TECHNOLOGY: Hardware manufactures are finally making easy-to-use media boxes that will bring the web to the living room.

Streaming Videos Hosted On-Line to Your TV.
In my quest to self publish, promote and distribute my DVD/video, The
Full Circle Hula Hoop Workout DVD, www.hulahoopstar.com
to TV sets Worldwide,
I investigated the following Streaming Media Devices and Video Download Service options:



• Itunes + Apple TV: www.apple.com/appletv cross platformTV media hub. Playback is limited to formats playable within Itunes. HDTV only.
• XBL on 360: www.xbox.com/live/
• TiVo: TiVo.com
• Amazon Unbox: Amazon.com Windows only
• Wal-Mart: http://mediadownloads.walmart.com Windows only,
• Vongo.com: Windows XP and Vista only
• Createapace.com: DVD duplication on-demand new way to independently distribute your video worldwide. Used by Amazon Unbox.

The following criteria needed to be met.
• Where can you host your video so that it is available worldwide, cross platform for view on television?
• What Video formats are accepted?
• How will I Collect Royalties?
• Will the Digital Rights be protected.

First I looked for...
Streaming Devices, (Hubs that would convert video content from the web to the television).
Apple ITV verses Tivo, and Xbox360
• The difference between a service like XBoxL and the future Tivo/Unbox service, and a service like iTunes/iTV. In the case of XBL, you can order films directly from your television since the 360 is in the living room. In the case of iTunes/iTV you have order and download the content to your PC first, then stream the content to your iTV over wireless. You can not order films directly from iTunes via the iTV, all orders have to go through iTunes first. http://www.mathies.com/weblog/?p=795

• Apple I TV Mac + PC compatible www.apple.com/appletv
Play movies, TV shows, movie trailers, podcasts, photos, and YouTube videos from your computer on your TV In 40GB and new 160GB models starting at $299.

PROs & CONs
Pro TiVo • Don't forget that Tivo Series 2 machines perform virtually all these functions described by iTV and Xbox360 for 2+ years now. Listen to your iTunes library and watch shows recorded on your laptop via Tivo, and vice-versa, not to mention the ability to take my Tivo content on the go to yor iPod!
Everything is fully integrated, fully functional, and easily installed & setup.
Even movies downloaded to my computer from iTunes, I can play on my TV through Tivo!

Pro ITV • Mac + PC compatible
Play movies, TV shows, movie trailers, podcasts, photos, and YouTube videos from your computer on your TV? In 40GB and new 160GB models starting at $299.
I have to buy an Xbox and a Windows Media Center PC just to get to first base. Apple solution is you don’t need a new PC; it will work on both your current Macs and PC. $299 gets you a connection to your PC, and most important your current iTunes media.

• Cons XBox 360 • Using the XBox 360 you have to have a Media center PC to make it operational. Apple can easily beat this experience with a Front Row operated iTV box.
http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6449_7-6638689-1.html


Next I investigated servers that would host my video.
Video Download Services.
• Amazon Unbox: Windows only
• Itunes: Cross platform
• Wal-Mart: Windows only,
• Vongo: Windows only

• Amazon Unbox
http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=16261631
Amazon Unbox is a digital video download service which you may select in your CreateSpace member account. Customers can purchase and rent high quality digital videos from the Amazon.com web site and download them to any Windows-compatible computer on which they've installed the Unbox video player. Certain TiVo subscribers can also purchase and download these videos. Any broadband connected TiVo Series2 and Series3 DVR will be able to download and play Unbox videos. The service won’t be available for DirecTV TiVo subscribers or TiVo subscribers who use a telephone phone line to access the service. http://www.emergingearth.com/tivo-users-soon-able-to-enjoy-amazon-unbox/
The Amazon Unbox Video Player only works on PCs running the Windows XP operating system ( and is only available to Amazon customers located in the United States.)
http://www.createspace.com/Products/VideoDownload.jsp
• Createspace.com allows you to offer your DVD as a video download through Amazon Unbox
• Download to Own or Download to Rent options
• You set your price and earn monthly royalties
• Unbox offers DVD-quality video downloads and TiVo availability

• Collect royalties:
Amazon Unbox: As a CreateSpace Member, you will earn a 50% royalty of the purchase price (net of bad debt, any sales taxes, shipping charges.
Your sales report for Unbox sales may be viewed by logging into your CreateSpace Member Account. Your Unbox sales reports are updated on a monthly basis,
CreateSpace will pay your royalty for a given month's Unbox sales in approximately 60 days after the end of the month in which the sales were made direct deposit into your bank account
• Control Digital rights management:
Amazon Unbox, Is my title protected from piracy?
The Unbox Video Service works in conjunction with Microsoft's Windows Media Player and Microsoft's digital rights management (DRM) software. Microsoft's DRM software is intended to prevent any back-up copy of the Purchased Digital Content from being playable on a traditional DVD player.
In addition, the Unbox user agreement requires that a customer allow Microsoft's DRM software to monitor their hard drive and report activity to Amazon.

• Amazon UnBox Pros & Cons
http://techdigs.net/content/view/26/42/
• Pros
* Acceptable video quality is thus far the best I've experienced of the download services. Only some minor artifacts and color shifting. Near-upscaled DVD quality.
* Can push downloads from a remote location
* Can begin watching before download is complete. Download took 3.75hours for 2GB movie. Could begin watching after 2 hours
* Downloads can be paused and re-prioritized
• Cons
* Overall, the DRM gets in the way more than it should
* Can't save movies to a network drive
* Can't burn movies to a DVD for playback in a DVD player
* No 5.1 audio when connected to a home theater receiver
* Unbox client software is required to playback movies and is a very weak piece of software
* Downloads take longer than they should (may or may not be an Amazon throttling issue)
* For each of the “up-to-2 computers” on which you want to watch the video, you must download to that computer. So for two computers, count on 8 hours of downloading per movie.
* Unbox client launches at start-up with no built-in options to turn this feature off
* Regardless of whether Unbox is running, Amazon has hidden processes that are active.

In conclusion, with the research conducted I have found that there is nothing out there that will meet all my criteria. Even though Apple ITV seems to be most convenient and mainstream I have yet to find a way that I can post my video on their itunes site, therefore making it unavailable for worldwide distribution to on ITV.
Amazon Unbox would be the next choice, I can distribute my video through createaspace.com to Amazon Unbox. But Unbox is limited to Windows Platform, the USA only, and the reviews I read on their Unbox interface, fees, and the invasive DRM software as of now, does not make it sound end-user friendly.

What do you think will be the mainstream choice for streaming video from computer to TV?
What would your choice be to self publish video worldwide from the internet to living room television sets?
Please post your knowledge on the subject.
Bryn

New Technology - Microsoft Silverlight

The hype-mongers and publicists are calling it "the Flash Killer" a turn-of-phrase that is inevitably more pomp than truth. Still, it does make one wonder who would dare take on Adobe's mighty Flash in the internet design market. Microsoft, that's who.

Say what you will about the company, I am one of the more vocal supporters of Microsoft. I like their products. My computers don't crash. My computers do develop and render beautiful graphics - three Adobe products running at once. Oh, and it all runs on Vista.

Of course, I adore Adobe too. I have been using it since the days when I used it to crash my ex's Apple :o). And Macromedia? Dreamweaver, Freehand and I have spent may hours together. When Adobe swallowed Macromedia I was a little saddend at the downfall of the company that always seemed to be in Adobe's shadow; and yet, I could see the possiblities that this union could yield!

And yield it did. Today, the Creative Suite is a magnificent union of so many great graphic and web design products. What else could we ask for? It seems that Microsoft thinks that they know.


I just found out about Microsoft Silverlight. I guess it's official release was in May, but who has time to pour over all of these press announcements? My husband does, apparently. He's a web developer (as in, miles and miles of Visual Basic code - barely speaks of lick of HTML...). He told the Silverlight tale with a twinkle in his eye. I, myself, was conflicted. Adobe is a web design beast, they (including Macromedia) simply revolutionized the web "experience". Their products have changed media, advertising, information exchange, gaming - you name it. If it involves a broadband connection, Adobe/Macromedia probably made it better. Yet Microsoft is a power to be respected (feared by some). Whatever you believe about Mac OS, Linux, etc., you have to give Microsoft credit for making computers and computer applications accessable to the masses. They changed computing (let's not argue if they stole it from Apple - I will poke you in the eye).



Microsoft has been claiming that they want to bring the internet to our desktops, to make the computer an experience that reaches beyond our homes and offices and out into the world. Silverlight is their first major venture in the "internet experience" department. So, now I'm conflicted. I fear for Adobe's safety (well, only a little), and yet I'm intrigued at the possiblities that Microsoft promises. Another part of me is excited. After all, in our "free market," competition is the mother of invention...



So, what is Silverlight? It is, in a way, Microsoft's answer to Flash, and in a way it is different. Silverlight is a "proprietary runtime for browser-based Rich Internet Applications (RIAs)" and media. Like Flash, it provides means to make web interaction richer and more of an "experience" to the user/viewer. It integrates graphics, multimedia, animation and interactivity into one "runtime". Like Flash, it has an easily downloaded and launched viewer. Silverlight claims to be cross compatible with most major browsers, and it is also cross-browser compatible (Windows, Linus, MacOS, UNIX). Note: Silverlight is called "Moonlight" on the Unix platform.

So, the question is, what are the major differences? From a general perspective, Silverlight has a few advantages (at the time of this posting, I have no doubt that Adobe will do what it needs to to catch up):

• Currently, the advantage receiveing the most hype is that Silverlight uses XML formatted content. Content is not compiled, but rather it is represented as text in XAML (an XML based markup language). This presents a major advantage in that text is easily indexed by search engines, making Silverlight content easily accessed by search engines such as Google.



• Silverlight offers the ability to run "industry standard" media formats such as .wmv and .mp3 without a separate codec. It does not require Windows Media player or Windows Active X controls to run these formats.



• It offers "Scaleable" graphics that can run in formats ranging from High Definition to Mobile.

While these features are intriguing, they are probably not enough to turn the tide on Adobe CS. Indeed, some of the advantages/disadvantages to either of these programs may be in the eye of the user. These opinions may be based in the perceptions of web developers vs. web designers. Web developers work in the background of websites, dealing in server and database code foreign to most designers. By the same coin, web designers deal with programs and languages (Action Script, HTML, XML, CSS, etc.) not often used by developers. Because of this, developers often find themselves at the mercy of designers when it comes to the look and logic of a website. While this may be for the best, Silverlight does offer web developers a foothold into the design aspect of websites, offering them design tools in languages that are familiar to them:

• Silverlight is based on the Microsoft .Net framework, meaning that developers can use a variety of tools already at their disposal to work with Silverlight.



• One of several common languages can be used for development, including: Javascript, Ruby, Python, C# and VisualBasic.Net.



• Developers can work on Silverlight in Microsoft's Visual Studio, a program that many are already familiar with or using for web development.

On the other hand, when dealing with web designers, Adobe will probably continue to have the upper hand for a good long time. The Adobe suite of design tools and long been the industry standard in both traditional and web-based media:

• Adobe has a massive market penetration in this arena. The company may have started with printed media, but they have become the major force in the web design industry; especially with the acquisition of Macromedia.



• The new Creative Suite offers amazing integration for designers. Tools for raster graphics, vector graphics, animation and interactivity are all available in the same suite. This allows designers to easily swap items between programs with little chance of incompatibility.



• Designers are very familiar with Adobe and Macromedia products. While CS3 may be new, the programs inside are old friends, and now they work even better together. Microsofts' offering, Microsoft Expression, is simply unfamiliar ground onto which designers may be unwilling to tread. Designers will be hard-pressed to learn these new programs when they have a very comprehensive suite of programs that they've been using for years.



• We know that Adobe's programs work. Beyond familiarity, designers trust that Adobe products will do what they promise. Microsoft will have to win the confidence of consumers before they can hope to make a dent.



• The last disadvantage is more obscure. Microsoft itself is, simply, not trusted by designers. The stigma that has long plagued Microsoft (which I heartily disagree with), is that it cannot compete with Mac and Adobe in the design arena. While this perception may be slowly changing, many established designers are still working on Macs, a system that has been paired with Adobe since the beginning. These people are going to be hard-pressed to change over to a Microsoft product any time soon.

For the short term, Adobe probably has the upper hand. Years of experience, research, integration and a well-deserved reputation will probably keep Adobe ahead for now. Undoubtedly, whatever advances Microsoft makes in this arena will be copied by Adobe soon enough, and vice-versa. Microsoft does have the finances and the contacts to give Adobe a run for it's money, however. Ultimately, probably neither company will win or lose. Instead, designers and developers alike will have their preferences, and now they simply have more to choose from.

Whatever side your alliances lie with, in the end the "winners" will be internet designers, developers and users. The competition will undoubtedly lead to great innovations in the field of website integration, making the web a more exciting, entertaining, educational and useful experience for everyone.

Want to see Silverlight? Download the runtime: http://silverlight.net/GetStarted/
Once you have that, check out some Silverlight Samples and Silverlight Partners

There's a SEQUEL, and it's bigger and better!!!

Aha. Here is our anti-hero, Stick Figure, re-named The Chosen One. This time, the battlefield goes beyond the Flash interface, and spills onto Beckman-the-Animator's own desktop. My favorite scene: The "Kill Bill" fight between Chosen One and the AOL Messenger.

Animator_vs__Animation_part_deux.swf

http://alanbecker.deviantart.com/art/Animator-vs-Animation-II-50891749

Winner of a 2007 Webby Award.

Animator vs Animation

This Flash clip was forwarded to me by a friend upon learning I was enrolled in this class. It made me laugh out loud.

Its creator, Alan Beckman, took 3 months to complete it. The stick figure is battling against Beckman-the-Animator. The battlefield is the Flash interface itself! Note how the stick figures attempts to use the toolbox arsenal to defend itself from torture....

Animator_vs__Animation_by_alanbecker.swf

Useful Color Theory Pages

Color Theory

Color Theory represents an amalgam of guides and principles ranging from the scientific to the aesthetic. Having at least a rudimentary understanding of color theory is essential to understanding and creating harmonious color combinations. In many ways, color theory is comparable to Musical Theory and the various scales and modes therein.
Rather than restating the obvious, I've listed a series of links to various online resources on the subject. Once you start digging into the material it will become apparent that there is no "1" color theory and hence my comment at the beginning of this article about "an amalgam of guides and principles." Personally, I think it important to understand that outside of the strictly scientific interpretations of color the subject is really reflective of human psychology rather than a hard and fast set of rules. Much akin to the nature of music, each person interprets the interaction of color individually so don't invest too much belief in any one rule there is some truth in all of them it all depends on your perspective.

Awesome Flash Color Wheel: kuler.adobe.com
And An Excellent Example Of Flash Cliche: labs.adobe.com/technologies/kuler/
Good Ol' Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_theory
Learn to speak color: worqx.com/color/index.htm

For more info follow the links... And don't forget when all else fails there's alway catsup's and mustard.

Studio/Artist Exploration - Red Interactive Agency

The design studio I researched is Red Interactive Agency. You guys may remember Karl previewing it in class- it’s the one with the characters you can walk and fly around.

Red Interactive Agency is an independent interactive agency. Founded in 1999, RIA creates online marketing and advertising, and also does website development. RIA believes that as the interactive universe grows, the future will consist of fully immersive experiences. That philosophy shows in their designs. Some of RIA’s clients include Comedy Central, FX, HBO, NFL Network, UFC, Warner Brothers Pictures, MTV 2 and Lions Gate.


I really like RIA’s work for many reasons. They are very original and interesting. The amount of detail that is shown in some of their projects is amazing. A good example of this is their website for Sony TV, which can be found here http://www.sonypictures.com/tv/sales/. When you get into the site and scroll around you’ll notice how many things change and become added to the scene. I find that to be really cool. Also, everything they do is clean and organized. In their ad campaign for Spiderman 3, they have organized different ads in an interesting way -http://www.ff0000.com/portfolio/sony_sm3/. In addition, they designed a few UFC sites, and being a huge fan I find that pretty cool.


Here are two reviews of RIA’s work:


1. http://75.ufc.com/#lhw – This is a promotional site for a company called the UFC, UFC standing for Ultimate Fighting Championship. The UFC is a U.S. based mixed martial arts organization. The site was, and still is used as a promotional tool for the company. There are a few different links that take you to different parts of the site. The link I have posted above will take you to what I think is the best part of the site. It is an interactive page that showcases the UFC’s light heavyweight division fighters. I really like it because of it’s layout. The two other main parts of the site talk about UFC 75, and the last UFC event, UFC 76. They can be found here http://75.ufc.com/#previews

2. http://www.ethanhaaswasright.com/ewr.php - At first I had no idea what this website was about. On RIA’s site, all they have to say about the site is “Who is Ethan Haas? We have yet to find out in this mysterious viral gamesite.” So that led me to believe it was either a site advertising a video game, or simply an online game. Well after the loading screen finishes, we’re taken to a new page where an egg shaped object pops up in the foreground, with a city skyline in the background, and opens up revealing what looks to be a circular puzzle of some sort containing something inside. After clicking all over it and not really getting anywhere, I noticed at the top of the page there are two stars. The one on the right will change the words in the center from “Ethan Haas Was Right” to some made up language. The left star however was a little more interesting. When you click on it, your default e-mail client will launch and already have an e-mail address and subject filled in. I went ahead and sent the e-mail, and did receive a message. I’ll leave the review at that and let you guys find out what happens on your own if you wish.

photography website made in flash

This is flash photo website made by a friend of mine. Her name is Elizabeth and she has an online gallery of her and her husbands work. She lives in New York is a photo retoucher as a profession. She loves to travel and take phots of interesting things she see in the US. THe collection of pictures is called American Ritual. Her current work is lots of street scenes in New York of people walking down the street. Some of her pictures I really like and others are just ok. So you will have to look around at lots of the pictures to find some that might inspire you. The website is really simple but thats why I like it. With photography you have to be careful not to add too many distractions to the art itself. I feel that if her sight was more busy with animations it would take away from the pictures.

http://americanritual.com/

Low Morale.

Low Morale - a series of animations by Monkeehub design studio about a pessimistic office worker, who feels upset about his day-to-day routine and annoying colleagues. There are 13 short stories and a longer one. Each of them has similar suicidal ending. Watch stories #5, #7 and #9 to get an idea of this series.
Warning: the stories may seem offensive or inappropriate for some people.

In my opinion it is a good example of a website, that was created with an interesting concept to do three things:

• Entertain visitors.
  
• Bring new clients for the studio.
  
• Bring income from sales (mugs, t-shirts)
  

But what I really wanted to emphasize in this post is the last work in this series because it is a remarkable piece of Flash animation. It is not a short one - 5 minutes, accompanied by a great music track by Radiohead. Creep.

I think this animation as a good example to show two important concepts in Flash animation - that is animation on multiple layers and animation of separate pieces (movie clips). Notice, how it starts with only one character on an empty scene and step-by-step many layers add in front and in the back with different moving and static objects. All these small pieces sum up and bring the scene to life. Don't hesitate, this video is definitely worth watching.

Anything But Square

Design Exploration in the ATTIK, Stephanie Lopez

ATTIK is an interactive design firm that began in a small attic bedroom in England. The company now has offices in San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles as well. What initially attracted me to the the firm was their design-driven mentality and their incredible versatility. This is a fully "interactive" company, in all senses of the word. They do branding, broadcast, print, environment, events, guerrilla, advertising, and packaging. Essentially, ATTIK can be considered an advertising agency but instead of employing tried and tired ad models they entice consumers with curious and well-thought-out design. Considering the variety of their work and for the purpose of this exercise, I focus on their most Flash-related endeavor, the Scion campaign.








Guerrilla advertising: this sequence of images were posted in and around San Francisco with the slogan "want2bsquare"




Believe it or not but the posters above are part of a multi-dimensional ad campaign for Scion cars. In addition to graffiti-style posters, ATTIK employed television commercials, events, print ads, and interactive online worlds, to promote the product. The strategy was elusive and mysterious, focusing on the box-head characters and online environment. The following images illustrate the entrance to the 6 interactive worlds. In these worlds, you can play games, navigate, and occasionally read product info. The focus is on the experience and not the bombardment of advertising.























































































They have created a non-box-head-related world that has a direct link on the Scion home page, called Little Deviant. This has a fairytale tone where the evil characters become the protagonist. The story teller gives the Little Deviant (you) instructions on how to torment and eliminate the Sheeple, a clever play on words describing mindless trend followers. This is a clear advertising strategy to make the consumer feel like he/she is different, unique, and therefore cool. All-the-while, the site integrates story with product info, as on the want2Bsquare site. Below is the opening image from Little Deviant.

Beyond the online experience, ATTIK has coordinated launch parties and concerts, all in effort to promote Scion. The dynamic efforts that go into their advertising strategies are far from traditional and are what set them apart. But only time will tell if these innovative tactics will make a difference in a world ruled by the consumer.


http://www.attik.com/
http://www.want2bsquare.com/pub-share/w2s/index.html
http://www.littledeviant.com/
http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/case-study-scion-xb-campaign-by-attik

New Media Exploration - Process

Process, while not a fascinating topic, is a necessary one. It applies to any business and any product – be it a car, a toy, a cell phone, or a multimedia web site.

First, Terminology 101. Businesses must manage the way they produce a product – from conception to delivery and beyond, until product ‘end of life’ (when you quit fixing it and dump it to build a newer and much cooler widget) something you often hear referred to as ‘cradle to grave’. This is referred to as lifecycle management. Processes (also called methodology) are the tools of management. They specify what phases, stages or steps (equivalently) that a business goes through to produce a “good” product (“good” is included in quotes because what comprises “good” is industry and customer dependent). Procedures (or methods) specify how those steps are to be accomplished.

Process is often described in a very structured way (that has a tendency to put even the most determined to sleep). However, on the most fundamental level, it simply ensures you properly define what it is you are going to make, that you make what you intended to make, and that when you’re all done… it works. That’s it, end of story. Not hard, is it?

To understand the importance of process, we’ll briefly examine the growth of a start-up company… to make it more personal, we’ll name the company ‘Really Cool Multimedia’ or RCM for short.

RCM starts up in Bob’s office. Bob is a really, really smart and creative guy who can hack out multimedia designs faster than you can say ‘jack’. People really love his stuff. They look at his online portfolio and pretty soon Bob is getting more Email requests for information than he can handle. SO, Bob… being the web type guy he is… quickly networks to other smart and creative people he knows and starts building a business. At this point, Bob is living on coffee and chocolate bars, working 14 hours a day and doesn’t have time to baby sit employees… so he connects with and brings in other experienced, smart and creative people like himself that he knows and can trust to do what he needs done with minimal interaction.

Time goes on. RCM is making money and bringing in more business. This is a good thing, right? Sure… (do hear the hesitation in Bob’s voice) Bob is forced to come to the realization he needs to expand his business. He has tapped out his personal network and so must look outside for more employees. He is also at a point where there is a great deal of work that can be taken on by less experienced employees. He’d like his more experienced employees to focus on new business and to delegate a lot of the actual development work.

Fortunately, Bob is able to use Monster.com and rapidly bring in more talented people at a variety of levels. NOW RCM should be able to take on the projects that have been waiting in the wings. Except, Bob starts to notice work is actually slowing down. Holy Snail Pace Batman!? What’s going on!?

Well, RCM has been functioning to date with a small tight knit group of very experienced, smart and creative people. These people know what needs to be done, how it needs to be done, and they get it done. They have a history with each other and heck, they hardly have to talk to each other to get things done. The new employees are talented but they have no experience with the company, the company’s projects or the other employees at the company. Some are just out of college, maybe they have done some internships but they do not have experience that spans a large team project from start to finish. The new employees feel a bit intimidated but they conscientiously dig in by reviewing the details of previous projects, looking at the actual application files, mark-up language and scripts… and basically, hoping someone (please God) actually documented something. They try to build a mental picture of how all the pieces fit together… and they start asking questions... a lot of questions.

The only people around that have answers are, of course, the experienced employees. So, they spend their time answering questions (often one-on-one, often the same question for different people) on previous or current projects instead of working on new projects. So who’s working?

Hmmm… Bob starts to see the problem and the word ‘process’ pops into his mind. (Ow, hate it when that happens.) If only they had written things down. If only they had outlined coding standards for the new employees… if only they had tracked the changes (and the reasons for them) that came in along the way. OH, and how about the project goals… that would have been useful. If only…

There are endless scenarios that lend a hand in explaining the importance of process – the story of the customer reviewing the final site and their comment “That’s really neat but I wanted…”, the web site that cost three times what it was estimated to, the site that went live… and didn’t work, the site that should have been extensible… but you had to rebuild the WHOLE darned thing to change one ostensibly simple function.

I could go on, but I think you’ve got the idea. Process is a way of curing the ‘if onlys’.

The most basic stages in life cycle management are the same for any product. They are not always described precisely the same, but they are always a simple set and one description can always be mapped to another with more or less accuracy. In most cases, these stages are described as a sequential set. While that helps in grasping the concept, it is not strictly representative of what actually happens. Yes, in a broad sense a project should progress from one stage to another in the manner described… yet, any supporting processes must handle the natural sputters and restarts that occur in any development process (the ‘technical term’ for those points in the development is an… pardon the expression… “oh, shit” moment).

I describe those stages as follows:

1. CONCEPT AND PLANNING– Develop the concept for the product, start the project planning. In other words, define the product to be solved and the boundaries / constraints on the problem. This includes not only design, user, and functional requirements but also programmatic requirements like cost and time to market. Remember, different assumptions, requirements, or proposed solutions may lead to dramatically different results.
1. Define your customer / identify your target market (users).

Note that these may or may not be the same. Who is paying you and who is going to use the product?

2. Identify the requirements that this customer and/or market places on the product. Identify the requirements that the product’s environment places on the product.

The term ‘environment’ refers to a number of things – physical environment for products like a cell phone or software / hardware environment for products like web sites. How are you constrained by the connection speed, monitor size, operating system, browser type/version, etc.? Often, you have to deal with legacy issues. You could build a cooler widget if you were not constrained to operate it in situations that involve older technology.

2. ANALYSIS AND DESIGN – Analyze the product requirements and, with your customer, finalize a design solution.
1. Brainstorm potential product design solutions.
2. Analyze the trade-offs involved.
3. Document and present your analysis and proposed solution to your customer.
4. Negotiate and document a final design.
3. DEVELOPMENT – Build to the design specification.
4. (INTEGRATION AND) TEST –Test focuses on a system level test ensuring that you built what you intended to build.

In many lifecycle management descriptions you will see integration listed with test. This applies to products that are comprised of more than one major component that have been developed and component-tested separately. Integration at this stage takes the individually developed components, puts them together and ensures that the components all work together as a system. I include it in parentheses because with multimedia web site projects, any integration is largely a lower level activity that is really part of the development effort. The work does not proceed in the same way as say a cell phone where one manufacturer makes the chips, another makes the case and purchases the accessories from a third… and then SOMEONE has to put all the pieces together and make sure they all play nice.

5. (PRODUCTION) – Manufacturing.

I include this stage in parentheses since it is only applicable if the product is something that is manufactured, i.e., you’re making more than one of an identical widget. That does not apply to a business that makes one up customer-specific multimedia web sites.

6. DELIVERY – Deliver the product,. Take the site live.
7. MAINTENANCE AND SUPPORT – Maintenance is the process of keeping a system running despite changes in its surrounding environment. Support is the process of assisting customers and users after delivery.

I chose a set of firms and used the information on their websites to build a cross reference table to the generic lifecycle management stages I described above. This allowed me to review and compare their processes. I included four I found on Karl’s list of multimedia design studios/firms plus four companies that identify themselves as web site developers (but do some interactive design) because they are interesting examples.

Process Cross Reference Table

Generalizing what I saw in the sample of web sites I reviewed – multimedia design studios / firms seemed to present their process (if at all) in a less formal, more conversational or entertaining manner. Firms that characterized themselves as offering broader web services had a bit more of a tendency to describe process in more detail (infrequently in too much detail). In retrospect, those generalities seem appropriate to their industry. If you are in the business of dealing with the government or military, detailed and formal process descriptions are necessary. In other industries, the level of formality presented... particularly on a web site where you are seeking to attract new clients is more open. In a design industry, clients are looking first to see what you can do and what you have done, then they'll proceed to substantiating for themselves that you are a reputable and reliable business. Business philosophy with a light sprinkling of process may be just the right mix for this industry... and that was where a fair number of the multimedia design firms went on their web sites.