The Multimedia Development Process

http://acc6.its.brooklyn.cuny.edu/~lscarlat/multimedia/note2.html

Steps in the Process

The steps taken in developing a multimedia product are like those of any software project

1. Determine project goals
2. Develop work scope
3. Assess system requirements
4. Design the system
5. Develop the system
6. Test
7. Deliver

Determine Project Goals

This one-page summary of the project should provide the reader with the "big picture":

• Who is the product aimed at?
• What will the user be able to achieve with this product?
• Why is the product worth using (and developing)?

Develop Work Scope

In the work scope, you need to specify

• Schedule
• Budget
• Staffing

Assess System Requirements

The first step in any application development is an assessment of...

• Technical requirements
• Market or client requirements
• Current means of accomplishing the task, including competition
• Task analysis

Technical requirements

These generally translate to restrictions or constraints that will help guide your design, including

• Low-end system specs
• Special capabilities that must be supported
• Budgetary and schduling constraints

Market or client requirements

Know thy user, for he (or she) is not thyself

• Educational background
• Level of technical expertise
• Physical or mental limitations
• Language and common terminology
• Cultural preferences

Applications that are easy to learn are more likely to attract a wider audience

• 10 minute rule
• Take advantage of your users' considerable knowledge and experience

Current means of accomplishing the task, including competition

Using a computer should always be easier than not using a computer.

• Reliability - absence of malfunctions
• Robustness - tolerance and protection of user
• Tailoring - accomodates differences without burdening user

Task analysis

Be sure you understand the task at hand before you leap to a solution!

• Who is the user?
• What tasks does the user now perform?
• How are these tasks learned?
• How often do users perform these tasks?
• What is the relationship between users and data?
• How do users communicate with one another?
• What are the time constraints on the tasks?
• What happens when things go wrong?

Design the System

Several different types of design, undertaken by different designers/teams, go into a multimedia product. At the very least, these include ...

• Interface design
• Functional design

Interface design

Myth vs. Conceptual model

• Designers make myths
• Consistent external behavior
• Does not necessarily reveal internal behavior

• Users make conceptual models
• Mental representation of what the system is doing
• Used to make predictions, extrapolations, educated guesses about system behavior

Every application is designed with a use model in mind. An explicit use model ensures that it is designed for the correct audience.

• How will people use the system?
• What problems will it solve for them?
• How will it integrate with their environment?

Functional design

Functional design describes how exactly the system will do what it is supposed to.

• System architecture
• Data descriptions
• Unit-level code specification

Develop the system

Development of the system includes ...

• Creating the user interface
• Writing code
• Editing content
• Integrating the pieces

In all of these, there are two possible development approaches:

• Waterfall
• Prototyping

In either case, it is strongly advisable to use incremental development.

Test

Testing includes the following:

• Unit-level testing, which ensures that system components work as expected
• System-level testing, which ensures that the integrated system works as expected
• Interface testing, which ensures that the system truly is consistent, easy to use, and worth using

Testing typically takes half of your development time. Be sure to allow plenty of time for testing!

Deliver

When delivering the finished system, it is important to

• Ensure that the correct end-users are aware of this new product
• Provide training, user manuals, or other support to make learning easier
• Gather feedback to help improve the next version and/or product

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Macromedia Director

Authoring tool for multimedia productions such as ...

• kiosks
• titles on CD-ROM
• simulations
• interactive presentations
• demo disks
• interactivity on the WWW

Cast

A cast is a database of multimedia objects

• Cast member is a single object
• graphic
• text
• movie
• sound
• button
• script

• Cast members may be created using Director, or Imported from another source
• Sprite is an instance of a cast member

Score

The score tracks the action in your application

• Frame represents an instant of time
• Tempo determines the rate at which frames are viewed
• Frames may be Marked and Labeled for future reference
• Represented by a column in the score
• Channel represents an individual sprite, effect, or script over time
• Up to 48 graphic channels
• Effects channels for Tempos, Transitions, Palettes, and Sounds
• Script channel
• Represented by a row in the score
• Cell contains information about one sprite at one frame in the application

Movie

The resulting application, described by the Score, is called a Movie

• Stage is the window where all action occurs
• Scripts provide interactivity with lists of instructions or descriptions
• Instructions are written in Lingo, which can incorporate Hypercard XCMDs and XFCNs
• Activated by Events
• Scripts may be associated with different parts of the movie
• Cast member script
• Sprite script
• Frame script
• Movie script

Menus

• Control Panel - stepping through and playing the movie
• Cast -store, show, and edit cast members
• Score - control the action
• Paint - create bitmapped cast members
• Tools - add text, buttons, shapes directly to a frame
• Marker - shows all marked frames