The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group
Multimedia Mate
Bernadette Houghton
 bernieh@iaccess.com.au

If you're involved in developing computer-based training courses or similar projects, you'll be interested in Multimedia Mate. A comprehensive set of guidelines in interactive form, Multimedia Mate leads you through the project development process and includes a huge set of sample documents and templates which you can customise to your own requirements by "filling in the blanks".

The layout of the CD-ROM is quite logical, and navigation is a matter of clicking on boxes, buttons or highlighted links. The guidelines cover seven stages of the project development life cycle:
  • Needs analysis
  • Concept design
  • Detailed design
  • Prototype
  • Storyboard
  • Implementation
  • Evaluation.
E ach stage is broken down into tasks, with each task addressed on four levels - overview, description of inputs and outputs, steps and tools. There are tips and suggestions and, wherever appropriate, hot links to sample documents and templates. These arc in Microsoft Word format but Protoavis, the distributor, will happily send you the files in Rich Text Format if you let than know that you don't have Word or a Word-compatible word processor.

Assessment

There are several different ways to navigate the CD-ROM, so it took me a couple of uses before I got the hang of it. Along the way I encountered a few minor bugs and areas that need further work; for instance, the search function is very rudimentary, and you must open Word manually before clicking on any Word links. Multimedia Mate is also something of a resource hog, so I soon learnt to reboot my computer after each use. These problems don't really detract from the value of Multimedia Mate, however, as that lies in the guidelines themselves and particularly the sample documents and templates. These are very detailed and comprehensive, full of practical suggestions and easily understood explanations. Overall, Multimedia Mate is a valuable information resource for project developers.


Figure 1. Each stage  is made up of discrete tasks


Figure 2. Detailed steps describe how to complete each task

Cost and Availability

RRP $79.95 (pre-GST price) plus $3 postage. 
Contact Protoavis Productions ph (03) 5796 9396 
mailto:h@ancc.com.au. 
Product information at http://www.learntech.com.au/mmm/

Minimum System Requirements

486 processor, Windows 3.1 SVGA monitor, 2.5 MB free hard disk space. Microsoft Word or compatible word processor. 

Reprinted from the October 2000 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia