THE CHALLENGE
Tech-Ed Europe is one of the most influential events on the global IT calendar, attracting an audience of 6,000 developers and IT professionals. As Microsoft’s premiere conference forum, it connects people hands-on with the latest and upcoming technologies. Microsoft commissioned Intergen to create an interactive DVD containing training materials and resources to showcase the release of the Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5. The challenge was to create a fresh, visually rich interactive experience that would itself demonstrate the design capabilities of Microsoft’s innovative Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) technology and Expression Product Suite.
Aptly titled as the .NET Framework 3.5 Visual Bootcamp, the DVD was required in a tight race for deadline in less than four weeks, destined to impress in 6,000 goody bags waiting for the audience at Tech-Ed Europe.
“Microsoft Tech-Ed is always about innovation so it was rewarding to be selected to undertake the project because of recognised front of market Microsoft expertise across Intergen.” Chris Auld, Director of Strategy and Innovation, Intergen.
THE TECHNOLOGY
As Microsoft continues to push the envelope with rich interactive applications, Intergen is excited to be at the cutting edge of this new domain. Intergen Design Technologist Sjef van Gaalen describes the advantages Intergen gains by getting its hands on powerful interactive technologies such as WPF and the Expression suite of tools, well and truly in advance of market release.
“We’re embracing these new technologies and developing a new creative workflow to utilise them to their full potential. This enables a tighter integration with the Agile processes being used by our developers while still retaining the high-touch involvement and expertise of the interactive team. It is critical that the design’s integrity is maintained throughout the development process and that the solutions we imagine are accurately reflected in the product as it comes to life.”
“The successful DVD project is just one bite at the whole WPF opportunity - we’re rolling out several first of its kind projects right now that champion the incredible leap that these new technologies have made possible.”
THE TIMEFRAME
Global distance no barrier to four-week turnaround
“Combining our experience in Interactive Design with our development expertise, Intergen delivered a solution to the client that was above their expectations. Despite one half of the Intergen project team being based in Wellington and the other half being based in Dunedin, we were able to use the latest technologies to collaborate with and deliver to a client based in the United States.” Mark Waller, Project Manager, Intergen
Challenges included dealing across multiple time zones with many gigabytes of information. Using FedEx couriers wouldn’t have cut it, but by using Microsoft Foldershare it was possible to sign off and confirm content, design and development facets immediately. If there was a problem, Intergen was working on solving it in the NZ business day, ready to present to Microsoft by the USA morning.
THE OUTCOME
“We selected Intergen to create the interface for .NET training materials that were shared with thousands of developers across the globe. Even with a tight schedule and a challenging project – Intergen delivered on time and on budget.” Chester Smith, Product Manager, Microsoft
The DVD has shipped and is ready for distribution to the thousands of visitors attending Tech-Ed Europe 2007 in early November. The DVD design delivers a fresh, visually exciting look to the Microsoft .NET 3.5 training materials, is packed with resource material, and uses features that demonstrate the power of WPF. The DVD training material has a life well beyond this forum, having been designed to allow easy changes to values in the menu, so it can be reused and customised for other purposes by Microsoft.