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KaTrina Abram wondered: <<Where I work, I'm responsible for online
help, handbooks, guides, and maintaining our online 'information
ducts'. Does anyone else on the list maintain intranet and Wiki sites?
If so, do you storyboard when you are overhauling a site? If so, what
do you use? What is your process? I've traditionally used Word, but I
wanted to know if there was a different way...tools etc.>>
Yes, I storyboard, and how I do it depends on context. I've certainly
sketched stuff on paper, particularly after I've burned out at the
computer and don't ever want to look at a screen again. That kind of
sketching is particularly useful to me while I'm still woolgathering
and thinking about what I want to achieve.
But once I've gotten a handle on that, the exercise really becomes
prototyping, not storyboarding, and there are many ways you can do
that. Most efficiently, do this onscreen because it provides a clearer
picture (particularly if you're artistically challenged, like I am) and
the ability to sit down with someone and interactively revise the
prototype.
To do this, you can use Powerpoint and its kin, Dreamweaver and its
kin, or (if you're a bit more graphically talented) Flash and its kin.
The key point is to use a tool that lets you produce a credible "this
is what it really looks like" and modify that on the fly. For some
inspiration on how this can be done, have a look at:
http://www.stcsig.org/id/id_articles/0601_interactive_prototypes.htm
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