Project process and stakeholders
This is a quick thought on a project process from a designer’s perspective. Please add your thoughts and comments.
In an ideal situation, stakeholders should be involved throughout the project from the earliest stages to the end of the project. Nonetheless, stakeholders are likely there at the beginning, disappear, and come back towards the end of the project, which could be a few days before the release. This pattern of involvement may cause last minutes changes that may jeopardise the entire project.
A project manager is often required to inform the stakeholders about the process and status of the project. Stakeholders are generally busy people, they skip catch up meetings so misunderstandings can happen, or find their expectation is not being met towards the end. It may even be the case that the stakeholders signed-off on the work, but they reverse their earlier decision.
On the design side, we should inform the stakeholders as soon as we create any level of prototype so that they see it or experience it. Often when we begin a new project, we take everyone’s consensus about why and what we build. However, the outcome can still be vague and intangible. Imagining the product outcomes is difficult for most people — nobody is certain as to what each of us is imagining. So I prefer showing them prototypes (either static or interactive) in the hopes of getting everyone on the same page.
There are a lot of ideas and concerns; it’s a waste of time to talk to each in long meetings other about general thoughts and opinions. When I provide a high level of request from a client or project manager, I ask a few specific questions, then quickly create a prototype or two. I like to go from this stage because when they see the visuals or tangible things, they are faster to give us their feedback with care.
I always start with a short meeting for my initial meeting where I get the request, and I ask a few specific questions. At the end of the meeting, I inform them of the next meeting date and time (not far from the initial meeting) and promise to bring my initial artwork first and go from there.
I’d show something first as a draft rather than waiting for a long typical corporate hierarchy process. I want to include developers to share the process as well, which I don’t need to have duplicated discussions later on that we have already signed off by the stakeholders.
“Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” — Abraham Lincoln
Plan well.
