Multimedia Project Management

Because multimedia uses many skills, and its people come from a variety of backgrounds, the multimedia environment does not have a single, defined way of working.

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The bias can reflect advertising, video production, computing, publishing, TV production, journalism or interactive training/education among others.

Each of these disciplines has different role names, phases of production, methods for documenting production, ways of working, organizational structures, and cultures.

New media companies tend to have a bias according to their origin and the background of their management.

Functional specifications have to blend with storyboards, source code co-exists with time code, branding and imaging concepts merge with database engine definitions.

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The individuals who work in the companies have their own specialisms. Some will recognize the environment they find themselves in, but many not. They will have to adapt to the new terminology and structure.

Table 2.1 is representative of how each industry has developed its own way of producing a media product by dividing roles and responsibilities and denoting phases of development.

Communication across the disciplines is problematic. Imagine a person with a web design background being asked to produce a website extension product on DVD, or someone with a video producer’s background being asked to produce a functional and technical specification, or a programmer being asked to produce an interactive storyboard and assimilate time code data from an edit shot list. This happen.

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Advertising /Marketing

Website production Video/TV production Computing Publishing Interactive training/Education

Roles Creative director Web manager Executive producer Project manager Commissioning editor

Senior designer/designer

Information/Content architect

Producer Analyst Senior editor Training analyst

Technical architect Director Editor Instructional designer

Production assistantGraphic artist Web editor Scriptwriter Programmer Author Interactive designer

Web programmerWeb designer Video graphics artist Computer graphics

artistPrint graphics artist/Illustrator/Cartoonist

Production phases Pitch/Tender/Commission

Tender/Commission

Pitch/Commission

Tender/Commission

Pitch/Commission

Tender/Commission

Formulate strategy Analyse Research script Analyse Research/write AnaylseConceptualize Design Prototype Review DesignFocus groups/User tests

Rewrite Prototype

Build Produce Shoot Program Proof RedesignTrial Redesign Offline edit TestRefine Online edit Produce Produce

Publish Distribute Release TestRelease Update Distribute Release

EvaluateDocumentation (client/commissionerReceives)

Concept brief Proposal Storyboard Functional specification

Proposal Proposal

Site chart Script Script Technical specification

Drafts Outline design

Prototype Rewrites Rewrites Change management procedures

Redrafts Detailed design

Trial results Proofs Sign-off agreements

Team-based

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Complex activities with a role acting as the team’s main leader/coordinator

Producing a particular end-product. Each product has unique properties.

A project manager is expected to produce a product by organizing and controlling resources according to planned expenditure, in a certain time frame, and to a defined quality level.

This fits the description of a person in charge of a new media project.

Is Multimedia Project Management the Is Multimedia Project Management the Same As Project Management?Same As Project Management?

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Almost the same but has limitations and confusions

Derived from engineering projects- link between time, cost and the quality of the end product was established.

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Principles - if any one of these factors is changed, the others are affected.

Project manager monitor changes and assess the impact of the planned time, cost and quality of the product.

The tasks, sequence of production, resources needed, and cost breakdown need to be defined in some way as part of the multimedia project manager’s role + not straightforward

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Project management tool:Microsoft Project → Gantt Chart

(a method to help define the breakdown of the project into tasks and the sequence of tasks that need to be performed according to a time line)

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Traditional project management methods tried to address the interrelation of the dependencies between tasks to the sequence of production and time. This was done using a technique – network analysis (known as critical path analysis).

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Network analysis encouraged project managers to use a diagram to show the logical links between tasks, illustrating which ones would be in simultaneous development and which ones were dependent on others’ reaching a certain stage before work could begin.

The critical path is derived from this analysis. It is the sequence of development of tasks that allows the optimum progress thru the project.

Example 1 (in a building project)

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Lay foundations

Administration subcontract tenders

Deliver concrete Deliver bricks

Beginbuild

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Programming

Graphics

DetailedContent

agreement

Administration Assets, Resources, Rights

Clearances

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Audiorecording

Video pre-production

Shoot

The impact of the consequent changes in use of resources, different priorities for completing tasks, and the dangers of not meeting the date, need to be recorded in some way that all understand.

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At the moment this is usually done by word of mouth, backed up by an e-mail to the team –if the project manager is experienced.

Project management software tools can show fixed deadlines in the Gantt chart, but the reasons behind the line-up of tasks is not clear, and with so much going on all the time it is sometimes easy to forget why you made a seemingly odd decision. This is why other documentation such as an e-mail project diary becomes important

Definition of quality in interactive media is a major problem.

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Different perspectives on the meaning of quality in multimedia → different backgrounds in interactive development → look for different features.

For budgetary purposes, the following definition of quality will be useful.

Design quality for media projects = Content & treatment agreement

content = the information that is going to be presented treatment = media+techniques will be used, and what it will look like.

Time, cost and quality principles are important but the overall concept of quality in multimedia remains vague.

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The impact of changes on time, cost and quality can put the project at risk.

EXAMPLE:This example should give you an insight into the repercussions of change in an online or offline multimedia project.

The style of the chair (type of wood, springs and stuffing) = Content agreed

The shape of the chair = Structure agreed

The fabric = Treatment of content agreed (‘look and feel’)

After a week, the client changes his mind about the fabric. What are the implications for cost and time?

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Change may have cost implications for administration and production.

Change may have time implications because of rework.

Change may make the project impossible to achieve if it results in factors beyond your control. Also, there are some processes that cannot be speeded up.

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If timescales are immovable but you have to absorb changes, the workload increases and causes extra cost.

The quality of the product can be changed to meet the time constraint.

Never be fooled by ‘it’s just a small change’.

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The time, cost and quality principles are important but do not translate directly to multimedia.

The structure of a multimedia project is not as readily recognizable but the consequences of changes to it past a certain point in production can be as bad as changing the shape of a building under construction.

Planning, monitoring, and control of time, cost and quality are still prime factors in a project management role.

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Multimedia does not have one environment but is a hybrid because of the range of skills of the people involved and the different approaches taken, depending on the bias of the company

Impact of changes on time, cost and quality can put the project at risk.

Multimedia management shares similarities with the management innovation.

Anticipation of risk and measures of control are important.20

Organizational structure affects the project manager’s role, responsibility, authority and control.

In multimedia, the programmer may have a senior programmer and the graphics artist may have a senior graphics artist or creative director who set their standards of work and, in addition, will generally control their workload as well.

The structure of the organization will dictate who has what type of financial information, who can have access to which financial data, and under what circumstances.

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If there is the equivalent of a project manager role in the organization, the financial structure should facilitate this role and its needs as well as the executive management information.

Without accurate records of costs, a project management role cannot be fulfilled.

A hierarchical organization will tend to have strict control over who can spend money.

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The multimedia project manager has a difficult role as team leader because of the diverse, creative team.

A multimedia team can vary in size and skills.

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In terms of roles, a typical development team may have:1) Leader – who might also use his/her specialism from a

media background to contribute to part of the project development.

2) Someone who will agree the content and treatment/ interface design with the client and the relevant members of the team.

3) Someone to produce the computer graphics.4) Someone to program or, for web pages, write HTML

5) Someone to program CGI for the back-end servers if needed on a web project.

6) Someone to arrange and manage the audio and video production, if these are necessary.

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Time

Cost

Quality

OrganizationPressuresResourcesInfluences

Cost

Client or MarketPressures

PoliticsInfluences

Quality

Project manager’s role is to control the progress of the project against any detrimental influences to the time, cost and quality that can occur from the client, the place of work, the market forces, and the team.

Project managers – evolved from specialist roles of computing, graphics, video production, or interactive education and training.

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SummarySummary• Project management principles unite the disparate ways ofProject management principles unite the disparate ways of working in interactive media development.working in interactive media development.

• Not all project management methods transfer well to multimediaNot all project management methods transfer well to multimedia development.development.• Time, cost and quality principles are important but the overallTime, cost and quality principles are important but the overall concept of quality in multimedia remains vague.concept of quality in multimedia remains vague.

• The project’s multimedia design quality = the content andThe project’s multimedia design quality = the content and treatment agreement reached for that project.treatment agreement reached for that project.

• The impact of changes on time, cost and quality can put theThe impact of changes on time, cost and quality can put the project at risk.project at risk.

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SummarySummary• Multimedia management shares similarities with the managementMultimedia management shares similarities with the management of innovation.of innovation.

• Anticipation of risk and measures of control are important.Anticipation of risk and measures of control are important.

• Organizational structure affects the project manager’s role,Organizational structure affects the project manager’s role, responsibility, authority and control.responsibility, authority and control.

• The multimedia project manager has a difficult role as team leaderThe multimedia project manager has a difficult role as team leader because of the diverse, creative team.because of the diverse, creative team.