No matter how many projects I work on, and no matter how many agencies I work with, it seems to be a common thread that processes need improving (in some cases creating), and that there needs to be an advocate or champion within the organization that ensures that these processes are created, implemented, and most importantly, followed by all of the internal stakeholders. In the heat of the battle–projects coming in at a rate a little more than what a normal project manager can handle, requests popping up from developers, designers, information architects, clients, and copywriters, deadlines creeping up, new SOWs you have to kick out, requirements documents that need completing, Project Organization Manuals, etc., it’s easy to understand how actually following a process can get in the way. Or seem like it will, anyway.
But I can’t stress enough just how important having the processes in place–not only for the PM’s working but the newbies that arrive to rescue the day–is to ensuring you can not only manage your current projects but be able to take on and effectively manage new projects. But how can we actually implement anything if we’re all busy managing projects, you ask? Simple. Outsource.

Sometimes you have to bite the bullet and hire a Project Management consultant or someone with a similar title who understands the ins and outs of project management, in my world a project management consultant in the Interactive space. If you’re a large agency, this shouldn’t be a problem–but I know for the smaller agencies with more limited resources, shelling out $75-$100 an hour or more can be a painful proposition. In the end, however, at least in my opinion, it’s definitely worth it for many reasons. Some of the reasons include:

1. Bringing in someone from the outside helps clarify what you may already think is clear.
2. Paying someone to work just on process improvement will get the job done faster.
3. Bringing in someone that isn’t assigned other projects will allow that person to focus, and thus allow them to be more effective.
4. Another set of eyes and experiences that will help strengthen the experience of your current PM organization.
5. You may just have your next project manager already working for you.

But before you jump up and down for joy that you have the budget to hire someone to fix what’s been broken for so long, make sure you’ve set the goals and objectives very clear in your mind, so that the person coming in to fix your project management organization has a base to work from. Make sure you’ve outlined what’s expected of the new PM consultant. Some things to consider making clear you want:

1. Documentation.
Make sure that the PM consultant creates documents that are useful to your organization for not only presenting to the client but that are effective information gathering tools that will help consolidate any and all project-related information that will be needed internally. A standard set of documents could include: POMs (Project Organization Manuals), SOWs (Statement of Works), BOM’s (Bill of Materials), Invoices, Contact lists (both internal and external), Vendor lists (in case you need to outsource any of the work to outside specialists), Escalation procedures, Change requests, Business requirements documents, Project Plan examples and templates, Design element documents, and any other documents that will be needed or produced by your project teams.

2. Communication Tools.
You want to have your communication tools evaluated for your projects, including file transfer tools such as FTPs and other software that you would use for transferring not only externally to the client but internally to those working on the project.

3. Finance.
Make sure you’re getting paid for your projects, and make sure that you’re documenting and following up appropriately. I hear and have seen how easily it is to forget to get paid. Clients aren’t in a rush to pay you–it’s only you who will ensure you get paid.

While I have covered a good deal of why processes are important, I’ve really only created a general overview of what you need to do to ensure your PMO needs to do to get closer to running a smooth operation. There will absolutely be pains associated with the process, but they’re growing pains that you’ll need to do as a creative or interactive agency, at least if you want to make your life easier. If you have any of your own suggestions you’d like to share, please feel free to comment. 

One of the aspects of building websites and working for interactive agencies that is sometimes nice and sometimes excruiciatingly painful (for some, anyway), is the hurry up and wait aspect of projects. If you’ve been involved in this type of work–or other types that rely on bidding for a contract, a lot of back and forth with clients, dotting all of the i’s and crossing all of the t’s, you know exactly what I’m talking about. It’s good and it’s bad–depending, anyway, on who you ask.

Personally, i’m neither here nor there on the matter. I enjoy having downtime to prep, to learn more about my client’s business, to think (or at least try to think) as they do. I know putting myself in my client’s shoes is one of the best ways for me to help them get where they need to get. In previous positions, I’ve not always had the opportunity to step back for a few minutes in order to look at the bigger picture. And I know (and I’m sure you know), plenty of people that don’t really care to grasp the bigger picture, because they know what their role is and know (or think) that their role will not have a direct impact or substantial impact on the client business to make a difference…so why try. And, in reality, some of them may be right. But there needs to be a little bit of both type people–the contributor with his or her eye on the larger picture, and the contributor who can’t see the trees for the forest. I think that helps–at least I know it does in my world.

OK, I sense i’m blabbing here, because it’s getting late and i’m tired. I hope I made sense up above–and, in fact, I ‘hope’ so much that i’m not even going to read what I just wrote, which is pretty rare. Have a great night.

Baseline just put out a good list of project management trends for ‘08. It’s almost August, but it’s some good insight into the goings on in PM. Of course, for many of us in the biz, much of what’s listed is what we know and face every day, but it’s nice to see it listed in one place. I know I have less and less time each day to actually read anything (besides my day job I also write these blogs), and getting someone else’s take on what you’re doing each day, especially when it comes to project management, is a good thing.

10 Trends in Project Management
By Baselinemag
2008-06-26�
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Keep up to speed on the latest developments in the project management arena.
Here are the top 10 trends in project management for 2008, compiled by the senior management and practitioners of ESI:

1. Investment in project management training to counter effects of a troubled economy. Keeping projects on track and on budget can counter the ill effects of a down economy. Strategic organizations realize that an unsettled economy is the time to invest in project management training and development to optimize performance.

2. Better, faster project decision-making. The pressures for project managers to “get it done yesterday” keep increasing, particularly with today’s tightening budgets. Project managers need to deploy best practices when choosing projects, knowing when to say no to ventures that won’t deliver a solid return on investment (ROI) and when to green-light promising projects.

3. Critical thinking as a key project management competency. Technical competence alone doesn’t create success. Project management has evolved into a robust discipline, and critical thinking is the key soft skill that can make the difference between success and failure.

4. Emerging relevance of the project management office. Project management offices ensure a higher chance for organizations to reach their goals. (Imagine the space shuttle without its command center.) PMOs streamline processes, coordinate projects and enable more efficiency in day-to-day project management. As more companies see the relevance of PMOs, this trend will become increasingly important to overall project management design.

5. Codependency between project management and enterprise analysis. In active knowledge-management transfer, project managers with greater experience levels and an interest in functions such as risk management are taking on traditional business analyst (BA) responsibilities, including enterprise analysis.

6. Project managers taking leadership roles in organizational change. In the face of unrelenting organizational change, project/program managers need to take a leadership role. However, leadership qualities are not program deliverables, so project managers occasionally need direction in fulfilling their organizational change leadership obligations. They need to understand business implications and what they mean for projects, and how they can drive organizational change through effective project/project-portfolio management.

7. Communication challenges of remote team management. As projects are increasingly conducted remotely through outsourcing and global expansion, project communication is often based on e-mails and conference calls. Unfortunately, a very small portion of what should be communicated is transmitted to the recipients through these channels. To manage virtual teams, project managers need to find and use best practices in communications.

8. Earning certification. Certified Program Management Professionals (PgMPSM) will be joining the workforce in 2008. This new certification from the Project Management Institute has project/program management professionals asking what the inherent differences are between their disciplines.

9. Navigating the overlap between PM and BA tasks. Project managers and business analysts now recognize the symbiotic nature of their relationships. They know where to draw the line on their responsibilities and how to work together on areas that overlap.

10. Talent management’s impact on business ROI. During the next several years, thousands of baby boomers will leave the workforce—and thousands of Millennials (born between 1982 and 1997) will enter it. This will create challenges for managers, who will find that their new workers are motivated by a different set of incentives than the previous employees had been. Organizations need to develop a talent management strategy that focuses on recruiting and retaining talent to improve business performance.
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For some other project management steps, check out my previous Level2wo Project Management blog entries.

Less money to throw around and weak consumer demand is forcing companies to cut back on their advertising–in newspapers, radio, television, and just about any other media you can think of. While not completely dead (and for some, this is probably a good time to buy advertising, given that you can probably do a little more bargaining than usual to get the placements you want), retailers, financial companies, airlines, car dealers, and just about any other advertiser marketing products and services affected by the economy, gas prices, and the housing market disaster are cutting back, putting the hurt on media groups.

Conventional media, already on the ropes because of technological advances and advertising budgets shifting towards that technology, is getting the one-two punch from advertisers reigning in budgets or cutting their budgets completely, at least for the time being. And things will only get worse for media companies if the country goes into a recession (although, and I agree, we’re already in a recession).

While digital media has clearly boomed in recent years, the revenues that follow from advertising in that area may not necessarily be as high as if the marketers were sticking to conventional media advertising. Add to that the consumer cinching their wallets and cutting back on the products and services they’d normally be buying (but that are not necessities), and you can see how trouble is brewing for a good many companies. And it isn’t getting better any time soon.

Today is the 4th of July, and I thought it would be appropriate to show some patriotism. We’ll be up and publishing again on Monday. Have a great holiday weekend.

Millions of us have them. You probably have one, or at least know of them. Maybe your kids have them. Actually, I’ll bet your kids have them. I’m talking about accounts/profiles on social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook, Friendster, and networking sites like them–LinkedIn anyone? I have to admit, I have accounts on all of these, but I don’t use them as often as I should. Truth is I am a little social networked (read overloaded). The only time I even go on them is when I receive an email from one of them informing me that one of my friends or connections has invited me to take some test (which I’m not going to do), or (and i’ve had this one a few times), someone has thrown something at me (I can’t remember if it was a ham, or an animal of some sort, but definitely not worth the few seconds it took me to sign in and see that I was virtually assaulted).

Like any popular and cool new fad, social networking sites have exploded and made tons of money. Advertising on them has been successful, to a point. Actually, I think they’ve returned a good deal in terms of revenue, but things seem to be slowing down. I’m not implying that they are not a Must Have on marketers list of To Dos, only that like any new medium, you eventually start heading towards the maturity phase, and with that things start to slow down.

Traffic in social networking sites may be a bit better than typical websites, such as ecommerce websites, news websites, dating websites, etc.–partially because they’re more like hangouts than information portals where you go in, get what you need, and get out. From a branding perspective, I’d bet it’s a pretty important tool to continue using. Really, it’s hard to try to ignore such sites, because the buzz is still in the air. As a grown up (and unfortunately I’ve been one for a while now, even though I still ‘feel’ young), I don’t enjoy social networking sites. But I can see the appeal, and I can see their worth. And, apparently, so do the marketers out there targeting these websites. How long these sites will last, who knows. But right now, if you’re a marketer, it probably pays to play the game.

Wikipedia’s definition of Social Media: “Social media is an umbrella term that defines the various activities that integrate technology, social interaction, and the construction of words, pictures, videos and audio. This interaction, and the manner in which information is presented, depends on the varied perspectives and “building” of shared meaning, as people share their stories, and understandings.”

If you’re reading this blog entry, guess what? You’re involved in social media. My ability to write, and hopefully influence my readers, is all part of the phenomenon that is social media. While traditional media may be a one-way street, i.e., I write an article for, say, the New York Times, and you, the good newspaper reader, consume what I’ve written, including my point of view (hopefully not included in real journalism), and you read it alongside my advertisements (hopefully I’m not selling anything immoral or unethical or that hurts small animals). Social media, however, turns the corporate world on its head, because now the consumers of products and services are able to influence other consumers of products and services–which, my friends, may not be exactly what corporate entities want happening. Why, you ask? Well, because now the control has been wrestled from the giants of industry and they no longer are the Goliath, because David is wielding far more influential weapons.

So what sites fall under social media (note, some of the below sites are for communication (MySpace, Facebook, etc.), and some are for collaboration or multimedia, or entertainment, etc)?

Facebook
Friendster
MySpace
Twitter
LinkedIn
Flickr
Zooomr
imeem
World of Warcraft
Miniclip

And the list goes on and on. Advertisers and marketers have been able to buy placements within the sites, as banner ads, content, and in games, even as virtual billboards advertising their wares in a less intrusive manner (if you play certain games and drive by a realistic 7-UP sign or Coke sign, it’s likely not just for the realism.

Because social media sites involve the user, and because the user is creating much of the content, social media sites are win-win for all involved; the user feels that they are part of the media process, and the site owners have built-in content generators for them, which obviously helps in many different ways.

Social media is not going away any time soon, and will likely just get more and more complex. What social media sites are you on? Let me know–please comment the sites you’re on, and where you see social media going in the next few years. Happy social media-ing!

Marketing is the same everywhere. Um, well, ok, I take that back. Marketing is different everywhere. Well, no, that’s not right either. Marketing means different things to different people–some companies are Direct Mail machines, others are strictly digital marketing companies, creating banner ads and performing Search Engine Marketing (SEM) for their clients. There’s about as many strategies out there as there are marketers, and even more marketing tactics employed by those marketers following the strategy they have decided on as a company. But no matter how many different ways marketers will try to skin a cat, there are definitely a few things that need to remain relatively consistent, no matter what product or service the marketer is trying to market.

One of the most important–if not the most important–thing a marketer must do is have a target market. A target market, loosely defined, is the set of folks plucked or ‘targeted’ out of the full set of people that could or would likely purchase a product or service. Dividing the larger group into these ’segments’ is called market segmentation, and it is a process that is based on demographics (age, gender, socio-economic groupings, geography, etc.).

Breaking down the larger population down into workable segments helps target marketing activities so that you get the best bang for your marketing buck. If you know who you’re going after, you know what their needs and wants are, and you’ll know how to cater your marketing messages towards meeting those needs.

 Here are some Target Marketing Resources:

1. AllBusiness
2. Target Market News (The Black Consumer Market Authority)
3. Net MBA
4. eSmall Office
5. Michel Fortin’s Blog

I use LinkedIn for professional purposes, and someone posted a question on there the other day that was about courage–something to the effect of “What would the effect be if decision makers had more courage.” I related to the question, so I answered it on the site–from my own perspective.

 At Level2wo, we are free to make our own decisions–courageous sometimes, safe sometimes, crazy and perhaps stupid other times. But we make the decisions, because we’re the bosses (after our clients, anyway). But the courage question resonates even now. Why?

It resonates because, I believe, I am a risk-taker, not only in marketing but in life. I am a narcissist, tried and true. Because it gets results. I like making a bang–even when it seems like I am not trying to. In marketing, I think the goal is to get attention–good attention, and sometimes that means being courageous and taking chances–chances that, perhaps, may not be as calculated as they could be. It’s what makes me happy to be my own boss, or to work for bosses–that ‘courage’ or ‘risk’ thing that makes marketing exciting.

Do we put that racy pic on the ad? What about that sexual tension DM piece? How about that in-your-face banner ad? Is that too much? I don’t think so.

I can’t live my life being scared of outcomes, and I can’t do my work scared of outcomes either. It stifles my creativity, and it stifles the highs and lows that drive me to my self-happiness. It’s exciting, and I love excitement. Cubicles, in my opinion, are for knocking down.

I love lists, especially lists of blogs written by subject matter experts. You’ll see lists of URLs from time to time on Level2wo’s blog, and I’m providing them because they’re a great way to get different perspectives on the subject you’re researching.

Below you will find a number of web design blogs that should provide you with good insight from web design professionals, as well as writers on the subject of web design.

Why would I put other companies’ sites on a Level2wo blog? Because while we want your business, the bottom line is that if you’re looking for a web design company, or a marketing company in general, we want you, Mr. or Ms. Client, to get the best results you can get. If that means pointing you to another company’s blog for information, so be it. We’re good at a lot of things. But if you’re going to do your research, we may as well help.

Smiley CatGarcya’s Web Design Blog
KillerSites
AllWebDesignBlog
Matt Heerema’s Blog
Sitepoint

If you’re a marketer, you understand the importance of keeping abreast of marketing technologies that help the bottom line. While you can’t (because I know I certainly can’t) stay on top of every single little innovation in marketing technology that pops up out of the woodwork daily AND get your regular job done, you can definitely glance at a few blogs and news sites to at least get a glance at what’s sprouting in marketing technology, even if you don’t get a full, comprehensive examination of it under your belt.

Below are a few blogs that deal with marketing technology–some more insightful than others, some more technical than a lot of marketing folks are comfortable with. It’s your call–cut and paste the ones you like into your favorites.
http://www.douglaskarr.com/
http://www.technologymarketing.com/bw/index.jsp
http://blogs.hillandknowlton.com/blogs/niallcook/
http://www.itsma.com/
http://www.threadwatch.org/
http://buzzmarketingfortech.blogspot.com/
http://blog.ericgoldman.org/

While there are plenty more blogs and websites out there, the above should provide just a taste of some good marketing and technology sites for you to home your skills on the subject. Happy Marketing (using technology)!