I have taken the Design, Implementation & Maintenance elements of my OBREDIM mindmap, rearranged them into these new categories & combined them with the CDROM design mindmap elements to make this Final design mindmap. As usual, the text is too small when viewed in its entirety to be read, so I am breaking it up into it's constituent branches again & dealing with them one at a time. As before, a full resolution version of the whole mindmap can be found in the 'Documents' folder on the CDROM.

 Portfolio Production:
 

 I have created my Portfolio in web page format for several reasons, one of which is the extra methods of presentation available to me. While I am making use of the potential for including sound clips, along with the text & photos, I could also have included video clips if I had any of relevance. I am using web pages that I have created in the past as templates here, as this has saved me time in setting out the page layouts. I am designing for several different client groups & so I must ensure that I accommodate all levels of knowledge; both in terms of computer skills & permaculture experience. To this end I have included a Glossary of terms, which is linked to from any potentially difficult word or phrase. I have also included a Bibliography of my recommended books for people to be able to find out more about a subject if they wish. Both are directly accessible from the Site map page too.

 I am choosing to present my Portfolio initially on CDROM because of the advantages it has; a large data storage capacity in a compact package that is easy to copy, to name but three. I am designing the page layout using the principle of 'relative location', i.e. placing related items together. I have done this in several ways, the first of which is simply using folders & sub-folders, a structure that is more useful to me as the designer, but invisible from a web page viewing perspective.

 The structure that the reader sees is based around a main index page (Home page), two sub-index pages (Designs & Extra pages) & a set of pages for each of the ten designs. I have provided linking buttons on each page which guide the reader to the next page(s) of relevance. I have placed buttons in a particular order so that the left or top left button is my first recommended place to look & the next to its right & so on, in the same way that we might read down a page. I have provided an introductory page which autoruns upon the insertion of the CDROM into a drive (as long as the autorun feature is enabled on the computer). This helps anyone with little computing knowledge, that may not know how to look at the contents of the disc. For those who don't have autorun enabled I have included instructions on the CDROM case on how to launch it manually.

 On the Home page, reached directly from the introductory page, I have placed my main index. The top left button links to a page about Navigating the CDROM; an obvious place to start as so much more can be found within the pages with a few hints about where to look. After this I have placed the buttons so that they introduce me & then lead the reader through my pathway & onto my ten designs. The Designs sub-index has them arranged chronologically & each design has it's own set of pages with similar structures & layouts of linking buttons, differing only where a design has extra pages added. The linking buttons are laid out logically again in the order of each design process.

 Not all links within the Portfolio are linear however & this is where this format provides another advantage over paper. Throughout the Portfolio I have interlinked related items so that the reader can get a more thorough understanding of what is being presented & to follow their own unique path. The Extra pages that I have included do not relate directly to the Assessment criteria & so do not appear on the Home page, they are however linked to from different places in the text where they are relevant & have their own sub-index which can be reached from linking buttons at the bottom of most other pages. The Site map provides an extra way of getting around my Portfolio & is a way of ensuring that nothing has been missed, as all pages are linked to from here. Each of my own photos, drawings or documents can be viewed more easily in the 'Documents' folder on the CDROM, where I have provided copies at a higher resolution. Smaller pictures that are not easily read on screen can also be clicked upon to bring up a full-screen version of them.

 I am seeking feedback from those who use the CDROM to improve it's structure & I am aiming to achieve this by asking users to fill in a questionnaire for me. One is embedded in the CDROM itself, which will email me back the information inputted by the user. The other is a paper version which will need to be given to me by hand or posted back to me.

 Pre-Accreditation:
 

 Having completed the Portfolio, I'll be copying it onto several CDROMs. These I will send out to a few friends just to give them a testing in terms of their accessibility & I will use their feedback to tweak anything that needs it. At the same time I will arrange a DST to ensure that I am ready to accredit. The feedback from my tutor I will use to tweak any of the content that may still need it before it is viewed by my presiding Diplomat & peers. I have decided to aim for accrediting at the Permaculture Association's AGM & Annual Convergence in Leeds, as this would provide the best opportunity for as many people as possible to be able to see the process if they wish. As a trustee I will be there anyway, so it will not involve me making an extra journey to achieve this. I have already made known my desire to accredit at the event & I am pencilled in if I am ready on time.

 I am choosing my peers using several criteria, the first of which is that they are going to be at the event themselves. I am looking for a balance of those who know some of my work already & some who don't & those who are new to the Diploma process & those looking to accredit themselves soon. It would also be good to give those who haven't been in a peer group before the opportunity to do so & a good balance of males & females in the group would be preferable too. The last two criteria involve them having access to a computer with a CDROM drive & being keen to fulfill the role for me. I have already approached a Diplomat, who I know from a distance but who is currently only a little familiar with my work & he is more than happy to fulfill that role for me on the day. Once I have clarified who my peers are I can send him their contact details so that he can send them on the information they need to carry out their duties.

 Once the CDROM is ready I can post it to my peers & Diplomat, giving them enough time to have a good look at what I have been doing before they come to my accreditation event. I will phone them all up a few days later to ensure that they received them alright & that they worked OK in their computers. Then all I need to do is to ensure that the equipment that I will need on the day is going to be available for my use.

 Accreditation Event:
 

 I will arrive at the AGM early to enable me to both carry out my duties as a trustee of the Association & to get my presentation equipment set up in good time. I will be taking two copies of the CDROM, just to be sure that I will have one that works OK & I plan to use it to make my presentation a 'minimum effort for maximum effect' one. I have arranged for a computer screen projector to be available at the venue & also a laptop or computer to plug it into. This will enable me to use a tour of my CDROM as the basis for my presentation on the day, where I can focus on my Best design. This will have the multiple function of using elements of my design to present the design itself, which explains how I have designed the whole process including the presentation itself! (confused?).

 I will make the CDROM available on a computer before & after the presentation for others to view if they wish & I will be printing out my Portfolio mindmaps at a large scale & putting them up on the wall to be viewed as well. I will ask for feedback from my peers & Diplomat on the day in the form of a questionnaire, both about the CDROM & the presentation, then use this to further tweak the content. I would like to think that after that, all there will be left to do on the day will be to celebrate!

 Post-Accreditation:
 

 After my accreditation & any last tweaking as a result of feedback, I will be sending copies of my CDROM to both the Association & the Academy. I will then pare away the larger files & upload a slimline version to my website where it can be linked to from within the Diploma WorkNet pages. Later on, when broadband web access is more common, it may be practical to upload the whole Portfolio. I will also be making the CDROM version available to anyone who would like a copy (advertised from my website version), which will provide a multiple supply of the information. Feedback received from the CDROM & the website will provide ongoing opportunities for me to optimise the Portfolio. The design effectively offers a new way of producing a Diploma Portfolio with extra outputs.

 Best Designs & Action Learning Pathways:
 

 I will be placing my own Best design on the Diploma WorkNet's new 'Design bank' pages & this will be simple, having it already in web page format. I will be aiming to gather up the Best designs that have been produced as part of the Portfolios of all the existing Diplomats & I will start at the Association's office & at the Academy. Any Best designs that have gone astray over the years could be collected by contacting Diplomats directly. Having these designs on the WorkNet pages could only be of benefit to the Diplomats, so it would be in their interest to provide them.

 It would be a lot easier if each Diplomat was to provide their own work in digital format, but if necessary paper documents could be scanned in, perhaps for a fee. Once transferred into the digital domain, I could create a set of Best design web pages which would become a valuable resource for several different client groups. It can also be put onto CDROM, for sale as a potentially more detailed resource. Students would value it as an inspirational learning tool, the Association as a resource to send to potential funders, the WorkNet as an example of the work it is producing, Diplomats as a bit of good publicity & the General public as an introduction to the diverse ways in which permaculture design can be applied.

 Feedback could be gleaned from questionnaires on-line & on the CDROM & from the web counter already in place on the Diploma WorkNet's pages. As new Diplomas are awarded, each new Best design can be uploaded to the 'Design bank'. This would be much more easily facilitated if it was built in to the Diploma process that this is either provided in digital format or an extra fee included to pay for the scanning work. In time, maybe there will be enough students accrediting annually, for a yearbook CDROM to be produced including all their Best designs.

 An evaluation of this whole process can be found on the Design Review page.