I have a project that is based on semantic networks (i.e. triple stores), reasoning / recommendation engines and interactive visualisation (not just displaying the network, but manipulating the visual elements of the displayed network). The delivery is to be as a Rich Internet Application, delivered through a web browser.
At this stage, the final decisions have not been made as to the architecture, in terms of going with the likes of Java, PHP, python etc. or visualisation, in terms of Flex, Javascript, HTML5 etc.
The purpose of the interactive prototype is to flush out what would be reasonably achievable with available technologies to provide a solution aligning with the design personas that we have pulled together from user interactions.
The problem I am having at the moment (and by the way, I am not a professional designer or web developer, but the company's CIO with some development experience in previous lives), is that the semantic graph driven application (node/edge networks) does not fit well with the typical wireframe focused prototyping tools I have been reviewing (e.g. Balsamiq, Justinmind, fluidIA, Fireworks, ForeUI, iPlotz, Axure, Protoshare).
I need to be able to handle the following:
create a visual graph of interactive elements using available widget elements or imported graphic images. The issue here is with the lines (edges) as they are not going to be strictly horizontal or vertical (i.e. any angle) and ideally I would like the choice of straight or curved. I don't want to use a background image of a graph network and then use tricks such as image positioning for mouse overs etc. I want to have the elements reusable within the prototyping environment.
interact with the lines (edges) and nodes, by either mouse over or click
there is no need to be able to move the nodes around, although I know this will be possible with the visualisation libraries that we will be using
ability to access websites inline or pop up window
no need to interact with a database engine, so any data input can be handled within the workflow capabilities of the prototyping tool
prototyping tool must be compatible with Microsoft Windows XP SP3
You may come up with some other capabilities that I have not thought of yet, so please share your thoughts.
Thanks for any insight you can share.
Cheers, Neil