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User Interface Q4U : How do you use the Source Control Flow Editor?

You might be wondering why such silence from the Jazz Team Blog. In addition to enjoying a little down time this summer, the team has been fixing bugs for 1.0.1 and ramping up for our next major release by doing planning and explorations.

One of the many areas that is getting attention is the Source Control Flow Editor, a.k.a. the Flow Browser. Some of you used this editor in the past, pre-1.0 Beta 3, to show or manage how a team flows its changes or to demonstrate the underlying concepts of the RTC Source Control system. I am familiar with at least one forum post on this topic lamenting the removal of the Flow Editor and a number of work items that call out the desire to keep it.

In addition to performance improvements that were necessary to make this editor worth keeping, we are also looking at how to improve the user experience. To inform our work, I’d like to ask a few questions to those of you who used this editor in the past or who are familiar with it and would use it if available.

First, to jog your memory, here are a couple of snapshots of the menu action to create a “New Flow Diagram…” from the Team Artifacts view and of a Flow Diagram once generated—both are a little different now from the pre-1.0 Beta3 days, but likely similar enough for you to recognize.

Context menu action to render a workspace as a Flow Diagram:

Context menu action to render the workspace as a flow diagram

Flow Diagram example:

Flow diagram example

Questions

1.  What was your primary use of the Flow Editor?

a) to visualize existing Workspace and Stream flows (view only)

b) to demonstrate Source Control concepts (temporary edit)

c) to modify actual flows, and therefore data, on the server (enduring edit)

2. In the context of a working team, what is your role on the team?

a) team lead

b) team member

3. Is there any other role you fill in which you would want to use the Flow Editor? If yes, what role and what would be your primary purpose in using the editor (select from a, b, or c in question 1 or add your own, if different)?

…..

Understanding how the editor is used or likely to be used, will help set the direction for what is available in the short and long terms. I am hoping it will also guide us with some of the lower level user interface questions we will need to address as well.

I look forward to your input.

Kimberley Peter
Jazz UI Design Team