The Secret to Project
Management for the
Creative Studio
Daniel Schutzmith

WHO AM I?

www.graphicdefine.org

www.choppingblock.com

School of
VISUAL ARTS

What is Project
Management?

Project Management Defined
Project Management
is the discipline of organizing
and managing resources so
they deliver all the work
required to complete a project
within a defined scope, time,
and cost constraints

Project Management Defined
Scope

Project Management Defined
Time

Project Management Defined
Cost

Why Do We
Use Project
Management?

Why Project Management?
Advantages
• saves money
• less stress
• empowers staff
• confirms work ethics
• makes repeat customers

Why Project Management?
Why It Can Fail
• incomplete plan
• poor organization
• lack of defined roles
• dependency on one person
• scope creep
• unclear objectives

Project
Phases

Project Phases
4 D’s

Project Phases
1. Discovery

Project Phases
1. Discovery
2. Design

Project Phases
1. Discovery
2. Design
3. Develop

Project Phases
1. Discovery
2. Design
3. Develop
4. Deploy

Project Phases
Discovery
• Kick-off Meeting
• Project Planning
• Research
• Site Map
• Technical Specs

Project Phases
WORKSHEET:
Project
Scope

Project Phases
WORKSHEET:
Scheduling

Project Phases
Design
• Wireframes / IA
• Use cases
• Design Comps &
Revisions
• Interactive Design

Project Management Apps
Microsoft Project
Studiometry

Project Management Apps
WORKSHEET:
Project
Management
Software

Project Phases
Develop
• Programming
• Back-end & Front-end
• 3rd Party Integration
• Alpha & Beta Launch
• Testing

Project Phases
WORKSHEET:
Project Time
Sheet

Project Phases
Deploy
• Launch
• Wrap-up Meeting
• Style Guide / Manual

Project Phases
Keep a Playbook
For every project log the total
hours, players, profit/loss, things
learned, strengths, weaknesses,
and so on. This will help you
and your employees
understand what projects you
like and why.

Project Phases

Staying
Organized

Staying Organized
Organize All
Papers
and Files

Staying Organized
Use Paper
Folders

Staying Organized

Staying Organized
Standardize File
Structure

Staying Organized

Staying Organized
WORKSHEET:
Ways to
Standardize

Staying Organized
Organize
Tasks

Staying Organized
WORKSHEET:
Personal Organizing
Systems

Staying Organized
Retaining
Ideas

Staying Organized
WORKSHEET:
Idea Tools

When Shit
Goes Wrong

When Shit Goes Wrong
Stay Focued

When Shit Goes Wrong
Remain Calm

When Shit Goes Wrong
Don’t Act Too
Quickly

When Shit Goes Wrong
Rely on Your
Staff

When Shit Goes Wrong
Don’t Play the
Blame Game

When Shit Goes Wrong
Realize that
Something Will
Have to be
Sacrificed

When Shit Goes Wrong
Make a
Calculated
Decision

Change
Order

Change Order
Make It
Official

Change Order
Get it in
Writing

Change Order
Should Contain:
• specific change to be made

Change Order
Should Contain:
• specific change to be made
• cost to make the change

Change Order
Should Contain:
• specific change to be made
• cost to make the change
• additional time needed for
the change

Change Order
Should Contain:
• specific change to be made
• cost to make the change
• additional time needed for
the change
• signatures of approval (client
and you)

Change Order
Should Contain:
• specific change to be made
• cost to make the change
• additional time needed for
the change
• signatures of approval (client
and you)
• date

Project management
can be as easy as you
want to make it!

Presentation Slides
& Worksheets:
http://wv07.graphicdefine.org