Considerations for the development of a digital product including; purpose, target audience, content, presentation medium, design concepts. 11 GEN
Components of a project design process including; product purpose, design criteria, target audience characteristics, project presentation medium, 12 GEN, plus also add to this situation analysis and style guide for 11 ATAR
Before starting to make a digital product, it is very smart to stop and think for a while.
This topic gives ideas to think about so you can make a better product.
A purpose for a digital product is that it must do, what it is designed to do.
If your Aunty asks for a website for her new home business, then you have a good reason to get started.
If an Art teacher asks for a poster to promote Art's Festival Day, then the poster must do exactly that. Promote the event.
If there is a purpose, then the digital product has a wonderful starting point and then other considerations can start.
Who are the people looking at your product?
What things do they like?
What music do they like?
Are they like you?
Are they like the old bloke next door?
Are they like your grandma?
If you know the target audience, you will know more about what to put into the digital product.
You can add images, colour, fonts, dark tones, light tones, formal and organised, chaos appeal and lots more
Age group (young, old, teenage, kids, just married), gender, married, single, kids or no kids, own home, drives a sports car, plenty of income, do they want high quality, do they want a quick trendy buy, smart look, formal look, old fashioned classy look, old fashioned traditional look, serious, carefree, sporty, geek, out there, attention to detail ...add your own
The content in the digital product must match target audience.
For young kids the product would have bright colours, not many words to read
For oldies the product would probably be more formal, pastel or lighter colours
For teens it may have dark tones for boys, pink tones for girls (sorry for the stereotypes but that is what designers tend to work on)
This means how it will be presented.
single graphic
publication such as a brochure
photo of your message
Audio Visual
animation
video
Interactive
website on a desktop
website on a smartphone
tablet
gaming
Design is the idea behind the digital product.
It helps to put your ideas into the product.
It makes your decisions for the design very clear. 11 GEN STOP HERE.
Is what you are going to put into your digital product.
Is like a list of things to go into the design based on what the target audience expects to see and/or what the client expects to see.
These are especially useful if a team is making a digital product and everyone knows what is expected in the product.
It is especially useful for the development phase so you know what to put in.
It is also useful to the evaluation phase, to see if you have got everything you decided to put into the design.
Example of The Arts Festival Day Poster Design Criteria
Must be bright and colourful
Have imagery about arts and music
Include a dominant ARTS FESTIVAL DAY typography
Include important details such as date, location, venue
Size of poster is A3
Is stepping back and looking at the big picture for where the digital product is to go.
What situation is the usual location for the product
Is the product you have, relevant or useful to the target audience. Is it out of date
Are the stakeholders involved in the design of the product? Do they need to be questioned for ideas they would expect to see?
Is a list of expected information standards for a product.
It shows exactly how you should present parts of your product.
These are common for web standards on a website.
See styleguides.io for style guide samples.
See interface inventory for a method of collecting your best additions from digital products you have made. This involves taking screenshots of items you have made in a product. You paste them into a PPT or Keynote presentation and you can show future clients your work samples.
1. Apply the bigger picture to your design work.
2. What is a stakeholder?
3. What is the difference between a design concept and design criteria?
Learn more from Chapter Three
Appearance considerations for a digital product including; 12 ATAR
structure
usability
accessibility
User eXperience (UX)
User Interface (UI)
Project management is all about producing something that is worthwhile, and also profitable in an organised way.
It is so important to consider the success, or failure, of a product.
Who will be using that website you are building?
What considerations do you take before and during the building?
Structure needs to be planned and considered.
If a website has 450 pages, what is a likely menu structure
Too much information on a website, that can't be found leads to web-users being overwhelmed
Sequence structure (ref: http://webstyleguide.com this is a short sequence of a few webpages in a straight easy to follow manner
Hierarchy structure (ref:http://webstyleguide.com this is a more complex structure based on categories with like topics
Web like structure (ref:http://webstyleguide.com this is a structure with all items being linked, very complex, often links to other websites
Wikipedia states, "Usability is the ease of use and learnability of a human-made object.
usability refers to how all people can use the software or digital product,
how user friendly the product is to use
include a menu system that is logical and predictable
choose names for menus that are logical and predictable
use a search facility
provide user feedback when they are waiting, ie show a slider, countdown timer, something to indicate not to click away or leave the page.
is the product usable on different devices, tablets, smartphones, desktops
make the site usable for many clients; have a choice of language or translation
make the product accessible
Wikipedia states, "Accessibility refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities"
W3C clarifies web developments with accessibility in mind; such as the following.
use text alternatives to images, so text readers can help other forms people need, eg braille, simpler language
provide an alternative for audio only information; text or script, subtitles
provide an alternative for video only information; transcript, text, subtitles
make it easier for people to see and hear the content; use readable fonts at least 14 points, use good contrast
do not provide content that may cause people to have seizures; flashing < 3 times a second, small flash area
navigable; use techniques to help people know where they are on the website; breadcrumbs, menu system
predictable; make web content operate in expected ways
readable; make the text readable and understandable; include font size increase facility, larger fonts
understand who your users are
user experience analysis is before user interface creation. Design with user experience in mind. After that, the user interface will be more appropriate
Apple are experts at this. They want the user experience to be easy, enjoyable and the focus. Others have this as the main goal as well.
I repeat, make your website easy and enjoyable to use. People will return to your site.
design to users previous experiences, if there is a menu system, make it based on successful menu systems, contact details in a similar location (not spread out all over the page)
make the most important features, the easiest to find
conduct user testing for ease of use
after testing revise the product
after testing retest again with more than 2 or 3 people. More the better
the user interface must be user friendly
if you have online software that creates a short story with text and images, is the process predictable
provide hints and tips
provide a FAQ
at startup have a short video tutorial, which they can 'Skip'
at startup have a numbered list for expected steps to complete, or clear and simple instructions
Consider the people who will be using your digital products. Will they be able to use your digital products successfully?
Apply the above considerations to your websites and digital products.
Project management techniques including; 11 ATAR / 12 GEN
user/client requirements / scope
plan of action
time management strategies
resource requirements
evaluation
Project management considerations including; scope, time, resources, client brief 12 GEN
Project management is thinking carefully about how to achieve a short term goal. Then it involves considering what techniques you can use in order to achieve it. This project management information is based on the idea of creating a digital product for a client.
Who is going to use this digital product? (this is the user)
When are they going to use it?
How are they going to use it?
What are they expecting to see with this type of product?
Who (the client) is paying you (the graphic designer) to make it.
Where is the client going to put this product?
When will they use it?
What do they want to see in the product?
What are their exact requirements for this product? (they are paying you, so it must be what they want)
Scope is the start and finish of your work on this product.
Scope means the parts you need to do.
Scope means what is in your control to do. What is the scope that others need to do in this project?
Given the scope from above, decide what to do next.
Consider the client requirements.
Consider the user needs.
Make a plan for how to make this digital product.
Make a list of what tasks you need to do.
Make an action plan
Take your action plan back to the client and discuss it. Action Mapping is a trendy consideration.
Make a revised action plan which includes what the client really wants.
Understand what a time deadline is.
keep a list of deadlines for each of the parts of creating your digital product
eg brainstorm = 1 hour
eg create rough designs = done by Tuesday of this week
eg complete client discussions on rough designs = done by Wednesday
agree to the deadlines
if you don't agree with the deadlines, you need to renegotiate with the client
allow for a bit of extra time in your own deadlines, just in case something slows you down
break down the large project into smaller projects, each with their own deadlines
now the important one - focus on one task at a time and get that one finished.
don't be distracted - this is called procrastination and total avoidance of what you should be doing to achieve your deadline
learn from mistakes - if you don't meet a deadline, analyse it to find out why it didn't work
What does the design of this product need?
What is it going to look like?
Is it a poster that needs to be A4 or A3 or A2 size?
What do you need to plan for it?
What do you need to actually make it?
Make a list of the exact things needed for this product; What software can you use to make it? Do you have to print it out? Upload to the internet?
Do you have the skills to make it? Do you need help?
Have you got the correct hardware and software to make it happen?
Do you need a better camera for video?
Can you get the video off your smartphone onto the computer?
Can you edit the video? What software is needed for that?
You have finished.
Time now to have a very close look at your product.
Does it meet the needs of the task?
Does it need to be changed?
Who is going to evaluate it? You? Your friends? A client?
Have you got time to change it?
If you were to do a similar product again, What would you change? How could you make it better?
Write a review of how you would do it better next time.
1. Use these techniques in completing your tasks for AIT.
2. For time management strategies; identify your procrastination activities. Is it playing video games, watching TV ? Make a list.
3. Make a very quick, rough and ready action plan for how to build a 4 page website for an Aunty's Fitness Club.
Learn more from this business model of project planning from businessballs.com
Concept of Service Level Agreements; 12 ATAR
Features of Service Level Agreements including; 12 ATAR
availability of service
types of services
A service is what someone provides for you. An example of this is providing you an internet service.
a Service Level Agreement is an agreement in writing between 2 organisations for one to provide the other with a quality service
components in a SLA are time period, who it is between, signatures of each, date, what service to be offered, times available, penalties if service is not provided within a given timeframe.
look at the example below from iinet, they are stating that you will get internet working 99.9% of the time
In the above example, iinet are stating they will have the internet service available 99.9% of the time.
We look at a different example for types of services.
Take the example of a help desk service, which is contracted out (or outsourced) to a help desk specialist (possible overseas or not).
They can offer these types of services.
business hours telephone support from 8.00am - 5.00pm
extended hours support from 5.00pm - 10.00pm
email support with a response within 24 hours
email support with a response within 2 hours
The types of services are discussed and agreed to in a Service Level Agreement. Cost of each service is an important consideration, for example one company may want just the 8.00-5.00 telephone support. However another company may want business hours and extended hours support.
1. Research to find out what internet service "uptime" you have for your home internet provider. Is it 99.9%?
2. If you started a local business fixing computers for people in your suburb, what service type could you offer? Remember you have school during the day so you can't fix their computer during the weekdays. Write a service level agreement for your customers.
Learn more from this service level agreement example, example 2 from IT Donut
Advantages of local and global outsourcing compared with in-house production; 12 ATAR
Purpose of outsourcing data management; 12 ATAR
In-house means that a product or service is provided within the company.
Outsourcing means that the product or service is provided by another company or individual.
Local outsourcing means provided within the state or country.
Global outsourcing means provided by another country on the globe
If a company is to make a product (or service) it will need employees to do it.
Employees need to be paid a minimum wage.
Employees need holiday pay.
Employees need long service leave (in Australia)
Employees need sick leave.
All of these costs add up, so some companies don't produce things in-house anymore. They outsource.
This is getting another company to do part of your normal production.
Outsourcing is paying for another company to do part of your normal work.
An example of this is providing help desk support to a company.
Telstra in Australia provide many communications systems including broadband internet
Telstra used to have help desk staff in-house, providing employment for Australians
Telstra no longer have in-house help desk support to its customers. This is a popular trend for many companies.
Telstra use outsourcing. here
Optus use outsourcing. here
This is outsourcing within your own country.
This provides jobs to locals.
This is outsourcing to a company in another country
It is cheaper.
Workers in some other countries get paid less than in your country. This brings down operating costs.
Specialist help. These companies can become experts at providing this service.
A company can focus on core business.
Upskilling workers in an IT company can be costly. Outsourcing can keep employee costs down.
Staff flexibility. You can stop outsourcing when business slows down. You can start outsourcing when business picks up again.
Outsourcing data management services are in the image below from outsource2 india
The main purpose of outsourcing data management is to save costs.
data entry can be done by specialists thus reducing the need for data entry staff in a company
data handling can be done by specialists with benefits of cost saving of staff and other business overheads
with these advantages come some risks (see National Archives of Australia for more details on bullets below)
storage location may be unknown
there may be unauthorised access to the data
privacy may be lost
the data may be lost
1. What is outsourcing and how can it benefit a company?
2. What is the difference between local outsourcing and global outsourcing?
3. What is the purpose of outsourcing data management?
Project management considerations including; scope, time, resources, client brief 12 GEN
Project management is thinking carefully about how to achieve a short term goal. Then it involves considering what techniques you can use in order to achieve it. This project management information is based on the idea of creating a digital product for a client.
Scope is the start and finish of your work on this product.
Scope means the parts you need to do.
Scope means what is in your control to do. What is the scope that others need to do in this project?
Understand what a time deadline is.
break down the large project into smaller projects, each with their own deadlines
now the important one - focus on one task at a time and get that one finished.
don't be distracted - this is called procrastination and total avoidance of what you should be doing to achieve your deadline
What does the design of this product need?
What is it going to look like?
Is it a poster that needs to be A4 or A3 or A2 size?
What do you need to plan for it?
What do you need to actually make it?
Make a list of the exact things needed for this product; What software can you use to make it? Do you have to print it out? Upload to the internet?
Do you have the skills to make it? Do you need help?
Have you got the correct hardware and software to make it happen?
Do you need a better camera for video?
Can you get the video off your smartphone onto the computer?
Can you edit the video? What software is needed for that?
Where is the client going to put this product?
When will they use it?
What do they want to see in the product?
What are their exact requirements for this product? (they are paying you, so it must be what they want)
Visit the client to show progress and discuss the development of their product