Key takeaways
- The digital PM is the conductor of the orchestra and often shapes the user experience more than the interface designer.
- Every project deserves a discovery phase, even a two-hour one: prioritised goals, KPIs, user research, audiences and competitive context.
- Meet stakeholders individually before group meetings so you know the pieces and can tailor the message to what each person cares about.
- Define roles up front: the client identifies problems, the designer proposes solutions; pre-empt known objections so nobody loses face.
- Decisions in digital are cheap to change, so stop agonising and test with real users; it is faster than a three-hour argument.
About this episode
“What you have to do (when presenting design) is find out what stakeholders already care about, and frame what you want to convince them of within that context.”
Managing a design project often means managing people and their opinions. You need to lead those sometimes disparate opinions to a final decision and move on in order to keep your project on track. It can be tough, but UX expert Paul Boag has some helpful, proactive approaches to help your design projects run smoothly. In this wide-ranging conversation, Brett and Paul zero in on tactics to manage design projects, but they also talk discuss:
- The difference between PM and DPM
- The basis for how digital projects operate
- How to conduct project discoveries
- The PM's role in digital projects, and how they extend their roles
- Getting to know stakeholders
- Managing parts if the design process
- Managing stakeholder feedback
Resources mentioned: