This document discusses effective internal and external communication through project management. It begins with biographical information about Matthew Saunders. It then provides examples of communication problems on past projects involving unclear requirements, decision makers who couldn't agree, and unrealistic client expectations. The rest of the document discusses different project management methodologies, including cowboy/extreme, waterfall, and agile approaches. It outlines roles like project manager, product owner, and developers. It also discusses elements of running an agile sprint model, including demos and retrospectives, and tools that can improve communication like IRC and Google Docs. The overall message is that effective processes and communication can lead to faster, better results.

1. Herding Cats
Effective Internal & External Communication
Matthew Saunders matthew@atendesigngroup.com
Saturday, October 26, 13

2. Hi, I’m Matthew Saunders
Aten Design Group, VP Project Management
Drupal Association, Board Member
Writer, dogstar.org
d.o, MatthewS
G+, saunderm
IRC, j_matthew_s
atendesigngroup.com
Saturday, October 26, 13
@Creech
association.drupal.org

3. We design, build and support websites for organizations
doing good work all around the world.
atendesigngroup.com
Saturday, October 26, 13
@atendesign

4. Project Mangement
Why Do We Do What We Do?
bit.ly/BADCats2013
atendesigngroup.com
Saturday, October 26, 13

5. We NEED
Project
Management
for Successful
Outcomes.
b4b2 on Flickr
Saturday, October 26, 13

6. I had a client...
• a couple of months ago call me at 6:30 in the morning
yelling and screaming because his site had been down
for over an hour. I drag myself out of bed, get to the
computer and his site comes right up... I told him to try
to get on Google. Guess what? According to him
Google was down too. I politely told him to call his
internet provider because that was down and once his
internet came back up to use it to search for a new
developer.
Saturday, October 26, 13

7. I had project...
• that had multiple decision makers. They wouldn't
move forward unless they all agreed on any one
point. And they couldn't agree on anything.
Saturday, October 26, 13

8. I met a drunk guy...
• "Oh, you make sites? Let's make something like
Facebook and earn alot of money! I'll come up with
ideas and you make it.”
• Me: “Got any suggestions?”
• Drunk guy: “Yeah, we need something like Facebook
so we'll be rich! You go make it!"
Saturday, October 26, 13

9. I had a client...
• who didn’t know what they wanted.
• They spent endless hours in meetings with you "throwing
ideas around".
• Despite warnings that they were consuming their
contracted hours in this fashion, insist that they shouldn't
have to pay for the time because the site still hasn't been
built.
Saturday, October 26, 13

10. Lack of...
• Planning
• Communication
• Process
• Focus
Saturday, October 26, 13

11. and Cultural Differences
Saturday, October 26, 13

12. make for nightmares for us, our partners
(internal and external), They bring us to
an Open Sourced “Arkham”... and we
feel...
Saturday, October 26, 13

13. ... the “Call of Druthuhlu”
Saturday, October 26, 13

14. Bring Calm from
Chaos.
Saturday, October 26, 13

15. star5112 on Flickr
Saturday, October 26, 13

16. Saturday, October 26, 13

17. daveknapik on flickr
Saturday, October 26, 13

18. 3 Methodologies
Saturday, October 26, 13

19. anyjazz65 on flickr
Saturday, October 26, 13

20. Cowboy or Extreme
•
•
•
•
Highly informal
Focuses on Stakeholders
Can be used in very unpredictable projects
Can be excellent for rapid prototyping
Saturday, October 26, 13
Roy Montgomery
on flickr

21. n.hewson on Flickr
Saturday, October 26, 13

22. Waterfall
• Highly Formalised
• Focuses on Requirements
• Inflexible
• Planning is Frontloaded
Saturday, October 26, 13

23. Can Feel
Uncontrolled When
Inevitable Change
Occurs
Saturday, October 26, 13

24. SheltieBoy on Flickr
Saturday, October 26, 13

25. Agile
• Defined Timeboxes
• Iterative Development Methods
• Incremental
• Collaborative Requirements and Solutions
• Rapid and Flexible Responsive to Change
• Self Organizing Teams
Saturday, October 26, 13

26. The Hybrid
Saturday, October 26, 13

27. Saturday, October 26, 13

28. Saturday, October 26, 13

29. Saturday, October 26, 13

30. Roles
Saturday, October 26, 13

31. Project Manager
• Scrum Master
• Lead Pointing
• Defense from Distractions
• Helps team avoid mistakes
• Manages Schedule
Saturday, October 26, 13

32. Product or UX
• Backlog
• Personaes, Epics, Stories
• Clarify Business Needs
• Demos
Saturday, October 26, 13

33. Developers
• Self Organize Stories
• Communicates expecations of what
can be completed in a sprint
• Defines how business needs should
be architected and executed
• Executes
Saturday, October 26, 13

34. A Sprint Model
Saturday, October 26, 13

35. A Sprint Model
20/40/60 Day overlap
Saturday, October 26, 13

36. Saturday, October 26, 13

37. Saturday, October 26, 13

38. Saturday, October 26, 13

39. Demos and Retrospectives
Saturday, October 26, 13

40. Communication
What is a SCRUM?
Client Check-ins?
Saturday, October 26, 13

41. Variations
Multiple projects
Saturday, October 26, 13

42. Saturday, October 26, 13

43. Well Oiled Machines on flickr
Saturday, October 26, 13

44. IRC
Saturday, October 26, 13

45. Google Docs
Saturday, October 26, 13

46. Saturday, October 26, 13

47. Great Process
Faster
Better
Awesome
Saturday, October 26, 13

48. Thanks!
Matthew Saunders
Saturday, October 26, 13
MatthewS
@Creech