Key takeaways
- In a creative, purpose-driven project the charter defines feelings and outcomes and leaves room to learn on the way.
- Bring the whole team into user testing so everyone shares an understanding of who the work is for.
- Protect focus time: meetings before lunch, no stand-up on Fridays, a weekly walkthrough that doubles as culture.
- Sign off features in layers (functionality, usability, cosmetics, love) to avoid surprises before milestones.
- Managing expectations and communication across remote offices is the daily job; small studios let a PM shape the vision.
About this episode
“I invite my team to listen in—to be part of those reactions when people look at our games—because it’s so important to have a shared understanding.”
When most folks think about project management, game design probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. But every video game that’s developed needs a project manager at the helm to ensure the final experience is both functional and fun.
In this episode of Time Limit, Brett chats with Tim Leinert of Mindforce Game Lab about his journey from traditional project manager to managing video game projects for a digital healthcare startup. Listen to their conversation to hear:
- Questions to consider when developing a video game project charter
- How to manage a game development team and still make time for strategic planning
- Simple tips for keeping communication and culture alive on your project team
- Where video game projects tend to get off track from the plan
- How to determine when a game design project is done
- Advice to become a video game project manager