Et Voila The First (Working Prototype) Release

Et Voila! The First (Working Prototype) Release

Figure 6-12 shows the product of all our hard work: the alpha version of the mapplet release 1. As you can see, the core functionality is in place. The user can browse the map, zoom in, pan the map around, and so forth. The user can also select individual hotels and view basic information (hotel name, address, and so forth) in a pop-up window. The pop-up behaves like a GUI tool tip, so we’ll refer to it as a map tip.

image from book
Figure 6-12: The mapplet gets its first airing. Not bad for a prototype!

Each hotel is represented on the map by a small diamond (as shown in the key at the left of Figure 6-12).

In this version of the mapplet, each hotel actually has two map tips: a small, relatively nonintrusive hover tip that appears when the mouse cursor is hovered over the hotel diamond, and a larger, more detailed pop-up (as shown in Figure 6-12). This UI behavior was specified by the “Display Rollover Information” use case (see earlier in this chapter).[9.]

The larger pop-up behaves more like a floating dialog window than a tool tip. For example, it’s more persistent, meaning it doesn’t disappear when the mouse is moved away, but must be closed using the “close” button at the top-right corner. The pop-up also contains hyperlinks, which can be clicked to show hotel details in a separate browser window.

Why have two distinct classes of map tip for each hotel? It might seem a little odd at first, but there are some good reasons. Probably the most important reason is that the larger pop-up shows more information and therefore takes up more space. Having a map tip of that size pop up just by moving the mouse around would be seriously annoying for the user. The user might be moving the mouse to a different hotel, which is suddenly obscured by the giant map tip that pops up uninvited.

So it’s better to keep the hover tip small and unobtrusive (little more than a tool tip). Then, if the user wants more details, she performs a deliberate action (clicking the mouse on the hotel diamond) to bring up the larger pop-up window. Similarly, the pop-up window must be closed using a deliberate action.

[9.]And, of course, if you go online to http://smartmaps.VResorts.com (and please do), you can try this out for yourself!



Agile Development with ICONIX Process. People, Process, and Pragmatism
Agile Development with ICONIX Process: People, Process, and Pragmatism
ISBN: 1590594649
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 97

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