CREATING A METHODOLOGY And the
Myth of Perfection Corey Vilhauer Now What? 2014

I’M COREY
VILHAUER
@mrvilhauer

“I’m sorry, I must be
the worst speaker you’ve ever seen.” - Me, Probably.

LET’S TALK ABOUT
WEB CONTENT

“I’m sorry, we must be
the worst team you’ve ever worked with.” - A Real Client

METHODOLOGIES
WHAT A METHODOLOGY IS

METHODOLOGY A formal documentation of
a set of processes

ASK A QUESTION RESEARCH A
PROBLEM FORM A HYPOTHESIS TEST THE HYPOTHESIS COMMUNICATE/CHANGE

METHODOLOGIES
ALLOW FOR
REPLICATION

EACH
COMPANY
IS DIFFERENT

EACH
INITIATIVE
IS DIFFERENT

EACH
PROJECT
IS DIFFERENT

EACH ONE OF US IS
DIFFERENT

WE
ARE ALL
SNOWFLAKES

METHODOLOGIES WHAT A METHODOLOGY IS
WHY THEY MATTER

“We don’t really have a
process for getting articles approved.” - A Real Client

“We send things to university
relations but we are never really sure when they’re finally published.” - A Real Client

“LOL”
- A Real Client

1. COMMUNICATE
OUR PROCESSES

2. STANDARDIZE
OUR PATH

3. ALLOW FOR
THOUGHTFUL
VARIANCES

YOU CAN’T BREAK THE RULES
IF YOU DON’T MAKE THE RULES YOU CAN’T BREAK THE RULES IF YOU DON’T MAKE THE RULES

METHODOLOGIES WHAT A METHODOLOGY IS
WHY THEY MATTER HOW TO BEGIN

XX THESE ARE GUIDES NOT
METHODOLOGIES

A GUIDE, NOT A MAP

WE CAN’T TELL YOU WHAT
TO DO

ALWAYS BE COLLECTING

X X

MAKE A LIST

DETERMINE HOW

DETERMINE WHY

BRING ‘EM TOGETHER

YOU ARE NEVER FINISHED

“Instead of driving an idea
blindly into the world … you are guided by the feedback you get. There are no beginnings or endings - just small steps forward. - Robin Sloan

METHODOLOGIES
COMMUNICATION
REPLICATION
CHANGE

THANK YOU www.eatingelephant.com/nowwhat2014 @mrvilhauer for
notes and resources: