hilda tellioglu & ina wagner - tu...

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ALP-IS - 19-22.2.2005 - CarisoloALP-IS - 19-22.2.2005 - Carisolo

Work Cultures in Multimedia Production

Hilda Tellioglu & Ina Wagner

Vienna University of TechnologyMultidisciplinary Design Group

http://media.tuwien.ac.at

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ContentsContents

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

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Introduction – Studies in CSCWIntroduction – 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)

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Our StudyOur 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

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Multimedia Production: Definitions & StatisticsMultimedia 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.

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Web-Based Systems & Web EngineeringWeb-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

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Our CasesOur Cases

WEBCOM TELECOM ARCHCOMType Commerce-oriented web

design companyFunction-oriented servicecreation team

Best practice company

Products Communication-design-solutions for theInternet, CD-ROM &print

Innovativetelecommunicationservices

Web applications withdatabase integration forcontemporary architectureArchitectural design

Employees 8 persons including 4free lancers

Team of 4 persons 4 persons, including 2free lancers, 1 external programmer, 1 external graphicdesigner

History Founded in 1994In 2002 bought byanother company

Part of a large,internationaltelecommunicationscompanyIn 2002 the team wasdissolved

Founded in 1996

Qualificationsof theemployees

Web graphic designerWeb publisherWeb production managerCustomer supporterGraphic designerTexter

Web programmerWeb content specialistWeb information specialistWeb designer

Web production managerMultimedia architectWeb content strategistWeb Information specialistWeb programmer

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Webcom: Webcom: The commerce-oriented web design companyThe commerce-oriented web design company

Work practices are organised in a straight forward manner

⋯ project establishment phase

− 1st meeting with customers to gather the mainrequirements

− research about the customer & customers' competitors in the Internet

− creation of an offer in a standardised format

− one single graphic design in the offer

− if the design is accepted by the customer ⇒ anorganising meeting between creative director,customer supporter & graphic designer

⋯ creative phase

− result: the graphic design of the web site

⋯ iterative detailing phase

− 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)

Cover page (1 page)Project team which can also include partners working together in thecurrent project (1 page)Introduction: status quo of the customer and brief description of theproblem domain (1 page)Goals / requirements: goals of the web site and requirements (1 page)Content description: contents planned to be presented in the web siteare identified with a corresponding title and described shortly (1page)Content explanation: why and how is the design of the content, whichsources are used (1 page)Content mix (1 page)3 example contents (each 1 page)Newsfeed: with diagrams ( 1page)Newsfeed: support (1 page)Branding: logo (1 page)Home page (1 page)Detail view (1 page)Further development of the site (1 page)Administration (1 page)About us (1 page)References (1 page)Excursus 1: the use of the Internet, numbers and trends (5 pages)Excursus 2: what makes web sites successful (3 pages)

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Webcom: Webcom: The commerce-oriented web design companyThe 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

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Webcom: Webcom: Controlled individual workControlled 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, personalcommunication, 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

⇒

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Our CasesOur Cases











Founded in 1996





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Telecom:Telecom: The function-oriented service creation team The function-oriented service creation team

Work process of iterative cycles

⋯ initialisation phase

− idea for new products/services for a trade fair

− research about standards, technical challenges, possibilities for implementation, offers of competitors, market demands & possible cooperation partners (in the Internet, professional magazines & published studies)

− focus on new products that are highly interesting for potential customers & challenging for design & development

⋯ service creation phase

− a 1st very simple user interface, focus on the development of the system's functionality

− revision & enhancement of the original product idea

− exploration of alternative technical solutions in case of unexpected problems ⇒ a fully developed executable ready to present at a trade fair event

⋯ presentation phase

⋯ enhancement & adaptation phase

− by using the feedback of visitors ⇒ 'sample' on the demonstration server, accessible for customers

⋯ implementation phase

− carried out by the software engineering team

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Characteristics of work processes

⋯ speed of the design & development ⇒ a very important success factor

⋯ use of the products of the large company ⇒ sometimes constraining dependencies

⋯ ad-hoc design of problem solutions ⇒ improvisations in design work (Ciborra, 2002)

e.g. streaming & downloading

⋯ the design of the wallet ⇒ design tinkering(Ciborra, 2002)

⇒

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Frequent ad-hoc meetings

⋯ to discuss the current situation (e.g. work-in-progress, problems with partners) & solutions for different functionalities or issues concerning the user interface

⋯ simultaneous use of multimedia

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Telecom: Telecom: Cooperative developmentCooperative development

Chaotic communication but well-organised work environment, no hierarchy in the team

Team members always present & involved in all decisions ⇒“the consensus is the product” (M1)

Important: to have fun while working, to be open to critique & discussion, to act as a competent team member, to participate actively in the design process

“Garage company”: most of the work carried out in the isolated team

⋯ no acceptance & appreciation by the software engineering team

⋯ differences in style, working culture, methods & priorities

⋯ clash of working cultures between both teams

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Our CasesOur Cases











Founded in 1996





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Archcom:Archcom: The best-practice company The best-practice company

Design process as 'best practice'

⋯ applies to the planning activities,the use of methods & the documentation

− project plan in form of a spreadsheet

− to-do-ĺists

⋯ thorough research e.g. for the designof the search function

⋯ detailed sketches of navigation & graphic layout

⋯ detailed descriptions of the data

⋯ use of UML & coding conventions

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Archcom:Archcom: The best-practice company The best-practice company

Design process as 'best practice' (cntd.)

⋯ design representations prepared in different media

⋯ use of artifacts simultaneously, switching between formats & media with ease

⋯ product structure

− a short history of the company

− requirement analysis

− technical description

− description of deployment & use

− flash animation

− prototype

− storyboard

− glossary

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Archcom: Archcom: Multidisciplinary teamworkMultidisciplinary teamwork

Highly developed communication culture

Weekly jour fix meetings ⇒ for communicating, cooperating intensely, solving problems together, making design decisions, planning next steps

Project manager as moderator of decision processes ⇒ in-depth discussion of benefits & disadvantages of a suggested solution, users' perspective in the team, confrontation of designers with user requirements

Detailed & thorough meeting minutesincluding

⋯ decisions taken about the functionality & user interface

⋯ changes & enhancements of the database model

⋯ modifications of web pages

⋯ business logic

⋯ open questions

⋯ responsibilities of team members

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Visual CommunicationVisual Communication

Visual culture of multimedia designers ⇒ to create & read design representations (artefacts) in different media & format

Visual artefacts are

⋯ produced as part of discussions, as integral part of explanations, developments & arguments

⋯ reused in follow-up meetings

⋯ annotated with supplements, modifications &comments

Visualisations as “network-organizing devices”(Henderson, 1995)

⋯ to support individual & cooperative thinking &organising, to keep the design concept present, tocoordinate the work around it, to illustrate thedesign ideas, to convince others of the designidea & to mobilise their cooperation (Schmidt &Wagner, 2002)

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Visual CommunicationVisual Communication

Different techniques for visualisations ⇒ different visual artefacts

⋯ sketches on paper, (high fidelity) mock-ups (Newman & Landay, 2000), prototypes, flow charts, annotated printouts of web sites as composite visualisations (Archcom), storyboards (Webcom), site maps (Newman & Landay, 2000)

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Role of Partnerships & NetworkingRole of Partnerships & Networking

Several forms of cooperating

⋯ cooperation with specialists

⋯ contracting out

⋯ mergers, joint ventures, strategic partnerships

⋯ cooperation in the Internet

Varying cooperative arrangements

Rules of cooperating

Personal networks ⇒ “intensional networks” (Nardi et al., 2002)

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Discussion: Work CultureDiscussion: Work Culture

Beliefs, values & norms used to characterise occupational communities are reflected in work practices (Elliott & Scacchi, 2003).

We can see them in certain interactions & in the choice of methods & tools.

These constellations develop into something sufficiently robust which we may call 'work culture'.

In our cases we tried to analyse

⋯ the images & presentations of self

⋯ the organisational forms

⋯ the complexity of work

⋯ the values & criteria

⋯ the styles

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Discussion: WebcomDiscussion: Webcom

WEBCOM

Image/ presentation of self Combining web design with high quality graphics

Organisational form Part of network of specialised companies and free lancersActs as virtual companyClear internal hierarchy

Complexity of work Low complexity: highly standardised products (websites)Predictable tasks

Values/criteria Graphic design as identityPriority of commercial success before qualityHigh efficiency of work processRe-usabilityHigh speed – timely delivery

Style Dominant, controlling project managerCombining routine procedures with quick and dirty fixesSome amount of controlled improvisationObserving conventions of the print medium

Webcom operates in a highly competitive environment.

⋯ little ambition to go beyond usual formats & almost no space for experimentation & innovation

⋯ conflict between the requirements & skills of good graphic design & the competence needed to design for easy technical implementation

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Discussion: TelecomDiscussion: Telecom

TELECOM

Image/ presentation of self ‘Garage company’

Organisational form Semi-independent work team within large SW engineering departmentTeamworkWith obligation to use resources of international mother company

Complexity of work Highly innovative productsHigh complexity due to:Working with new releases of technologiesHigh time pressureUncertainties because of changing requirements, delayed delivery ofcomponents, etc.

Values/criteria Teamwork based on consensus-orientation, inclusiveness, opennessFocus on realistic, usable solutionsHaving fun, being relaxed in one’s work

Style Improvisation and bricolageNo common style, self-trainedChaotic communication

The team at Telecom practices a survival strategy.

⋯ in weak position, isolated, exposed to all kinds of intrigues

⋯ singled out as the ones that should demonstrate to the engineering department that there are better, more innovative ways of developing products

⋯ extreme focus on improvisation, ad-hoc solutions & conspicuous success

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Discussion: ArchcomDiscussion: Archcom

ARCHCOMImage/ presentation of self Forum for contemporary architectureOrganisational form Intensional network of specialists with a strong leadership

Unity of project manager and user representativeComplexity of work High complexity due to:

Diverse user requirementsTechnical infrastructure

Values/criteria High professionalismBest practice orientationHigh use value of productTimely delivery

Style Efficient internal communication with emphasis on:Articulation workMethodsExcellent documentationVisualisationTranslation work (from technical to user language)Use cases

Archcom is a highly professional team.

⋯ strong drive to impress and convince the client

⋯ an interdisciplinary team ⇒ strong focus on a systematic approach, methods & visual representations

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