What is Workflow?
Work•flow /ˈwərkflō/
“The sequence of industrial, administrative, or other processes through which a piece of work passes from initiation to completion.” – lexico.com
What is a quality workflow? How do we develop it? Below are elements of the production cycle that most creative people move through as they create something. First, we must identify the stages of project production. What is each stage and what are the quality checks for each stage. Read on and find out!
Stages of Creation Development
Inspiration
How do we find ideas to develop?
- There are so many resources out there today for creativity. First, our peers! Talking with other people and creating together is a great way to develop an idea. Second, the internet. Just a simple Google or Pinterest search is bound to give you a couple ideas to start with, and the extent of your search is all up to you.
- A process is crucial to organize your thoughts and ideas. One common method is called the 5H+W Method, which allows you to get a general idea of what your idea is before getting too specific. You answer 6 questions: who, what, when, where, why, and how? These questions allow you to think from a new angle each time, and refocus your idea. Another process is Thinking in Reverse. When developing and idea it is easy to get lost in what to do. Reverse thinking tells you to think of what not to do. This also gives you new angles to look from, and it narrows down your path to success.
- A good way to measure quality at this point is emotion. Are you satisfied with your idea? Is it realistic?
- You measure your quality! Ideas are very subjective, and while it is important that they can reach others as well, a personal idea can connect to more people than you may think. Stick with your gut, and do what you think is quality and has a chance at success.
Intention
How do we clarify our specific goal(s) for a project?
- A shared board or paper is a simple but great tool. Everyone on your team has access, and can all edit it to add their ideas. Additionally, the internet is a great tool. Research what makes a good intention. Will it withstand the whole process of creation, and is it going to motivate you?
- To find an intention, ask everyone what motivates them, and what they hope will come of this process. Find a middle ground between everyone, something you can all work toward, and make that your intention. Your intention will be used throughout the whole process, so make sure you truly want to achieve it.
- Quality at this point is your foundation. Is it strong enough to hold your whole project, and is the team ready to work together? If your team still doesn’t feel coherent and ready to work, look back at your intention and make sure it rallies the team.
- Your team measures quality. Is this a unifying intention? Your whole team should have the same intention, and personal ones. If everyone is satisfied with their intentions and confident they with withhold the whole process, they are quality intentions.
Pre-production
How can we brainwrite, brainstorm, storyboard, and plan our ideas at this phase?
- More than at any other point, we should use our teammates and peers. This is the part where we begin to plan out the future, and a team should be in agreement. There are tons of calendar and reminder programs out there, pick whichever one works for your team, and use it religiously.
- A mind map is a great process to use for pre-production. It allows you to write down all the information you have and keep it organized. It corresponds well with brainstorming, because it mimics the way we organize thoughts in our brain.
- Quality is now in the organization. Could you begin production today if you wanted to? If not are you on track? Pre-production is a crucial step to the rest of the process, so do you have a concrete and coherent plan for the future of this project? No matter what, stick to your plan. Aristotle said it best: “Quality is not an act, it is a habit.”
- You, and the person you will later present to measure quality. Your whole team should create a standard of quality, and hold each other to that standard throughout the process of creation. It is important that you take into account the quality standards of the people you pitch to as well, because they ultimately decided whether your product is worth purchasing, approving, etc.
Production
How do we communicate with each other and execute our plan for this phase? This is where we actually make the project.
- Whatever field you are in, you know what materials you need. Keep using the schedule and mode of communication you established in pre-production.
- Whatever you agreed upon in pre-production, you use. Communicate, trust each other, and a keep a steady work pace. If you have a steady work flow, your team should achieve their goals (if they were well made)
- Progress and time are good measurements at this point. Advancing in your work at a steady rate is important, and shows consistency with your workflow. Time, meaning being on schedule, is also a good measure. Are you way behind where you originally thought, on track, maybe ahead? If you realize your schedule is unreasonable, then fix it, and stick to it.
- Your team measures quality. You are all working together, and you hold each other accountable. Constructive criticism is important, or course, but a team should stick to the standard of quality that was agreed upon, and make sure others are to.
Post-production
How do we communicate with each other and execute our final stages of the project for this phase? This is where we publish the project.
- Use your original ideas and intentions. Make sure your project is consistent with what you originally wanted. Use the mindmap and documents you used earlier in the process to know what you had in mind when you started.
- Now is the time for reflection, look back at your original intention, does your product live up to that? Can it improve? Edit and revise what you have as needed, and make sure it is consistent with your original idea and intention.
- Quality is consistency. Have you stayed on track? Make sure the team is satisfied with how the product turned out, and if you need to take steps back, do that. Quality needs to come from your intention, does it match up?
- Your team measures quality, did all of you live up to the original expectations? Has your product performed or turned out in a good way, or does it need improvement? At this point you should be ready to show it to the world, so if your product doesn’t look ready for performance, fix it.
Presentation/Performance
How do we share our project with our learning community, advisory members, and the world?
- Whatever you are presenting, have confidence. At this point, you’ve done everything you need to do, and all you can do now is show your hard work to someone who can further it.
- Your whole team should work together to create a good presentation that involves everyone. Share what it is, how it works, and what you did to improve it. Practice before you present, and memorize what you will say.
- Quality comes from your public speaking and your ability to understandably explain your product. If the person you present to understands and at least respects your idea and product, your presentation went well.
- Judges, or whoever you present to, now measures your quality. Do they think your product lives up to their personal standard of quality?
Feedback
How do we conduct a feedback session at the end of the project development cycle?
- Tools is similar to process is this case, if you choose to talk, you don’t need any tools. However some may choose to email after they think it over for a day or two.
- A Q&A then feedback process works really well. Ask the people who presented questions, allow them to answer, then give them feedback. Allow them to show you their work and their process, and show them how they can improve.
- Quality at this point is measured in scores and other’s reactions. Other’s approving of your work is important to get ahead, but it is not the only thing that matters. Your own sense of quality and accomplishment is huge. Maybe it didn’t turn out the way you wanted it to, but are you content with your final product and your workflow? If you feel that you did your best and worked your hardest then you have met your quality standard, and now it is time to work on improving what your best is.
- You and the person who you presented to measure your quality. If you feel good about the feedback and the whole process leading up to it, that is quality, even if you received negative feedback. Use it for improvement, don’t look poorly upon your past process, use it to improve future ones.