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November 18, 2007
Chairperson Update November '07
Although it's been awhile since I last did an update, the Production SIG has seen some activity in the last few months. The biggest thing of note is the SIG's participating in the first ever IGDA Production and Leadership Forum, which was held in San Francisco on November 8th and 9th. The forum focused exclusively and production and leadership issues and was well attended by producers, studio managers, leads, and others interested in improving game management issues. To see summaries of the presentations and to download the slides, please go to : www.igda.org/leadership.
I hosted a round table where we discussed the future of the Production SIG and how to make this a valuable resource for all of us. Generally, many people felt that there was a need for some type of standard production terminology and job descriptions - just to get everyone on the same page when discussing production issues. The wide variety of producers and their role on a project, along with how producers can develop their career path were also major areas of interest. Here are a few ideas we came up with for some resources and information the Production SIG can provide:
1. Job titles and descriptions
2. Blueprints for producer career path
3. Identify core competencies
4. Outsourcing Database
5. Developer database
6. Case Studies on different situations a producer faces. (Perhaps modeled after Harvard Business Review)
7. List of due diligence questions to ask developers and vendors
8. Creating bid packages
9. Information on PMP certification - game module?
10. Help people plan for career development. Identify core competencies for each producer type, and then determine why type of training is necessary for these.
11. Information on Project Management Methods. Case Studies of different methodologies.
12. Information on scoping out a project
13. Information on Risk assessment and how to do risk analysis
14. Samples of project schedules and plans? Project archives?
15. Standardized naming conventions for different parts of production. Alpha/Beta mean different things to different companies.
16. Suggested Reading list
I will be working to implement some of these suggestions in the next few months, and create a plan for enhancing the usefulness of the production SIG to all of our members. If you have any feedback or suggestions, or are interested in volunteering, please contact me offlist at heather at mediasunshine dot com.
In addition, I will be hosting a gathering of the Production SIG at GDC in February. If you are attending GDC, please plan to attend. Talking to you in person is a great way to get feedback on how to make the SIG more viable for you.
Posted by HeatherChandler at November 18, 2007 12:31 PM