Setting up a Project for Success

Working at EPAM, we have a wide variety of skill sets placed around the world, from design to engineering to QA and content strategy, from San Francisco to London to Saint Petersburg and beyond. Our team based out of our San Francisco studio are a set of strategic design thinkers who tackle any challenge that is put in front of them. Rather than having a design process that is applied on every project, the team have a large design toolkit that they are able to apply across industries and business challenges and use the correct tools to solve the problem that is in front of them. Working in this nature allows for the flexibility that is required to really make significant impact for our clients businesses.

We have a proven track record of delivering change for our clients and our team has shown their flexibility by working with a diverse set of clients. An example of this is our completion of a complex service design project for an animal genetics company where we paired the creation of a future vision along with a set of near-term project requirements, and then a week later began working on an virtual reality project for a large consumer electronics company. Quite the change of context within the period of a week. Both projects were successful and provided a future direction for our clients to follow.

One of the most important areas when working across a wide variety of projects is to set the team up for success from the start. Every project has it’s own unique set of challenges, but I’m going to provide a set of principles that I try to follow for every project in order to get the best out of the team and allow for the best work to be produced that both our team and our clients can be proud of.

1. Set up a Process & Plan Early

Alignment is the key word here. The projects that we work on can be scary and daunting to start off with and in order for both our internal and client teams to feel comfortable, they need to all align behind a set of goals, a process and a plan. There is an element of trust that is needed at the start of any new engagement as you get to know everyone and this is the first step on the road to a successful project. If you are able to clearly and articulately describe the process that you are going to follow for this project and are able to present a plan that meets all of the project goals and KPI’s then this trust starts to be generated. Some other points I want to quickly touch upon under this first section are:

• Before presenting any plan or process to the client, your internal team needs to be bought into it. If they are not, then issues can arise further down the line.
• I am not a fan of extremely detailed project plans right at the outset of a project. It can cause worry, confusion and it also creates an environment where you are not able to be flexible as you need to be. The team can feel as though they are locked into a specific set of tasks from day one.
• Don’t be scared of change: We know that projects change; you learn things along the way that means you have to realign and pivot, don’t be afraid of taking a breath and going down a different route.
• Ensure that you have all internal politics in order early. Know who your key internal stakeholders are and get them on-board with the process and plan so that they become and advocate, not a blocker.

2. Know the Skill Sets on your Team & Empower Them

You can’t be successful on the project without your team. You need to know them as individuals and the skill sets they have as well as the types of work in which they want to undertake. Throughout the project you will be handed a wide range of challenges that will need solving, you need to know who is the best equipped to deal with them and who will enjoy completing that task. Know who works well on certain tasks and also who works well together and distribute tasks appropriately.

The other aspect to touch upon here is to empower your team, don’t hide them away from the client and let the most senior designers present at all times. Give them the opportunity to grow and learn as they move through the project. If they have completed some of work that needs to be presented to the client, let them do it. They know the work better than somebody else trying to interpret the work they have done. They may surprise you with how talented they are. If you create this environment I have found that the best work is created and your team feels fulfilled.

3. Your Team Should be Hybrid in its Nature

Everybody has a job title, but they should be forgotten as soon as you have put your team together. Don’t think of an individual on your team as a ‘Visual Designer’ or an ‘Experience Designer’; try to understand their skill sets and push them to be a hybrid. Siloing your team into rigid roles doesn’t help anyone and could cause your team to become disengaged from the project. Whilst this hybrid role may be daunting to begin with, I’m sure that if they are empowered to do so then they will become a better designer for it.

One of our key requirements when hiring for a position in our San Francisco studio is that anyone who joins our team is capable of straddling the line between strategy, UX and Visual, as we feel strongly that having a mixture of these skill sets allows for the best work to be produced and provides the platform for the team to take on any challenge that is put in front of them.

4. Make sure your Team Feel Challenged Throughout

Every designer wants to feel engaged on a project and feel as though they are both making a difference as well as learning new skills and growing in their role. Making sure your team feels challenged starts before the project begins. Our team in San Francisco is small but we are able to decide on which projects we want to get involved with. We are very transparent as a studio and we assess which projects are available and then push to work on the ones that we agree as a team will challenge us. It doesn’t stop here, throughout the project we try to push what is possible and not just accept the bare minimum. Finding the sweet spot between not feeling overwhelmed or under-challenged helps create a great environment on your project team.

5. Set up a Regular Working Cadence…but not too much

One of my pet hates on any project is when the team are in meetings far too often. How can a team create the quality of work they need when they have their time sucked up by meetings upon meetings? Setting up a regular working cadence with the client and internally is important but it needs to be manageable. Noting here that every project is different, but my rule of thumb is to have a daily stand up, 30 minutes in duration, at the start of the day with your internal team to get a brief update on the progress of tasks and set the day up. These meetings aren’t rigid; if they take 5 minutes then accept it and get 25 minutes of design time back, if they need to be cancelled…cancel them.

I see my role as a Project Manager, along with the Project Lead, to take the brunt of the logistics of the project and shield the team where possible to allow them to focus on other tasks.

When it comes to client communication, it is important to get the balance between too much or too little communication and this too can be flexible as you move between stages on a project. Again, my rule of thumb here is to have a weekly standing meeting on the calendar to provide a regular update along with providing a weekly status report at the end to document progress, future plans, issues, risks, action items etc. Ad-hoc meetings can be scheduled where needed depending upon how the project is progressing and the stage in which it is at.

6. Be Flexible

Things change! Don’t lock yourself into a defined set of tasks. As mentioned earlier in this post, our team has a large design toolkit and we apply the appropriate methods to the challenge that is in front of us. We aren’t scared if we get half way through a project and have to re-align or we have to deliver different artifacts than what we thought we were going to at the start of the project. As long as the team are able to course-correct successfully and the client is brought along for the ride, then this re-alignment often creates results that provide greater value and have a larger impact upon delivery. Remember to take a breather every once in awhile and reassess where you are in the project and look at the big picture. Sometimes when you are stuck in a fast-moving project you forget to do this.

7. Show Work Often

This is simple; Showing work to the client often can be a great way of getting buy-in and having the feeling that the solution is being created together. There is a delicate balance to find here though as sometimes rough sketches/wireframes can be misinterpreted. You need to get to know your client and how they work as a team and that should drive the level of fidelity that you are comfortable showing them. Another important aspect here is to provide your client with the opportunity to review the designs in greater detail in their own time and have the platform in which they can provide direct feedback (InVision is a great tool in which to do this). Telling a story of the designs and creating a narrative in which to present work is also a useful tip that allows for the designs to be received positively.

Transparency is an important element to any project. To create the trust from your client that we touched upon before, being open and transparent allows them to trust you quicker. Don’t be afraid to have honest discussions with them. They are human too and if you are able to provide a sensible justification for what problem you are trying to fix then you may be surprised about how much it helps. Everyone has issues throughout a project, maybe you are delayed on a deliverable due to completely reasonable reasons or maybe the client is finding it difficult to provide you feedback or content on-time. Having this back-and-forth with the client and being open and honest allows for a successful project to be achieved.

A reminder of the principles:

1. Set up a process and plan early
2. Know the skill sets of your team and empower them
3. Your team should be hybrid in it’s nature
4. Make sure your team feels challenged throughout
5. Set up a regular working cadence…but not too much
6. Be flexible
7. Show work often
8. Be transparent

These principles above are flexible in their nature and every project is different and requires a slightly different way of working, but I hope that you are able to use these to your advantage, whichever way that is.