The iRise Blog

Everything looks better on a Mac, right?  And iRise is no exception. 

While iRise is not ‘officially’ supporting iRise on the Mac yet, people are already using iRise Studio and iRise Reader on the Mac.  So don’t think that you can’t experience the power of visualization on iRise because you are a Mac user, because you can.

iRise’s QA department is also starting to do some preliminary testing with iRise on the latest versions of the 2 emulators to gain some hands-on experience.  This blog post discusses some of the Windows operating system or OS emulators that people have been using on the Mac and identifies a couple of key points to keep in mind.

The two emulators which let you run Windows software side-by-side in the Mac OS include:

• VMWare Fusion
• Parallels Desktop

iRise probably works with Apple’s Boot Camp (which lets you partition you hard drive to dual-boot Windows and the Mac OS), but the two emulator products are being looked at first.  Note that the Windows emulators or virtualization software mentioned above lets you run Windows side-by-side within the Mac OS.

Here are some key points to keep in mind:

• RAM - 4 gigabytes of RAM is recommended due to the overhead of running the Mac OS as well as the emulator
• Studio and Reader only - we are not currently looking into running Definition Center on the Mac and do not have any experience with this combination
• Browser - you will need to run the Internet Explorer browser as iRise is not compatible with Safari
• Issues - Parallels seems to have a couple of re-paint issues on newer Java applications that do not occur in Fusion

If you have comments, questions or real life experiences to share, please visit the iRise User Community on Catalyze.  We have also posted details of what we are currently testing in our QA department in the iRise General Forum and have started a discussion topic called iRise on the Mac.

For more information on the iRise User Community, check out this link.

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The iRise Professional Services team has created a tremendous resource that is a must download for all iRise Users.  This new iDoc, called the iRise 6 - Common Samples, is comprised of 53 iRise examples covering a wide range of data functionaliy, RIA and advanced interactions.  A few of the documented Samples include: accordian panes, alternate views, autopopulation, portlets, table behaviors, data operations, datasheet actions and search.

One happy iRise user who already downloaded the Common Samples iDoc had this to say, “This is one of iRise’s best pro-active customer service moves.  So smart.  Big props to those who built them in the PS Group.”

The iDoc is provided as a convenience for all users to learn advanced features and improve their knowledge of iRise.  The iDoc is available for download from the iRise Users section of the Catalyze Community.  You must be sign into the Catalyze Community and have iRise User Permissions to download the iDoc.  If you are not yet a member of Catalyze or the iRise Users Communities, you can get more information and register from this link.

Here are the key links to the Common Samples documents in Catalyze.

• Common Samples iDoc
• Common Samples Discussion
• Common Samples Table of Contents

Each Sample contains a description of the functionality, the degree of difficulty, steps to demonstrate the functionality and steps on how to build the simulation in iRise as noted below:

Enjoy!  If you have any comments or questions about the Common Samples iDoc, please use the Common Samples discussion forum in Catalyze.  And thank you iRise Professional Services.

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In the Catalyze community webcast this week, Barbara Carkenord from B2T Training talked about ways to improve communication with project stakeholders and create a “Sure-fire Communication Strategy”.  As is the case in many initiatives, being successful comes down to paying attention to the People, Project and Process. 

The keys to a sure-fire strategy are:

• Understand the unique characteristics of each project
• Support the organizational standards and processes of your company
• Get to know the people, their roles and both the subjective and objective characteristics

She also outlined “The 7 Golden Rules” for creating a sure-fire communication strategy:

1. Identify the people
2. Get to know them
3. Engage them early and communicate often
4. Identify potential problems and risks
5. Reduce problems with a communication plan
6. Fit that knowledge into your work plan
7. Review alignment to project goals and adjust as necessary

During the Q&A, two other interesting topics were discussed.  While answering a question about what to do when you realize that a project should not continue, Barb referenced a book called Death March by Ed Yourdon about surviving “mission impossible” projects.  She also talked about how great managers must employ “intelligent disobedience” to be most successful.  Intelligence disobedience requires taking risks, creativity, flexibility and perseverence and not ’sugar coating’ conversations with stakeholders.  An article by Bob McGannon has been posted to Catalyze on the topic.

Be sure to check Catalyze for copies of Barb’s presentation and webcast.

• Presentation slides
• Webcast recording

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Are you having trouble communicating with your stakeholders?  Do you want to improve how you gather requirements?

If so, you should join the Catalyze Community monthly webcast on February 14th with Barbara Carkenord from  B2T Training as she explains how to  design a sure-fire strategy for developing a communication plan.

Both business analysts and usability professionals will be more effective when they think ahead about how best to communicate with their stakeholders.  This presentation provides attendees with a communication planning technique that can easily be used on any project. 

Webcast Details:

• Date and Time — Thursday, February 14 at 11am Pacific/2pm Eastern
• Registration — Sign up at this link
• Recording – If you miss the live broadcast, the recording and presentation will be posted in Catalyze by February 18

Barbara is the President of B2T Training and has over 20 years experience in business analysis.  Barbara has an MBA from University of Michigan and is a Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP).

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iRise Education Services invites you to attend the upcoming public training classes and certification exams in support of the iRise 6.5 release. As a part of the new release, iRise has announced a reduced pricing structure, as well as an expanded set of discounts available to registrants. Ideal for iRise partners and customers that may need to train or certify a just few people at a time, programs will be offered in various cities throughout the United States including: Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco. The first training class of the year will be held on February 18-19 in Dallas, Texas with iRise certification examinations held on the first day.

“The demand for iRise training and certification has been tremendous,” said Jacques Marine, Executive Vice President of Services for iRise. “iRise trained or certified nearly 50 people during the six classes held over the last quarter of 2007 and I anticipate even greater attendance in the coming year.”

To find out more, visit the Education Services section of the iRise website — click here then select Training or Certification.

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