bdw process final_100810

Process and Structure

@mrhowell

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Process and structure.

The work.

The people needed to build the work.

The process through which the work is realized.


1: The work.


What we’re making is different than 18 months ago.


Yahoo’s Duncan Watts, in his “influencers” research, used a lighting many fires analogy that points to the fact that digital media drives cumulative advantage. He suggests brands are better off “placing lots of bets to give the best chance of starting a full forest fire - lots of fires in lots of promising places.”

The cost efficiencies of digital media allow marketers to hedge bets and not bet the farm on one thing - make ten and see what takes.

We’re making more stuff.


New media ecosystem.


Our work is more varied and complex.


Diversity breeds sustained activity:steady levels of awareness, conversation, advocacy

Campaign in market:increased awareness, conversation, advocacy

Improving engagement models.

TraditionalCycle

DistributedCycle

Campaign in market:increased awareness, conversation, advocacy


2: The people needed to make the work.


We’re being asked to create more work, while at the same time, we’re being paid less money.

The work is materially different than it was, requiring new skill sets / capabilities to get it done.

Two big influences on the team structure:


Two decades of diminishing compensation.

15% 13.5% 11% 10% <9%

media commissionmedia commissionmedia commissionmedia commissionmedia commission

time and materialshard margin negotiationspay for performance


Aggressive procurement practices are just a fact of life. You can complain.

Or you can accept this as part of our industry’s new reality and begin to plan accordingly.


Silos are going away. Because they have to.

Interactive Department

Account Management

Account Planning

Creative

Production

Client Interactive Marketing Group

Core Agency

Account Management

Executive Leadership

Account Planning

Creative

Production

Client Marketing Group


In the post-digital world, everyone is must be interactive.


Reorganizing teams to focus on making things.

IAS AS

IAE AE AE AE

AD

IP IP IP BPT

Interactive Production Traffic Broadcast

Account Management

Account Leadership

IP IP IP IP

ADAccount Leadership

Int. Accnt. Mngmnt.

BP

fig. 1

MG

fig. 2

Interactive Production Broadcast

TKUX

User Experience Technologist Motion Graphics


Will this work? Not sure. We’re taking a position based on an idea we believe in.

Doing nothing isn’t an option.


Knowledge across disciplines

Core discipline expertise

Rebuilding teams around a new building block.

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/95/design-strategy.html?page=0%2C1


The T-shaped team.

Cognitive empathy: ability to respect, understand and support other disciplines, leading to more compact, cohesive team capable of better work.

Creative Technology Production UX


The T-shaped team.

Concept /Design + Tone

ImplementationProject / ClientManagement

Functionality /User Interaction

Creative Technology Production UX


WTF.

Poorly designed physical / virtual spaces.

Use co-location / technology to mediate gaps.


Bloated teams = lack of accountability.

Poorly designed teams.


Email volume = communications breakdown = trouble.

Poor substitutions for collaboration.


Reduce team to essential components.

Bring teams as close together as you can.

Emphasize being nimble and responsive.

Insist on creating a diverse body of work.

Simple goals:


3: The process through which the work is realized.


Process must work for you, not vice versa.

Worlds colliding: software companies + agencies.


Implementing aggressive development models.

System 1

System 2


Individuals and interactions over processes and tools.

Working software over comprehensive documentation.

Customer collaboration over contract negotiation.

Responding to change over following a plan.

Tenets of Agile Development Process:


As change accelerates, process priorities shift.

Replication, minimization of risk, error

Bespoke process, accept variance + risk


StakeholderInterviews

AudienceResearch /Personas

Discover Concept Design Build Measure

AudienceResearch

Brief Approved Concept

Working Project Plan

Creative Team

CrowdSourcing

TeamBrainstorm

Wireframes / Prototype

DesignBoards

CopyDeck

MotionGraphics

TechnicalDevelopment

QATesting

Qualitative /QuantitativeAnalysis

Optimization

Post LaunchUpdates

Approval of design / copy / functionality

Measurement Plan

Approved Beta

Approved Release


Big decisions are up front – honor your plan.

Keep things moving – highlight / resolve obstacles.

Empower team to make decisions.

Anticipate change, stay nimble and flexible.

Understand what makes your idea good – don’t compromise core.

Characteristics of a good project.


Our industry has transitioned to the the post digital age.

It requires different people and new processes.

But most important, digital is no longer someone else’s job. It’s yours.

So, that’s about it…


Thank you.


bdw process final_100810

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