Skoreapp Archives

How we keep Skore at the cutting edge

16 Jul 2018 - Craig J Willis - News, Skore Life, Skoreapp

We’ve never wanted to sit still and we’re always looking for ways to improve our company, our services and our products. Earlier this year we released the latest version of our Skore web application. This included an almost complete rebuild of the whole app from ground up.

It’s no small undertaking to start from scratch but we felt the time was right. As you develop a product there’s lots of trial and error, some things work well others, not so much. Feedback from users is essential but so is our own experience using the product. And this is something we pride ourselves on, we use our product on a daily basis.

But it’s not just user experience and usability changes that are important. As we develop the software we learn what works and what doesn’t. We realise that some choices, that seemed right at the time, have challenged us later on. This is why it’s important to take the opportunities to rebuild when they arise. To apply, from the beginning, all the lessons we’ve learnt since the last time.

For those that have followed us since 2014 they’ll know that this isn’t the first time we’ve rebuilt the product, or redesigned the user interface. Here are some of our previous user interfaces that some users will remember, some more fondly than others!

Skore Prototype

While not the very first prototype you can see one of the first uses of the what and why boxes. The product was then called Score with a C. All the main controls are there which allowed us to start testing with real users before we officially released.

Skore Version 1

Our first official release of Skore was for the desktop only. The interface was simple, there was no way to apply styles to the content. The editor tool bar was along the top of the application rather than the left bar we use now. By this time we had added the sticky note feature that allowed the user to annotate process models.

All the key features were here by this point, rapid modelling, shortcuts, multi-layers and attachments on each box. Although in version 1.0 you could only share processes by PDF or with other users of Skore desktop.

Skore Version 2

Following a business review with the Happy Startup School we underwent a rebrand, new logo and website. Then we decided to follow up with a redesign of the Skore user interface.

We worked with Mike C from Think.gg to design a new interface with darker colours contrasted with the green we had adopted in our logo and website.

We implemented a bright fun backdrop to the app which proved controversial. Some users loved the playful background and others immediately asked us to remove it. We quickly implemented a configuration item for those that weren’t fans.

By this time the app had implemented stylesheets that let users change the look and feel of the visualisations, add images or choose from the library of icons.

It was shortly after the release of this version that we started working on our first web app. To get up to speed as quickly as possible we build a separate backend web application and graphted the new Skore editor on top of it.

One of the biggest challenges for us is that we used different teams, and different designs, for the main web interface and the editor interface. These were completely different apps that had been integrated. It soon became clear that we’d need a complete rebuild to resolve the increasing technical debt that had built up.

Skore Version 3

Back in late January we released our Unity interface, or Skore version 3, which brings all parts of the application into a single design. This version of the interface has undergone the most extensive user testing to date. This led to a standardisation of common functions such as Search, New, Edit and Save across each type of content in the workspace.

The interface also came in time for our new branding which was easily implemented into the system.

This is a great step forward for us, it demonstrates our commitment to continually improving the product. It’s not just the interface but the rebuild ensures we also constantly update and improve the architecture, security and performance of the application.

If you would like to learn more about Skore why not request a demo.

The Scrum Process

03 Mar 2016 - Craig J Willis - Examples, News, Skoreapp - Leave a Comment

The scrum process is one that we see more and more often. It may go against what many agilists believe but in larger organizations, defining a process is important.

We see many versions of this same process, the words change often but the main steps are almost always the same, in the same order.

View the interactive process here

Building the scrum process

The key to this process is representing the iterative nature of scrum. In this example we show the sprint in a group containing the main iteration.

To create a group in Skore app, simply select all the items you want to include in the group and click the Group button at the bottom of the selection. In this case there wasn’t room to display the Group title at the top. Instead I left it blank and added a title at the bottom using a Note.

We also highlight the fact that most products are, or should be, driven by a strategy and the external environment. These external inputs are highlighted using icons. So the icons indicate where the process flows out of scope.

Let us know what you think.

Simple, quick process mapping

20 May 2015 - Craig J Willis - News, Skoreapp - Leave a Comment

You have been given a project, or task, that requires you to create flowcharts, a business process or visualize how stuff works in your company. You’ve not done this before so where do you get started?

There are loads of tools out there, free tools, paid for tools, software as a service but which one should you use? The answer to these questions depends what you are trying to do. Here’s what makes Skore app stand out from the crowd, if your requirement fits any of these why not give Skore a try by clicking the link on the right. The demo is free and includes full functionality and a built in tutorial to get you up and running.

Structured

When you start out you will need to consider what sort of approach you are going to use. This will help you structure the flowchart in a way that helps you solve the problem you’re looking at. There are many approaches out there such as UML, BPMN, EPC and many more. Most software tools will support some, or all, of these to some extent. So it means you’re going to have to learn both the approach and the tool to get the benefit. Ultimately they all provide a way to describe and analyze activities in your organization.

With Skore app we have built our approach straight into the tool so there’s only one thing to learn. And what’s more, compared to other approaches ours is…

Simple

Screen Shot 2014-10-27 at 17.10.31 — Simple structured approach

Our approach is easy to learn, easy to use and easy to explain to other people. And this is going to be key, especially if you’re going to create this, or share it, with other people. If you are using visualization to help solve a business problem then you need to ensure that you all share a common understanding every step of the way. Having a simple approach means there is less chance the approach itself is going to trip you up as you go.

And because it’s simple it’s also…

Fast

Map_at_speed_talking — Map at the speed of talking

A key part to reaching a shared understanding with your colleagues, and successfully solving that problem, is keeping everyone engaged. There’s nothing worse than making your colleagues sit around while you wrestle with a complex notation, or can’t find the right shape in the palette.

With Skore app that does not happen due to the simplicity of the approach and the shortcuts we’ve built into the tool. Your colleagues will be amazed at how you can capture processes at the speed of talking.

So it’s simple and fast but it’s no less…

Detailed

Another concept that sets Skore app apart from other tools is its native support for process deconstruction, or hierarchical mapping. One of the reasons you choose a software tool over a whiteboard is because you want to preserve and share your work, or even analyse it further. However you loose the ability to be able to see the whole thing in one go while still being able to read what’s written on the diagram.

With Skore app you can map a high level process describing the whole process in a few steps that fit on the screen. You then take each of those steps and break them down into more detail, and more detail, and so on until you’ve captured the detail you need. In fact this lets you focus on the detail while still retaining the context of the big picture.

And with the detail comes…

Important information

It’s also possible to attach important supporting information to every step in the process. You can add extra text to describe the step or you can add links to other documents and web pages.

And with all this you can perform some powerful…

Analysis

With the structured approach and Skore app’s reporting capability it’s easier than ever to analyze your processes, roles, responsibilities and any other information you choose to attach to the model. And you can export the reports to a spreadsheet for further analysis if you wish.

One powerful little package

So instead of wasting any more time learning a new approach AND a new tool jump 4 steps ahead and start solving your problems today with Skore app!

Try it now!