ALP-IS - 19-22.2.2005 - Carisolo ALP-IS - 19-22.2.2005 - Carisolo Work Cultures in Multimedia Production Hilda Tellioglu & Ina Wagner Vienna University of Technology Multidisciplinary Design Group http://media.tuwien.ac.at 1
Contents Contents Introduction – Studies in CSCW Our study Multimedia Production: Definitions & Statistics Web-Based Systems & Web Engineering Our Cases Webcom ⋯ Telecom ⋯ Archcom ⋯ Visual Communication Role of Partnerships & Networking Discussion: Work Culture 2
Introduction – Studies in CSCW Introduction – Studies in CSCW Few examined culture directly, many had cultural aspects as an underlying theme ⇒ work practices depend on context and are cultured Work practices in software companies (Tellioglu & Wagner, 1999, 2001) Small Australian design companies (Robertson, 1998) Occupational communities (Elliott & Scacchi, 2003) Organisational context as shaping design practice shift of attention from mentoring to consulting changed people's perception of ⋯ help desk (Halverson et al., 2004) it is possible to develop a 'negiotiated culture' in dev. teams (Krishna et al., 2004) ⋯ Culture as a feature of organisation, work practice or specific occupational communities measuring organisational cultures (Hofstede et al., 1990) ⋯ + large surveys ⇒ values & cultured practices + categories on the level of values + distinctions on the practice level useful to describe cultural difference, but not clear how to translate into ⋯ differences of concrete work practice “... we found considerable differences in practices for people who held about the ⋯ same values.” (p.90) 3
Our Study Our Study We studied work practices in multimedia companies. Our focus was on identifying and understanding differences of work cultures. We carried out ethnographic studies of design practice in multimedia production teams. open-ended qualitative interviews, participatory observations, video- & ⋯ audio-based work practice analysis of multimedia production & social interactions to understand the cultural aspects of observed context, values, beliefs & ⋯ practice 4
Multimedia Production: Definitions & Statistics Multimedia Production: Definitions & Statistics Multimedia is a combination of digital & ordinary media to novel web- based solutions for communication. Multimedia includes a variety of communication forms, web sites, online shop systems & Intranet/Extranet solutions. Current challenge = integration of different media Less & less multimedia CD-ROMs, more & more content management & data administration systems, systems enabling B2C or B2B, to some extent: 3D visualisations (AR, VR) The most of the multimedia production companies (Sandberg & Augustsson, 2002) are small (5-16 employees) ⋯ are constituted by young free lancers ⋯ have high turnover ⋯ outsource some of the work ⋯ do not invest in further training of its staff ⋯ 82% of their turnover is enabled by business activities with other companies and only 18% by products for consumers. 5
Web-Based Systems & Web Engineering Web-Based Systems & Web Engineering Web-based systems document-oriented; static or dynamic; focus: look & feel of web sites, visual ⋯ creativity, skilled application of multimedia in the presentation layer; determined by their content; mediate applications & data; have to be produced within very short time; impossible to plan the processes formally & test the results thoroughly Web engineering is different from software engineering; defines the scientific & organisational ⋯ principles & approaches that govern the creation, application & maintenance of web-based systems and applications (Murugesan et al. 2001) ; offers systematic, theory- based process guidance & involves more than just graphic design & content creation; is multidisciplinary & requires the combination of several skills Characteristics of work practices in multimedia companies iterative ⋯ multiplicity & special role of representations ⋯ lack of design methods & best practice examples ⋯ cooperative ⋯ relevance of ‘intensional networks’ & strategic partnerships ⋯ 6
Our Cases Our Cases WEBCOM TELECOM ARCHCOM Commerce-oriented web Function-oriented service Best practice company Type design company creation team Communication-design- Innovative Web applications with Products solutions for the telecommunication database integration for Internet, CD-ROM & services contemporary architecture print Architectural design 8 persons including 4 Team of 4 persons 4 persons, including 2 Employees free lancers free lancers, 1 external programmer, 1 external graphic designer Founded in 1994 Part of a large, Founded in 1996 History In 2002 bought by international another company telecommunications company In 2002 the team was dissolved Web graphic designer Web programmer Web production manager Qualifications Web publisher Web content specialist Multimedia architect of the Web production manager Web information specialist Web content strategist employees Customer supporter Web designer Web Information specialist Graphic designer Web programmer Texter 7
Webcom: The commerce-oriented web design company Webcom: The commerce-oriented web design company Work practices are organised in a straight forward manner Cover page (1 page) project establishment phase ⋯ Project team which can also include partners working together in the current project (1 page) 1 st meeting with customers to gather the main − Introduction: status quo of the customer and brief description of the requirements problem domain (1 page) Goals / requirements: goals of the web site and requirements (1 page) research about the customer & customers' − Content description: contents planned to be presented in the web site are identified with a corresponding title and described shortly (1 competitors in the Internet page) Content explanation: why and how is the design of the content, which creation of an offer in a standardised format − sources are used (1 page) Content mix (1 page) one single graphic design in the offer − 3 example contents (each 1 page) if the design is accepted by the customer ⇒ an Newsfeed: with diagrams ( 1page) − Newsfeed: support (1 page) organising meeting between creative director, Branding: logo (1 page) customer supporter & graphic designer Home page (1 page) Detail view (1 page) creative phase ⋯ Further development of the site (1 page) Administration (1 page) result: the graphic design of the web site − About us (1 page) References (1 page) iterative detailing phase ⋯ Excursus 1: the use of the Internet, numbers and trends (5 pages) Excursus 2: what makes web sites successful (3 pages) implementation of the design − prototypes available for customers − test/evaluation of the prototypes by the customers ⇒ change requests to the designers − “Each phase of the design process is usually punctuated by a presentation to the client at which the designers obtain approval from the client (often called sign-off) about the work that was performed during that phase” (Newman & Landay, 2000, p.267) 8
Webcom: The commerce-oriented web design company Webcom: The commerce-oriented web design company Characteristics of work processes standardised processes ⇒ to keep the costs low ⋯ deadlines ⋯ controlling of work-in-progress ⋯ approval of managing director ⋯ use of visualisations ⋯ use of guiding themes ⋯ reuse of design elements ⋯ documentation of project documents as in paper-based graphic design ⋯ companies Expertise in graphic design 9
Webcom: Controlled individual work Webcom: Controlled individual work People simultaneously working on 3-4 projects, small teams Transparent information about ongoing projects & the progress status Most of the work carried out individually, at times controlled intensively Establishment of process & temporal structures deadlines, reviews, checking the status, quality & quantity of the work, co- ⋯ workers present in the office, personal communication, checking the work-in- progress on people's screen, e-mail as communication medium ... Ad-hoc quick & dirty fixes, control of unexpected contingencies ⇒ controlled improvisation Feedback to colleagues about their work ⇒ controlled cooperation ⇒ 10
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