Session 01: Goals, Objectives, and Guidelines
Hi. Welcome to this first session for the Online Notes project. I spend a lot of my time writing notes and logging project elements and part of me thinks that other indie designers could learn a thing or two about project management by seeing this. Another part of me just wants all this invisible work shown to be to validate all my hard work (ha ha).
Honestly though, there is another part of me that hopes that by doing this – out in the open – it will lead to more efficient project management on my end as I am forced to see my methods through others’ eyes.
For years, I have been writing these notes to myself. I’ve tried – on a couple of occasions – to clean up and post my notes to an online outlet after the fact but it always proves to be double work. What I intend to do instead is write my notes directly online- mistaeks included – for all to see – but I am not sure the best way to do this.
Goal. As per usual for projects, I’m going to attempt to define the goal of this project:
Goal: Establish a system for writing notes and logs for Cryptiquest projects online.
Okay, that sounds right – I’m establishing a system, not just seeking out a tool or not just slapping it on a website and declaring victory. Time to flesh this and explore boundaries.
Another draw to having these notes online is that it potentially highlights Cryptiquest’s endeavors to an audience. This, coupled with the education benefits to other indie designers, requires that this project finds a way to connect to the community. Ideally I will find a way to have a community baked into the system – perhaps there is a social media platform for indie designers? I’ll have to do some digging. In the meantime, here’s the first objective:
Objective 1: The system must connect to an online community.
That’s good. Now what? My notes and logs tend to include lists, indents, tables, etc. These are formatting elements that a simple online text editor won’t be able to handle. That sounds like an objective:
Objective 2: The system must be able to accommodate advanced formatting, including lists, indents, an tables.
My schedule is erratic and project dedication can be inconsistent (I often juggle two projects at once per week then have to put both on hold to work on a third, etc.). This system needs to allow for that and accommodate that. But what does that mean? I’ve recently been trying to block of notes by “session” – and that seems to help me bounce around from topic to topic freely – I’ll just need a way to group these together.
Objective 3: The system must allow session-based posts.
Objective 4: The system must feature a way for posts to be linked together under the same project.
That last objective reads a little clunky but I think it’s good enough for now. What else? Hmm. That might be it. Oh wait – Cryptiquest values! Let’s add those. (I did the legwork for these objectives in a previous project). I’ll adapt those here:
Objective 5: Ensure the system allows for Cryptiquest, LLC to maintain rights to all content posted for and by Cryptiquest, LLC.
The other objectives from the Cryptiquest values apply more toward creating content than creating a system so I’ll sort of scoot those into guidelines. Let’s see where we are with all of this now:
Goal: Establish a system for writing notes and logs for Cryptiquest projects online.
Objective 1: The system must connect to an online community.
Objective 2: The system must be able to accommodate advanced formatting, including lists, indents, an tables.
Objective 3: The system must allow session-based posts.
Objective 4: The system must feature a way for posts to be linked together under the same project.
Objective 5: Ensure the system allows for Cryptiquest, LLC to maintain rights to all content posted for and by Cryptiquest, LLC.
Guideline 1: Content generated through this system shouldn’t be trite or inconsistent.
Guideline 2: Content generated through this system shouldn’t be confusing or boring.
Guideline 3: Content generated through this system shouldn’t contain “off switches”.
Okay. I think that’s a good start regarding the goals, objectives, and guidelines for this project. More might be revealed in the future, but that’s good for now. During the next session, I’ll tackle tools for measuring the success of the project.