Chapter 6, Additional Case 3: Choosing an Appropriate Primary-Research Method
Chapter 6, Additional Case 3: Choosing an Appropriate Primary-Research Method
Background
You are part of a five-person documentation group for Intelliplay, a video game–development company. Intelliplay develops entertainment software for personal computers and advanced game systems. The company's documentation group is responsible for writing the brief player manuals shipped with the games. These player manuals, each about five small pages long, cover topics such as system requirements, installation, game controls, game rules, play options, and technical support.
Intelliplay is developing a game tentatively titled Stomp, Crunch, and Munch (SCM), in which players control giant monsters similar to those popularized by Hollywood's B movies of the 1950s and 1960s. The object of the game is for a monster to destroy as much of a city as possible while avoiding the military forces sent to protect the city. Players can select single-player or multiplayer mode. Multiplayer mode allows each of several players to control a monster or military unit and play on a local area network (LAN) or the Internet. Currently, the documentation team is writing the instructions for the multiplayer mode.
A recently hired colleague, David Vidinah, walks into your office and confides, "I can't seem to get much help." He explains that he is writing a section on how to host a multiplayer game over the Internet. He emailed a message (Document 6.1) to Intelliplay's president, Erik Warden, and the four other game developers. Only Erik and two of the game developers, Sonja Morganfeld and Matt Giller, replied to David. Since being hired, David has had little interaction with Erik and has never spent much time talking with the game developers. David knows that Sonja is a new mother just back from maternity leave and works part-time. He frequently sees Matt shooting baskets or playing game prototypes with other employees, including people from the documentation group.
"I'm confused," David says. "Erik implied I did something wrong, and the game developers basically ignored me. What responses I did get were contradictory or not very helpful. What's going on?"
You offer to take a look at David's message and the replies (Documents 6.2–6.4) and get back to him the next day.
Your Assignment
- Examine David's request for help (Document 6.1) and the responses he received from the company president (Document 6.2) and the game developers (Documents 6.3 and 6.4). What can you infer about the relationship each wants to have with David? How do you think each wants to communicate with him? Write David an email explaining why you think he didn't get the help he wanted and what he should do next.
- Who are the appropriate people for David to contact with his questions, and what is the best way to approach each of them? Write David an email telling him whom he should contact and how he should approach each of them.
- Think about what steps David needs to take and what materials he needs to create to get answers to his questions. Create the materials that will enable him to finish the documentation for the game's multiplayer mode.
DOCUMENTS
Document 6.1-6.4
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