1. Secrets to Project
Management for
the Creative Studio
daniel schutzsmith

2. Presentation Slides
& Worksheets:
http://how.graphicdefine.org

3. Who Am I?

4. www.graphicdefine.org

5. School of
VISUAL ARTS

7. Who Are You?

8. Designers?

9. Project
Managers?

10. Student or
Teacher?

11. Other Design
Professional?

12. What is Project
Management?

13. Project Management
organizing and managing
resources so they deliver all
the work required to
complete a project within
a defined scope, time,
and cost constraints

14. Project Management Defined
Scope

15. Project Management Defined
Time

16. Project Management Defined
Cost

17. Project Management Defined
Scope

18. Project Management Defined
Time

19. Project Management Defined
Cost

21. Why Do We
Use Project
Management?

22. Why Project Management?
saves money

23. Why Project Management?
less stress

24. Why Project Management?
better
organization

25. Why Project Management?
confirms
work ethic

26. Why Project Management?
makes
repeat
clients

27. So, How Could
It Possibly Fail?

28. How Can It Fail?
incomplete
plan

29. How Can It Fail?
poor
organization

30. How Can It Fail?
lack of
defined roles

31. How Can It Fail?
dependency
on one person

32. How Can It Fail?
scope
creep

33. How Can It Fail?
unclear
objectives

34. How Can It Fail?
unstable
project
funding

35. Project
Phases

36. Project Phases
4 D’s

37. Project Phases
1. Discovery

39. Project Phases
Discovery
• Kick-off Meeting
• Research
• Gather Requirements
• Technical Specs
• Project Planning

40. Project Phases
WORKSHEET:
Project
Scope

41. Project Phases
1. Discovery
2. Design

42. www.graphicdefine.org

43. Project Phases
Design
• Wireframes / IA
• Design Comps
• Revisions

44. Project Management Apps
Microsoft Project
Studiometry

45. Project Phases
WORKSHEET:
Scheduling

46. Project Phases
1. Discovery
2. Design
3. Develop

48. Project Phases
Develop
• Programming
• Send to Printer
• Vendor Integration
• Alpha & Beta Launch
• Testing

49. Project Phases
1. Discovery
2. Design
3. Develop
4. Deploy

51. Project Phases
Deploy
• Project Launch
• Style Guide / Manual
• Wrap-up Meeting
• Possible Additions
• Track Success

52. Project
Methods

53. Project Methods
Agile
vs.
Waterfall

54. Project Methods
Waterfall
based on a fixed length
of time. clear project
end. traditional project
plan.

55. Project Methods
Waterfall
great for projects with
absolutely define
objectives

56. Project Methods
Start Finish

57. Project Methods
Agile
based on short, task
oriented periods of
time. project end is
harder to define.

58. Project Methods
Agile
great for open-ended,
long term projects
where the end result is
unclear

59. Project Methods
Start
Start Start
Start

61. Leading
a Team

62. Leading Talent
Assign Tasks
+ Objectives

63. Leading Talent
Get Out
of the Way

64. Leading Talent
Check in
Regularly

65. Leading Talent
Let People
Screw Up

66. Leading Talent
Preach Time
Management

67. Leading Talent
Weekly Status
Meetings

68. Managing
the Client

69. Managing the Managers
Set Expectations
+
Define Objectives

70. Managing the Managers
Keep Consistent
Communication

71. Managing the Managers
One Channel of
Communication

72. Managing the Managers
Building Trust
is Important

73. Managing the Managers
Show the ROI

74. Managing the Managers Sup
Imp er
ort
ant
!
Under
Promise

75. Managing the Managers Lik
e fo
Rea r
lz!
Over
Deliver

76. When Shit
Goes Wrong

77. When Shit Goes Wrong
Stay Focused

78. When Shit Goes Wrong
Remain Calm

79. When Shit Goes Wrong
Don’t Act
Too Quickly

80. When Shit Goes Wrong
Rely on
Your Team

81. When Shit Goes Wrong
Make a
Calculated
Decision

82. When Shit Goes Wrong
Realize that
Something Will
Have to be
Sacrificed

83. When Shit Goes Wrong
Don’t Play the
Blame Game

84. When Shit Goes Wrong
Learn
From It

85. Staying
Organized

86. Staying Organized
Organize All
Papers
and Files

87. Staying Organized
Use Paper
Folders

89. Staying Organized
Standardize File
Structure

91. Staying Organized
WORKSHEET:
Ways to
Standardize

92. Staying Organized
Organize
Tasks

93. Staying Organized
WORKSHEET:
Personal Organizing
Systems

94. Staying Organized
Retaining
Ideas

95. Staying Organized
WORKSHEET:
Idea Tools

96. Change
Order

97. Change Order
Make It
Official

98. Change Order
Get it in
Writing

99. Change Order
Should Contain:
• specific change to be made

100. Change Order
Should Contain:
• specific change to be made
• cost to make the change

101. Change Order
Should Contain:
• specific change to be made
• cost to make the change
• additional time needed for
the change

102. Change Order
Should Contain:
• specific change to be made
• cost to make the change
• additional time needed for
the change
• signatures of approval (client
and you)

103. Change Order
Should Contain:
• specific change to be made
• cost to make the change
• additional time needed for
the change
• signatures of approval (client
and you)
• date

104. One Final Tip

105. One Final Tip
Keep a Playbook
For every project log the total
hours, players, profit/loss, things
learned, strengths, weaknesses,
and so on. This will help you
and your employees
understand what projects you
like and why.

107. Presentation Slides
& Worksheets:
http://how.graphicdefine.org
daniel@graphicdefine.org