What do you like best cutting a feature before launch or rescheduling a recap meeting? If your answer is "neither" this talk is for you. We've worked hard to cut the crap out of our process with some surprising, and some not so surprising results, and we'd like to share with you how we've done it. The success of your project is determined by the management of your project. How you make decisions and explore options. How you budget time and coordinate resources. What tools you use. And by tools we don't just mean "hey guys, let's use Basecamp” (barf) or “yeah, we shared that Google doc.” By tools we mean the real-world processes and strategies that ensure SUCCESSFUL projects. When/why/and how to structure meetings (yes, you really do need to talk to people!); How to best handle client feedback and minimize risk; The top mistakes programmers and designers make (and how to avoid those). We'll also share our experiences creating websites (in as little as a week) that have won competitive national awards. It’s a dash of waterfall project management, a cup of agile web development, and a pinch of lean manufacturing. There are no technical requirements for this session. We will share how Drupal specifically helps us be more efficient, but will not be writing any code in this session.

1. jasonondesign.coma

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GETTING
SHIT DONE
Deliverables, Timelines, and Predicting the Future!

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WHY YOUR PROJECT
SUCKS
Lack of Commitment
Wrong Team (Insecurity)
Bad Process
Fear

4. BRANDING
DESIGN
USABILITY
TECHNOLOGY

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SPREAD THE WORD
MY DREAM

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I love
my job.
I love
chaos.

7. I do all the
work

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THREE ACTIONABLE IMPROVEMENTS
MY GOAL

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ENOUGH ABOUT ME
ABOUT YOU

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YOURSUPERPOWER?
Leadership
Logistics
Communication
Front End Dev
Hardcore Programming
Design
Other

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WHO DO YOU
REPRESENT?
Over 1,000 Employees
100-999 Employees
15-99 Employees
2-14 Employees
Lone Gunslinger
Drupal.org

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SIZE OF
PROJECTS?
Different every week.
Different every quarter.
Same thing all year long.

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FAVORITE
THINGS?
Most fun?
Most successful?

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Recap meetings
Endless design revisions
Staff changes
Change orders
Removing features to go live
60 page specs w/o critical info
MIGHT HAVE MISSED

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THERE MUST BE A BETTER WAY
DRIES

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Use a methodology that
accepts the reality that humans
are horrible at planning

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WE NEED TO
STOP THIS OR WE
WILL NOT SURVIVE

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HOW DO YOU
ADD VALUE?
Users
Transactions (money)
Time-on-site
Conversions
Brand Awareness
Don’t Know

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WHAT PERCENTAGE
OF YOUR TIME IS
ADING VALUE?

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WE STOP WASTING TIME?
WHAT IF...

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22. jasonondesign.comadream. build. launch.
100homes
1week
1998 Houston
Home Builders Blitz

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SO WHY WOULD A WEB
PROJECT TAKE 6-12
MONTHS?

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Visual Design &
Written Voice
Programming
Monitor &
Improve
Setup
Communication
Sign-off
Setup
Communication
Go Live
Design
Revisions
Value Ad
Cut Out Waste

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WHAT IF...
No recap meetings
Go live in a week, before the needs
change
It was ok to not know the details before
a project starts

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Picture!
photo: JimGradycreativecommons

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“Change is never painful.
The resistance to change is.”
Buddha
photo: EdwardDalmuldercreativecommons

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WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?
ENOUGH CONTEXT

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5DAYSof
DISCOVERY & DESIGN
Direction, Research, and Testing
Design w/Multiple Rounds of Revisions
Sign-off (12 person committee)
On-site photo-shoot
Improved logo treatment BONUS

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5DAYSof
DEVELOPMENT
Templates programmed
Key features built (e.g. events, slideshow)
Course catalog built SURPRISE

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5DAYSof
CONTENT
15 content editors trained
Top 100 pages added
Sign-off on Navigation as 80% final
Breakout sessions for 3 key departments
Workflow updated BONUS

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500 PAGES
25 CONTENT EDITORS
NO POLITICS
1 MONTH

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PLANING, PROCESS, PEOPLE.
HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?

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PROJECT MANAGEMENT
PLANNING & PROCESS

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MODEL
TIMELINE

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PROJECT
MANAGER
Same work. Less lag.
In control.
Assertive. Requires commitment.
Flexible.

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PLANNING
AND PROCESS
Roadmap (constant assessment)
Roles (internal & external)

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PROJECT
MANAGEMENT
REMOVING WASTE

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REMEMBER
WE FAIL BECAUSE OF
Get Training
Get an Expert
Best Practices
Ego/Fear
Test
Fail
Improve
UnknownableUnknown
Bad Process

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RIGHT TIME.
RIGHT PEOPLE

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CREATIVE
TEAM
Low Ego
Flexible
Confident
Expert Designer/Writer
Creativity on Demand

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DEVELOPMENT
TEAM
Low Ego/Flexible
Enjoys helping
Prefers simple solutions
Expert at tools used
Uses plugins/modules to get to 80% fast

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So, is
everyone an
expert?

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BUT...
YES!

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SALES PEOPLE
HAVE ANSWERS
Experts ask questions.

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Do details and icons help conversions?
No details = 11% more conversions.
Which Test Won?

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Which Test Won?
Which is more effective?

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Which Test Won?
40% increase in “add to cart” clicks

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Do images or text convert better in email?
Which Test Won?

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Do images or text convert better in email?
No Images
+200% click-throughs
+ 300% revenue no icons
Which Test Won?

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SALES PEOPLE
HAVE ANSWERS
Experts ask questions.

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MANY
EXPERTS
Stakeholders
Core web team
Perspective Liability to asset!
Content team
Design team

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IT’S NOT RUSHINGIT’S HAVING A PLAN & NOT WASTING TIME.
Setup Communication
Sign-off
Setup
Communication
Go Live

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REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS
WHAT’S POSSIBLE

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In 2.5 months,
inquiries doubled.
In 6 months,
a 4-fold increase.
RECRUITMENT
ONE MONTH

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IN 2 WEEKS
4 Gravity Switch team members
4 Core client members
1 Super involved board
1 Writer

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IN 1 WEEK
2 Gravity Switch team members
2 Core client members
1 Writer

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Use a methodology that accepts the reality that humans
are horrible at planning

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IN 1 MONTH
Client Team
Site Builder
Designer (1 week)
PM
QA
Mostly Works
Workflow Fail

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IN 2 MONTHS
Site Builder
PHP Dev
Freelance Drupal/PHP
QA
Workflow Fail

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IN 3 MONTHS
Site Builder
Client
QA

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IN 10 MONTHS
Burn In
Improvements
Very limited PHP

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IT’S FUN AGAIN!
HELL YES!

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SOUNDS GOOD BUT...
GETTING STARTED

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RISKS?
WHAT ARE YOU
AFRAID OF?

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TOYOTA
Start small
Have a flexible plan
Share your success
Repeat

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SPREAD THE WORD
MY DREAM

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ENOUGH CONTEXT

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THREE
QUESTIONS
What’s the worst that could happen?
Where’s our biggest win?
Who’s first?

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SPEAKING OF
QUESTIONS

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WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE
ENOUGH CONTEXT

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LET ME KNOW HOW I DID
THANK YOU