The main objectives of drafting are:
The drafting is to be done in at least three iterations, with one or more demonstration sessions per iteration with your Customer Representatives. During the sessions, both Customer Representatives and Designers learn more about the domain problem and figure out possible solutions for the next iteration.
You must perform the following activities in parallel that may influence each other:
Deliverables
The resulting draft application model must contain the components below. Plus you need the sign off document.
Use Case Forms
Work through the Use Cases documented during the Investigate phase, and design Genus Desktop Forms and/or Genus Apps Forms using Genus Studio. Keep the Impact Map updated as you learn. Create, modify or delete use cases according to the Impact Map.
Little attention is to be placed on application logic, data transition (data conversion) and data integration as this time. The application model is not to hold production strength qualities, but suffice to demonstrate the main use cases with customer data, in order to learn and adopt. You may think of the application model as this stage as a highly visual application model, with focus on the user interface design.
Do not dive into details or corners of the use cases. Concentrate on the main parts of the highest prioritized impacts. Involve your customer in the prioritization.
Data Modeling
Describe the structure of the customer data by creating a Genus Studio Diagram. A complete data model is not required. Focus on the structures neccessary to support the Forms, including the structures of the main business objects, and only the most important object class properties.
You do not need to model details of low priority areas. You do not need to create object classes for all business objects, rather leave them as "draft" object classes in Genus Studio Diagram, or not create them at all.
Customer Data
Experience has told us that customers need to see their use cases on screen based on their own data, in a working application, to get the real problems on the table and then try solving them. The analysis and import of real customer data is therefore a key aspect of the Genus Modeling Process.
Import as much data from your customers databases as you are allowed to. In some cases parts of key tables or even spreadsheets are enough. Identify codes and key "dimensions", and use these as input in your Data Modeling activity.
Learn about the quality of the customer data; it is often (unfortunately) of poorer quality than you and your customer think. A deep understanding of the data will affect your data model and improve it, and will be crucial to the success of your final application model.
Sign Off
After at least three iterations of the activities above, you must get the customer's sign off in order to proceed to the next phase.
Please Note
This is your initial application model. The draft application model is to be something else than a prototype (since prototypes may be completely different from the final application). Consider the draft application model as an initial application model and as the first, simple version of the production ready model. The application model is the bare minimum of what is needed to let your customer have a good understanding of what the final application or prioritized parts of the final application will look like, but good enough to ensure your customer that the final application will be a success - and to get the sign off for the next phase.
