Digital PM's - Why you should prototype your time plan
Achieve a smooth running project, right out the gate.
Today, I'm going to talk about why you should prototype your time plan so you can achieve a smooth running project, right out the gate.
What is a prototype?
Before I continue, if you're new to creating digital products or projects then you might be wondering, what is a prototype or sometimes it’s called a minimum viable product (MVP)?
Simply...
It's a rapid, early version of a product or service.
Created to get fast feedback and learnings to improve it incrementally.
"Prototype early and often. This will help you to identify problems before they become costly."
— David Kelley, founder of IDEO
How should you apply this idea to your time plan?
Firstly, understand the project objectives and agreed scope.
Make sure it shows the key information is it needs to convey. For example - the stages of the project, deliverables, dependencies, client review time etc.
Aim to get this done quickly. Don't procrastinate and don't try and make it perfect.
'Socialise' it, with the team
Don't do this in a group meeting or risk feedback by committee.
One of the most valuable things you can do is get everyone's feedback before you email/Slack/Teams message your final client version.
Everyone internally should see it and feedback before the big reveal.
This includes account handlers, a senior person in your PM team, the designer, writer and your technical team. Whoever is going to be working on the project.
Take their feedback and iterate
Now you have everyone feeling consulted and invested in the plan.
Make your changes.
Then make your big reveal and when everyone is happy send it over to your client.
Use it and abuse it
You can take the idea of creating a prototype for any part of your digital project. Not to mention that you might even be doing that at design stage anyway.
A simple technique but super effective.