Cambridge Publications: Ten Things to Ask a Documentation or Training Vendor

Making the Transition to Electronic Documentation

Images of the upcoming data superhighway have many DTP professionals wondering what their roles will be. In the January issue of the NADTP Journal, Aldus founder Paul Brainerd envisioned a significant DTP presence on the superhighway. He points out that the print community deals with content-the engine that drives all media. For those desktop publishers who prefer to continue publishing documents in print form, there are some reassurances. Electronic and print media can work together as complementary information systems. However, as Brainerd points out, electronic publishing is the future opportunity and challenge for desktop publishing.

The transition to this interactive publishing requires more than simply learning new software. As writer Marshall McLuhan says, understanding a new medium entails recognizing the changes in scale, shape, and pattern that the medium introduces into everyday life. As a desktop publisher, you are in a perfect position to become involved in electronic publishing through the production of interactive multimedia titles. The questions now are "How do you get involved in multimedia?" and "What are the skills you need to develop?"

A Multimedia Metaphor

Since Gutenberg invented the printing press, the document metaphor for the print community has been the book-a top-down industry universal. Books present information in a linear sequence: You turn a page to reach the next topic. Multimedia unbinds the book. Users of multimedia products are not constrained to reading information in a particular sequence. Software titles typically allow the user to search for information, following multiple pathways constructed by the multimedia author. This nonlinear navigation, prompted by the user, is one of multimedia's great strengths.

Microsoft's CD-ROM encyclopedia, Encarta, is an example of a sophisticated multimedia product that offers such nonlinear access to information. Encarta lets users locate information in an efficient and a personally directed manner, with music and animation enhancing the exploration.

Scale and Shape

The scale and nature of your involvement in the new media depends on your projects and tools. Multimedia is a multisensory feast-an animated, sound-filled, colorful experience. Interface design, animation, and sound vie for importance with the text-based content. The user interface and visual language of your multimedia production determine its shape. How well you succeed depends on how well you implement this multisensory environment. Desktop publishers know that successful print production requires a thorough knowledge of both production methods and electronic publishing tools. Because multimedia projects often incorporate sound and video in addition to text, the importance of technology, and the range of knowledge required, escalates. If you work by yourself, the complexity of the multimedia process may require you to rethink the scale of your operations.

Just as a print-related project requires contributions from writers, designers, and desktop publishers, a multimedia project is a group effort. An important part of making the transition from print to online production is determining the role you want to play in the production of multimedia projects.

Natural Extension

Multimedia is a natural extension of the work that desktop publishers have been doing for years. Although the production methods are different, the overall work flow is very similar to that of desktop publishing. The team structure of a multimedia project includes a complement of professionals similar to that used in many desktop publishing projects, with the possible additions of sound and video producers. The interface designer was probably trained as a graphic designer and the animator as an illustrator. Writers remain much the same, regardless of the medium.

Despite similarities in personnel and production concerns, the end product of multimedia development is different from that of print. It is software. The requirements of developing for the screen are not the same as those in the traditional desktop publishing process. Experienced desktop publishers are already skilled in working with text, graphics, typography, and document production. Visual sensitivity to issues such as legibility and readability are at least as important in the online environment, if not more so. The screen is not as physically accommodating to the reader as is the printed page. Although the rule is that you should have a thorough understanding of your software, that rule is not always obeyed. People generally learn just enough about their programs to do their jobs. In multimedia, however, becoming a power user gives you an advantage. Technical skill is critical in this complicated environment in which the results of your work show up only in electronic form. Your ability to bill clients for online projects is directly proportional to your skill, ability, and experience.

In both the desktop publishing and the multimedia worlds, there is no substitute for careful, conscientious work methods. No matter how well you know the tools, you must work carefully. If you haven't already done so, set up a quality control system with checks and balances. A misunderstanding of system requirements can result in wasting a substantial amount of resources.

Multimedia Teams

Multimedia projects consist of two major work categories: content creation and content integration. Content creators supply the assets used in the project. They write the storyline, draw the storyboards, map the links and jumps, and create the user interface and artwork. Content is created by people such as animators, photographers, musicians, and composers. The content integrator is analogous to the desktop publisher in print production projects. Just as a desktop publisher formats text and graphics according to the template specified by a graphic designer, the content integrator follows guidelines established by the project's user interface designer. Using a multimedia authoring package, the content integrator assembles all the multimedia pieces into a usable piece of software. However, because the end product is software, the content integrator needs greater technical knowledge about programming and the computer environment than does a production artist using Adobe PageMaker or QuarkXPress.

Authoring Tools

The first step in the production of a multimedia product is selecting the appropriate software tools. Typically, issues such as the computer platform to use and the relative amounts of text and graphics become very important when choosing tools. Relying on the wrong tools can add unnecessary levels of complexity and jeopardize the successful completion of the project. Beyond the actual choice of the right tools is the process of learning to use those tools effectively. When learning any software tool, there is no substitute for time and practice.

At one end of the multimedia spectrum are software tools, such as Claris HyperCard, which allow you to do most of the work and complete the project by yourself. You can learn what you do best and when it is better to get help from others. At the other end of the tools spectrum are full-blown authoring environments that enable you to prepare flashy multimedia titles. Authoring tools, such as Macromedia Director and Microsoft Multimedia Viewer for Windows, are powerful and flexible but not particularly easy to learn. Those packages are designed to enable multimedia professionals to produce serious, high-quality, commercial titles.

Production Tips

Successful print projects typically go through a cycle that includes writing, reviewing, editing, production, and proofreading. Multimedia projects also follow a series of logical steps, and understanding those steps is important for any desktop publisher planning to move to multimedia. Fortunately, the process is not very different from the print production process. The tools are different, but the need to establish and follow a planned, organized approach remains the same.

As a desktop publisher, you know the importance of understanding the flow of a project from beginning to end. This understanding is no less important as you make the transition to multimedia production expert.

Planning Exercise

The first stage of a multimedia project is an exercise in problem solving. If you are successful at this, the resulting project will emerge as a concrete solution to the stated problems. Careful planning is the key to all phases of a multimedia project.

Some of the questions you should ask during the planning stage of a multimedia project are:

Who will use this product, and what do those users want the product to do?
What is the budget?
On what equipment will the multimedia product run?
What are the constraints of that equipment?
How will the product be distributed, on disk or CD-ROM?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of each type of media?
What are your own limitations, and where you can find help if you need it?

Once your project goals are stated in written form, the next step is choosing the team and selecting appropriate authoring tools. Each team member must be fully aware of his or her particular project responsibilities. You needn't hire a specialist for every task, but every task must be identified and assigned. Before beginning production, storyboard your ideas. The storyboard does not need to be complicated or complex; however, it must be a clear road map, to ensure that all members of the production team understand their roles and where the project is going.

Content Integration

Multimedia authoring begins in earnest after a prototype has been created and the content has been prepared. The content integrator takes sound, graphics, video, and perhaps other content, and presents them on the screen based on instructions from the user interface designer. The multimedia integrator also implements the hypertext links and jumps specified by the writer. Because multimedia projects often result in software for use on a computer, the multimedia development process borrows from the software development industry. The process includes editing and proofreading content (in much the same way that text and graphics are proofread during print production). In addition, a multimedia project is not complete until a version of the production is tested for bugs and programming errors. User testing and software quality assurance are steps that any title should go through before being released to the public.

Opportunity Awaits

The information superhighway offers tremendous opportunity to today's desktop publishers. Making a successful transition to multimedia is no more difficult than the process you went through to become a desktop publisher in the first place. It requires an investment of time and effort, but so does the development of any skill. The information superhighway is waiting for you.