As creatives we often have a very difficult time at planning our projects correctly. The result ends up being missed deadlines and missed opportunities which equate to time and money lost, as well as usually our morale. This presentation will provide a complete overview of what project management entails, will provide a deep demonstration of how a creative studio can successfully plan a project from start to finish, and will show the various paper and software based tools that can help studios ensure they keep an organized and excellent record of the complete life of the project.

2. The Secret to Project
Management for the
Creative Studio
Daniel Schutzmith

3. WHO AM I?

4. www.graphicdefine.org

5. www.choppingblock.com

9. School of
VISUAL ARTS

10. What is Project
Management?

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

12. Project Management Defined
Scope

13. Project Management Defined
Time

14. Project Management Defined
Cost

15. Why Do We
Use Project
Management?

16. Why Project Management?
Advantages
• saves money
• less stress
• empowers staff
• confirms work ethics
• makes repeat customers

17. Why Project Management?
Why It Can Fail
• incomplete plan
• poor organization
• lack of defined roles
• dependency on one person
• scope creep
• unclear objectives

18. Project
Phases

19. Project Phases
4 D’s

20. Project Phases
1. Discovery

21. Project Phases
1. Discovery
2. Design

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

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

24. Project Phases
Discovery
• Kick-off Meeting
• Project Planning
• Research
• Site Map
• Technical Specs

25. Project Phases
WORKSHEET:
Project
Scope

26. Project Phases
WORKSHEET:
Scheduling

27. Project Phases
Design
• Wireframes / IA
• Use cases
• Design Comps &
Revisions
• Interactive Design

28. Project Management Apps
Microsoft Project
Studiometry

29. Project Management Apps
WORKSHEET:
Project
Management
Software

30. Project Phases
Develop
• Programming
• Back-end & Front-end
• 3rd Party Integration
• Alpha & Beta Launch
• Testing

31. Project Phases
WORKSHEET:
Project Time
Sheet

32. Project Phases
Deploy
• Launch
• Wrap-up Meeting
• Style Guide / Manual

33. Project Phases
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.

34. Project Phases

35. Staying
Organized

36. Staying Organized
Organize All
Papers
and Files

37. Staying Organized
Use Paper
Folders

38. Staying Organized

39. Staying Organized
Standardize File
Structure

40. Staying Organized

41. Staying Organized
WORKSHEET:
Ways to
Standardize

42. Staying Organized
Organize
Tasks

43. Staying Organized
WORKSHEET:
Personal Organizing
Systems

44. Staying Organized
Retaining
Ideas

45. Staying Organized
WORKSHEET:
Idea Tools

46. When Shit
Goes Wrong

47. When Shit Goes Wrong
Stay Focued

48. When Shit Goes Wrong
Remain Calm

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

50. When Shit Goes Wrong
Rely on Your
Staff

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

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

53. When Shit Goes Wrong
Make a
Calculated
Decision

54. Change
Order

55. Change Order
Make It
Official

56. Change Order
Get it in
Writing

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

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

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

60. 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)

61. 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

62. Project management
can be as easy as you
want to make it!

63. Presentation Slides
& Worksheets:
http://wv07.graphicdefine.org