MW2011: J. Flemming +, Launching the MFA Multimedia Guide

For the opening of the Museum's new Art of the Americas wing, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston embarked upon a sweeping new program to transform the traditional audio guide into a new iPod Touch-based multimedia guide. This ambitious endeavor was fraught with challenges as diverse as managing content production at a new scale and determining how to reliably charge 750 devices at a time. In this session, MFA New Media team members will share lessons learned from our large-scale project, including points such as: Strategy - determining the best direction for our visitors and institution Planning and evaluation - prototype testing of content and the device Offerings - features and tours (adult, kids, foreign language, special exhibition, and audio described guides) Content production - moving production in house while still leveraging experts CMS - selecting and enhancing the guide content management solution Updating content - crafting a solution for making content updates manageable Security - protecting the investment Equipment - cases, headphones, lanyards, chargers and more Operations - managing workflow, training, and rental and return Future growth - where we'll be heading next The MFA uses TAP as the CMS, with a modified/customized TAP app as the user interface. We use the Nous case and a homegrown charging solution. A presentation from Museums and the Web 2011 (MW2011).Read less