Making Projects Easy

This talk was presented at the Future of Web Design 2013 in NYC.

Making “cool stuff" for the people of the Internet is fun, but not always easy. Your clients hire you for your ability to make amazing experiences on the web and in apps, but they also want to be sure that you can keep your projects on the rails. That's where it can get tricky. Relationships between teams and clients can be difficult to navigate, even if the "big idea" comes easily. But that's okay! There are ways to build common goals and processes between client and design teams to lighten project stress and foster a shared creative language. Whether you're a designer, developer, or project manager, you'll find value in improving your communication and collaboration skills.

Transcript

1. Making Projects FUTURE OF WEB DESIGN NYC Brett Harned | @brettharned Easy Easy
3. ★ All the brains
4. Make projects easier by: ˒ Communicating e ectively ˒ Playing nicely with others ˒ Setting expectations ˒ Managing time e ectively
5. Easy!
6. 1 1 Good Communications
7. communicate often
8. Set communication expectations
9. ★ I may look like I’m sleeping, but I’m really working
10. Listen
11. Take notes
12. ★ Make your notes clear and concise (happy robots edit)
13. feedback Be open to
14. Be proactive
15. Status Updates Provide
16. ★ Team status meetings: helping get things done!
17. ★ Client status calls make everyone happy
18. Every status should include: What’s important? ˒ What was done last week ˒ What will be done this week/next week ˒ Action Items ˒ Update on Timeline ˒ Update on Budget ˒ Blockers & Risks
19. Be Honest
20. Learn to say...
21. No.
22. 2 2 Playing Nicely with Others
23. ★ Got my new project. Life is good.
24. ★ Team and clients want a piece. Play nice!
25. Explain your process
26. Collaborate
27. ★ What does “collaboration” mean to you?
28. Some common practices How do you collaborate? ˒ Face-to-face communication/events ✦ Sharing ideas: brainstorming, sketching, impromptu meetings ˒ Shared to-do lists ˒ Real-time communication ˒ Being “open”
29. Make it work
30. 3 3 Setting Expectations
31. ★ Robots worry too
32. Scope Understand Your
33. meline Lock down your
34. Roles Establish
35. ★ Who’s doing what? When?
36. 4 4 Managing Your Time
37. ★ Your To-Do List can be your bestest friend
38. To-Do List Create a love-worthy
39. ★ What to do?
40. ★ Classics
41. ★ Record Tasks
42. ★ Prioritize your list
43. Set Task Priorities ˒ Highest Priority: Must be done today ˒ Medium Priority: You’d like to get it done today, but it can wait until tomorrow ˒ Low Priority: It can be done tomorrow or even the next day
44. ★ Complete a task. Update your list.
45. ouble Having Completing Tasks?
46. Focus on one task at a time
47. ★ I know when you’re busy.
48. distractions Turn o
49. meetings Schedule around
50. otect your work time
51. Control your own calendar
52. Structure your days/weeks
54. Plan for the unplanned
55. So Easy!
56. Thanks! Brett Harned | @brettharned | brettharned.com dpm2013.com | ownercamp.com