Project Management - what does it mean to you?

What is a project? Wikipedia offers us this, “Project management is the discipline of planning, organizing and managing resources to bring about the successful completion of specific project goals and objectives.” Not the most inspiring explanation! Also notice no mention of client goals, expectations or needs.

It gets worse, here’s what they say about Project Managers, “A Project Manager is a professional in the field of project management. Project managers can have the responsibility of the planning, execution, and closing of any project…design and service industries also have project managers.”No mention that a digital Project Manager (PM) has to understand the constantly changing nature of the digital market place and astutely marshal resources to successfully deliver a client’s project.

As a digital agency we need to understand you and what your project aims to achieve for you and your clients. Whether it’s a small Flash banner, a five hundred page website, an aspiration to change the world or a sales device to bring more clients to your website, all are valid ‘projects’ and a PM needs to understand this.

Now there are many methods and methodologies for a PM to utilise, some good, some confusing and many which can alienate and confuse a client with an avalanche of charts and documents. But an often neglected one is building relationships, or the simple fact that they know the digital business and can recognise how to apply the right solution to your problem.

The digital world moves fast and can be a daunting place for any business to understand. The ‘sexy’ part of the process i.e. the design is something we all like to do, project managers included. The job of a Bluhalo PM is to ensure that you as a client get value for money and satisfaction during the whole project lifecycle – we enjoy your enthusiasm for your project and we hope to share ours for all things digital.

So spare a thought for the Project Manager, we’re not all Gantt charts, spreadsheets and endless meetings, honest!

Paul Windust
Project Manager