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Mario Kart & Milestones

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Mario Kart & Milestones

In Mario Kart, a milestone would be completing a lap.
Similarly, in a project (for example a stock photo project) a list of milestones can include: 

  • mood board/concept finalized
  • legal forms signed
  • photo editing complete
  • website submission done

In order to complete each milestone, we have a series of actions or activities that must be completed before we reach a milestone.

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As an Artist, Why should I care about the Triple Constraint?

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As an Artist, Why should I care about the Triple Constraint?

GURL. 

The Triple Constraint is so important. I'm glad you asked the question because Imma break it down for you real quick.

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"Chunking" Sounds More Fun than Work Breakdown Structure

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"Chunking" Sounds More Fun than Work Breakdown Structure

Before I even knew what project management was, I was simply breaking down my big goals into step-by-step processed and called it chunking. Now we have fancy smancy terms for it.

Chunking = the hierarchical decomposition of a project

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12 Project Management Pet Peeves

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12 Project Management Pet Peeves

5. Requiring Verbal Foreplay

"Project Managers don't care about the niceties of social interactions. I actually heard someone tell a project manager that they needed some "verbal foreplay" before jumping into all the work talk. Seriously, while we are asking about your kid's stupid play, all we are thinking about it how long do we have to endure the boring chatter until we can finally ask when the heck your report is going to be done and many times, our insincerity shows." - Melissa D

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List of 500+ Stakeholders

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List of 500+ Stakeholders

Stakeholders have the power to:

  • provide funding or take it away
  • fill your workshops/events/exhibitions/etc. or leave them empty
  • offer major decisions that push the organization forward or into the ground
  • execute the project deliverables or completely screw up the deliverables
  • manage project team members' progress or allow the project to run awry
  • keep your vision/mission alive or completely skew your mission/vision

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Why, as an Artist, You Should Think Inside the Box

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Graphic designers and videographers, how often have you heard the following:

  • It would be really great if...

  • Could you just make this tiny edit?

  • Do you mind adding this one thing?

This my friends, is called scope creep.

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Auditing a Closed Project: Questions That Address 47 Processes

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Auditing a Closed Project: Questions That Address 47 Processes

Below are some of the questions I've asked other project managers in regards to their closed projects:

  • What were the biggest headaches with the project you supported?
  • If you could do it again, what aspects would you change?
  • How did you deal with team members that stopped communicating?
  • How much did planning help with the project?
  • What last minute surprises occurred that threw you off guard?
  • What were some great outcomes of the project?

Lessons Learned from Project Closeouts

Lessons Learned from Project Closeouts

David Kassel states in his textbook, Managing Public Sector Projects, “…the project close-out period can be one of stress and anxiety as both the project management team and the contractor sprint to the finish line…” (2010, pg. 199)

I used to have a hard time with the end of projects because:

  1. The execution phase sucked out all of my energy
  2. I find it hard to let go of something beautiful I helped create
  3. Organizations I worked for had no formal close-out processes, so it was considered additional work
  4. I've built such strong relationships with my team members

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Understanding Agile User Stories

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Understanding Agile User Stories

The clouds parted.
An angelic chorus rang throughout the room.
It clicked and the lightbulb turned on.
I understood user stories!