of the system that takes them through each use case in a way that most closely matches the actual environment that the user will be working in.

"Um, no duh. We already do that."

Well good for you. If that's the case then you already understand how to provide a holistic view of that elephant. So answer these two questions for me:

1. How much work effort are you expending on creating those screens?

2. And how much more accurate could your presentation be if you were actually using a tool specifically designed to take your user to the "ah ha" level in the shortest amount of time possible?

Let me give you a little bit of help answering those questions.

If you actually are already delivering visual mockup drawings of your proposed system, the chances are good that you are either creating those drawings manually, or you're using a complicated program that requires way too much input before it's willing to crank out those drawings for you.

If you're not actually already delivering visual mockup drawings of your proposed system, then the chances are it is due to either the fact that no one on your team knows how to draw, or you do not have the time, patience, or perhaps the money needed to use those expensive and complicated documentation tools.

Here's the solution to all of those problems. It's called MockupScreens. A descriptive name for a tool that represents the fastest, easiest and least expensive way to smash through the abstraction barrier by presenting one cohesive 'elephant' that all of the users will instantly be able to see in the perspective that most matches their expectations.

It's a consensus-building, "ah ha" moment-generator that is easy to use and inexpensive to own. Better yet, it's so good at reducing project risk that your PM will probably reach right into his or her own pocket and buy it for you themselves!

The MockupScreens software program is easy to understand and use because it's designed to work in a similar way to sketching screens on paper. MockUpScreens reduces the chances of distracting your users with unnecessary details by keeping everything in black and white. That way everyone's attention is focused on fields and data elements and not screen colors.

You have the flexibility of adding comments, icons, questions and other elements into the drawings and then either hiding them when you create the users' version of the drawings, or displaying everything for the whole world to see.

MockUpScreens can even generate slide shows that will display every screen in the same order that they will appear when the system goes live.

You can make changes to the screens in response to user input, during the presentation if you want to, and then display those changes right in front of their very eyes. MockUpScreens actually helps to increase your professional image, and the users' confidence level in you and your team, at no extra charge.

The best part is that you don't need any artistic or programming skills to extract every ounce of power out of MockUpScreens. You simply fire up MockupScreens and the intuitive interface leads you from there.

There are keyboard shortcuts for every action as well as context-sensitive help everywhere you'd expect it to be.

Built-in features, like automatic screen resizing when new elements are added, free you to concentrate on functionality instead of GUI design.

Actual tests with brand new MockUpScreens users showed that the average inexperienced user was capable of drawing 5 screens in about 10 minutes! It doesn't get any easier than that. You can shave even more time off of the cycle, if you have similar looking screens, thanks to the built-in screen cloning feature.

Look, your job is hard enough without having to conduct multiple user meetings just to explain what an elephant looks like. Find out how to gain user approval of your designs faster and easier than ever before by taking a minute to visit www.MockUpScreens.com. You can even download a fully-functional 30 Day demo copy of MockUpScreens so you can see for yourself how quickly and easily you can develop screen mockups even if you can't draw a stick figure on a cocktail napkin.

Igor Jese works in software development since 1990s, with emphasis on software requirements and development methodology. He is a certified Software Requirements Expert and the author of Mockup Screens, a popular tool for quick GUI prototyping. Find out more on MockupScreens.com