Developing Quality Workflow

What is Workflow?

Image Creative Workflow from Behance.com, https://www.behance.net/gallery/27919515/Creative-workflow-GIF

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? Mild exercise is very important in thinking of ideas.
  • WHAT PROCESS SHOULD WE USE? The most important process to have relating to inspiration is having a way to write your ideas down as you’re getting them
  • HOW DO YOU MEASURE QUALITY? Reflection. This is a good way of getting rid of bad ideas. Sometimes something can sound good at first, but not so good thinking about it later.
  • WHO MEASURES QUALITY? Quality of an idea is best measured in how easy it is to make a product from it (aside from technical challenges). If the project remains exiting and motivating, you probably had a good idea

Intention

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

  • WHAT TOOLS SHOULD WE USE? Writing down intentions is the best way of keeping them in mind when making a project.
  • WHAT PROCESS SHOULD WE USE? Clarify what the end product should accomplish in terms of user experience, and make sure that idea is involved in every step of development.
  • HOW DO YOU MEASURE QUALITY? Good intentions for a product are focused on the user, so an intention for what the user experience should be will always be best.
  • WHO MEASURES QUALITY? Users can usually decide if the creators intention had them in mind

Pre-production

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

  • WHAT TOOLS SHOULD WE USE? Other people. Some ideas are better than others, and groups are usually better at deciding what those are
  • WHAT PROCESS SHOULD WE USE? Draw out what you have in your head on what the game will look like
  • HOW DO YOU MEASURE QUALITY? How much of the product you can plan, and how much you leave up to production
  • WHO MEASURES QUALITY? The planning team

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? Game engine, coding knowledge, etc.
  • WHAT PROCESS SHOULD WE USE? Make pre-production ideas reality and then go from there
  • HOW DO YOU MEASURE QUALITY? How does the product line up with the plan? Does it feel like it was intended to feel while playing it?
  • WHO MEASURES QUALITY? Those who’s ideas are being put into practice

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? Outside perspectives, like play testers
  • WHAT PROCESS SHOULD WE USE? Get feedback, and adjust based on the feedback
  • HOW DO YOU MEASURE QUALITY? If the changes made in post production make the playing experience better
  • WHO MEASURES QUALITY? The play testers

Presentation/Performance

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

  • WHAT TOOLS SHOULD WE USE? A public way for people to access the game
  • WHAT PROCESS SHOULD WE USE? At this point focus on advertising, and receiving feedback
  • HOW DO YOU MEASURE QUALITY? Feedback
  • WHO MEASURES QUALITY? The player base

Feedback

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

  • WHAT TOOLS SHOULD WE USE? A clear and established place for the community to give feedback.
  • WHAT PROCESS SHOULD WE USE? Respond to as much feedback as possible, and take it all into consideration.
  • HOW DO YOU MEASURE QUALITY? If users feel like they are being listened to
  • WHO MEASURES QUALITY? The player base

Recipe For Success: George Washington

George Washington - Wikipedia
Image from Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington

Born: February 22 1732, Popes Creek Virginia

Personal Success Definition

I define success as doing something good not just for yourself, but others as well. George Washington was instrumental as a General in the Revolutionary War, and he set a good example as the first President that others would try to follow. He displayed great qualities as a leader which helped him do his job such as humility, confidence and ingenuity.

Skills for Success

George Washington is a 1) great General, 2) great Leader, 3) good person. George Washington was first a Lieutenant Colonel for the Virginia regiment in the British colonial army, fighting alongside the British in the French and Indian War. He later used this experience to command the American army in the Revolutionary War, with some of his most famous successes at Trenton and Princeton after crossing the Delaware river. He was elected as the first President of the United States after the war, and put a high importance on doing the job to the best of his ability. He said to James Madison after being elected, “As the first of everything in our situation will serve to establish precedent, it is devoutly wished on my part that this precedent be fixed on true principles.” Despite owning slaves, George Washington was known to be kind and soft-spoken, as well as strong and principled. It is also worthy of note that he freed the slaves of himself and his wife as soon as the law allowed them to (which was the time of their respective deaths).

How They Used These SkillsExplain how did they use these skills to achieve success?

He used his leadership abilities to lead the country through its early stages of existence, eventually becoming the first President. As President he used these skills to deal with many problems that arose such as the establishment of public credit and foreign affairs.

Challenges Overcome

George Washington had to overcome fighting a war against a much stronger adversary. He had to deal with the rampant spread of smallpox, where he was able to mostly successfully organize the inoculation of his army. He had to deal with an under equipped army, which didn’t have proper clothing for the harsh winters they would face. As President, he had to manage a Nation that was just being created. He had to set a precedent for what it meant to be a good leader, and he had to prove that representative government and individual rights can coexist with a stable government, like many doubted after the failures of the Articles of Confederation.

Significant Work

Famous painting of George Washington crossing the Delaware River (he didn’t make the painting, his significant work is crossing the river).

Amazon.com: Young N Refined George Washington's Crossing of The Delaware  River high qulity Print Home Decor Reproduction (16x20): Posters & Prints
https://www.amazon.com/Young-Refined-Washingtons-Crossing-Reproduction/dp/B075NWKJ9S

Resources

http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~cjd327/military.html#:~:text=During%20the%20four%20years%2C%20Washington,rename%20Fort%20Pitt%20in%201758.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidency_of_George_Washington

https://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/george-washington