Being a project manager, I get to see how a variety of people work and communicate. One of the most fascinating parts of the projects I work on can be exchanges that relate to opinions (and facts) about how things are perceived, look and work. With client projects, we rely pretty heavily on collaboration and feedback. Over the years, I’ve gained a lot of insight into the process of providing and accepting feedback. There are certainly some dos and don’ts, and a lot in between. So, I’ve decided to make it into a discussion topic. Continue reading
Author Archives: brettharned
#siteweek
This week, we’re redesigning the happycog.com. Yes, this week: everything will be built from the ground up. New IA, new design, new copy, new code. It’s all new, and it’s all being done in 5 days. Continue reading
Following Up
When I look down at my To Do list some days, I notice that maybe a third to a half of my actual assignments are someone else’s. I find it sort of funny to think, “have I become that person who? AM I A PAIN?”
It’s okay, I’ve gotten over those feelings, but it hasn’t been without some experience to find out that following up with people and holding them accountable for their own work is part of the job in project management.
Web Design Day 2011
I recently gave my “Project Management for Humans (No Robots Allowed)” talk at Web Design Day in Pittsburgh.
I loved Pittsburgh. I have not been there in a really long time, and was really impressed by the city. But, really, I was most impressed by what seemed to be a really friendly, passionate web community. These guys showed up for a full day event on a Saturday and stayed engaged all day long. The (other) speakers were great, so I guess that wasn’t too hard to do! Continue reading
Did That Really Just Happen?
We just completed a project with the most aggressive timeline I have ever had the pleasure to plan and manage. It would have been a complete displeasure had everything not gone so well. It might not sound so rough in writing, but we designed and deployed a blog for a brand new client in under 10 days.
Two days after launch, I am sitting at my desk, going back to the site to make sure we didn’t miss something, thinking “what happened here?” or “how did we pull it off?” Here’s why I think we did it: Continue reading