UPDATE: MockupScreens 4.41 for Windows is available on the website. Mac isn’t affected so 4.40 remains up-to-date version for Mac.
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Several people reported property panels completely missing. The problem occurs only on WinXP with desktop theme set to “Classic”. I have e-mailed the fix to the people affected.
New version 4.41 which fixes this will be on website probably tomorrow.
MockupScreens 4.40 is ready and is available on main MockupScreens web-site. Get both Mac and Windows version here. This release brings several new features, many improvements and many fixes. Complete list is below.
Existing users, note that you are eligible for 60% discount if you need to renew the license. Just check your inbox for reminders you got from me, or contact me directly.
And new users get 20% discount simply by following me on Twitter and checking my twits for coupon code. I’ll post it there several times today and tomorrow. Coupon code will stay valid till end of the week.
Enjoy 
New features and improvements
Fixes
I already wrote about understanding the big picture, but once you “get it” what do you exactly do with it? There is one particular thing that saved my life many times already. Develop a good summary of your requirements and leverage it immediately to maximize impact. It never fails if done correctly, so it pains me when I see some “fluff” taking the most important “space” in your documentation. Which is unfortunately quite often. So here is what should you do and how.
However you call this on your project (Management summary, Vision, you name it) those few paragraphs or a single page are developed with single goal in mind: to explicitly agree with customer’s boss on which exact problem (or problems) is being solved and how. You don’t want to get into situation where everybody seems to expect from you to solve each related problem along the way! Keep it short and to the point. Be sure to say what is NOT being solved by the project. For example you can say “Reporting won’t be done as part of this project”.
Once you have high quality draft, go to the customer’s boss and promise her you won’t need her to read anything ever again if she helps you to agree on those several paragraphs (it works every single time). What you will get is the short statement developed in fact by the boss (this is crucial!) of the people you are going to work with. Thus nobody will manipulate you in another direction: you can simply say “It’s a great idea, but let’s check what your boss wanted us to do…”.
Simple, isn’t it? And it gets even better.
You or (even better) your project manager should read this word by word on a kick-off meeting. And explicitly say the magical sentence: “This project won’t solve all the problems you may have, but it WILL solve those particular problems: …”. The point is that at this particular moment your customer and probably even his boss are standing there right beside you and nodding their heads meaningfully!
What you get is magically agreed upon scope project-wide – almost out of the box
There are many both little and big tasks to do for each new release of MockupScreens, even minor like the next v4.40 one. While I can’t really say I’m “waiting” for the release because most of those tasks I’m doing myself, I often oscillate between hectic activity and “low-gear”: browsing through blogs, media and social networks. Looking for things related to mock-ups and software prototyping.
Just recently I stumbled upon the blog I never knew existed: www.softwareprototyping.net and got into conversation with John Clark, the guy who writes the most of the posts there. Check the site, there is decent stuff there. And from my side, I have decided to add links to such sites on the blogroll. There are not too many of those on this topic.
Well it’s not been days since version 4.31 is out and I found that one feature from “Pro” edition is visible there. It’s making your own custom widgets. It’s only visible and not functional, I don’t know whether this is good or bad. Probably it’s both: it’s good because it still have bugs that need fixing, and bad because I had to explain to people who e-mailed me what is going on. And to publish 4.32 which doesn’t have nothing new, just hides this lower-bottom toolbar.
At least I have to make it public now that Pro edition is near the release
Since of yesterday morning (European time), version 4.31 is available for download. I’m pretty happy about it because results of much effort are finally “real”. Things are moving again. One big thing for me is that this version solves (on most systems, it seems!) MockupScreens staying in taskbar with main app window not showing.
And now back to my e-mails. River of those started pouring in immediately after yesterday’s 4.31 and ‘Windows 7′ skin announcement via newsletter. It’s good to know so many people use MockupScreens to create better software - each and every day!
Windows 7 skin is ready. It has been tested and tweaked. New MockupScreens release 4.31 (which will include this skin and several bug fixes) will be published in a week or so. And more new features is coming soon!
Just to wet your appetite, here is the same screen mock-up in different skins. Skin on the top is Windows 7, of course:
Well, as many of you noticed there was only minor releases in a long period. There was a big mess-up on my part. It was mostly me trying to develop Mac edition AND Pro edition AND new features all at the same time. It all got mixed up. Everything had to wait for everything else. And it stopped me on some fronts for a YEAR (!). I have learned this lesson and won’t do it ever again, believe me.
Problems are recently resolved (at last!) and things are already getting back to normal. Which means new releases VERY soon
Can’t tell you how often I see people jumping the gun and developing requirements for their software – right from the middle.
If you don’t take time to get (and write down) the big picture first, you are bound to get sidetracked more often than not. Which spells rework, rework, rework. What you need is the bird’s view of what needs to be done and for god’s sake WHY. So you will have the context and crucial guidelines for any later work. As project progresses, you will often have to choose among several legitimate but very different options. In such situations simply ask yourself “Which option brings us closest to original target in the big picture?”.
The caveat is that you as a humble operative can’t do this all by yourself. You need to be precise and to the point in aggressively getting your project manager to obtain what feedback is needed to solve the puzzle. Nothing good will come from “I’m doing my job and other people should do theirs”.
But still you need to know how to moderate interviews and workshops with wildly different personalities. So… the trick here is to be the top communicator! Always improve on this: not only you’ll get meaningful requirements faster but hey – good communication skills are groundwork for more success in almost all areas in life
It’s been a long summer, but finally MockupScreens for Mac is ready. It’s available for download on the main website!
New version 4.26 is also available for Windows, which includes some bug fixes and several small improvements but nothing spectacular.
And now, finally, full focus is on finishing the PRO edition and after that - new feature release. I must say I’m very eager to start with this new major release because the list of needed and thought-out improvements is already as long as my arm
Enjoy!
ps. Here is a summer picture of MockupScreens racing towards the new release on full sails!
