Managing Your Library of Data Resources

One major advancement for software development during the 1980s was the notion of re-usable code. Development groups made every attempt to share tools, source code, and development libraries whenever possible to reduce the need to reinvent the wheel for each new product cycle. This will accelerate during the 1990s, but a new requirement will arrive: re-usable resources.

Multimedia developers will begin developing libraries of data resources. Such libraries become extremely valuable for vendors who produce many different products and progress through multiple iterations of a product's life cycle. The ability to coordinate and share expensive resources among different product groups can increase overall efficiency and reduce costs.

The type of library you build and the method in which you implement it depends on the needs and workflow at your site. The following sections discuss some of the issues associated with creating and managing such a library:

Define a data management methodology

Collect and register resources

Identify and select specific resources

Edit and update specific resources

Archive or purge resources