Project Mis-Management

In most cases you know about the project 2 weeks or more before it's due, but what happens?........You wait.

14 days away from deadline - You think, "I have plenty of time to get this done and I have other things to do."

Big Mistake! Are you sure you are the one who will be working on it? More than likely, you won't be the only one investing your time on this project. So, take a moment to think about involving those unknowing players about this project. At the least, it will get everyone thinking about what needs to be put together for the project.

7 days away - You get your outlook reminder and snooze it until 3 days before.

3 days away - In passing you mention to your marketer or graphic designer, "We have to get together about something today." The end of the day comes and goes with nothing mentioned.

2 days away - The next morning you get a email or a page over the intercom to come to the office. You get brought in on a project that now has a 2 day time line. The kicker is, no one is ready to give you the information you need to perform your task. You spend that day chasing down people who are involved and don't know it yet. Of course they don't know anything about the project. So at the end of the day, you realize that this project is doomed from the start.

1 day away - The day before the project is due, there is a meeting of all of the players and they look at you like, "so you have everything you need?"

After shaking your head, you inform everyone that you do not have everything you need and that you need their help to complete the project. Everyone gets this look on their face like, oh God, what will I have to do for this?

Having been in this industry for quite some time I've seen this happen way to many times. Now that I think about it, it happens all the time. But, it happens from the top down. Those on the bottom try to build in time to do the project and those at the top seem to ignore the project until the day before it's due.

I have two words to fix this situation..... Project Manager. There only job is the coordination of projects. It's there job to plan and track projects and timelines. Big picture people should never be able to pass out a projects to anyone but other managers. Ideally, the Project Manager. Some one with a 1,000 ft view should be in charge of projects. They have a big enough picture to see what needs to be done first and what needs to be adjusted to meet the deadline.

Any time I can Project Manage my own projects, I never paint myself into a corner when it comes to delivery. So, it can be done.

The other side of this coin involves rushing a process that will ultimately represent your company to your client. So why cut the production time a short as possible? You get out what you put in. So, the next time you rush a project like this to the client and a mistake gets brought to your attention, realize you've done this to yourself.

Plus, you'll keep your staff happier if you don't dump rush projects on them constantly. Give them the time to be the talented people you've hired them to be.

If you find yourself in a position of having a Graphic Design, Web Design or Marketing project and in need of a Project Manager, feel free to call Studio490 for help.

Tj Todd
CEO / Creative Director
Studio490