Walt Disney once said, “It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.” At Marxent we follow that same philosophy. Whether it is trying on a virtual pair of shoes, visualizing a virtual wall of lockers in a school or creating a superhero selfie experience we are always tinkering with technology to do things that have never been done before. Our developers, artists and designers are here to turn big ideas into reality.
Project management is essential to making the impossible possible
Impossible ideas are exciting but eventually they have to be boiled down into actionable projects that fit a budget and timeline. Prospective clients regularly come to us with ideas that seem far-fetched. There are times when I’ve thought that my co-workers are crazy to agree to work on an especially outlandish project. Much to my surprise, we always find a solution that exceeds the expectations of our clients. As a project manager I enjoy bringing order to the chaos of new projects and working across teams to bring the impossible to life. Here’s how we make it all happen.
1. Gather the right team
It is critically important to gather the right team for a given project. Beyond individual skills and qualifications, we work to build high performance teams that have the right mix of skills and team dynamic for a given project.
2. Set a timeline, communicate about it and stick to it
Commitment to a strict deliverables timeline and constant communication are critical to maintaining the flow of a project. Realistic time frames are set to ensure that everything is completed and dependencies are managed. To keep projects on track and on schedule, each individual on the team is held accountable for understanding how their deliverables fit into the project timeline. Things that we are in constant communication about include:
- Due dates, including the small ones
- Assets for the project
- Dates for meetings
- Project deadlines
3. Schedule regular meetings and actually hold them
Meetings can feel onerous but they are vital to keeping a project humming along. Different projects demand different meeting frequencies and practices and it is important to consult the team and client to understand how often meetings should be held. When meetings are held, we are respectful of everyone’s time and endeavor to only hold them when necessary. Here’s how we make meetings matter:
- Start on time
- Have an agenda
- Stick to the agenda
- Keep them as short as possible
4. Lists, lists and more lists
It has become a habit of mine to make lists for everything. I personally prefer an old fashioned pen and paper notebook to online or mobile app systems. Having a physical list of assets needed, schedules, deadlines, and meetings allows me to check items off with a pen as they are finished. It feels great to cross things off of a list – and who doesn’t want to feel great?!
5. Honesty is the best policy
We pride ourselves in sticking to our promises. That said, sometimes unexpected things happen during a project and we need to revise our timelines. Sometimes timelines need to be revised and we work with clients to identify those cases as early as possible and to mitigate any dependencies.
