Where’s Your Source Code?

Courses are built and published every day, but what happens to their source codes?

Does the following scenario sound familiar?

XYZ Corporation has had a web-based training course for a number of years that focuses on how to support a key application used by many employees of the company. The responsibility for maintaining and managing this course has changed hands a number of times over the years with no issues simply because it has never needed an update. However, after a new version of the software application is released, how to use new features need to be incorporated into the courseware.

Once developers review the course files, they realize that they only have the published output. The course was written in an application that they do not have, and they are unsure which vendor was involved in the creation of the original course. Also, the employees involved in the original course development are no longer with the company.

After much research, the new training managers are able to identify the vendor who created the course. After many calls, XYZ learns that the server storing that particular course was recently moved and it will take some time to retrieve the files.

Happy ending (or as happy as it can get): the original source files were found, but XYZ Corporation must hire a different vendor to convert the source code into a new format because no one has the software the course used in the originally development. In the end, the course was updated, but the cost was high and it took longer than anticipated.

What Are Source Files?

Source files consist of the bits and pieces that make up a course. This includes the educational and tracking materials, as well as the graphics, animation, audio files, video clips, and so forth,

When dealing with graphics and animations, you will typically have two different files for each graphic/animation: 1) the file format that the graphic/animation was saved as during creation and 2) the final version that was incorporated into your course files. For example, the working file in Photoshop is saved as a.psd file that can only be read by Photoshop, but the output file can be in multiple different formats such as a.jpg,.gif,.png, and so on. When an output file needs to be updated, you must have the original.psd file in order to correctly edit it.

All applications have some type of proprietary file extension that is used during the creation of the output product, it's important to know what these files are and how to manage them as part of your overall strategy for maintaining your source files.

Why Worry about Source Files?

Without the source files, you could very well discover that you have to recreate every course the next time you need to update them. This will not only increase the cost, but also the time required for the update. With the source files on hand, you will only need to edit the elements of the course that need updating - greatly reducing your cost and time.

Here's a review of issues that can have an impact your source code, as well as some strategies for creating a sound management plan.

What activities can affect source files?

• companies change hands
• employees leave
• projects end prematurely
• projects get inherited from different groups/people
• development software evolves

Who needs to be involved when creating your strategy?

• course owners
• developers
• IT

What needs to be archived?

• list of people involved in the project, including subject matter experts
• meeting notes where agreements and decisions were made
• storyboards
• written audio scripts
• original course source files
• images (for example, both source Photoshop images and final images)
• animations (source files and production)
• anything else associated with the final production of the content

Here are some questions to ask that may affect your final solutions.

• Onsite storage: What is your storage strategy: network shares, local computer drive, CD/DVD, vendor(s), portable hard drives, and so forth? Can IT provide network space? Is there a fee associated with storage? Who will have access to archives? How do you access archives? Is security an issue?
• IT support: What sort of internal IT support do you have? Are they willing to help with storage and maintenance?
• Vendor archiving: Does the vendor offer archiving services? How long does or will the vendor maintain the archive? What is the cost for vendor archiving? What are the billing cycles? Does cost go up as archive increases? Is there a retrieval or transfer charge? Will they send files to a different vendor if you choose to use one? How do you access archives? What if the vendor goes out of business or is purchased what happens to your content?
• Disaster recovery: Is there a disaster recovery plan? Who on the team is aware of a disaster recovery plan?
• Naming conventions: How will you identify the course content? By category (business process, application, HR)? By application used or process? By date (day/month/Year) in filename?
• Software issues: Do you have licenses software used to create the course? Did you archive a copy of the software that was used to create certain courses if and when you move onto a different development product?

Finally you need to determine if your strategy will require budgetary support. There may be set up charges or ongoing maintenance charges to consider.

Benefits to Having Your Source Code

The obvious benefit of having your source code under your control is that you can more easily manage updates and conduct maintenance on courses as required. This reduces both cost and downtime for your courses.

Managing your own source code provides other benefits that you may not immediately recognize. For instance, as your library of courses grows, so does the number of images used within those courses. These images can be reused in other courses further reducing costs and time requirements. Additionally, elements in courses may also prove reusable with other courses or as online help files and resources.

In the end, positive control of your source code provides the greatest security for your content, as well as the flexibility to manage it to meet the ever changing needs of your business.

M. Shawn Stiles is with worldwide safety and regulatory operations for Pfizer. Contact him at Michael.Shawn.Stiles@Pfizer.com.