Activity Development Process

Project Planning Who is involved in this step? Identify Themes, Goals, and Objectives for the project- essentially why are we doing this activity. Define timeline by first determining project due date, then work backwards from that date to determine due dates for each of the project deliverables. A typical 20 minute WebRanger Activity takes approximately 10-12 weeks to complete. Usually projects “get off track” when the project deviates from the agreed upon deliverables and plan. Scope changes are expensive and usually adversely affect the time in which d’Vinci can deliver the project. The contract for each activity is based upon the work hours to complete the project, when the scope changes or the timeline isn’t being adhered to- this means additional work hours and resources scheduling for d’Vinci. Define team member roles and responsibilities; for example- who will be responsible for creating the storyboard, who will be responsible for pushing team members to keep the project within the timeline, who has final sign-off responsibilities, etc. Define a storyboard format. Who is involved in this step? What is the deliverable of this step? Who will use this deliverable? Project team & d’Vinci Project Plan

Brainstorming Who is involved in this step? Use the Themes, Goals, and Objectives developed in the Project Planning step as starting points for your brainstorming session. Expand your ideas, as this is the opportunity to explore the possibility for the activity. This is also a good time to consider ideas from outside sources, such as KidsTeam and WebRangers feedback. The entire activity should be no more than 20 minutes, so it is not like preparing content for a thesis. The design process is living and breathing, usually not fully realized until it is in progress and it is good to give the designers latitude to be creative. Remember to keep your target audience in mind (age 6-12). Who is involved in this step? What is the deliverable of this step? Who will use this deliverable? Project team List of Possibilities Project team & d’Vinci

Light Research Who is involved in this step? This step maybe skipped if SME (subject matter experts) are working on the project- they typically have enough knowledge about the List of Possibilities, which result from the brainstorming step, to determine whether there is enough supporting information about each topic. Otherwise, the project team will need to spend some time getting familiar with information about the List of Possibilities to be able to determine their viability within the activity. This would require spending a little time reading articles, viewing supporting research… enough to speak intelligently on the subject. Remember that the target audience is between 6 and 12, on average, and the entire presentation should be no more than 20 minutes. We don’t want to invest too much research time at this point, since these possibilities still aren’t certain to make the final cut for the activity. Who is involved in this step? What is the deliverable of this step? Who will use this deliverable? Project team High-level Info about Possibilities Project team & d’Vinci

Filtering/outlining Who is involved in this step? In this step it is necessary to begin to commit. A narrowed scope should include: The goal for the activity- answer the question “What do you want this activity to accomplish?”, “After completing this activity the user will be able to…”. Topic(s)- that which will “make the cut”- answering the question “What are we going to focus on?” Suggestions the Project Owners or SMEs would like to make to the for the designer to remember: What key elements of the sub-concept(s) would you REALLY like to make it into the activity. This could be a quote, a fact, an image, etc. It is important to keep this list short- you will have more elements that you make available to the designer, but these are the ones that you feel are essential. Suggested design concepts- this could be a layout or format idea, this could be a color scheme, or a theme. Remember these are suggestions- the design process is living and breathing, usually not fully realized until it is in progress. Mood/ Emotion- What tone do you want the activity to have? What emotion do you want to leave the user with? Who is involved in this step? What is the deliverable of this step? Who will use this deliverable? Project team & d’Vinci Approved Narrowed Scope

Initial Storyboarding Using the storyboard format agreed upon at the beginning of the project, one person from the group should take the Approved Narrowed Scope and develop 4 to 5 storyboard screens of the activity. Storyboard should include screen text, references to imagery (links or actual file with notes on where it came from), and any interactivity or animation suggestions. The Initial Storyboard should then be shared with the team for review and feedback, ensuring the approach is on target. This process will circle around to an Approved Initial Storyboard Who is involved in this step? What is the deliverable of this step? Who will use this deliverable? PT- Writer, Project Team, d’Vinci Approved Initial Storyboard d’Vinci

Design Concept Who is involved in this step? d’Vinci Interactive will then take the Approved Narrowed Scope & Initial Storyboard and develop a design concept This will help the team visualize the activity’s look & feel The team will then review the design concept and provide feedback This process will circle around to an Approved Design Concept Who is involved in this step? What is the deliverable of this step? Who will use this deliverable? d’Vinci & Project Team Approved Design Concept Project Team

Continue Research/refine At this point the team will need to gather content and imagery to fully flesh out each topic covered within the activity. Don’t Forget Your target audience- look for material appropriate for their age group. This is an activity for the web- the story is told with images, on the web you want to keep text short, clear and concise. You don’t want imagery that requires a lot of explanation. Text and images on a single screen should compliment each other, and flow nicely with the screens before and after. Who is involved in this step? What is the deliverable of this step? Who will use this deliverable? Project Team Approved Supporting facts & imagery d’Vinci

Storyboarding Who is involved in this step? One person from the group (usually the same person who did the Initial Storyboard) should be tasked to create a fleshed out storyboard based on the project documents created to this point. Approved Narrowed Scope Approved Initial Storyboard Approved Design Concept Approved Supporting facts & imagery This can be a sizeable task for one person; however it is essential to bring one voice to the activity. Then the team will review and provide feedback. This process will circle around to an Approved Final Storyboard. Who is involved in this step? What is the deliverable of this step? Who will use this deliverable? Project Team & d’Vinci Approved Final Storyboard d’Vinci

Prototyping Who is involved in this step? d’Vinci Interactive will then take the Approved Final Storyboard and create a prototype. The prototype will then be shared with the team for review and feedback. It is important to keep in mind that a prototype will contain limited functionality- only full functionality will be realized when the activity is programmed into Flash. This process will circle around to an Approved Prototype. Who is involved in this step? What is the deliverable of this step? Who will use this deliverable? d’Vinci & Project Team Approved Prototype d’Vinci

Programming & Adjustments When a final prototype is approved, d’Vinci will then program the activity. The activity will be shared with the group on an ongoing basis, throughout the development process, for review and feedback. This process will circle around to an Approved Activity d’Vinci will then publish the approved activity to the web for user access. Who is involved in this step? What is the deliverable of this step? Who will use this deliverable? d’Vinci & Project Team Approved Activity Project Team