ProgressmediaUK evaluation.

A production schedule is an effective tool to consider using for the production of this app, due to the fact that production schedules clearly state each step that needs to be competed in order to create the final product. It consists of dates, milestones, timeframes, contingencies and the tasks that need to be completed. A production schedule works in a similar way to a to do list, which is effective as it creates motivation due to providing a goal to work towards.  This is because as once a task is completed, it can be ticked off the list meaning you're one step closer to having the final product finished.  The fact that all tasks are shown before the product is produced is also useful as it means you can gather all the materials / resources you need to create it, allowing you to be more prepared for the production stage. Delays can be handled due to the fact that the production schedule factors in contingencies, this will be effective for ProgressmediaUK as they want their app ready for April.  Therefore, they won't have to waste time thinking of backup plan meaning they can be more confident in having the app ready for the desired launch date.  However, the fact that everything is planned out before the production stage can be a problem since milestones and dates may be hard to predict, meaning the launch date could be affected if timings are wrongly assigned.

Another reason that a production schedule is effective is due to them being cost effective as all you need to create a production schedule is a piece of paper, a printer, a computer / digital device and digital software such as Microsoft Word in which the production schedule can be created.  In this way, a production schedule would be beneficial to ProgressmediaUK as it seems they are a small independent company due to them only having three members of staff: Ian, Ella and Josh, meaning they may not have a huge budget to spend on planning materials.  By using a production schedule they’re able to save money and have an effective plan to creating the final product. Due to the way production schedules are made, they are also easy to edit and are adaptable, which is another benefit that makes production schedules effective as this means less time is wasted on creating other planning materials. The fact that the production schedule can be easily edited is relevant and an advantage to ProgressmediaUK as Michel wants the app to be ready for April.  By using a production schedule the team don’t have to worry about wasting time on things such as creating completely new production schedules, allowing them to spend more time focusing on creating the actual app ready for the date they want it released, however, although the production schedule does consist of elements such as the tasks, dates, timeframes, contingencies and milestones that need to be completed, it doesn't cover everything, for example a visualisation digram would also need to be used as the production schedule does not visually show what the app is going to look like.

The company ProgressmediaUk consists of three members, therefore a production schedule can be beneficial to use as they’re relevant to everyone due to them showing all tasks that need to be completed. This is an advantage as it allows each team member to know exactly what everyone has to do in order to make the final product, allowing them to work well as a team. However, production schedules can be vague in what they say, possibly making it confusing or hard for everyone to completely understand their job roles and therefore the tasks need to be very clear for each individual. Secondly, because there are various team members, the production schedule would have to be accessible to everyone, therefore there should be multiple prints of it and it should uploaded to a place where everyone can see it such as OneDrive or on email.