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Summary:
The Internet has dramatically increased the possibilities for media product development. This is becoming a key factor for media companies specialized in managing and distributing information, as high demand for online services has pushed media companies to release their products faster. This study explores an iterative model for development of web products, and compares this model to conventional media products and software industry. Two Finnish news sites were analyzed from the perspectives of their content, structure, and working routines. Then, a new online service was designed and evaluated by four internal test groups. The study shows that creating value added web sites for high performance is a complex operation; it requires technical software tools and co-operation between people with different skills and background. Working with digital online products offers the development team several benefits e.g. inexpensive prototyping and multiple iteration loops.