Multimedia Application Development Lifecycle

7/28/2019 Multimedia Application Development Lifecycle

1/54

Multimedia Application

Development Lifecycle

ISMT multimedia 2002Dr Vojislav B Mii


2/54

ISMT multimedia 2002 Lecture on Multimedia Application Development Lifecycle /Slide 2 Dr Vojislav B Mii

Lecture Overview

Multimedia application development

lifecycleWhat is the same as in other product devt

lifecycles

.. And what is different

Individual phases and their characteristics


3/54


4/54


Phases

conceptualization and planning

design and prototypingproduction

testing

distribution and follow-up

and (of course) management


5/54


Management

phase 0, because it

spans all other phases, including activities

such asplanning

estimation

control

resource management

documenting


6/54


Business Plan

Defines objectives and means to achieve

these objectives

Analyze and define

finances

markets

products

distribution channelskey employees

Develop a business model


7/54


Project Management

Planning, estimating, monitoring,

controlling, and coordinating resources

financespeople

material resources (equipment, tools, materials, ...)

content

in order to achieve the project objective

Most important variables: time, cost, quality


8/54


9/54


Project plan

A common document which should help all

interested parties to

understand the defined goal

understand the way of attaining the goal

follow the schedule

cooperate with othersuse the resources (tools and content) properly


10/54


Finances

$ Funding: the process of finding sources ofcapital to develop your product

$ Various types of funding:$ loans

$ grants

$ self-funding

$ venture capital

But: each has good and bad sides


11/54


People

Many different specialties are required in

each phase of the project

Both technical and artistic specialties areneeded

They have different

backgrounds (professional and cultural)

skills and expertise

and, of course, personalities


12/54


Material resources

Different types of resources

Computer hardware and software

Production equipment

Content (existing and new)

How to obtain them?

Borrow

LeasePurchase

Make your own


13/54


14/54


Phase 1: Conceptualization

and Planning

Every multimedia project

begins with an idea or

conceptThe concept and the plan

define a project

Planning should make the

realization of the concept as

straightforward as possible


15/54


The Kickoff Meeting

Projects often start with a

meeting to discuss theproject direction and plan

Usually only a group of key players

Serves to create and unite the team

Defines and/or clarifies goals, roles,

expectations, and strategies


16/54


Project Scope

What are you making? What is it for?

What do you want to say?

What will be used?

the concept the purpose

the message

the approach


17/54


Types of projects

Electronic Books andMagazines

Kiosks andInformation Centers

Multimedia Databases

Corporate Training

Interactive EducationInteractive Games

Interactive Music

Interactive Movies

Interactive Art andPerformance

Interactive Sales andMarketing

Presentations andCommunications


18/54


Target Audience

what is their background (with respect to

age, education, gender, )

what are their preferences (even thoseprescribed by current fashion)

are there some cultural and other

constraints to be observed

what equipment will they use to access your

product (environment)


19/54


The Message

What is the message that you want to

convey to your audience

All components of your project must berelated to its message

Consistency

Focusing

Creativity

Closely related to the approach


20/54


Market Research First

Identification:

Is there a target audience at all?

Is there significant competition?What could be our edge

in the marketplace?

Classification

business vs. consumer

early adopters vs. lazy ones


21/54


Technical Research Later

Is it technically feasible to create a product

that is better, cheaper, more useful than

anything else available

Think about:

Delivery media

Installed base

Storage capacitySpeed

Economy


22/54


Phase 2: Design

Bridging the gap between

the audience and you

Design should embody

concept, purpose, and messages

Technology helps and often is indispensable but technology alone without the proper

design creativity cannot do the trick


23/54


Design goals

Simplicity

Consistency

User involvement

Affordability

Fun, efficiency, timing


24/54


Simplicity

Multimedia by definition includes user

interaction and exploration

Note: prettiest designs may not be thesimplest, nor the easiest to use

Good interaction design should instill a

desire to go on and find out moreHowever, efficiency is always an issue


25/54


Consistency

Primarily related to user interface (we will

have more to say about this)

A good product should behave in a

consistent manner

Consistency reduces learning time and

reduces chances for surprise, even with

functions you have never used beforeIncreased familiarity translates into

increased productivity


26/54


User involvement

Most people like to get involved

Adding a human dimension to the

communication with a mindless machinePeople enjoy exploring and discovering new

paths reward curiosity by designing depth

Allow users to explore more than one level

of information but only if they explicitly

choose to do so


27/54


28/54


Other qualities

some applications can be fun to use (but

each user can have his or her own definition

of what exactly is fun)user comprehension has its own pace try

to be neither too fast, nor too slow

performance is always an issue: but this ispredominantly a technical problem


29/54


Shaping the Design

Often begins with a

brainstorming session

a dynamic process of gatheringideas and exploring possibilitieswithout judgement or constraint

A good brainstorming session results in a

collection of ideas and solutions thatbecome the foundation for both the design

and the prototype developed from it


30/54


Storyboard

An illustrated scene-by-scene plan for telling

a story: represents actions, images and

narration unfolding over time

Each significant frame is described in(some) detail, the actors are outlined, and

their important actions are spelled out

Storyboard may be considered to be aspecification of the prototype (and,

ultimately, the product itself)


31/54


Information Design

How to organize and present information in

a clear, accurate, meaningful and useful

formIncludes the information in all media and

their visual interaction (to an extent)


32/54


Phase 3: Prototyping

A limited implementation of a

design

Emphasizes exploration and

experimentationPrototyping helps simplify and

improve production process

Often used as proof-of-concept

and/or testing purposesMultimedia applications must be

prototyped


33/54


Product Specifications

A complete list of features

that covers structure and

behavior of the product

should emerge from theprototyping phase

In multimedia, this means

type and amount of content,interface characteristics, and

interaction


34/54


Phase 4: Production

Organizing people and resources

Providing and producing content text,

graphics, videos, sound, animation, VRIntegrating all of the above into a

meaningful, coherent product

Details of production related to different

media types will be covered in a separate

lecture


35/54


36/54


37/54


Organizing Production

Resources

Organizing resources: define what is

required and a schedule of its usage

Equipment selection: based on the projectscript and on the actual shooting location

Major equipment has its own schedule, with

each major piece assigned to a personCompatibility issues must be resolved


38/54


Source Materials

Source: any items containing media data

that can be used in our product

Production can involvecreating new source materials,

converting (re-purposing) existing materials,

or (most often) both

Source materials must be indexed and keptin order (do not delete anything, never)


39/54


Selecting the Right Tools

Most important criteria:

Whether the production artists are familiar with the

tool(s) selectedWhether the format used by the tool is compatible

with other tools

Availability and cost may be important for

small projects: in large projects, the cost isnever a big part of the overall budget


40/54


Production Integration

Integrating content elements: usually the

responsibility of programmer(s)

Project manager must overview integration

Project manager should make sure that no

content is forgotten or missing

Problems of all types tend to multiply as thedelivery time is approaching


41/54


Style guide

Necessary in order to create a product with a

sense of integrity and unity

Use of punctuation, grammatical conventions, use of

jargonsSamples, illustrations and templates for graphical

layout

Graphics production: standards used, layout templates

Video productionSound production

Conducting and attending production meetings


42/54


Documentation

Different types of documentation may be

needed, depending on the project

Both size and scope depend on the project

and its intended audienceMass audience requires the documentation to be as

simple as possible, together with additional materials(getting started, tutorials, )

Narrow, well-educated audience require in-depthcoverage, description of more sophisticated functions

Internet helps


43/54


Phase 5: Testing

Walking in user's shoes before the user

does so

Main questions

When to test

What to test

How to test

When to stop testing

But the crucial question is: can testing give

us complete confidence in the product?


44/54


More on testing

Different types of testing: functional, content

testing, collateral materials testing, user

testing

Different timing: alpha, beta, user testing

Test plan with relevant information on

schedule

resourcestesting environment

deliverables


45/54


Phase 6: Distribution

Activities related to:

Preparation and duplication of physical media

Choosing distribution options and channels

Marketing

Sales


46/54


Options and Channels

Publishers

Affiliated label program

Self-publishing

Mail order catalogs

Distributors

RetailersEducation and

government markets

Content-specific stores

Direct mailBundling


47/54


Marketing

Public relations press releases, press kits,

trade shows

PromotionsAdvertising

Meetings, presentations and negotiations

Sales callsProduct demonstrations


48/54


Phase 7: Follow-up

Development wrap-up

Maintenance

Training

Documentation

Customer relations

Pursuing additional opportunities


49/54


Development Wrap-up

To determine the actual schedule and costs

and compare them against the original

estimates

To find out ways in which the process (and

subsequent products) could be improved

In other words: how we did it, and what have

we learned by doing it (that coul dhelp usfare better next time)


50/54


Customer Support

Providing assistance to customers and

clients in response to specific problems and

inquiries

Internet helps here as well Main activities:

maintenance

training

Multimedia titles generally need little

support


51/54


Maintenance Classification

Maintenance: managing the operation and

use of a product once it has gone into

distribution

Different classifications possible

according to strategy (preventive vs. defensive)

according to type of changes introduced (corrective,perfective, or adaptive)


52/54


Training

Teaching and educating an audience about

the purpose and use of a product

Training equips users to be self-sufficientwith a productreduces users need for

support

Consequently, training should reduce thecost of supporting the product

U F db k


53/54


User Feedback

(What do they think of us?)

mail-back registration cards

online customer comment forms

direct customer contact (e.g., by phone or

email)

press reviews, and

sales statistics

P i dditi l


54/54

Pursuing additional

opportunities

Some products are suitable for organizing

user groups some are not:

Oracle user group makes sense

Encarta user group does not (why?)

New versions or upgrades

Reuse of the content material in a different

publishing mediumCreation of companion products

Documents

Multimedia Application Development Lifecycle