Television Program Production Management - Case Study Example

Project Management Plan This project management plan is to be undertaken by SuperNewMedia for TravelToday, a UK based TV production company. The aim is to develop a web site for a travelling TV programme. 1. Features of the project 1.1. Needs of the client The client requires a companion web site for its travelling programmes on TV. The client provides its own textual and video content, but will require SuperNewMedia to create an innovative interface graphic design to support the information pages, as well as other features that enhance the site. The client needs a rich-media site to be able to extend indepth information about destinations, provide photos and video clips, and online forum and a chat-room for viewers to extend feedback. TravelToday also needs an e-commerce facility in its website, for clients to be able to book holidays online and buy travel insurance. For this the site should also provide access for secure business transactions. 1.2. Needs of the target audience The target audience are TV viewers, thus mainly UK residents. They are between 25-55 years old, and include both male and female viewers. They need to be able to access not only schedules of shows but moreso in-depth analysis of itineraries, and a profound and updated assessment of the countries featured in the TV programmes. The audience also has to be able to feedback opinions and comments about the programmes, as well as discuss issues pertaining to travelling abroad, with experts and programme guests, for which chat rooms are considered desirable. 1.3. Current trends in the industry The present attraction of new media rests in direct access to a large audience, ease of access, freedom of expression, minimal costs and viral impact, and these considerations will continue to direct future trends in the industry (Mishra, et al. 2010). Some of these are already undergoing development and will soon be implemented, for which the client must be prepared. Augmented reality is a form of “mixed realities” in the “reality-virtuality continuum” It is a human-computer interface that embeds synthetic supplements into the real environment, or into a live video of the real environment (Klein, 2008). Dynamic content will tend to replace static content, as streaming media content becomes more popular. There is a need for marketing purposes, for instance, to target streaming content to specific customers (Days & Halliday, 2004). Convergence will be of particular interest to TravelToday, since interactive TV and television/Internet simulcast events become increasingly popular. In general, Web content will increasingly be combined with traditional media, thereby also providing impetus for improved network infrastructure using enhanced bandwidth technology (Days & Halliday, 2004). New protocols will need to be developed for users to gain access to these enhanced and more powerful networks (Jones, 2003). 1.4. Quality standards expected There are web quality standards that must be met concerning (1) the quality of code (doctype, character set, valid html and CSS, structure, speed and page size, etc.); (2) degree of separation between content and presentation; (3) accessibility for users; (4) accessibility for devices; (5) basic usability; and (6) site management (Weakley, 2004). 2. Main production phases and production life-cycle 2.1. Production activities There are several different procedures that may be followed during the website design process, but these different procedures may be integrated into five vital steps (Puri, 2010). Step 1: Consultation with client / market research Prior to embarking on the actual creation of the website, it is important to sit down with the client to ascertain what they desire to include in the website design. It may also be necessary to research on the tastes and preferences of the client’s customer base, or to familiarize the team with the client’s research on this. Step 2: Unique Selling Point (USP) creation The product SuperNewMedia should be extending TravelToday should not merely be a clone of all the other websites it would have developed for other clients. Each client should be accorded a unique website solution. USP creation involves creating something that is unique for TravelToday and will set them aside from other similar companies. This should be worked out with the client, to integrate well with the client’s marketing thrusts. Step 3: Website creation / production The actual website creation involves a complex series of steps. These are: (1) select and register a web site domain name; (2) select and configure a web site hosting services; (3) design, code and test the website; (4) deployment of the web site; and (5) promotion of the web site. The design of the web site includes the following elements: (1) message boards and forums; (b) polls; (c) guestbooks; (d) search engines; (e) data entry forms; and (f) data base tools. Aside from these, since the contract with TravelToday will necessitate e-commerce capability, a reputable service for processing online monetary transactions will be needed for the web site. One such recommended service for the UK is PayPal, which is the most popular and accepted online payment service worldwide today. Step 4: Testing Prior to deployment, it is an important precaution to do a final test of the website in the manner it is expected to be manipulated by the user, in order to fine tune the final product. Testing is done by making different combination of website elements and making the necessary changes for optimal performance. When the developed web site has passed the various tests, it is launched. Step 5: Deployment and Traffic generation After launching the website, its presence should be brought to the attention of its intended audience, in order to attract visitors. Search engine optimization is one of the better traffic generation techniques that may be used. By optimizing the website, the website may eventually land at the top slight of the search engine in order to engender the highest possible visitor traffic. 2.2. Manpower requirements and recruitment strategy The required personnel include the 1 senior graphic designer and 1 graphic designer, 1 senior web developer and 3 junior web developers, 1 copywriter and 2 site administrators. The required manpower complement, their job descriptions and qualifications are in Appendix A. The necessary personnel may be sourced through word of mouth, by resort to the job placements offices at universities and colleges, and by advertising online. No outsourcing is required for this project, as it is desired to have direct control over all aspects of the development. 2.3. Time allocation and schedule The time allocation and schedule for each step is estimated as follows: (1) Client consultation (preliminary and intermittent) – 6 weeks, through production (2) Market research – 1 week (3) USP creation – 1 week (4) Website creation a. Front-end website design – 2 weeks b. Back-end website production – 13 weeks (5) Testing – 1 week (6) Deployment and traffic generation – 6 weeks A Gantt chart graphically depicting the above steps is included in Appendix B. 3. Software and hardware requirements PHP (backend) MYSL (data) HTML (website layout) CSS (website design) JS (user interaction) DEDICATED IP SSL PAYMENT GATEWAY (for UK client can use paypal) Or the client can just use content management system like Magento. For Forum. PHPBB is recommended. It is a free forum that can easily be installed on your hosting and it is easy to manage as well. Otherwise, the client can just register a free forum in www.forum-motion.com. Provide for WEB HOSTING, i.e hostmonster.com. 4. Team management strategies and internal communication systems and strategies The team is not merely a collection of people, but is a an integrated unit that has developed a smooth working relationship among themselves and with each other, in order to effectively and efficiently arrive at the desired product. The building blocks of a successful team is shown in the following diagram: Source: MDB Group, Inc., 2010 5. Client management strategies In new media project development, there is a close, one-on-one relationship established between the customer and the company, because the product to be created is uniquely applicable to this client. Therefore, CRM, or customer relationship management becomes a critical central element in SuperNewMedia’s client management strategy. CRM can be implemented across three broad areas of the client’s system: (1) Processes – The project being developed for the client is highly technical, however at it is core is still the business processes of the client, which is the provision of information and entertainment as well as a facility for transacting travel arrangements. Client centrism should be employed by the company in order to closely hew the product’s features to the client’s processes. (2) People – The design of the features of the product should always take into consideration the client’s employees, their level of competence, and the totality of their work assignments. There will definitely be resistance to change, which SuperNewMedia must mitigate through providing training and orientation, as well as design the features to be least disruptive of existing organizational processes. (3) Technology – Naturally, follow up client service and support are necessary after the sale, but even during the design the key considerations must include the client’s existing technology and the ease of use of any upgrades to be undertaken. The choice of technology should also take costs into consideration, that such should be within the budget allocation of the client. 6. Asset management strategies Aside from the conventional asset management employed for brick-and-mortar assets, there is what is known as Digital Asset Management (DAM), or asset management techniques tailored to assets that exist as numeric encoding expressed in electronic binary form (Atkinson & Blackburn, 2006). DAM techniques include infrastructure management, archive management and compliance with laws and regulations. (1) Infrastructure management includes syndication, storage management and disaster recovery. Syndication involves the mechanism by which the digital assets are integrated for future reuse by the system. Storage management is the management of requirements for storage for a digital asset archive. Disaster recovery involves the tracking of assets to ensure their recoverability after occurrence of a possible disaster (Atkinson & Blackburn, 2006). (2) Archive management encompasses asset acquisition (to maintain archive quality), metadata management (to support external processes and systems); asset access (to support people and systems seeking specific assets for re-use); and asset version control (to maintain multiple versions of assets per client requirements) (Atkinson & Blackburn, 2006). (3) Compliance involves the tracking or rights ownership and distribution, access control and corporate guideline enforcement. Rights ownership tracking is necessary to ensure that such assets are used in a way that is consistent with the rights owned. Rights distribution tracking keeps tabs on third parties who have acquired such rights to ensure that the assets are not exploited unlawfully. Access control guarantees that unauthorised individuals do not unlawfully use the assets. Finally corporate guideline enforcement aids in enforcing corporate standards and guidelines by maintaining centralised control of corporate assets (Atkinson & Blackburn, 2006). 7. Risk assessment and provisions for crisis and risk management systems There are several risks connected with new media, such as loss of intellectual property, divulging of confidential company information, disparaging the company or co-workers, posting embarrassing (to the company) content, possible legal liabilities, and a possible violation of the code of ethics by visitors to the website (Corporate Eye, 2010). A risk management system should be put in place to (1) identify the specific risks; (2) evaluate these risks; (3) plan the response, (4) minotir the risks, and (5) document what was learned from the risk situation. The following diagram describes a typical risk management system. Source: Verdon & McGraw, 2004, pp. 32-37 8. Quality procedures, testing and provisions for de-briefing of production The usability test is intended to determine the extent to which the target users can achieve their goals through the website. The test is attended by a facilitator, who guides the user through the test and takes notes; an observer, who is an informed third party usually in a separate room; the owner of the website; the website development team, who are comprised of everyone involved in the development of the website including the strategy group, designers, programmers and stakeholders; and the user. Testing should be done often and incrementally during various stages of its development, instead of having just one big test towards the end. This is a more cost effective and helpful method of maintaining quality and ensuring the client’s expectations are met. The particular test procedure will depend upon the facilitator, but the following test must be able to determine: (1) if the user gets the point of a page/ understand what a page is for; (2) if the user understands how to navigate the page; (3) if the user can guess how to get somewhere or do something; (4) what the user finds difficult to do; (5) where the user gets lost; (6) what does or does not make sense to the user; (7) what makes the user feel distrustful or insecure; (8) what users like and what they dislike; (9) if the user can or cannot accomplish a task; and (10) if the user can find something in particular (McAlpine, 2010). References: Atkinson, N & Blackburn, G 2006 “Formulating a digital asset management strategy,” Digital Asset Management. May 2006, pp. 24-27. Accessed 15 January 2011 from http://www.neoworks.com/articles/enterprise_information_magazine/digital_asset_management/EI_Workshop_digital_asset_management.pdf Bouncken, R B; Lekse, W J; & Koch, M 2008 “Project Management Capabilities in the New Media Industry,” Journal of Media Business Studies, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 67-93 Corporate Eye 2010 “Social Media and Corporate Governance.” Corporate Eye. 15 September 2010. Accessed 15 January 2011 from http://www.corporate-eye.com/blog/2010/09/social-media-and-corporate-governance/ Days, F & Halliday, M 2004 “Top Ten Trends in Streaming Media Appliation Development.” IBM. Accessed 15 January 2011 from http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/rational/library/4667.html Ippolito, J; Blais, J; Smith, O F; Evans, S; Stormer, N 2009 “New Criteria for New Media.” Leonardo, Vol. 42 Issue 1, p71-75 Jones, S 2003 Encyclopedia of New Media. Moschovitis, New York, N.Y. Julie Chisholm case study. http://www.juleschisholm.com/portfolio03.html Klein, M 2008 “Latest Trends and Opportunities in teh German New Media Sector” German Cities of Excellence. Accessed 15 January 2011 from http://www.webpagecontent.com/arc_archive/124/5/http://germancitiesofexcellence.com/pdf/presentations/klein.pdf Makkar, T 2010 “New Age Media, Age Old Rules!” Vikalpa: The Journal for Decision Makers, Jul-Sep2010, Vol. 35 Issue 3, p100-102 McAlpine, R 2010 “Web site usability testing: recommended procedures.” Quality Web Content: words that work. Accessed 15 January 2011 from Mishra, G; Makkar, T; Gupta, A; Vaidyanathan, M; Sarin, Sh; Bajaj, G 2010 “New Media Experiences: Dealing with the Game Changer.” Vikalpa: The Journal for Decision Makers, Jul-Sep2010, Vol. 35 Issue 3, p91-97 PH New Media Inspired Website Design. http://www.phnewmedia.com/ Ross, J-M 2009 “A Corporate Guide for Social Media,” Forbes.com, 30 June 2009. Accessed 15 January 2011 from http://www.forbes.com/2009/06/30/social-media-guidelines-intelligent-technology-oreilly.html Senecal, B 2010 Seven best practices for Performance Measurement. Project Management Bistro. 13 April 2010. Accessed 15 January 2011 from http://projectmanagementonline.blogspot.com/2010/04/seven-best-practices-for-performance.html UK Department for Business Innovation & Skills 2010 Recruitment Channels. Accessed 21 November 2010 from http://www.bis.gov.uk/policies/higher-education/access-to-professions/prg/recruitment-step-by-step/attracting-applications/recruitment-channels Verdon, D & MGraw, G 2004 “Risk Analysis in Software Design,” IEEE Security & Privacy. MDB Group, Inc. 2010 Team Management and Development. Accessed 15 January 2011 from http://www.mdbgroup.com/teams1.htm Weakley, R 2004 “Web Standards Checklist,” Maxdesign. Accessed 15 January 2011 from http://www.maxdesign.com.au/articles/checklist/ Appendix A Schedule of Personnel No. Personnel Job description Capability 1 Senior graphic designer Supervision of Web design HTML CSS Photoshop or Illustrator 1 Graphic designer Web design 1 Senior web developer Supervision of web development Paypal integration Php, MYSQL, Has knowledge in setting up Phpbb Has experience in ecommerce development and working security measures 2 Junior web developer Back end development 1 Junior web developer Front end development Html, SS, JS, User interaction 1 Copywriter Manage content Word processor 2 Site Administrator Manage forum and live chat Internet use Appendix B Gantt Chart of Project Activities Read More