Managing Creative Projects as delivered to PMOZ Conference, Canberra 2009, PMI Sydney Chapter Breakfast 16th Sept, 2009

1. managing creative projects How to blend the best of traditional Project Management Techniques and Creative Processes & People Leigh Moyle - PMI Sydney Chapter

9. some inspiration Article by Diane Cheklich – available on PMI Marketplace ‘Lights, Camera, Project Management (2002)’ Dianne’s bio Diane Cheklich thanks Ross Perot for launching her film career. It was the late 1990’s and she was working as an information technology consultant for Perot’s company. As a “promising female leader,” they offered her a mentor, she chose someone in TV, who then gave her the name of a cinematographer and told her to go make a short film. She did, and loved it so much she knew she had to find more space in her life for filmmaking. Making movies quickly became her film school. Diane already has a half dozen shorts and documentaries to her writing and directing credit (including the award-winning experimental, “Late”), many of which have screened in film festivals around the world. She recently acquired two feature film producer credits. TRAP, a psychological thriller, is available nationwide on DVD, and AMSTEROID is in post production.

11. the goal Share some of my experiences in creative projects

12. the goal Share some of my experiences in creative projects Show you how similar creative and IT projects are

13. the goal Share some of my experiences in creative projects Show you how similar creative and IT projects are Challenge you to bring your own creativity to your projects

14. thankyou to… AFTRS - Peter Herbert HyperdrivenProductions – Ian Nicholson BazLuhrman NRMA - Me

16. AFTRS

17. “It poses challenges in vastly different areas and requires legal, technical, organisation and psychological expertise. This profession demands the very best from those who pursue it.

18. He or she is the person who embodies the complete production and has a clear overview of what has happened, what is happening and what is going to happen. The Production Managers work gives the production the necessary structure within which the artists can create their visions”

19. Clearly someone in this position should be able to live with stress and conflict and still be enough of a psychologist and diplomat to avoid hurt egos and bad feelings on set” Directors Guild of America’s Production Manager job description

21. creative projects Have more complex teams Have more specialised skillsets Have a greater reliance on contractors & outsourced work

22. Writers, artists, model makers, lighting designers, set designers, special effects designers, mechanical engineers, software engineers, animators, programmers, graphics designers, carvers, painters

23. Writers, Graphics Designers, Usability Testers, Programmers, Editors, Web Marketing specialists, Thesaurus developers, Metatagging specialists, Infrastructure Engineers, Public Relations & Finance specialists, Instructional designers, Solution Architects

24. creative projects Require translation into structure

25. “The Production Managers work gives the production the necessary structure within which the artists can create their visions” script breakdown sheet storyboard vision daily call sheet daily production reports production meetings

26. creative projects Require creative space to be defended

27. “One of the main things that a project manager of a creative project needs to be able to do is to defend the space for creativity” Directors Guild of America Job Description

28. creative people

29. creative space Create a safe haven – the individual will feel safe exploring unfamiliar territory, testing new concepts and possibly failing State the objectives – Having a clear purpose and sound rationale serves as a touchstone and encourages the team to be experimental Cross pollinate the group – Ideation works best when there are differences in perspective, knowledge and background, the greater the perspectives, the greater the range of potential solutions Goveno 2001

30. creative space Facilitate – keep the process moving, preserve the best ideas, while encouraging and protecting potential breakthrough ideas Support the Team – Recognising and encouraging the efforts of team members, who generate and develop ideas, even when those ideas are not utilised or fail, will contribute again Communication Follow through – When sessions are completed with a set of action items, lessons learned and innovations, it keeps the creative process in motion Goveno 2001

31. creative projects Have more complex teams Have more specialised skillsets Have a greater reliance on contractors & outsourced work Require translation into structure Require creative space to be defended

32. PMBOK

34. time quality cost

35. time quality cost

36. scope time resources quality risk cost

37. scope time resources quality risk cost

38. scope time resources communication quality risk cost

39. scope time resources communication integration procurement quality risk cost

40. scope time resources communication integration procurement quality risk cost

41. Artifacts storyboard, contracts, script, actors, budget, Film Finance Commission, Props list, makeup, animals, lighting, daily production meeting, location, wardrobe, special effects specialist, producer, production accountant, testing, dailys(daily film review, security specialist, Estimated filming time, daily production report, call sheet, distribution contract, contract rates, public liability insurance, shooting, licensing, film risk rating scope time resources integration communication procurement quality risk cost

42. “The fundamental practices required to deliver a film production are well defined and aligned to the processes and knowledge areas of the PMBOK Guide. What makes motion picture project management different from many other industries, however is the degree or intensity in which these fundamentals are applied and by whom” Christopher C Ryan “Looking behind the scenes: Project Management in the Motion Picture Industry” on PMI.org

43. It’s a wrap IT Project Managers = Production Managers = Web Project Managers The Processes and Artifacts for Film, Web & IT are similar Creative Projects Have more complex teams Require translation into structure Require creative space & creative people to be defended Have more specialised skillsets Have a greater reliance on contractors & outsourced work The underlying philosophy of PMBOK is equally valid in creative projects

44. the challenge What did you want to get out of this session? To challenge you to bring your own creativity to your work by; Better understanding creativity Be more creative Create the space for creativity in your projects.