[jsword-devel] Bible Desktop Vision and Strategy

[Neil Short]

THANK YOU!
It's not an all-purpose kitchen gadget. It needs to do a few things and do them well.


--- On Mon, 3/9/09, Jonathan Morgan <jonmmorgan at gmail.com> wrote:

> From: Jonathan Morgan <jonmmorgan at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [jsword-devel] Bible Desktop Vision and Strategy
> To: "J-Sword Developers Mailing List" <jsword-devel at crosswire.org>
> Date: Monday, March 9, 2009, 5:52 AM
> I'll just start by saying that I don't necessarily
> see the goals as
> wrong, just that they may have minor problems or be over
> idealistic.
> 
> On Sat, Mar 7, 2009 at 3:17 AM, DM Smith
> <dmsmith at crosswire.org> wrote:
> > Here is a starting point for a new statement. Your
> feedback/input is very
> > welcomed.
> >
> > Vision:
> >   Users of Bible Desktop grow closer to God as they
> explore and study God's
> > Word since can be tailored to be their favorite Bible
> application.
> 
> Bear in mind that most users don't want to have to
> tailor an
> application, and often won't at all.  Being
> configurable is nice, but
> the default layout has to be good because that's what a
> lot of people
> will judge and evaluate the software on.
> 
> > Strategic goals: (Bridges the vision with user
> expectations of Bible
> > Desktop)
> >   Reliable - Everything works as expected, without
> bugs and without
> > surprise.
> >   Adaptable - The user is able to adapt Bible Desktop
> to their work flow.
> >   Simple - Make each feature of Bible Desktop as
> simple as possible but no
> > simpler. Each feature should be so obvious that it
> does not detract from
> > God's Word.
> >   Complete - Bible Desktop does everything a user
> could ever want in a Bible
> > Application
> 
> That is impossible (though there is nothing wrong in
> working towards
> it).  It is my firm opinion after many years of software
> development
> that software can only do everything you might want if you
> don't have
> enough imagination.
> 
> >   Extensible - If Bible Desktop doesn't do
> everything, it is simple for a
> > developer to add the missing feature to Bible Desktop.
> >
> > Tactical: (How user expectations of Bible Desktop are
> achieved.)
> >   Reliable
> >       Reported bugs are responded to immediately,
> determining the earliest
> > possible release in which they can be fixed.
> >       Confusing features (i.e. surprising behavior)
> is dealt with as soon as
> > possible. This may be indicative of a problem with the
> manual.
> 
> But bear in mind that many (most?) will not read the
> manual.
> 
> >   Adaptable
> >      The user can choose which features are part of
> the desktop.
> >      The user can choose the placement of those
> features on the desktop.
> >   Simple
> >      Simplify the reading of book content. The
> structure and organization of
> > a book should not get in the way. Some kind of page
> flipping is suggested.
> 
> I don't believe page flipping simplifies the reading of
> book content.
> I could elaborate on that at length, but I don't think
> it necessary.
> 
> >      Simplify the lookup and search of book
> content, by deducing what the
> > user wants to do and by searching the entire library
> of installed books.
> > Based upon user input suggest possible outcomes.
> >      Simplify the linking of different modules
> together. E.g. Tying of
> > Bibles and Commentaries, linking text to dictionaries,
> ...
> >   Complete
> >      Add features as requested.
> >      Add features that are known to be missing (see
> > http://www.crosswire.org/wiki/Frontends:FeatureList).
> >   Extensible
> >      Use a plugin model to add features.
> 
> The whole is more than the sum of the parts.  In order to
> make a good
> extension it must not just "add a feature", it
> must add that feature
> in a way that is consistent with the application and that
> cooperates
> with other features, though I don't know any really
> good way to make
> that happen (refer to your statement about surprises
> above).
> 
> >      Encourage contribution and collaboration.
> 
> Important.
> 
> Jon
> 
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