Re: Modelling and communicating dynamic Web functionality

Jim Curran wrote:
> Hi Alan,
>
> I am having trouble understanding what you mean here and wonder if you
> wouldn't mind expanding a bit on this method.
>
>> Build classes of screens and call them
>> objects, that contain other objects, then you can build a hierarchy
>> of screens
>> and a logical structure.
>
>
> Thanks,
> Jim Curran

Hi Jim,

Well, what I mean is that by abstracting the information displayed in various
screens you can, instead of getting confused by multiple instantiations of
information or building classes that are based on the physical attributes of
data, take a higher level view and consider what types of information exist
and the uses to which they are put. Then from that you can lump the abstracted
information types into classes of information.

It might help this process if one uses an existing taxonomy and since this is
an educational site, there are a number of ontologies or taxonomies Conrad
could use to build classes of information. Perhaps the most commonly referred
to taxonomy is Bloom's (for example
http://www.krummefamily.org/guides/bloom.html) which concentrates on
educational objectives. In this example one could build classes of content
that are focussed on the educational objectives required of the system, rather
than the typical approach which is to base the information just on the courses
that are run and probably end up with a high level of redundancy with the
associated problems with data anomalies commonly found in this kind of
situation.

Of course this does not mean that courses wouldn't exist, they would. What I
am talking about here is the underlying information classification schema.
Getting a clear understanding of the relationships that exist at this level
provides a data structure on which the site can be built that obviates getting
into technical discussions about what database system to use. Instead, it
provides a logical structure for the database designer to work from and it
provides information for the site designer who needs to build classes to code
with.

This site, http://www.taxonomywarehouse.com, has a range of various taxonomies
that provide different structures of information.

Another approach might be to take a functionalist approach, that is to look at
what it is that people do when they access a page and arrange the types of
information to suit that. Classes may then be allocated against the work that
needs to be done and information is classified against work outcomes rather
than informational classes.

The obvious choice of information classification is to take the course
structure and apply that: topic-> subject -> course.

Or, class structure: Qualification, year of intake, level of course, etc.

Then, one can mix them up a bit, so some classes are based on, for example
Bloom's taxonomy, some classes are built on the work to be achieved (for
example, examinations or enrolment processes), some on the course structure,
and some on the class structure.

All these are treated at a high level and are independent of any technological
solution. They do provide sufficient information though for the coder and
database designer to build their systems.

The next step then is to overlay this with what information is required at
each stage of the site. That means identifying the uses to which parts of the
site will be put and aliging information classes with those. Some uses might
be for enrollment processes, online learning processes, examination processes,
course information dissemination processes, etc.

Eventually one should then end up with a logical structure for the whole site
that identifies all the information types, how the information is used and
where. It does not devolve into languages or systems. That comes in the next
step.

Cheers
Alan

-- 
Alan Litchfield MBus (Hons), MNZCS
AlphaByte
PO Box 1941, Auckland
http://www.alphabyte.co.nz

___________________________________________________________________

Use the following address to post a message to all subscribers: 
 [email protected]

To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your options, visit:
 http://list.InformationDesign.org/mailman/listinfo/infodesign-cafe

For all Information Design matters:
 http://InformationDesign.org

Problems? Write to:
 [email protected]
___________________________________________________________________