As with any undertaking, setting up a systematic process that will guide you as the project proceeds is important. In the software industry, this is known as the design and development cycle. It incorporates the planning, development, production, and eval- uation of a product from start to finish, and is a circular process rather than a linear one. By the time one version is released, the next one is already being worked upon.
This chapter discusses the various components that make up a typical design and development cycle. You will find that the components don’t always surface in the same place in the cycle, and they often overlap. In fact, the process can be fluid.
No matter what size project you are embarking upon, it is important to under- stand the different aspects of this cycle and to incorporate them into your process.
Establishing a system will permit the project to be developed within a specified time and evaluated according to objective criteria. It will allow you to execute the project efficiently, saving you time overall. The four main stages you will deal with are prepro- duction, production, publication, and postproduction. In addition, two facets appear in all stages of the cycle: project management and evaluation. Figure 3.1 provides a graph- ical representation of the design and development cycle for Web-based instruction.
P R E P R O D U C T I O N
No matter how simple the project appears at first consideration, if you jump right in and start creating Web pages immediately, it is going to end up taking much longer than if you take the time up front to carefully plan each aspect of the project. This planning step is called the preproduction phase and can normally encompass about two-thirds of the entire cycle.
tutorial for a specific class has approached you. Whatever the origin of the idea, it has been formed in response to some perceived need. You must develop a good under- standing of what that need is. Thus, the first step in the cycle is to perform needs analyses of the client, audience, stakeholders, information, and resources.
Client Needs Analysis
Start by interviewing your client (who may be a fellow librarian, an entire academic department, or a faculty member). You want to determine what the client hopes to accomplish with an online tutorial. Does the client have some specific goal in mind?
What is it? For instance, will the tutorial replace face-to-face library instruction, or will it be a supplement to it? Is a Web-based tutorial really the best approach to provide the outcome the client is seeking? What resources does the client have for this project? Is there a departmental budget that will pay for the project, or does the client expect it to come from your library budget?
FIGURE 3.1
Design and Development Cycle
Audience Needs Analysis
Who is the audience you will be addressing in the tutorial? You will want to “get into their heads” before you design your tutorial. What are the characteristics of this audi- ence—gender, age, ethnicity, socioeconomic level, educational background, learning style, and the degree of familiarity with the proposed subject matter? It is also essential to know the audience’s level of computer competence. If you are dealing with an audi- ence with mixed characteristics, you should recognize and factor that into your design.
Stakeholder Needs Analysis
Stakeholders are those individuals or groups external to your project who have an interest in the outcome of your endeavor. It will benefit your project to identify this group at the start as they can be important allies who can help ensure a successful out- come. Stakeholders for an instructional project can include other librarians, faculty, administrators, trustees, your organization’s information technology department, or state and local government representatives. Most often they will not have a direct involvement with your project, but many times they are people who have control over your organization’s budgets, technology, and politics. Identifying, establishing rela- tionships with, and gaining the support from this group will help you reach your objectives.1
Information Needs Analysis
Determining information needs involves researching, selecting, and arranging the content that will be included in the tutorial. You will want to consult with the client or a content specialist to determine what is to be included and how to organize it for optimum retention. Often the client is not the person who understands the best way to present the content. For example, a faculty member who is the client probably knows the discipline but not necessarily how it relates to doing library research.
Content to be included may also depend on the audience mix. For instance, if the tar- geted audience is made up of distance education students, the tutorial may want to emphasize online resources over print resources that require a trip to the library to use.
Resource Needs Analysis
What resources are available to support your project? Hardware and software resources need to be considered. Do you have what you need to produce the tutorial, or will you require additional applications or peripherals such as a scanner? What about the students’ existing hardware and software? (Chapter 4 focuses in detail on hardware and software considerations.)
How much time is available to complete the project? What human resources are needed? Is there sufficient money in the budget to cover expenses? What delivery sys- tem is going to be used, and will your existing infrastructure support it? In the case of Web-based delivery, will it be delivered over a fiber-optic network or an analog phone line? The answer will shape what you decide to develop.
When you have worked through these analyses and have clearly outlined the results, you have the information you’ll need to start on the next step in preproduc- tion: design and prototyping.