A multimedia product should be tested throughout its design and construction. Designing a multimedia product is an interactive process; feedback of the drafts and versions from the tests will ensure the design meets the objectives of the design brief. Everyone involved in the project needs to understand the importance of useability and bug testing. The design and production teams' cooperation in testing is crucial. After all, they provide the materials, designs and prototypes to be tested. The schedule for testing is a negotiated arrangement, which needs to be structured into the design and build process before the design of the product commences. There are a number of key stages in the design and production phase when testing is necessary: Pre-design Before the design process begins it may be necessary to run a focus group with representatives of the target audience to establish a clear picture of their needs and interests, so the product design can reflect these. Content and category labelling When the labels of content and controls are being discussed it is good practice to test these on users. The card-sorting technique is useful. First interface designs The interface design can be a mock-up graphic without content. The testing can involve a small focus group with target audience representatives. First navigation design An expert test is appropriate at this stage, although on larger projects, as user trial may be warranted. The navigation may be presented as a paper prototype or a wire frame representation. This will often include actual content. Prototype design An expert or user approach is appropriate at this stage. A prototype is a completely functioning version of a section or component of the multimedia product. Completion of product Once the product has been completed, and prior to delivery, a full user trial is necessary including technical testing. There should be sufficient time built into the production schedule to re-design elements of the product if necessary. Ongoing assessment Throughout the lifecycle of the product, information can be gathered from users and experts about their understanding and appreciation of the product. Surveys or feedback mechanisms (bug reports) can be built into the product to gather this information. Not all multimedia products will have conducted useability tests through the production. If a new version of the product is required, it will be necessary to conduct a test before starting the re-design. An expert test is recommended for this purpose. In the Report, you will find a Word table of a multimedia production schedule. Insert into the task column the stages in which you would recommend on-going testing of the design and construction phases. Testing resources Useability and the Web Wire frame and Greeked design Overview