I attended Emily Carr’s Management By Design workshop today at the AIGA Make/Think Conference in Memphis – Though some of her points seemed like no-brainer solutions, she did have some useful tips on better practices in design & project management:

1. Most people don’t like being told what to do, especially designers

• “So much of project management is how to interact with people” she says, so supporting people, making them feel like you’ve got their back is important.
• Find out what the designer/team member wants to do first and work with that desire to get the task done. “If I have to tell people what to do, I have failed in my communication,” Carr says.
• If a team member wants to do something, he/she will do it willingly, but it takes a delicate form of communication to get there.

2. Make sure you understand the personal strengths & weaknesses of your team & clients

• “You can’t change anyone” and “People will never be the way you expect them to be” are 2 assumptions that must be embraced
• Having said the above, YOU must be the most flexible person on your team.
• People who like each other tend to be more productive and do a better job.
• Getting to know clients/team members on a more personal basis is a good way to learn of their personal strengths/weaknesses. Then you can match clients with the team members who are compatible.

3. Make the client part of your project team

• Work with clients and not against them. Choose your own battles, and build a positive relationship with them. Positive equals productive.
• Difficult clients really just want to be heard. Listen to them, hear them out & understand them. Through this, you will build a solid relationship which makes for a successful project outcome.

4. Resolve conflicts quickly

• Conflict is not necessarily a bad thing, but unresolved conflict is.
• Be intuitive about passive conflicts as well. Carr describes using your gut to determine if there’s something sour going on between you and your client. And if you feel that there is, then approach the conflict delicately but definitely resolve it.

5. Make meetings valuable

• So many people hate meetings because so many meetings are a waste of time.
• “Meetings are useless if they’re not valuable” says Carr, so be sure that if you’re going to call a meeting, be sure that everyone who you invite to the meeting knows exactly why they are there.
• Focusing on only one kind of meeting at a time is the best approach. For example, if you’re calling a brainstorming meeting, don’t digress and start discussing schedule or budget.
• Always have one person run the meeting and be mindful of the time when there is sharing involved. You want everyone to get a chance to speak and not have the meeting run overtime.

6. Use project management tools that are easy

• Carr mentions Basecamp and Function Fox and Google Calendar are a few project management tools that seem fairly easy to use.
• Be sure to use  a tool that everyone can access without much effort.
• Carr believes that emails are a good tool for documenting, but not that effective for showing designs. (I actually disagree with that as most of my client interface has been through email alone and has worked out much more productively than meeting in person and wasting commute time – that being said, kick off meetings and brainstorms are best done in person, but check-in meetings are just as effective remotely in my opinion)

7. When juggling a variety of projects, understand which projects are going to be profitable from the start

• For projects that are profitable, budget in for extras such as when a client feels the need to have a personal phone conversations
• If the client is happy with you, they will give you more work.

8. Don’t accept black holes

• Black hole definition: when no one is sure what you’re supposed to be doing
• The biggest mistake at the start of a project is when you assume you can figure it out along the way.
• Be upfront about scope. A proposal must be clear and concise.
• Don’t be afraid to say no.
• If you give anything away to the client for free, be sure that the client knows what you are giving him.

9. Know what the plan is for the team and the client

• Set limits – have parameters around design and time
• Client needs to know that a project is work for them too – they must gather information and give feedback.

10. Always evaluate progress against the big idea

• Always be clear of your concept and goal so you can build a case for your designs
• To learn more about a client’s goals, have them complete a creative brief questionnaire
• When presenting your designs to a client, always restate the problem and goal first before revealing designs