Design_document

= Design Document Working Page   Note from Liza Loop (June 6, 2014) = We are working hard to raise funds to support HCLE. This involves writing grant proposals and then waiting months to find out whether any money will be forthcoming. Our current grant application is to: National Endowment for the Humanities, Digital Projects for the Public. The "project" is to create a "Design Document". What follows on this first page is their Instructions for writing the document. This project feeds into the next and larger grant which funds "Prototyping" -- what we have been calling our 'Proof-of-Concept' implementation. Since all Prototyping applications must include a design document (up to thirty single-spaced pages) we're putting that first. If you'd like to help please contact us...


 * The Design Document must address the following:**

Executive Summary
☐ 1) In an executive summary, discuss the goals of the project, the rationale for the chosen platform(s), and the humanities content.

User Experience
☐ 2) Describe and visually illustrate the user experience of the project using mockups, wireframes, screenshots, storyboards, or video; include specific examples of how the project’s central humanities ideas will be conveyed by this design.


 * For websites or web-based media, include a site map that illustrates the paths that users will be able to take through the project, as well as media assets that they will encounter along the way.
 * For games and online environments, include details such as level designs, object schematics, maps of locations, branching pathways, etc.
 * For applications that require touch or physical inputs, include a depiction of how and where a user’s inputs will impact his or her experiences of the project.
 * For location-dependent mobile applications, include a description and visual representation of how the digital components will be interwoven with locations, objects, and events (for example, a mobile application that contains augmented reality content should be paired with a visual representation of the locations that will trigger them).
 * For alternate reality games and transmedia projects, provide a detailed representation of how the components will complement and connect to one another.

Technical Architecture
☐ 3) Explain the project’s technical architecture(s), content management system (CMS), and, if applicable, user-generated content (UGC).
 * Document the project’s CMS, including all procedures pertaining to creating, managing, storing, and disseminating content.
 * If applicable, explain the system for moderating and incorporating UGC.
 * If applicable, describe how the project will handle obscene, libelous, indecent, or defamatory content (including hate speech, personal attacks, or material constituting harassment).

Sustainability Plan
☐ 4) Describe the sustainability plan for the project.
 * Discuss the institutional capacity to produce and maintain this project.
 * Describe the project’s lifecycle and discuss how the project will avoid technological obsolescence.
 * Include estimated future costs and maintenance fees for the project.
 * If a project is designed to function only for a limited time, explain your procedures for determining the time span and which (if any) core aspects of the project will be maintained and/or archived.

Narrative Treatment
☐ 5) Narrative Treatment
 * If the project contains narrative elements, include a detailed treatment of the story.