Optimize Your Agency's Process

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OPTIMIZE YOUR AGENCY’S PROCESS   Presented by Brett Harned  [email protected] @brettharned 

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  [email protected]  @brettharned  @teamgantt Director of Education digitalpmsummit.com  @digitalPMsummit Hi, I’m Brett Project Management  for Humans

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ESTIMATION KICKOFF PROCESS  +  ACCOUNTABILITY POSTMORTEM LAUNCH AGENCY   PROCESS

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AGENCY TEAMS • Leadership • Business Development • Teams • PM • Account

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ESTIMATION PROCESS POINT ONE:

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IT’S NOT EASY

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No content

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SO IF IT’S NEVER EXACT, WHY ESTIMATE?

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IS THE PROJECT WORTH IT?

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DO WE HAVE THE STAFF TO DO IT?

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CAN WE GET A SENSE FOR HOW LONG IT WILL TAKE?

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ARE WE EXCITED ABOUT THE PROJECT?

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• Your industry: trends, changes, innovation • Your team and their capabilities • What works/what doesn’t • History on similar projects BUT STILL, YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND:

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ASK QUESTIONS • What is the goal of the project? • How will you and your client determine if the project is successful? • What returns will you and your clients see as a result of the project? • Who will participate from the client side? • What range of services does the project require?

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AND MORE QUESTIONS • What is your client’s budget for the project? • Is there technology involved? If yes, what is it? • Does your client employ anyone with expertise on the topic? • What is the timeline? • Will your services be required after delivery

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ESTIMATING TACTICS

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TALK ABOUT THE PROJECT BEFORE YOU START THROWING OUT NUMBERS

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DISCUSS GOALS

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DISSECT THE PROJECT, ISSUE, OR FEATURE

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DISCUSS TIMELINES + RESOURCES NEEDED

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CONSIDER STAKEHOLDERS AND PARTNERS

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ESTIMATE IN THE OPEN

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NOW START THINKING ABOUT   STEPS & TASKS

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WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE A method by which you can visually represent the composition of a project by breaking down all project stages and aspects into their smallest possible components.

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WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE Source: https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/organize-project-work-breakdown-structure/

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2 3 PRESENT Prep presentation - 2 hours  Present to clients - 2 hours  (Travel Time - 2 hours)    FINALIZE Revise v1 - 8 hours  Revise v2 - 4 hours Revise v3 - 2 hours Client approval - 0 hours 1 Total Time: 44 hours BRAINSTORM & DESIGN Brainstorming Meeting - 2 hours x 5 team members - 10 hours Design - 20 hours  Internal Review - 1 hour x 5 team members - 5 hours  Revisions - 6 hours WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE: WIREFRAMES Total Time: 6 hours Total Time: 14 hours

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BREAK EVERYTHING DOWN INTO SUB TASKS

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• List all roles needed for your project • Think through all of the tasks that will need to be completed in order to complete your project CREATE AN ESTIMATING SPREADSHEET • Estimate by role and task • Consult team members to verify estimates

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• Create a task on your gantt chart • Add “resources” to your task ESTIMATE IN YOUR PLANNING TOOL: • Add time estimates via “hours per day” • Double-check against your estimates

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SEEMS EASY, RIGHT? If you get stuck: • Don’t be afraid to ask questions • Get granular • Ask colleagues for opinions • Check project histories • Remember, it’s just an estimate!

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GENERAL ESTIMATING RECOS: • Estimate as a team • Develop a shared language • Create a routine (intake questionnaire, scoping sessions, agenda for discussions) • Communicate about expectations around scope and deadline, and use that to create estimates

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KICKOFF PROCESS POINT TWO:

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WE MUST START  ASAP!

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WE START PROJECTS WITHIN X DAYS OF SIGNING A CONTRACT

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PROJECT  HANDOFF MEETING • Goal: inform the team about the project sales process/ conversations, scope, stakeholders, and any other important details • Owned by sales/biz dev; project team attends • Share all documents in advance

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PROJECT  HANDOFF MEETING  AGENDA • Review of project documents • Recap of client conversations • Discussion about project goals • Review of stakeholders/client team and make-up • Open Q&A Meeting time: 1 hour  Facilitated by: Sales  Agenda items:

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CLIENT  INTRODUCTION MEETING • Goal: transition the ownership of the project from sales to project lead • Ensure no details are being ignored or missed • Discuss the project and how you’ll partner • Build stronger relationships

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CLIENT  INTRODUCTION MEETING AGENDA • Introductions; Overview of team roles • High-level overview of scope • Discuss communication plans • Project next steps Meeting time: 30 minutes  Facilitated by: Sales & PM  Agenda items:

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MAKE SURE YOUR PROJECT LEAD ALWAYS HAS BACK UP

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CHOOSING PROCESS PROCESS POINT THREE:

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FACTS None of us manage projects in the same way Not all projects require the same process

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IT’S OKAY

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AGILE? Kanban - Scrum - No Estimates - Sprints - Backlogs WATERFALL? Milestones - Dependencies

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HYBRID A Little Bit Of This, A Little Bit Of That… AGILE? Kanban - Scrum - No Estimates - Sprints - Backlogs WATERFALL? Milestones - Dependencies

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AGILE • Collaboration • Iteration • Focused • Not driven by deadlines

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WATERFALL • Step-by-step • Silos • Milestone and deadline driven

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HYBRID • Collaboration • Accounts for clients • Iteration • Not driven by deadlines

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RESEARCH KICKOFF PROCESS  +  CLIENT APPROVALS LAUNCH PROJECT BRIEF  & REQUIREMENTS DESIGN SPRINTS CLIENT FEEDBACK DEV SPRINTS QA ITERATE HYBRID PROCESS V1 • STANDUPS • SPRINT PLANNING • RETROSPECTIVES • STATUS UPDATES

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RESEARCH KICKOFF CLIENT APPROVAL LAUNCH DESIGN + ITERATION PROJECT BRIEF  & REQUIREMENTS DEV SPRINTS DEV SPRINTS QA CLIENT APPROVAL HYBRID PROCESS V2 • STANDUPS • SPRINT PLANNING • RETROSPECTIVES • STATUS UPDATES

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BENEFITS TO CONSIDER When using a hybrid process, consider: • Less time spent on documents & deliverables • Decisions are made quickly • Projects complete quicker • Stronger collaboration

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CHALLENGES TO CONSIDER When using a hybrid process, consider: • Staﬃng/resourcing • Collaboration practices • What is a “deliverable” • Client education • Communication practices

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CHOOSE  YOUR OWN  ADVENTURE Before you pick a process, consider: • Team/talent • Stakeholders/clients • Scope • Deadline

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CREATING  ACCOUNTABILITY PROCESS POINT FOUR:

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MAKE INFORMATION SHARING A PART OF YOUR PROCESS.

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PEOPLE MISS DEADLINES

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WHO IS MISSING A DEADLINE? TEAM OR CLIENT?

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SET & MANAGE EXPECTATIONS WITH YOUR TEAM: • Set expectations at kickoﬀ (or even in that sales to team meeting) • Establish roles/ responsibilities using a RACI matrix • Conduct standup meetings and frequent check-ins

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EVERYONE ON THE TEAM HAS A ROLE AND SPECIFIC TASKS.

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RESPONSIBLE  Those who are doing the work  ACCOUNTABLE   The person who signs oﬀ on the work  RACI MATRIX CONSULTED  Those who are experts and consult on the work, or sometimes contribute to it  INFORMED  People who need to know that the work is happening

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STANDUP MEETINGS: • Should take 15 minutes or less • Help to build and solidify teams and trust • Keeps everyone updated and focused on project work • Focused solely on what’s happening • Generate useful conversations

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STANDUP MEETING AGENDA: • What I worked on yesterday • What I’m working on today • What blockers or issues are in my way

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SET & MANAGE EXPECTATIONS WITH YOUR CLIENTS: • Deﬁning your clients’ role and level of engagement • Educate your clients • Share your plan • Deliver Status Reports and conduct regular check-in calls

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STATUS REPORTS KEEP DETAILS IN CHECK AND HELP YOU BUILD RELATIONSHIPS

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A GOOD   STATUS   REPORT WILL: • Communicate what just happened and what is happening next • Provide an update on timeline and budget completion • Detail upcoming tasks, milestones, and associated action items • Provide a forum to discuss risks and issues

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CREATE ROUTINES: • Send weekly or bi-weekly status reports • Follow-up with a phone call to discuss details • Take notes on the call and share them after the call

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FREE DOWNLOAD: https://www.teamgantt.com/project-status-report-template

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USE COMMUNICATIONS TO HANDLE PROJECT ISSUES

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CONTINUOUS LEARNING & IMPROVEMENT PROCESS POINT FIVE:

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MAKE SURE YOUR CLIENTS ARE FEELING GOOD AND READY TO END THE PROJECT

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WRAPPING UP CLIENT PROJECTS: • Ensure clients are trained and ready to proceed without you • Communicate project end and fulﬁlled commitment to scope • Remain available for a period of time • Develop a system for handing over ﬁles • Archive projects in your tools

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MAKE TIME TO LEARN FROM YOUR PROJECTS

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RUN AN EFFECTIVE POSTMORTEM: • First meeting: Whiteboard “what worked” and “what didn’t work” • Collect thoughts—pull together key themes • Second meeting: Review themes, discuss as a group • Focus on solutions and next steps • Assign action items, to dos

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SOME POSTMORTEM MEETING RULES: • Focus on the good and the bad • Allow everyone to speak • Keep it light; no ﬁnger- pointing • Direct conversations to solutions/action items

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FOLLOW-UP ON THE POST-MORTEM

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ESTIMATION KICKOFF PROCESS  +  CLIENT APPROVALS POSTMORTEM LAUNCH AGENCY   PROCESS

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CLASS  RECAP: • Develop a system to collaboratively create more realistic estimates • Hold your sales team accountable for helping to transition projects to teams • Test methods on projects to ﬁnd better ways to deliver work • Create communication routines to develop stronger team and client accountability • Learn from your projects and get stronger