Specification vs Visual Prototyping: Solution to Yellow Cat Problem
Name
Taavi Kotka
Abstract
The goal of any vendor of specialized software is to earn a profit. A pre-requisite for long-term profitability in such enterprises is an efficient development process that is constantly being improved.
There are many reasons why development processes become inefficient, but one of the most important root causes is the difference in understanding between the Client and Developer teams, and the inability to agree, on the specification level, as to how the project’s final result should look. This issue got the pet name of the Yellow Cat Problem.
The author of this work has found a solution to this problem back in 2001, in the form of visualizing, and making the prototyping of the user interface a mandatory step in the software production process. In addition to the creation of a common understanding of the final solution, visualization also brought other positive effects to the development process:
•\tImprovement of the Client’s ability to think along
•\tImprovement in the quality of system analysis, especially in small details
•\tThe end user could test the suitability of the solution before programming even started (fully functional prototype)
•\tImprovement in the quality of project management
•\tVolume estimates for the programming work became more accurate
All of this had an impact on development efficiency. Programmers had to spend less time re-doing their work or expanding it based on end-user wishes that only came out in late phase testing. This in turn increased their personal motivation, as they managed to focus on creating the new, not patching holes in the old.
Clients were also very happy with the introduction of mandatory user interface prototyping, as for them it made the collection of requirements and system analysis stages of the new solution’s development much easier. Compared to regular text specifications, working with visualized screen views significantly simplifies the understanding of the final product being created, and improves the Client’s ability to think along down to the level of clarifying tiny details.
A fully functional prototype and clarification of analysis details through visualization have been competitive advantages for Webmedia (Nortal) for nearly 10 years. Despite the increasingly active global usage of software mockuping, wireframing, storyboarding and other methodologies for resolving the Yellow Cat Problem, Webmedia’s prototype engine is still special, offering visualization that is faster and (note!) cheaper than, say, Balsamiq (a widespread sketching tool). Not to mention that it gives the end user an identical, one-to-one experience of the real thing.
There are many reasons why development processes become inefficient, but one of the most important root causes is the difference in understanding between the Client and Developer teams, and the inability to agree, on the specification level, as to how the project’s final result should look. This issue got the pet name of the Yellow Cat Problem.
The author of this work has found a solution to this problem back in 2001, in the form of visualizing, and making the prototyping of the user interface a mandatory step in the software production process. In addition to the creation of a common understanding of the final solution, visualization also brought other positive effects to the development process:
•\tImprovement of the Client’s ability to think along
•\tImprovement in the quality of system analysis, especially in small details
•\tThe end user could test the suitability of the solution before programming even started (fully functional prototype)
•\tImprovement in the quality of project management
•\tVolume estimates for the programming work became more accurate
All of this had an impact on development efficiency. Programmers had to spend less time re-doing their work or expanding it based on end-user wishes that only came out in late phase testing. This in turn increased their personal motivation, as they managed to focus on creating the new, not patching holes in the old.
Clients were also very happy with the introduction of mandatory user interface prototyping, as for them it made the collection of requirements and system analysis stages of the new solution’s development much easier. Compared to regular text specifications, working with visualized screen views significantly simplifies the understanding of the final product being created, and improves the Client’s ability to think along down to the level of clarifying tiny details.
A fully functional prototype and clarification of analysis details through visualization have been competitive advantages for Webmedia (Nortal) for nearly 10 years. Despite the increasingly active global usage of software mockuping, wireframing, storyboarding and other methodologies for resolving the Yellow Cat Problem, Webmedia’s prototype engine is still special, offering visualization that is faster and (note!) cheaper than, say, Balsamiq (a widespread sketching tool). Not to mention that it gives the end user an identical, one-to-one experience of the real thing.
Graduation Thesis language
Estonian
Graduation Thesis type
Bachelor - Information Technology
Supervisor(s)
Vladimir Šor
Defence year
2013