In IP telephony training, a ladder diagram is a visual representation of a call flow or signaling events. The problem we ran into when creating ladder diagrams on PowerPoint slides, is that they are difficult to create and update.
Read moreI worked with a colleague, let’s call him Ryan, to create a wireframe in Adobe XD of an interactive ladder diagram. We were hopeful that this application would supplement or even replace the PPT diagrams. When Ryan and I were pleased with the proof of concept, we held a meeting. The president of the company along with subject matter experts watched as we clicked through the pages demonstrating the functionality. And then, they tore that wireframe apart. At the end of the meeting, I said to Ryan, “Did we win, or lose?”
Looking more closely at the feedback, we realized we had won. The pushback for the application wasn’t in the functionality but in the reusability. SMEs don’t want to go back and forth with a design team just to change the color of an arrow. They want to make the updates themselves.
Based on this feedback, I created a template from an Excel spreadsheet that SMEs can use to create and update their diagrams. Once they are happy with the final diagram, the data is converted to a JSON file that the application reads to display each interaction. Learners using the application, whether in online or instructor-led training, consistently express higher levels of engagement with the content.
As you can see from these examples, we were able to apply the same logic and user interface to interactive drag-and-connect diagrams.