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?
- Tools: YouTube, Google, Social Media, Other Creators
- Process: Use the tools to learn about what you would like to create.
- Measured Quality: Show what you’ve made to other people to get their feedback and improve on that.
- Who Measures Quality: Yourself.
Intention
How do we clarify our specific goal(s) for a project?
- Tools: Sticky notes, Brain.
- Process: Think about what you would like to create
- Measured Quality: Use this stage to change the purpose of the project if needed.
- Who Measures Quality: Yourself.
Pre-production
How can we brainwrite, brainstorm, storyboard, and plan our ideas at this phase?
- Tools: Sticky notes, Google, Brain.
- Process: Use tools above to brainstorm ideas.
- Measured Quality: Improve ideas you’ve thought of.
- Who Measures Quality: Yourself.
Production
How do we communicate with each other and execute our plan for this phase? This is where we actually make the project.
- Tools: Game Engine, Teamwork, Time.
- Process: Work on implementing and creating the ideas in to your project.
- Measured Quality: Compare to other similar projects.
- Who Measures Quality: You and your team.
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.
- Tools: Game Engine, Publishing location, Communication.
- Process: Use the tools above to finish your project and find a place to publish it.
- Measured Quality: Test for any bugs and change any thing undesirable by the Team.
- Who Measures Quality: You and your team.
Presentation/Performance
How do we share our project with our learning community, advisory members, and the world?
- Tools: Social Media, Hype, Family, Friends.
- Process: Share your project with others for it to have a chance at popularity.
- Measured Quality: Look for bugs, issues, or lower quality parts to fix.
- Who Measures Quality: You, your team, and the community.
Feedback
How do we conduct a feedback session at the end of the project development cycle?
- Tools: Social Media, Forums.
- Process: Research your game for any feedback the community may have.
- Measured Quality: What people can see from your project.
- Who Measures Quality: You, your team, and the community.