Maintain games and interactive media projects on an ongoing basis
Overview
This standard is about maintaining games or interactive media projects on an ongoing basis. This is aimed at helping projects to survive once their outputs have been launched. It involves setting up ongoing data, documentation, and administration systems, monitoring market developments, sales and customer service and evaluating information about finances, take up and resource use to adapt project approaches to survive in the longer term.
This standard can apply to games or interactive media. Interactive media can involve any type of interactive media content, products or services including, but not restricted to, websites, applications, or online marketing campaigns.
Games and interactive media projects can be for multi-platform or multi-channel use and can also involve the use of immersive technology which can include, but is not restricted to, Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR) and Mixed Reality (MR).
This standard is for anyone who manages and maintains games or interactive media business.
Performance criteria
You must be able to:
- set up and use data collection, documentation and administration systems that support the project's business model and current and future project needs
- monitor internal and external factors that may affect the life of projects on an ongoing basis
- set up systems that encourage feedback, comments, new ideas and suggestions for improvement from all the people involved in projects
- use accurate financial information to assess the financial state of projects
- evaluate data about customer/user interest, take up and ongoing support requirements at regular intervals
- make sure resources are available when required and are being used efficiently to support ongoing projects
- keep records in agreed formats and systems
- use an evaluation of market factors, feedback and financial information to inform future developments
- take appropriate corrective action when required to rectify problems
- produce realistic plans of future actions that balance their costs, benefits and likely success
- make sure everybody concerned with projects has the information about project priorities and plans that they need
Knowledge and Understanding
You need to know and understand:
- required data, documentation and administration systems including those relating to communication, cost management, IT, user information and user support
- external factors that could affect the ongoing life of projects including customer demand, changes in the market, competition, lack of resources, staff changes, problems with backers or changes to laws or non-statutory regulations
- internal factors that could affect the ongoing life of projects including staff organisation, attitudes, training and work environment, business management and organisation, product or service business model, design, quality, marketing and sales
- the people involved in projects including staff, customers, users, stakeholders
- financial information about projects and its purpose including basic cash flow, profit statements, high and low profit and loss forecasts, break-even point and basic balance sheets
- the needs of customers/users and how project structures can help to meet them and improve customer service
- resources required for long-term delivery of projects including staff, IT infrastructure, other departments, training requirements
- record keeping requirements and systems
- appropriate types of corrective action to address issues and problems including how to obtain additional resources and when it is appropriate to do so
- how to break down large targets into activities with timescales and deadlines that can be achieved and measured
- how to develop an implementation plan including roles and responsibilities, timescales, budgets, contingency planning, plans for monitoring progress
- how to ensure that vision and plans are clearly communicated to all who need to know