Worldwide Collaboration

Portable Partners is an effort of different countries and nationalities - Singapore, Pakistan and China. Collaborating across the globe was not an easy task as we lived in different time zones, our schedule clashed, and there was no opportunity for us to meet up. Even though Alex resided in Singapore, he and Agnes were in different faculties, and hence, could not met up either.

Initially, our only source of communication was to Email. Another alternative was through MSN Messenger. However, internet access was not as readily available in Pakistan, so it was rare for us to find the opportunity to come together and discuss. Hence, it was indeed an arduous journey which required a collective effort to achieve our final product.

Thankfully, we found the brilliance of 'Google Sites', which we used to hold group forums, announcements, and an avenue to express our ideas and to share the information we have gathered. Task allocation was another important factor as it allowed more efficiency in that could each specialise in our niches. In addition, weekly emails were sent to keep the team updated on the progress of the website, as well as, the agenda for that particular week.

To put in brief, Alex's main job was to design the graphics used for the website design, as well as flash introduction, which Agnes later put into html codes. Since Abdullah, Rida and Munazzah studied in the same school(despite different classes and levels), they were given the important job of writing the main contents and the collating of information. As the leader and the only person with prior experience, though limited, to website html, css and javascript, Agnes' job was more diverse, she had to allocate jobs, consolidate and enhance the content pages, as well as, create site interaction through flash, images, and javascripts. You can learn more about our respective job scopes from our profile pages.

We also made use of our different nationalities to conduct surveys in our respectively different geographical areas, and online, to make certain our website is congruent and important globally. All team members helped in the distribution and carrying out of surveys while Abdullah, Rida and Munazzah consulted a psychologist in Pakistan for help. Agnes, on the other hand, emailed Professor Mark Griffiths of Nottingham Trent University in England who is very well-learnt and recognised in the study of Handheld Video Gaming globally.

Thereby, if you should consider the pool of resources we have conferred with and utilised throughout, Portable Partners can no longer be said to be a collaboration of merely Singapore, Pakistan and China. On the contrary, it is the brainchild of an international effort.