#24: The making of a CD-ROM

Again, apologies for my long 'disappearance'! I've been up to many things that got me almost fully occupied. Of course, the year end holiday mood has made me slow down a bit. ;)

Anyway, on this last day of 2007, I would like to talk about managing a CD-ROM project. I have explained about the format and purpose of a CD-ROM publication in one of my very early posts. Here, I am going to briefly talk about the process of making one.

The example I'm using here is a post-event CD-ROM, which contains:

* An animated introduction that shows element related to product or company, title of the talk or event, and introducing the speaker(s).
* A footage of the presentation, coupled with a presentation slide show synchronized to the speaker's speech.
* A footage on the Q&A session that is broken down to individual clips.
* Additional features: view slides only, print slides, product information in PDF form, etc.

Before the event
* Hire a camera crew - inform them the date, time and duration of the event; remember to get the contact number from at least one of the camera crew! You need to update him of last minute changes, if any.

During the event
* If possible, arrive an hour earlier before the event starts. Make sure the camera crew has all their equipments set up, and all the cables and wires are connected to the right place.
* Don't forget to collect the presentation slides from the speaker.

After the event
* Your job is first to proofread the slides, correcting any spelling errors and inconsistencies.
* A copy of the footage and presentation slides (PowerPoint) will be passed to the designer-programmer for designing and programming.
* Also pass over other relevant materials (e.g. product information, design elements, speaker's photo and CV) that need to be incorporated into the CD.
* Check the synchronization of the presentation and all links and functions in the CD before sending it to your client for review.

The above is just a very simple outline of the work flow for a CD-ROM project. If you want to know more in details, you can always leave your question in the comment box. :)

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I would like to take this opportunity to wish my blog readers a wonderful and fruitful 2008 ahead!

Happy New Year!

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#23: I forgot to do that...

Apologies on this much delayed post. Well, sometimes my time (and mind) is occupied by so many other things, that I forgot there are other stuffs, like this blog, awaiting my action. ;)

I believe you will feel this way too in your work as a medical writer-cum-project manager. You may find yourself working on two or three or more projects at the same time. There is no such thing as "let me complete this project before starting on the second one". And as time goes on, you may find more and more project files piled up on your in-tray. ;)

So it is not surprising that you may sometimes forget to, for example, follow-up with client for approval on a particular project or get the designer to make a specific correction in the layout of a bulletin.

What can you do to 'curb' your forgetfulness and avoid missing out on important tasks?

It's really simple. Everybody knows how. Just write them down on a piece of paper.

BUT, it's not just scribbling them all over the paper without order. Do write down the tasks that you need to act on according to its urgency and importance.

I find it useful to list tasks in this order - most urgent, most important, least urgent, least important.

Urgent tasks are such as getting the client to approve the layout first thing in the morning, so that the bulletin could be sent out for printing by noon and delivered on time for their company meeting 3 days later.

Important tasks are such as having the designer to change the chart before it is sent to the client for approval when he is back to work from his holiday next week. Putting in the wrong chart simply reflects the project manager's incompetency. You wouldn't want your client to think of you that way.

And the best time to prepare your urgent and important to-do list is at the end of your working day, before you leave the office. Write them down clearly and orderly, so that you immediately know what to do when you step into the office next morning.

Once you have completed the task, cross it off. You will feel a sense of accomplishment when you see that the list for that day getting shorter and shorter.

Hope this will help you remember better at work. :)

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