The golden rules of project management must be coupled with the new collaborative approach and tools of the digital age in order to successfully complete interactive projects- on time and budget. The tools of trade for enterprise-grade system integration projects such as linear Excel spreadsheets, verbose Powerpoint presentation decks, and PERT & GANTT charts that resemble chutes & ladders, somehow percolated their way into the dynamic digital domain, but the result seems to be elongated timelines, bloated resource plans, and win situations for interactive agencies (at the client’s expense).
The answer, from my experience, is simple: pictures. You read it- simple, unadulterated, crisp & clear pictures. How, you may be wondering, will pictures solve those woes? Visual communications can be a project manager’s most effective tool to drive the message home; keep project team, vendors, and stakeholders aligned; and communicate the whole picture to minimize communication gaps and keep projects running strong. Bottom line- visuals play a strategic role in clarifying and presenting information
When I say pictures, I don’t necessarily mean the high-end graphics that one can only create with Photoshop, InDesign, and Omnigraffle. It’s amazing what a simple pen and paper can accomplish. The who, what, when, where, and how of any situation just jives better when presented pictorially than words alone.
The next question is- how does a PM visualize and create the proper pictures? Dan Roam gives the perfect solution in his book “The Back of the Napkin,” as he presents five questions to help focus visual ideas:
1. Simple or elaborate? Vary the level of simplicity versus elaboration of a diagram to match the expertise of the listeners
2. Quality or quantity? Do you need charts and graphs, or compelling graphics to complement the words?
3. Vision or execution? Do you need to communicate “we know where we’re going” or “we know exactly how we’re going to get there”?
4. Individual or a comparison? Is your message focused on a single concept/idea/person/thing or a comparison of multiple concepts/ideas/people/things?
5. The way things are versus the way they could be. Do you need to communicate today’s status quo or tomorrow’s delta?
Thoughts?
-brijesh