Student Negotiated Project Year 2,

Skills for Success Good communication Good team skills Good network skills Good time management and planning Good research Good design skills Good technical skills

Good communication Swap addresses and phone numbers including mobile. If you are planning to disappear, let somebody know. Plan for emergencies, allow extra time. Identify two team members (one primary, one secondary) for the following tasks: - Two students responsible for Lingo / testing. - Two students responsible for design / interfaces. - Two students responsible for web. - Two students responsible for animation. As much as possible make collective decisions and attend weekly meetings to monitor progress.

If one goes down, do we all go down, or do we try to cover the gap? Your decision. Keep everybody informed, keep ideas flowing. If you can’t complete a task, let the team know, but don’t let them wait. Good Team Skills

Good Time Management and Planning Set realistic goals and aims: - The animation is short, around 1 minute - The CD-ROM has 4-5 sections maximum - The web page maximum 10 HTML documents Timetable tasks, allow for unknown factors. It usually takes longer than originally anticipated, specially for animations and Lingo. Plan for a working Easter Break. Keep a record of development ideas in the log. This is very useful for the written critical appraisal. Don’t miss a single class. Bring work in progress to show and get feedback.

Good Research Original ideas can only come out of good research. Don’t re-invent the wheel. Check what is there, so you can take it further. “There are no shortcuts to any place worth going”

Good Design Skills Determine stylistic unity for all three media and packaging. No problem with variation, but should have an overall design style. Think of design consistency and interfaces in Year 1. Design interactivity which engages users. Be original, be innovative. Animation is animation, not just camera movement. Think small and polished. Quality over quantity. Who is the target audience? Not you!

Good Technical Skills Keep an eye on file sizes. Follow a strict naming convention. Allow time for Lingo testing and debugging. Keep backups, make copies. Is your life worth living if you lose your only copy? Stick to appropriate file formats. Think of the lowest denominator for CD and web. Not everybody has a super fast computer with big monitor. Check on all platforms, check on all browsers. Free download Gantt chart software, Mac and PC: