What is Workflow?

Work•flow /ˈwərkflō/

“The sequence of industrial, administrative, or other processes through which a piece of work passes from initiation to completion.” – lexico.com

What is a quality workflow?  How do we develop it?  Below are elements of the production cycle that most creative people move through as they create something.  First, we must identify the stages of project production. What is each stage and what are the quality checks for each stage.  Read on and find out!

Stages of Creation Development

Inspiration

How do we find ideas to develop?

• WHAT TOOLS SHOULD WE USE?

Tools Could include youtube to get ideas on how gameplay could look and feel but the most powerful tool would be our own experience playing games and knowing what felt good and what didn’t

• WHAT PROCESS SHOULD WE USE?

I think that we could a simple group discussion group process because we can bounce ideas off each other and gauge a person’s potential enjoyment of the proposed concept based on how they react to the idea

• HOW DO YOU MEASURE QUALITY?

I measure quality by how I react to and idea (determining if its a good or bad reaction). My emotional state when playing a game also is a way I identify quality

• WHO MEASURES QUALITY?

I think that the consumer and or critic are the largest judges of what is quality as it is them who has to engage with the product

Intention

How do we clarify our specific goal(s) for a project?

• WHAT TOOLS SHOULD WE USE?

I don’t think that a specific tool is needed in identifying goals as that is a question that can only be answered by each person individually

• WHAT PROCESS SHOULD WE USE?

a simple computerless brainstorming session seems to work well in determining what we want to achieve in our projects

• HOW DO YOU MEASURE QUALITY?

I think I measure quality be determining whether a goal is realistically achievable

• WHO MEASURES QUALITY?

Teachers and other peers are the ones to determine the quality of a goal however this may be flawed as goals can be set based on skill level and not everyone has the same level of skill

Pre-production

How can we brainwrite, brainstorm, storyboard, and plan our ideas at this phase?

• WHAT TOOLS SHOULD WE USE?

flowcharts are good ways of placing ideas altogether to see how they fit together

• WHAT PROCESS SHOULD WE USE?

I think students should have to write a paragraph explaining the basics of their game or should build a flow chart they could choose based on what works best for them.

• HOW DO YOU MEASURE QUALITY?

I measure quality be how well the pre-production set me up for the production phase

• WHO MEASURES QUALITY?

I would say the development team as they are the ones who feel the effects of good or bad pre-production

Production

How do we communicate with each other and execute our plan for this phase? This is where we actually make the project.

• WHAT TOOLS SHOULD WE USE?

we should use unity, visual studios, and a student’s choice of drawing software depending on if their game needs it.

• WHAT PROCESS SHOULD WE USE?

I think students should be left to their own devices to work as long as they can justify what they are doing. This would also allow people who are motivated to achieve much more while also forcing people more prone to slack off to become motivated

• HOW DO YOU MEASURE QUALITY?

I would say the quality is measured by whether or not you have a playable game or watchable film by the end of production

• WHO MEASURES QUALITY?

I would say outside commentators such as peers, the teacher, or the advisory board

Post-production

How do we communicate with each other and execute our final stages of the project for this phase? This is where we publish the project.

• WHAT TOOLS SHOULD WE USE?

We should use Unity, as well as some feedback gathering tools such as Google forms

• WHAT PROCESS SHOULD WE USE?

Students should publish the game as is at the end of production and have people play or watch it and get feedback to determine what work still needs to be done

• HOW DO YOU MEASURE QUALITY?

How well the feedback received is taken into account and applied to the final product by the development crew

• WHO MEASURES QUALITY?

The people who gave feedback would measure the quality of the product after feedback is applied to the product

Presentation/Performance

How do we share our project with our learning community, advisory members, and the world?

• WHAT TOOLS SHOULD WE USE?

I think that a simple presentation in google slides combined with a live watch or playthrough, and the advisory board’s comments would be the best tools to use

• WHAT PROCESS SHOULD WE USE?

students should present their game or film as well as their production process to their peers and the advisory board to get feedback

• HOW DO YOU MEASURE QUALITY?

By how well my the presentation is received by the advisory committee and if they feel the project has potential

• WHO MEASURES QUALITY?

The advisory board as well as the teacher

Feedback

How do we conduct a feedback session at the end of the project development cycle?

• WHAT TOOLS SHOULD WE USE?

I think forums and surveys would be the best tool to use

• WHAT PROCESS SHOULD WE USE?

Students should take a survey on each teams film, or movie and their presentation so that the team gets ideas on what they did wrong and right

• HOW DO YOU MEASURE QUALITY?

By the type of feedback, I get and how constructive or critical it is

• WHO MEASURES QUALITY?

The people getting the feedback I think would be the ones to determine the quality of that feedback.