[ZDP] ZDPTools Prototype - Part 3 of 3

[Maik Roeder]

Hi !


This is the last Part of the "Steps to the on ZDPTools Homepage", because
the ZDPTools Homepage will go live soon. I will announce to this list
when the site is ready. There is still a long way to go before the ZDPTools
have all the features we have planned, but I hope that having a homepage
online which showcases the ZDPTools in action will give other ZDP members
the opportunity to help in the development of the ZDPTool documentation
and the development of the ZDPTools prototype itself.

- Maik



Steps to the ZDPTools Homepage

   Before we can make use of the ZDPTools for a big project like ZDP,
   I am building a prototype site using the ZDPTools. Until now, this
   all happens on my own computer, but after the third part of the
   "Steps to the ZDPTools Homepage". I have the main concepts ready, and
   will release the documentation on the main ZDP site next. 

ZDPTools Prototype - Part 1

   In this part, I gave a step by step description of how to integrate a
   listing of all projects and members into the main page. 

ZDPTools Prototype - Part 2

   We saw how to create a ZDPTools Project in the home folder, and how
   documents can be organized inside this folder. 

ZDPTools Prototype - Part 3

   In Part 2, I still had in mind that it should be possible to
   spread one single document over many home folders, and to collect them
   with ZCatalog. This poses 2 problems: Storing the Parent ID and keeping
   the ordering in the DocumentFolders. In this part I drop the
   spreadability of the documentation, and force the document structure
   into a hierarchy.

   The folder structure looks like this:

      ZDPTools (Project):
         ZDPToolsInception (InceptionPhase)
         ZDPToolsElaboration (ElaborationPhase)
         ZDPToolsConstruction (ConstructionPhase)
         ZDPToolsTransition (TransitionPhase)

   We could assign numbers to the phases, and sort by this number. Let's
   have a look at one level deeper, to see this new approach:

      ZDPTools (Project):
         ZDPToolsInception (Phase)
            ZDPToolsRequirements(Task)
            ZDPToolsIdentify Active Members(Task)
            ZDPToolsCreate a Process/Task List(Task)
            ZDPToolsHigh Level Use Cases(Task)
            ZDPToolsHigh Level Design(Task)
            ZDPToolsProject Team Roles and Responsibilities(Task)
            ZDPToolsIdentify Risks(Task)
            ZDPToolsIdentify Milestones(Task)
            ZDPToolsCommunity Agreement(Task)
         ZDPToolsElaboration (Phase)
         ZDPToolsConstruction (Phase)
         ZDPToolsTransition (Phase)

   We should have a look at what this approach changes for the 
   different homepages:

      1. ZDP homepage:

         We can still search for DocumentFolders of type "Project" to
         compile a list of projects. The order of Projects is usually
         determined by Category, Type or Keyword, but there is no inherent
         ordering in the different ZDP projects.

      2. ZDPTools homepage:

         If we enforce a numbering on Phases and Tasks, we still need
         store the Parent Project to which the Phases and Tasks belong
         which still is annoying. Storing the Parent Project in the Phases
         and Tasks would have allowed us to store one Task in the user
         folder maik, and to store another Task in user folder tom. But
         do we really need this ? I would argue that home folders should
         only be used for plain Draft documents written in structured
         text to allow for quick review. Then the draft should get a type,
         category and keywords before it is placed somewhere in the
         hierarchy of the ZDP homepage. Enforcing a hierarchy is a great
         thing, because we don't have to search for the Tasks of a Phase,
         because either the Task is inside the Phase or not. Searching
         still makes a lot of sense from the ZDP homepage point of view,
         but inside a Document which consists of different parts, a
         different approach is in order.

      3. Homepages inside the different Phases:

         The same as for Phases holds for Tasks inside the Phases.

   I would say that for the creation of the ZDPTools documentation it would
   be ok to go with the Folder structure given below, and link the pages
   by hand instead of with a Catalog search. 

      ZDPTools (Project):
         ZDPToolsInception (Phase)
            ZDPToolsRequirements(Task)
            ZDPToolsIdentify Active Members(Task)
            ZDPToolsCreate a Process/Task List(Task)
            ZDPToolsHigh Level Use Cases(Task)
            ZDPToolsHigh Level Design(Task)
            ZDPToolsProject Team Roles and Responsibilities(Task)
            ZDPToolsIdentify Risks(Task)
            ZDPToolsIdentify Milestones(Task)
            ZDPToolsCommunity Agreement(Task)
         ZDPToolsElaboration (Phase)
         ZDPToolsConstruction (Phase)
         ZDPToolsTransition (Phase)

   Now we have a structure where we can finally put our documents. So,
   I will start working on the ZDPTools Documentation now, and report 
   back when I have completed a first prototype on the ZDP site.

Have a nice day !

Maik Röder <roeder@berg.net>