Objectives Robert Munro 2005

Objectives  Objectives are a formal description of how you will reach a goal:  Create a multimedia product that does X,Y and Z  Objectives are the goals of the development process, not the use of the product itself:  don’t confuse your motivation with your objectives  It can be useful to break down your main objective into smaller objectives

SMART objectives  Objectives for multimedia development (and development in general) should be:  S pecific  M easurable  A chievable  R ealistic  T ime-bound

Specific objectives  Scope:  define exactly what you are doing  scope-creep is the number one reason for the failure of software projects!  the scope should be clear to all members of the project team  if necessary, define a few things you are not doing

Measurable objectives  You need to know when you've achieved your objectives.  It’s good to define how you will measure your success:  if you have been funded to create a multimedia product, this will be how you demonstrate to the funding body that you have met your objectives

Achievable objectives  Is it possible to achieve the objective?  Impossible objectives:  a dictionary of all the words in a language  making technology work beyond its limits

Realistic objectives  Scale:  Can the objective be met with the given resources, time and funding?

Time-bound objectives  Objectives need deadlines  otherwise they aren’t measurable.  You’re very lucky if you set your own deadlines

Example: Hearing Voices  Objective: Produce a multimedia kiosk of Khoi and San languages to accompany a sound installation at museums/galleries in Botswana, Namibia & the UK.

Example: Hearing Voices  Specific?  No!  Needs to be broken down into sub-objectives: Produce a multimedia kiosk of Khoi and San languages with access to: recordings of each of the eight speakers recordings of the two choirs a description of the languages etc…. (trust me, it was specific)

Example: Hearing Voices  Measurable?  Yes  The project has been a success once the kiosk has been installed

Example: Hearing Voices  Achievable?  Yes  Requests for impossible features were explicitly removed from the objectives

Example: Hearing Voices  Realistic?  Yes  Given the time-frame and availability of the multimedia production team

Example: Hearing Voices  Time-bound?  Yes  The exhibition opening was a fixed date