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Storyline vs. Flash
Storyline vs. Flash
The key point to remember is that Storyline is not a Flash replacement, it operates significantly differently than Flash, which manifests itself in positive and negative ways:
- Flash has more advanced animation tools such as keyframes, easing, effects transitions (blurring, shadows, etc.), and drawing tools, which Storyline does not have, meaning we cannot do the complex animations we are used to with Flash
- Storyline has HTML5 publishing support, which Flash does not
- Flash has an internal programming language called ActionScript, which allows us to program pretty much anything we want to do, whereas Storyline does not have an internal programming language, we are limited to using specific functions that are built into the program when creating interaction
- Flash cannot display external website content such as YouTube, Storyline can
- Flash can export content in video format, Storyline can only export as a web package
- Flash courses can be broken down into multiple source files, which allows us have multiple developers work on a single project with minimal diminishing returns, and also allows us to update course packages more easily and with fewer risks
3rd Party Tool Risks
3rd Party Tool Risks
Storyline is a product owned by Articulate, and as such, we do not have any control over the development or direction of the program and it’s tools. This means we cannot adjust how the program works, what features are included, and when bug fixes or updates are completed. This means our R&D costs are significantly reduced, but we increase our risk by being at the whims of a company we have no control over. This is a bit different than working with Adobe (Flash) in that Storyline contains not only the animation tools, but also the quiz engine and publishing tools, which were wholly ICOM’s creation when we were using Flash. Articulate does have a decent support network and have been responsive to email and forum help requests, but we have encountered situations where our inability to control their priorities has negatively impacted our projects.
Storyline is a product owned by Articulate, and as such, we do not have any control over the development or direction of the program and it’s tools. This means we cannot adjust how the program works, what features are included, and when bug fixes or updates are completed. This means our R&D costs are significantly reduced, but we increase our risk by being at the whims of a company we have no control over. This is a bit different than working with Adobe (Flash) in that Storyline contains not only the animation tools, but also the quiz engine and publishing tools, which were wholly ICOM’s creation when we were using Flash. Articulate does have a decent support network and have been responsive to email and forum help requests, but we have encountered situations where our inability to control their priorities has negatively impacted our projects.
Strengths of Storyline
Strengths of Storyline
- Enables quicker than average development of simple animation content (think PowerPoint-quality animations such as fades, fly-ins, or basic motion paths)
- Strong built-in support for basic knowledge check content (multiple choice, multiple select, drag and drop, fill in the blank)
- Branching content is able to be quickly created (branching scenarios, dialogue trees, click activities)
- HTML5 and Flash support
- Non-responsive mobile support through an LMS or through the Articulate app
- Supports multiple LMS configurations and package types (SCORM 1.2, SCORM 2004, xAPI)
- Strong online community for Storyline questions, tutorials, and bug fixes
- Ability to display third-party web content directly within the content (YouTube, Vimeo, web pages, etc.)
- Acceptable support for tablet devices either through an LMS or through the Articulate app
Weaknesses of Storyline
Weaknesses of Storyline
- Lacks support for creating complex animations, to the point where certain animation types are impossible without exporting from another software as a video (character animation, motion graphics, etc.)
- Highly error-prone, partially due to our lack of knowledge in using the tool (which has been significantly reduced over the past year) but also due to a number of bugs within the program itself and the limited methods through which we can preview content
- Limited ability for interface/player customization, mostly every client’s player controls will look similar outside of colour adjustments and small tweaks
- Long technical description short: We generally should not sell Storyline content that is greater than 45 minutes in length on one package - the LMS has issues storing all the data from very long and complex courses, which manifests itself in bookmarking and completion errors when revisiting a completed course
- Entire Storyline courses must be contained within one single file, so using multiple developers to speed up development has diminishing returns (we can combine files, but it is error-prone and requires additional labour)
- Phone support is particularly weak due to Storyline’s non-responsive layouts
- Custom interactive content can become extremely difficult to manage due to how Storyline handles variables and triggers
- Publishing updates requires you to republish and reupload the entire course, even if you have made a single small change
- Lack of internal tools, FiLMS options not well supported/don’t work with Storyline courses, feedback tool is currently time-consuming to add and not anywhere near as effective and feature-rich as our Flash version
- Storyline is only offered as a full license purchase, which means we need to pay approximately $2000 each time we require a new license to expand our roster
Content Quality Tiers
Content Quality Tiers
When selling Storyline content, we suggest not taking the tier system too much to heart. Options are flexible and will depend on the client’s requests and needs. You can implement things from the gold tier on a low $/finishing minute rate if there are other compromises made, and there are different factors sure as client relationship, previous work to leverage, and our development team’s skill set. Sell at the rate you think you can get from the client, using these as guidelines, and we will assist in developing appropriate content. When in doubt, we recommend grabbing a development lead and asking questions, we are more than happy to assist.
When selling Storyline content, we suggest not taking the tier system too much to heart. Options are flexible and will depend on the client’s requests and needs. You can implement things from the gold tier on a low $/finishing minute rate if there are other compromises made, and there are different factors sure as client relationship, previous work to leverage, and our development team’s skill set. Sell at the rate you think you can get from the client, using these as guidelines, and we will assist in developing appropriate content. When in doubt, we recommend grabbing a development lead and asking questions, we are more than happy to assist.
- Bronze ($400-700/finished minute)
- No audio, limited sound effects
- Very basic animations and transitions, little to no movement
- Linear content
- Multiple choice or drag and drop questions
- Stock assets or well-organized client assets with no adjustments
- Basic translations when sold with an English version (French, Spanish)
- Silver ($700-1000/finished minute)
- ICOM approved vendor audio
- Basic music and sound effects
- Complex non-audio content (software simulation, etc.)
- More complex animations, movement, more variety in animation types
- Basic branching or split content
- More question variety, hotspots, sliders, fill in the blank
- Stock assets or well-organized client assets with adjustments
- Client-provided video with minor adjustments
- Complex translations when sold with an English version (any languages but French and Spanish)
- Gold ($1000+/finished minute)
- Sky is pretty much the limit, depends on the finished minute rate
- Multiple VAs, full music and sound effects
- Complex content with audio
- Highly complex animation
- Extremely complex branching, branches in branches, dialogue trees
- Custom interactives within the limits of Storyline
- Custom assets, photo shoots, video sessions
- Client-provided video with heavy edits
- Complex translations when sold without an English version
Expected Development Output
Expected Development Output
Due to the rapid development that Storyline does allow, we can pump out content at an increased rate compared to previous Flash courses. We are currently looking at about 3 minutes per day as a base rate for Silver-level Storyline content, with some developers pushing upwards of 5 minutes per day depending on asset availability, familiarity with client standards, and project requirements. Keep in mind that this number can significantly decrease when you start adding in things such as branching content, complex interactives, and specialized requirements. Removing audio may be a viable way to add those things while maintaining a good output rate, depending on your client’s priorities.
Due to the rapid development that Storyline does allow, we can pump out content at an increased rate compared to previous Flash courses. We are currently looking at about 3 minutes per day as a base rate for Silver-level Storyline content, with some developers pushing upwards of 5 minutes per day depending on asset availability, familiarity with client standards, and project requirements. Keep in mind that this number can significantly decrease when you start adding in things such as branching content, complex interactives, and specialized requirements. Removing audio may be a viable way to add those things while maintaining a good output rate, depending on your client’s priorities.
Reference Courses
Reference Courses
Below is a small collection of courses that are currently on our demo portal. These courses give a good representation of what we are capable of doing in Storyline, and we recommend checking them out so you understand the baseline of the program (names are exactly as listed on the portal):
Below is a small collection of courses that are currently on our demo portal. These courses give a good representation of what we are capable of doing in Storyline, and we recommend checking them out so you understand the baseline of the program (names are exactly as listed on the portal):
- YYC_Apron_Familiarization
- TELUS - Integrity 2016 [Out of Process Demo]
- Seaspan Preventing Injury at Work [Out of Process Demo Version]
- First West Credit Union BLAF DEMO
- TD Robbery Prevention DEMO
- Vancity Module 1 T24 Navigation Basics DEMO
- ICOM Productions - TDG [1.0 Unlocked]
- ICOM Productions - WHMIS 2015 [1.1 Unlocked]
In the future, we will be expanding our SPAT (Sales Presentation Assistance Tool) to include better sorting features, more information that is valuable in a sales-focused situation, and better clarity on which program a specific course was developed in. If you need additional sales demo material before that point, get in contact with Heather Hudak or any development lead to help source ideas for you.
In the future, we will be expanding our SPAT (Sales Presentation Assistance Tool) to include better sorting features, more information that is valuable in a sales-focused situation, and better clarity on which program a specific course was developed in. If you need additional sales demo material before that point, get in contact with Heather Hudak or any development lead to help source ideas for you.
Mobile Compatibility and Responsive Layouts
Mobile Compatibility and Responsive Layouts
While it is true that Storyline is capable of publishing content that works on both phone and tablet devices, that is not the whole story, and Storyline is likely not the ideal choice for a client who wants strong mobile compatibility. Storyline publishes content in a non-responsive format, which significantly impacts the user experience on mobile in a negative way.
While it is true that Storyline is capable of publishing content that works on both phone and tablet devices, that is not the whole story, and Storyline is likely not the ideal choice for a client who wants strong mobile compatibility. Storyline publishes content in a non-responsive format, which significantly impacts the user experience on mobile in a negative way.
“Responsive” is a term used to describe digital content that changes it’s layout and UI based on the size of your device. Compare these two screenshots of this website:
“Responsive” is a term used to describe digital content that changes it’s layout and UI based on the size of your device. Compare these two screenshots of this website:
You’ll see the first screenshot is using a different website layout than the second, but the actual content is still all there. This is because the website’s layout is “responding” to the display area being smaller and moving content around appropriately. This means that on a phone, you’ll be receiving a different layout than on your desktop, one that is typically designed to work much better on a touch device with a physically smaller screen. Storyline does NOT do any changes based on the size of the display area, it simply scales the content to fit, which can have a negative impact on user experience when buttons, text, and graphics are tiny and difficult to effectively use.
You’ll see the first screenshot is using a different website layout than the second, but the actual content is still all there. This is because the website’s layout is “responding” to the display area being smaller and moving content around appropriately. This means that on a phone, you’ll be receiving a different layout than on your desktop, one that is typically designed to work much better on a touch device with a physically smaller screen. Storyline does NOT do any changes based on the size of the display area, it simply scales the content to fit, which can have a negative impact on user experience when buttons, text, and graphics are tiny and difficult to effectively use.
It is because of this, that we highly suggest selling Adobe Captivate for mobile solutions, as it DOES have the ability to do responsive layouts, meaning we can specifically tailor the experience both for desktops and mobile devices. We currently do not recommend providing Storyline content through a phone, as the experience is simply not up to where our standards should be. On tablet devices, the experience could be better, but it is generally usable and can still be a good experience.
It is because of this, that we highly suggest selling Adobe Captivate for mobile solutions, as it DOES have the ability to do responsive layouts, meaning we can specifically tailor the experience both for desktops and mobile devices. We currently do not recommend providing Storyline content through a phone, as the experience is simply not up to where our standards should be. On tablet devices, the experience could be better, but it is generally usable and can still be a good experience.
Accessibility Compliance
Accessibility Compliance
Storyline has the ability to support people with different disabilities to provide a similar experience to those who are fully-abled. Of particular note:
Storyline has the ability to support people with different disabilities to provide a similar experience to those who are fully-abled. Of particular note:
- Screen reader custom ordering with bypass sections
- Screen reader audio and video controls
- Keyboard controls
- Image descriptions
- Custom tab ordering
For a full list of features Storyline has, and how they are implemented, check out this link.
For a full list of features Storyline has, and how they are implemented, check out this link.
Further Questions
Further Questions
If you have any questions related to Storyline, please do not hesitate to leave a message on our Google Community, where we can connect you directly to developers to answer any Storyline or development questions you may have. You can access the community via this link.
If you have any questions related to Storyline, please do not hesitate to leave a message on our Google Community, where we can connect you directly to developers to answer any Storyline or development questions you may have. You can access the community via this link.
Last updated 8/24/2016 by Colin Bittner
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