Transforming a Supplemental Program into a Core Program

The challenge:

 

The client was developing a teachers’ edition of a new core literacy program for elementary grade level students by consolidating existing content from multiple print and digital supplementary programs. Some of the materials only existed in outdated formats, requiring complex editorial and production skillsets when integrating the programs to ensure a coherent new look and feel.

 

How Westchester Helped:

 

Combining portions of programs created at different times by multiple vendors and in assorted formats required developing workflows to foster proactive communication between the various parties and the client’s project leads. The complexity of the project made it imperative for our project managers to identify challenges and present solutions as early as possible to maintain the schedule and budget. To bridge gaps in the programs where no materials existed, our literacy team created content to provide a seamless transition. The project content was set in InDesign using integrated XML so that it could be delivered as printer-ready PDFs and to the client’s online system, which created a non-traditional proofing process requiring both page proofing and online review from editorial and production teams. 

 

The Outcome:

 

Though the project shifted and morphed several times due to market changes, our team remained the go-to vendor throughout, taking on additional responsibility for new grades and content features as capacity permitted. Working with the client, we successfully transformed seven existing supplemental programs into one set of core student and teacher programs that students could use both in the classroom and online.