The Ultimate Turnaround: Managing a 24-Hour Project
Most projects we do demand quick turnaround times, however, 24 hours is more than quick, it is insane. In this discussion we will talk about the process, skills required, and project management techniques that went into building the Alpha version of GoOutside.com for the Hack4Reno event. Using a team of 3 developers, a designer and a project manager (me), we were able to produce an engaging, feature rich and award winning web application in just under 24 hours. Presentation Take-a-ways: 1. If you are ever asked to manage a project that seems impossible, mandate that you get to pick the team. This project would have never happened without all of the players on the team. 2. Be sure to have a team meeting prior to the start and define the end goal... for us, it was to win the event! 3. When time is tight... be sure you shoot for the stars, but understand that is not what the final product will be. 4. Share the load... this comes back to the discussion about the team, a good team will pick up when others are slacking. 5. Meet and check progress often. 6. Don't be afraid to crush some pipe dreams... as long as the team knows the end goal isn't jeopardized... they will no care. 7. Though not my favorite job... ensuring that you are a cheerleader for the project is a mandatory job duty for any project manager. 8. When the end is in sight but the team is producing poor quality work, make them all focus on one task and work together to complete it. This will re-energize the team and make them come back together. 9. Celebrate! A good team wants to keep working together... so celebrate.
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The Ultimate Turnaround: Managing a 24-Hour Project
- 2. The Ultimate Turnaround: Managing a 24-Hour Project
- 3. ROB GAEDTKE Project Manager (some times) Creative Director (other times)
- 4. BACKGROUND Develop an app for the City of Reno in 24-Hours
- 6. BACKGROUND Team GoOutside: 3 developers a designer and me
- 7. GOAL To win the entire thing.
- 10. Search, Add, Rate and Share your favorite go.cations. (That’s our fancy way of saying the spots in Reno you love)
- 11. Authenticate, Check-in and Like via Facebook open graph.
- 15. GPS Detection.
- 18. And finally… user management.
- 20. HOW WE GOT THERE
- 21. PRE-GAME
- 24. PRE-GAME: A solid game plan.
- 25. PRE-GAME: An end goal in mind.
- 26. GO TIME
- 27. IN-GAME (1 hour) The kick-off… what are we building and more importantly, who are we building it for?
- 28. IN-GAME (2 hour) Put the masterpiece up… but know that a solid B- performance would win the event.
- 29. IN-GAME (3 hours) Divide and concur!
- 30. IN-GAME (9 hours) Regroup… Reenergize… then back to it.
- 31. IN-GAME (10 hours) Share the load… I did some HTML, uploaded locations… programmers did some content writing… what ever was needed.
- 32. IN-GAME (12 hours) Crush some dreams in hopes of finishing.
- 33. IN-GAME (13 hours) Continue to kill functionality that took too long or simply wasn’t working out.
- 34. IN-GAME (15 hours) 75% done… right on target.
- 35. IN-GAME (17 hours) Playing the role of cheerleader and realist.
- 36. IN-GAME (18 hours) Finished deliverables only. All hands finish a task before the next is begun.
- 37. IN-GAME (20 hours) Stop new production… time for testing and polish only.
- 38. IN-GAME (23 hours) Final push and getting ready for the big presentation.
- 39. IN-GAME (24 hours) GoOutside for the win.
- 41. QUESTIONS?
Editor's Notes
- Rob Gaedtke… managing projects for about 7 years now… Everything from 2K logo designs, to half a million digital contracts.My brain isn’t wired like a true “project manager” but, I know how to get a job completed… and I know how to build something that wins!
- The City of Reno hosted a Hack-a-thon – a 24hour, build what you can event that filled the downtown event center with nerds and a few project managers like my self. Teams were formed prior to the event, and some people built their team during the
- The City of Reno hosted a Hack-a-thon – a 24hour, build what you can event that filled the downtown event center with nerds and a few project managers like my self. Teams were formed prior to the event, and some people built their team during the
- This is the most important part of managing a fast turn. If your in this situation… you have the control and you must ensure that the team you are managing is the right team and that you are comfortable with what they can product. This team knew each other. Our strengths and weakness and we could trust each other. Also, we all respect our talents… and know the role we play in the big picture
- We all knew each other. Our strengths and weakness and we could trust each other… in a 24hour project, you don’t have time to question if something is done right… you need to assume that what they are doing is right… or at least the best solution at the time -
- Without a plan of attack… caous is all we would have…
- Without a plan of attack… caous is all we would have…
- We started off on a much better foot than most… see we had discussed a game plan prior to the event… nothing specific, but we got the first round of questions and answers out of the way… that is key.Also, we knew that the City was judging these… so features that the City thought were cool, would be important.Important… even in a compressed timeline that you make a call as to what you are going to document… for this, we needed some tech specs, an outline and some functionality layed out… but we didn’t need a ghant chart with everything milestoned.
- Team perspective, I think it is important to keep the dream alive in quick project… make them feel larger and more glorified. Then… scale down as needed until the time is up. You can’t really go the other way though…
- We knew our roles… we knew the ground work that had to be done… we put our heads down and worked for a solid 6 hours.
- About 8 hours in it was time to get a pulse on the project… it was time to combine functionality and see where our holes were. Also, this was about the time the team would typically be getting off work, so we could all feel the need for a break…
- About 8 hours in it was time to get a pulse on the project… it was time to combine functionality and see where our holes were. Also, this was about the time the team would typically be getting off work, so we could all feel the need for a break…
- About half way through… running at 60% load… it was time to crush a few pipe dreams and really start to think about the finished product. What was really doable and what wasn’t. I think this is something that we all need to do, keeping in mind what the big picture is and ensuring the team that without these items we can still win.
- We all knew each other. Our strengths and weakness and we could trust each
- We all knew each other. Our strengths and weakness and we could trust each
- Now we were producing work at about 20 – 40% capacity. Everything took longer and wasn’t really cutting it. We knew we were getting down to the wire so we focused on a few key areas and made sure they were fully functioning before we moved on to the next.
- I’m sure there is a term for this… but when you get down to the wire, focusing the entire team on one or two items and finishing them before moving to the next is key to not leaving 5 ideas on the table.
- With only 4 hours left it was time to call it on new elements and focus on QA and
- And now we started on presenting this thing, what was the best way to capture it… the best way to sell it to the judges
- We kept it simple… sold the idea and let the app do the talking…
- We kept it simple… sold the idea and let the app do the talking…