BTS430

Dialogue Charts Please run this as a presentation. It uses hyperlinks.

Dialogue Charts

• In this tutorial you will explore dialogue charts.

• The tutorial shows only partial dialogue charts. “…” indicates there is more to the chart but it is not shown.

• The tutorial is set up using hyperlinks

Dialogue Charts

• Dialogue charts are tree structures describing online navigation of a system. Each entry in the tree represents a user interface (screen or Web page).

• Each entry in the chart, except for the root, is named hierarchically. For example, a common path to display screen 1.1.2 is to first go to screen 1, then select the option that takes you to 1.1, and from there you select the option that takes you to 1.1.2. (Note that this might not be the only path).

Dialogue Charts

• Each entry in the chart is composed of three parts:

1.1Add New Customer

1, 0, 1.2

1.2Update Customer

1, 0

1.2.1Update Credit Information

1.2

1Manage Customer

0

XLogin

0Main Admin Screen

X

2Manage Groups

0

The top number is the numeric identifier of the screen. Our convention will be to name any Login screens X (the only non-numeric), and main screens 0 (this will help make the numbering simpler).

Dialogue Charts

• Each entry in the chart is composed of three parts:

1.1Add New Customer

1, 0, 1.2

1.2Update Customer

1, 0

1.2.1Update Credit Information

1.2

1Manage Customer

0

XLogin

0Main Admin Screen

X

2Manage Groups

0

The middle section contains the name of the screen.

Dialogue Charts

• Each entry in the chart is composed of three parts:

1.1Add New Customer

1, 0, 1.2

1.2Update Customer

1, 0

1.2.1Update Credit Information

1.2

1Manage Customer

0

XLogin

0

0Main Admin Screen

X

2Manage Groups

0

The bottom section contains numbers of the screens that can be navigated indirectly to, back to, or sideways to from this one. Do not include screens that follow directly in the navigation scheme. For example, below, in screen 1.2, you would not show the number 1.2.1 in the bottom section because you go there directly.

Dialogue Charts

• When you do your dialogue charts in MSPowerPoint, you will set up each screen name as a hyperlink to a mock-up of the screen. The hyperlink will simply point to another page in the MSPowerPoint document. You also have to put in a hyperlink to get back from the mock-up to the dialogue chart (don’t forget that!).

• Check out the example by clicking here. Navigate the hyperlinks. See how the dialogue chart continues across two pages (with links continued and previous). When you are done, return to this tutorial.

• Note that “…” indicates there is more to the chart but it is not shown.

Dialogue Charts

• This is the end of the tutorial.

0Main Menu

1Product Management

0

4Purchasing

0

3Sales Management

0

1.1Add New Product

1,1.2

1.2.1Update Product prices

1.2,1

1.2Update Product

1

5Receiving

0Continued…

… … …

Back To Tutorial

0Main Menu

6Returns Processing

0

8System Administration

0

7Marketing

0

… … …

Previous…

ACME OFFICE PRODUCTS Add New Product

Product #

Product Line:

PhotoLocation

Add Home

ProductDescription

Buyer

ActivateDate

Office Chairs

Preira, Mary

September 30, 2002

h:\user\products\office\2003.jpg

Update

Back To Dialogue Chart

Note that I can navigate back directly to the page I came from. This is really important. And this button or hyperlink should be in the same place on all screen pages of your system.

ACME OFFICE PRODUCTS Returns Processing

Back To Dialogue Chart

Note that again I can navigate back to the page I came from on the dialogue chart. This is important.

Returns Processing screen mock-up would go here