9 Rules for Digital Project Managers

Nov 24 2012

Follow these nine rules for project managers to ensure your digital projects are always successful.

1. Encourage ownership and teamwork

Identify the internal and partner stakeholders and give them a weekly status report, even if they don’t want it. Do this daily if there are major issues.
Don’t dictate – advise but ensure your team makes the final decisions.
Ensure all client presentations are reviewed internally first.
Work with your team to achieve consensus – whilst avoiding groupthink – so that you have a united approach in front of the client.
Sit the team together if possible. Project groups work better than discipline groups.
Make sure that the people doing the work also do the time estimates.
Read my post on Bruce Tuckman’s team development model.

The status report should be based around the deliverables. Don’t make the mistake of reporting on issues not related to the success of the digital project. The status report should tell the story of what happened last week for each deliverable and what the next steps are.
The RAID log (Risks, Actions, Issues, Decisions) is reviewed with the leads each week and their comments noted. Tell it how it is so that problems can be nipped in the bud.
Encourage openness and transparency by having work exposed on walls wherever possible. Keep nothing hidden.
Morning scrums or standups are great tools if used correctly as they kickstart the day’s work. They provide an opportunity for the team to confirm that they know the priorities for the day and also allow the digital project manager to pick up quickly on any impediments. Small teams/projects might not need them but for bigger teams/projects they’re essential.

After internal review, send the status report to the client. Make sure the client is informed early about risks and issues.
Take notes at every meeting and send a contact report afterwards.

Make sure people know what they have to do and when it has to be done. Then leave them alone to do it.
Reduce the number of meetings – especially un-planned ones.
For the regular, planned meetings, have printouts ready and start on time. Keep the meeting focused on the topic and finish early if you can.

Understand that the digital project manager’s role is to remove obstacles for the team so that they can get on and do their work.
No task should be too small for the project manager if it means his team can work more easily. If they need a new monitor, fight to get them a monitor. If they need chocolate, go and get them chocolate. It’s always the small things that make the difference.

Follow my guide to having successful projects in digital agencies and take control of your digital project from your first day.
Despite all your communications, few people remember milestones and the detailed scope of deliverables. Make sure you always have these details in your head or in your pocket because you’ll be asked about them in random places like the lift, the kitchen and the loo. People will often gauge their confidence levels on your ability to give impromptu status reports.

Missed deadlines cause re-planning headaches in an agency environment so make sure you hit each of those milestones. If the team has to work late to hit a deadline then tell them quickly. Work out why missed deadlines are happening so that it doesn’t become a habit.

Let the team know that you expect the highest standards possible.
Don’t let your team (or client) cut corners – insist that jobs are done properly. Get support if your team is struggling to achieve quality.

Do regular financial reconciliations and ensure you understand where the money is going.
Quickly escalate any financial issues and make sure you learn from them.
Never forget that above everything else this is a business and your projects must make money for the agency.

Further reading:

Tags: Digital Project, Project, Rules