

Introduction
Definition
Architecture
Design
Implementation
Summary
Resources & Credits

Implement the Design

Your Role

We've gathered a lot of information and learned a great deal from the previous phases. Now it's time to integrate all of it into a final product. There are no more features. There is no more content. This stage is strictly: Build, Test, Fix, Repeat. Occasionally, we may have to redesign a small section based on user feedback, but if we've done all the previous steps, it shouldn't be anything major. During the Implementation phase, you'll help the team conduct tests with your users and interpret the results.

Carefully
Consider
Changes

Making major changes at this point is expensive and time consuming. They should be avoided. Imagine you've been building a house. You gathered your dreams, designed the structure with the help of an architect, asked an interior decorator for his/her ideas, and now the construction guys are putting in beams, plumbing and electrical. You probably still have time to ask, "Hey, can you put an extra phone line in the front bedroom?" But what do think the builder would do if you said, "Could you move the master bath to the other side of the bedroom? It will get more sun if it's over there." He'll probably do it -- if you pay him enough and give him a lot more time. But he may also walk away because it could be a sign that you're seriously unorganized.

It can be difficult to determine the difference between a major change and a minor one. Here's where you really have to trust the technical people that you are working with -- especially if you don't have much technical experience. Don't be afraid to ask questions. The worst you'll get is a blank stare or perhaps some raised eyebrows.

Finish
Pre-production
Tasks

Before moving into production mode, we need to make sure we have a few things in order. Does everyone on the team know exactly how to create the media they are responsible for? Have the naming conventions been finalized? On large projects, you often need a production list that lists every media element, its priority, the person responsible for creating it, and the name that person should give the final file. What about size of the project? If it's a CD-ROM, you're limited to 650MB - a large number, but not if you have a lot of video. If it's a web site, how much space is allocated to your account? Once again, you usually won't get close to the limit unless your project includes a lot of audio or video.

Build the Product

This is where the actual building takes place. The production team creates every graphic, photograph, animation, video, and sound, and the programmer(s) integrates all the media and writes code for all the special features.

Test the
Product

We've been testing the product all along -- first with paper prototypes, then with more advanced prototypes. But now that the product is nearing completion, it needs to be tested again. Perhaps there were a few features that weren't completely tested in the prototype. If so, get some users together, test the new features, and fix them if necessary. If you've done usability testing all along, there hopefully won't be any surprises. When all of the features have been tested, we move into bug testing and configuration testing.

Bug testing (also known as Quality Assurance Testing) means going through every part of the project in a logical manner to make sure everything works correctly in all cases. Large companies often have QA departments that have very systematic approaches to perform this type of testing. Since we're not a large company, we'll probably be asking for some of your help to make sure it all works the way it should.

After all the bugs are fixed, we'll do some configuration testing. This means testing the product on a variety of machines on each delivery platform. Hopefully, the technical team has been doing some of this along the way so there won't be any major surprises. If it's a cross platform product, it should be tested on several Windows, Macintosh, and possibly UNIX machines to see if there are any incompatibilities with audio cards, video cards, browser versions, etc. Once again, corporations spend thousands of dollars sending their products to configuration testing labs where all they do is mix and match computer components and test the product on the various combinations. Sometimes these problems can be easily fixed. A new driver can often fix a problem on the Windows platform. Other times, you'll pull your hair out wondering why it doesn't work on one machine, but it does on all the others. You may not ever find the answer. If you can at least verify that there is a problem with a certain type of machine, the best you can do is include a "Read Me" file that indicates that your product has a problem with certain configurations.

Deliver the
Product

Once the team is sure that the product has been fully tested, it's time to present you with a finished product. We'll burn the "Golden Master" CD, register the URL, or provide you with a master copy in whichever medium is appropriate. Congratulations! You've completed the long journey of multimedia development!

Wrap It Up

Wait! It's not quite over. While it's all still fresh in your mind, you should organize and archive everything related to this project. Get a three ring binder with pockets, three hole punch all printed documents, sketches, legal documents, etc. A good way to archive the electronic information is to create a "development" CD or DVD which has all the raw media, text documents, flowcharts, etc. that were used during the process. ITS will help you do this.

Another thing to think about while wrapping up is evaluation. Think about the process you went through with this project and make notes on how you might do things differently on the next project. Please share your thoughts with ITS so that we may improve our process as well. Also, you might want to consider a formal summative evaluation of the product to evaluate its effectiveness. If you ever create a "Version 2," this would provide valuable data.

If you ever plan to market the product, this is the time to complete the "Disclosure of Copyrightable Work" and the "Declaration of Institutional Support" documents required by SDSU Policy File Section II-O: Intellectual Property. ITS will help by providing an accounting of the "partial institutional support" that we have contributed.

Now, stick the "development" disc in the pocket of your project binder, put the binder in a safe place and reclaim all that hard drive space!

Next

View a Summary of the entire peocess.