PROJECT MANAGEMENT IN GAMES
Sebastian Cardoso
Niklas Modrow

AGENDA
1. Common management methodologies
How they affect your work life
Pros and cons
2. Project managers in the games industry
Tips on how to best deal with them
Rights and responsibilities

1. MANAGEMENT METHODOLOGIES
THE WATERFALL APPROACH
Requirements
Design
Implementation
Testing

1. MANAGEMENT METHODOLOGIES
THE WATERFALL APPROACH
PROS CONS
• Thorough planning • Early on plan unrealistic
• Early alignment • Big bottlenecks
• No room for reacting to new input
• Big-bang integration
• Expensive downstream testing
WHAT THIS ALL MEANS TO YOU
• Possibly a well-organized environment
• Higher chances of doing overtime
• Lots of room for creativity ... in the first 2 steps of the process
• Deadlines being very important

1. MANAGEMENT METHODOLOGIES
AGILE PROCESSES
PLAN
REACT DO
CHECK
Inspect and adapt, inspect and adapt, inspect and …

1. MANAGEMENT METHODOLOGIES
AGILE PROCESSES
PROS CONS
• More focus • Difficult to sell to bosses and
• Visibility publishers (no Gantt charts)
• Plenty of team-oriented practices • Little experience with Agile
• A dynamic environment • Autonomy almost a must
• Flat hierarchy - more involvement
WHAT THIS ALL MEANS TO YOU
• Implementation has little success ratio
• Plenty of room for creativity
• Lots of teamwork
• More responsibility and involvement

1. MANAGEMENT METHODOLOGIES
THE NO-PROCESS APPROACH
Wake up in the morning
Have a coffee, go to the office
Figure out some tasks
Do them
… and hope for the best

1. MANAGEMENT METHODOLOGIES
THE NO-PROCESS APPROACH
PROS CONS
• Might actually work in small • Absolute failure recipe
studios • Lots of work for the bin
• Carefree environment
• Opportunity to learn about
different areas of development
WHAT THIS ALL MEANS TO YOU
• Small, chaotic studios are excellent breeding grounds
• Shipping odds against you
• No clear responsibilities can be frustrating

1. MANAGEMENT METHODOLOGIES
SUMMARY
UNDERSTAND PROCESSES
• They will define they way you work
• They can empower or destroy your efforts
EMBRACE DIFFERENT STYLES
• There is a lot to be learned with each
• Discover which one you’re most comfortable with
CHALLENGE STATUS QUO
• Don’t settle for methods that aren’t working for you
• When in doubt: rely on common sense

2. PROJECT MANAGERS IN THE INDUSTRY
HOW TO DEAL WITH YOUR P.M.
Two winning tips for communication
No Tech Talk All Info + Solutions
Consequences
Keep it simple Estimated delay
Possible solutions

2. PROJECT MANAGERS IN THE INDUSTRY
MUTUAL REASONABLE EXPECTATIONS
P.M. Developers
Constant
Visibility
communication
Excellent
Honesty organizational
skills
Hard work Caring

THANK YOU!
QUESTIONS?
Sebastian Cardoso
Cardoso_sebastian@yahoo.com.ar