Designing Prototypes using Sketchflow

Expression 3 -- > Blend 3; wow! .. Although i didn't got the opportunity to explore a lot of features in it but one thing which i was able to explore is self sufficient to compell you guys to download a 60 days trial version of Blend 3 and experience it.

Recently i was in a meeting with two of the Managers at Microsoft regarding the development of a web based portal a lot of work was being done on copy & glass board, at the end i was held responsible to show some initial model / prototype of this portal. Fair enough, i knew what i was supposed to do, i would have unless Naveed Bajwa had asked me, How are you going to show us the model and my reply was "a piece of the art using Visio"..........

Visio & others are a great tools but don't actually target Prototyping and then i came to know that if i was suppose to build some phase1 (RE) diagrams it was perfect, but since i had to show prototypes which are suppose to be the simulation of actual software and need to give a look & feel of reality and have to be interactive and user should be able to provide their feedback on them and ............ so i started exploring Sketchflow Project using Blend 3 as adviced by my senior.

Sketchflow allowed me to do the following:

Developing a site map which cleared the site flow

UI Screens using, actual controls and drawing tools

Programming & Scripting the controls & screens

Interconnecting those screens

Developing component screens, to be called on other screens

Running the output in a test player (browser)

Getting the end user ink feedback on my screens and saving that feedback and sharing internally

Automatically generating the document of my prototype project

Some helpful searches to get relevent material :)

1) Starter kit of Sketchflow

2) Sketchflow from Concept to Production Video

3) Microsoft showcase, Sketchflow part 1 Video

Link number 1 is a 127 mb starter kit developed by AIG, do explore it....!!

Happy Prototyping.!