automation & asset management feature
One significant challenge in understanding an organisation’s current workflow is finding the people who actually know what happens on a day-to-day basis. It is common that a single person in an organisation will know the workflow at a high level. However, involvement of
departmental managers and operators in the workflow discussion is essential to gaining all of the details necessary for a successful system. Consulting with the system operators also encourages their sense of involvement in the new system design and, in turn, contributes to their willingness to buy into the system once it is in place. If a system is simply thrust upon its users, and if it doesn’t provide the utility or performance they need, they will resent both the system and process, making overall system acceptance more difficult.
While understanding current workflows and their deficiencies is a very important aspect of system planning, it is essential to consider also what the ideal workflow would look like if drawn up from scratch. This is often the more challenging aspect of workflow analysis, as the people who understand the current processes are so embedded within the current way of
thinking that it can be hard for them to step back and consider the bigger picture. Often, by starting with the large tasks and hand offs between them and then sketching out how content flows through the production line, the organisation can develop a framework for building a completely new workflow. From there, it is possible to drill down to each functional block and design the specific steps that need to happen at each stage. See figure 1 for a high-level workflow example. Once these large steps have been defined, then the requisite individual tasks can be identified. This process effectively defines sub-workflows for each high-level workflow item. See figure 2 for an ingest workflow example.
By designing a component-based workflow with these smaller sub- workflows, it is often possible to gain additional efficiencies, as the sub- workflows can be reused in various
Figure 2: an ingest workflow example.
Organisations will often analyse the way that their facilities currently operate, and then simply replicate the workflow in a new system.
parts of the organisation without redesign. For example, an organisation may have an initial QC workflow once content is ingested, but it also may be desirable to re-QC the content following edit or transcode. By building a QC-specific workflow, the organisation creates a proven functional element that it can drop in at any point across the process chain.
Overall workflow management
A workflow is a living, changing, constantly evolving entity. While it is possible to define exactly how a facility should operate, chances are that the organisation will continue to evolve and that new requirements will need to be considered on an ongoing basis. For example, over the past few years, it has become essential for broadcast facilities to prepare content to be delivered for Web and mobile
“ With Canon’s 3D solution, it’s easier to set up and to get the best quality pictures. Only Canon gives me simple adjustability through the drive unit display, and let’s me create a matched pair from any two of the same lens models.”
John Perry, 3D Engineer, CanCommunicate
www.canon-europe.com/tv-products
Continued on Page 16.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44