British Journal of Educational Technology V d 26 NO 2 1995 84-93

Producing professional interactive multimedia: project ~ a n a g e ~ ~ e n ~ issues

Ric Canale and Sandra Wills

Ric Canale and Sandra Wills are at the Interactive Multimedia Learning Unit, Centre for the Study of Higher Education, The University of Melbourne, Parkville VlC 3052 Australia. (e-mailRic-Canale@, MUWAYF.unirnelb.edu.au Sandra-Wills@ MUWAYF.unime1b.edu.au)

Abstract This paper presents a case study of the development of a multimedia training product for broad distribution to middle and senior management as well as university students. It compares anticipated and actual costs of project management and where possible makes comparisons with data from similar projects. An unexpected finding was a greater than twofold overrun on the anticipated costs of project management. The greater part of this overrun was an increased administrative effort required to comply with reporting requirements of the funding body and the joint Venture partner- ship. The results of this study have implications for producers of interactive multimedia in higher education with regard to realistic costing of prqject management, which is often an unfunded contribution.

Introduction This paper responds to the near absence of published project data for interactive multimedia development projects, making it impossible for new entrants into the field to predict with any confidence the funding, personnel and time requirements for a development project.

Brown (1991) at ASCILITE 91 provided results of his Australia-wide survey of Computer Based Training (CBT) developers in industry as well as higher education: The development-time to run-time ratio (which will be referred to as the D/R ratio) is estimated by workers in the CBT production industry as being about 100:1, i.e. it takes 100 person hours to produce 3 hour of courseware. From data collected the D/R ratio was [in fact] found to be 21 7:l. . . In long-term projects (those producing more than 75 hours of CBT software), the D/R ratio dropped to about 5O:l. . . . some CBT software developers quote between AUS$10,000 and AUS$20,000 per hour of CBT software depending on the cQmplexity of the project . . . The issue of cost effectiveness. has revealed that a considerable amount of further research needs to be conducted before any accurate measure can be determined. The problems . . . due to inaccurate record keeping by project co-ordinators were reflected in the data collected by this project . . . On the topic of time involved in the development process, workers commented that a large

PWducing professiondl interactive multimedia: project management issues 8 5

proportion came at no cost to the development project with project members giving their spare time around already busy schedules. This implies there are hidden costs which may reveal themselves as CBT development becomes an increasingly commercial business. (pp. 49, 50, 51)

In response to the lead given by Brown, this paper two years on, presents a specific project as a case study. The case is a valuable one to analyse because detailed records wei-e kept, and the records include both funded and ‘unfunded’ contributions. It is our contention that the unfunded component is often that of ‘project management’. The paper discusses implications for producers of interactive multimedia in higher education with regard to realistic costing of project management, which in con- trast with a commercial setting, is often an unfunded contribution ‘absorbed’ by academics.

The gfoject The subject of the case study is the Managing Continuous Improvement (MCI) Project, for which first-hand data is available due to the involvement of both authors (Sandra Wills, Project Director: Ric Canale, Technical Consulting & Programming).

MCI is a multimedia training product for broad distribution to middle and senior management as well as university students in MBA, Engineering & Business Studies courses. It provides interactive training in the fundamentals of Total Quality Manage- ment. It is also in use by administrative staff at The University of Melbourne as part of the University’s training in quality management practices.

MCI is a joint venture and co-owned by The University of Melbourne and Micro- Energy Ltd. It was funded in 1991 by the Victorian Education Foundation (VEF), supported by Apple Computer Australia, Macromedia and Mitsui, and had input from a large industry reference group for validation of content. Project management and most of the product development was carried out at Micro-Energy Ltd, with specialist technical expertise sourced externally. The aim of the project was to produce 14.5 hours of interactive training with manuals and resources that can be customised by the company. However, the funding body (VEF) was disbanded prior to completion of the project. Hence the first version of MCI provides approximately 4 hours of interactive training though a great deal of the groundwork for the full version has been done.

Comparative project costings In 199 1, at the time of estimating the budget for the case study project, there was little published data felevant to interactive multimedia as distinct from CBT. We sought information from two other Australian projects that had a similar funding structure, the majority of funds coming from their state Education Foundation. The figures quoted below are budget estimates only and not final actual costs as the projects were not finished at the time of the request.

Essential Management Skills (EMT), a CD-ROM produced by Vocational Education

8 6 British Journal of Educational Technology V o l 2 6 No 2 1995

And Training Technologies (VEATT) and Edge Technologies Pty Ltd, was funded by the Queensland Tertiary Education Foundation (QTEF) in 1991. It contains 4 to 6 hours of interactive training for employees in front-line operations seeking promotion into entry-level management positions. Approximate estimates of the cost per run- time hour range from AUS$33,000 to AUS$50,000. (For more information see Campbell & Sherrin, 1992).

The Literacy & Numeracy CD-ROM was produced by Applied Learning Pty Ltd and funded by the NSW Training and Education Foundation. The proposal was for 2 5 to 50 hours of training and the estimated cost per hour was approximately AUS$26,000 to AUS$52,000. Half way through the life of the MCI Project, we estimated that our cost per hour was running at approximately AUS$3 5,000.

These estimates seem high compared with Brown’s surveyed projects and compared with the National Teaching Development Projects funded by the Australian govern- ment in 1993 and 1994 (average AUSS50,OOO). However Brown reminds us that “a 30 minute instructional video is likely to have a budget in the order of AUS$90,000 (ie AUS$3,000 per minute of video.” (p. 51)

More recent information comes from Sutherland (1 993) who recounts that: “The cost depends very much on what you want to put into the product. Costs will be lowest if you have full in-house capability. From [NSW Board of Studies] experience, if all costs are taken into account and about 30% profit is allowed for, a print-run of 1000 units will cost about AUS$250,000 all-up to design, make, publish, market, and sell. (p 2)”

At the same Forum, Lundin (1993) provided the following comparisons. “The production of high quality courseware is generally expensive, and this is particularly true of IMM [Interactive Multimedia]. Some of the global figures that have been quoted for various course/courseware productions in Australia recently include:

0 live, satellite video program and print telecourse for teachers, AUS$2,600 per hour (Victoria,

0 videotape and print telecourse for satellite transmission, AUS$14,000 per hour (NSW TAFE): 0 videotape/live video and print telecourse for satellite transmission, AUS$13,000 per hour

(Edith Cowan University, WA); 0 open learning television broadcast for university course, AUS$l00,000 per hour (OLAA-

ABC); 0 live and pre-recorded video and print satellite television program, AUS$12,000 for 90

minutes (Institute of Chartered Accountants): 0 multimedia (laser disk and computer) training program for managers, AUS$l,OOO,000 for 10

hours (Commonwealth Bank): 0 computer-based courseware for teachers in remote communities, 150 hours to produce one

hour of courseware in the initial stages coming down to 40:l after expertise was gained (James Cook University, Remote Area Teacher Education Project).

Ministry of Education):

Project management Although there is a tendency for those planning a multimedia development project to emphasise technology and equipment, many additional factors will be critical to the success of the project. One such factor is project management.

Producing professional interactive multimedia: project nianagernent issues 8 7

The project manager's triangle

Figure 1: Theproject manager's triangle. The project manager is concerned with delivering on time, on budget and to a standard (quality)

Project management involves managing the cost, effort, priority and timing of project deliverables, tracking of the process of change, planning ahead, managing risk, scheduling equipment and technology, heIping people to perform their best and maximising their rewards (Thomsett, 1992). Project management is needed each day throughout the life of the project. Although mainly aimed at industry rather than higher education, we refer new developers to Apple's book, DemystifVing Multimedia. The project manager is probably one of the most critical roles to fill for any project. Project managers bear the ultimate responsibility for the success or failure of projects . . . When played out properly, this role may seem to the untrained eye to be invisible. As with any profession, though, the performer who makes it appear easy is often working with a precision unparalleled by the amateur. Budget skills and scheduling knowledge are essential . . . Good managers decide how much it affects the bottom line to shoot five more minutes of video or put in two new program features. They know what happens when one team member gets sick for a week. they know how it affects the budget and the other team members, and they shift priorities and responsibilities so it does not become a disaster.. . Understanding people is important to all managers but it can be paramount to those who manage creative people. (p 16)

Experienced developers have found effective project management and appropriate staffing to be more difficult hurdles to overcome than securing appropriate equipment (Brown 1991; Campbell & Sherrin 1992; Try 1992). Experience suggests that most projects that fail, do so because of inadequate project management rather than lack of technology or insurmountable technical problems. Hobbs (1 993) has argued that very often in higher education, of the three variables that a project manager has some influence over: funds, time and the quality of the output, the amount of funds available

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and the time to complete the project are fixed. It follows that any problems with the smo0t.h running of the project must lead to a reduction in the remaining variable- quality. Yet a compromise on quality would seldom be the preferred choice. There is therefore a need for wider communication of project management practices in multimedia development projects-in particular how to best provide effective support for developers in higher education.

Data collection Daily records of project team members’ time on the project were kept as part of the requirements of the funding body. Time was allocated according to the following activities:

0 Project management Research and analysis

0 High level design 0 Detailed design 0 Development 0 Documentation 0 Field testing

The listed activities correlate with budgetary categories so that each activity could be separately tracked against original budget estimates. Team members were responsible for filling in their own time-sheets.

Data and comparisons Project management costs are presented as a proportion of the over-all labour costs for the project. We compare project management costs as a proportion of all labour costs in the original estimates for the project, the actual funded costs, and when estimates of unfunded contributions are taken into account. These comparisons provide a guide to the real costs of project management in joint venture projects.

The cost of project management Initial budget estimates put the cost of project management at 7% of all labour (Fig 2a). Actual expenditure of funds found the cost of project management to be 14% of all labour (Fig 2b). However actual expenditure did not fully account for the cost of the project. Considerable resources were contributed to the project without charge or at a reduced rate. Labour was provided free of charge by the joint venture partners and members of the ‘industry reference group’ and will be referred to collectively as the ‘unfunded contribution’. If the value of the unfunded contribution is added to actual expenditure then project management takes up 16% of the overall labour cost (Fig 2c).

Budget estimates The data presented in Figure 2 is relative and ignores increases in project costs beyond original estimates. It shows that project management took up a bigger slice of the pie than expected. Figure 3 illustrates that it was a bigger pie than expected. While development costs ran over budget by a factor of 1.5, project management costs were

Producing professional interactive multimedia: project management issues 89

I % 14% 16%

0 93% 86% 84%

2(a) Original budget 2(b) As actually funded 2(c) actual cost including

estimates unfunded contribution

Figure 2: The cost ofproject management as a proportion of overall labour costs

more than double the original estimates. If the value of the unfunded contribution is included the project management costs over-ran budget by a factor of 4.

A comparison of cost over-run in project management with overall labour costs cannot be made since some activities were under budget only because funds were diverted to other areas. This required difficult compromises to be made, affecting the quality of the final product. There were no funds remaining for publication of manuals and packaging: less funding than planned was left for field testing and development of documentation. The need for more funding resulted in much time spent on searching for additional sponsorship. This can present a “Catch-22” situation, as time hunting sponsorship adds more hours to the ‘Project Manage- ment’ budgetary category.

Analysis and conclusions Project management for the development of interactive multimedia makes up a significant proportion of labour costs. Data from the MCI project suggests that 15% is a realistic expectation for such a project. The MCI project had the benefit of economies of scale, having labour costs in excess of AUS$250,000 and a part-time project manager. Smaller projects may generally expect a bigger proportion of budget to be allocated to project management though every project is different and factors other than scale will also have an effect. For example, projects of lower complexity will require less project management.

An unexpected finding was a fourfold overrun on the anticipated costs of project management. Although some other activities also ran over budget, project management was by far the least accurately estimated. Two sources of unforeseen demands on project management can be identified:

0 administrative demands of the funding body and joint venture arrangements 0 managerial demands of the multi-disciplinary nature of interactive multimedia

Although there is a clear impression that the former was responsible for a much

production.

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Figure 3: A comparison of cost increases beyond original estimates. Note that the available funds were fixed so an over-run in one activity reduced expenditure in another, though the affected activity may not

be illustrated here

greater part of the increase than the latter, there is no way to determine from the data the proportion of the increase attributable to each of the two causes.

Joint venture administrative overheads The cost of complying with the reporting requirements of the funding body and the complexity of university/industry joint ventures placed unanticipated demands on project management. In addition to the need to gather data from multiple sources and process it so as to conform with the accounting standards of the funding body, there was an administrative overhead associated with operating within a joint venture partnership. Formalising the arrangement was essential and required extensive w e of professional legal services.

This was particularly notable with regard to intellectual property and contractual arrangements with third parties for future distribution and payment of royalties. Although these activities are not part of the development of the product per se, they nonetheless represent a considerable effort and are critical to the success of the project.

Some may be tempted to argue that the lessons to be learnt from this project are not relevant to those involved in the production of interactive multimedia in higher education. There are aspects of the MCI project such as its scale and commercial

Producing professional interactive multimedia: project management issues 9 1

emphasis that are, for the most part atypical of multimedia development projects in higher education. However there is increased pressure for university research to be externally funded and to be of direct application to industry. There is also pressure to seek commercialisation of University funded projects to recover costs. The same degree of project reporting and formalised partnership development could therefore be reasonably expected from an increasing number of projects in higher education institutions. It is likely that the need for professional project management will increase as a result.

Hobbs (1993) has raised this issue in relation to the Teaching & Learning Technol- ogies Programme (TLTP) in the UK. Under this programme, government funding is provided for consortia of universities. A consortium develops courseware on an agreed topic with the aim of it being relevant to all universities. This approach is much preferred over the fragmented piecemeal approach of CTI funding (Computers in Teaching Initiative) in terms of guaranteed wider dissemination of courseware. However, it has decreased the likelihood of anything actually getting finished. As with the MCI project, a substantial amount of time is spent in negotiating contracts and managing teams that are geographically and culturally separate. It seems that no allowance has been made in the budget for project management.

Complexity of developing multimedia As previously mentioned, part of the unanticipated over-run on project management can be attributed to greater effort required to contend with the multi-disciplinary nature of interactive multimedia production at a commercial standard. Consider that a concept is developed to a point where an interface ‘look and feel’ is defined: all elements of structure, interactivity, text, graphics, photography, animation, voice, music, sound effects, video, though developed separately, must be integrated into one whole. Success can only be achieved through teamwork and good project management.

Implications for higher education Producers of interactive multimedia in higher education and those that make funding decisions need to be aware of the tendency to underestimate the importance and costs of project management, which has often become an unfunded contribution. It fol- lows that multimedia development projects that do not adequately take project management into consideration run higher risks of reaching an unsatisfactory conclusion.

Projects are rarely considered to be outright failures. It is common for expectations to gradually diminish during the life of a project as difficulties compound over time. The gradual erosion of expectations means a re-setting of goals and standards to lower levels of acceptability. Quality is compromised because time and funding are fixed. In many cases it would be preferable to compromise on time taken to completion or increase funding rather than compromise on quality. Certainly it would be wrong to compromise on quality ‘by default’.

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The need for adequate project management poses a significant problem for Universities and funding bodies such as DEET’s Committee for Advancement of University Teaching (CAUT). The question of how to maximise return on the multimedia development dollar is as much dependent on project management as it is on technical support such as programming and graphic design. Within higher education, an appreciation for the role of technical support seems to be developing under the CAUT influence, however there are few signs of a similar awareness developing for the importance of project management.

Decisions remain to be taken on the most effective way of implementing project management practices in higher education. Should it be applied on a National level, a regional basis or be left to institutions? Should professional services be used or can the academics be expected to take on the role of project manager? The academics, already the content experts and project directors, are taking on these new roles on top of teaching and research commitments. If CAUT in future funding rounds adopts the TLTP UK consortium approach, will it provide appropriate funding for project management of those consortia?

Finally, the quantifiable cost of project management is an under-estimate of its value to the successful completion of a project. Though a project manager may not be formally appointed someone must bear responsibility for,management of the project if it is to have any chance of success. It is important that the tasks and cost of project management be considered realistically.

Acknowledgments The authors would like to thank Sheryl Lumb, Helen Vorrath and Carol Williams of Micro- Energy Ltd who among many other tasks, were involved in project management aspects of ‘MCI’ and helped collect the data used in this paper. ‘MCI’ was funded by the Victorian Education Foundation, supported by Apple Computer Australia, Macromedia and Mitsui. A large industry reference group made valuable input to the validation of content of the training package.

References Apple Computer (1 993) Demystifying Multimedia Vivid Publishing, San Francisco Brown M (1991) An Investigation of the Development Process and Costs of CBT in Australia, in Simulation and Academic Gaming in Tertiary Education, Conference Proceedings Australian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education, Launceston, 43-53 Campbell P and Sherrin C (1 992) Making Money from Multimedia: Some Commercial Realities, in Conference Proceedings ITTE 92, Information Technology in Training & Education, Brisbane,

Hobbs P (1993) Project Management-Methods and Case Study presented at the Conference on Learning Technology in Higher Education, Coventry, UK Lundin R (1993) Pie in the Sky? Financing Interactive Multimedia Courseware for the School Context, in Proceedings of National Forum on Interactive Multimedia Courseware, Curriculum Corporation, Canberra, August 1993 Sutherland D (1993) Computer Software Development: Some Lessons from Practical

2 19-227

Producing professional interactive multimedia: project management issues 93

Experience, in Proceedings of National Forum on Interactive Multimedia Courseware, Curriculum Corporation, Canberra, August 1993 Thomsett R (1992) Third Wave Project Management: Managing Information Systems Projects in the 1990’3, Prentice Hall, NY Try K (1992) Can we Afford NOT to Use Technology for Training? in Proceedings ITTE 92 Information Technology in Training & Education, Brisbane 127- 133