Project Management for Mobile/#MWeb2014/Aheibel

Maintaining a Strong Project Vision, Incorporating Feedback

“The critical job for the project manager is to focus on the process enough for it to succeed, but not so much that the substantive goals of the project are neglected.” – Stephen Toney

Why is it so hard (for mobile)?

• The goals and context are unique. • The team is unique (and probably from several

departments).• The process is unique, the technology being new. “You

may not know you are failing until it is too late.”

Stephen Toney, http://www.systemsplanning.com/mnc2.asp

Jasper Johns, Target, 1974

Borrowed from Jason Yip, jchyip.blogspot.com

Finite: driven by a desire for closure/persistent.

Articulate: Ability to describe the “why” – in person.

Tolerant of conflict: willing to not be liked all the time.

Assertive: able to stand up for what you need w. respect.

Project Manager Personality Traits

Insightful: a keen sense of individual stakeholder motivations.

Congruent: agreement between stated and unstated motivations.

Intuitive: possessing an innate sense of what must happen next.

Techniques for Managing Project Conflicts

Collaborate

AvoidCompromise

Accommodate Compete

Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode InstrumentPalo Alto, CA:

Stakeholder behavior:

…avoids

…compromises

…accommodates

…competes

…collaborates

Seriousness of conflict…

Inconsequential Inconvenient Threatens budget/schedule

collaborate/ avoid

avoid/ accommodate

accommodate

accommodate

accommodate compete/collaborate

accommodate

compete/ collaborate

compromise/ collaborate

collaboratecollaborate

accommodate

compete/ compromise

Compromise/accommodate

compromise/accommodate

“We can accommodate that change, but we’ll need to simplify the scope to do so…”

“I really need it by Friday. What can I do to clear some space for you so that can happen?”

“We want to plant something small and water it, rather than plant something large and prune it.” (-Loic)

Refrains of the Effective Project Manager

“THANK YOU for… Your contribution means…”

Congratulations!

Project Scenario 1:Your museum has a chief creative director who oversees all aspects of print, digital, and environmental design. His team is providing graphic interface design for your mobile project. They come to you with a Photoshop document showing exactly what the app should look like and do. What is wrong with this scenario and how can you avoid or resolve it?

Project Scenario 2:You are showing the museum director a new app. “It’s great,” she says. “But I’d like you to add a new section showing all the works of art on an interactive timeline so users can get a sense of art history.” What is wrong with this scenario and how can you address it? What would you say?

Project Scenario 3:You are introducing a new contextual awareness feature that will tell the visitor what’s nearby. Education staff are providing content. The app permits a 160 character “alert” and a 250 word main message with one image or video per message. The content you receive is 3 levels looooong and each layer includes multiple images and suggestions for video or audio. How would you handle this?

REQUIREMENTS DOCUMENTATION

RFP

Sample use case scenario

Miriam is a guard stationed in the Art of the Pacific galleries. She has an iPad and uses the app to answer visitor questions. A visitor approaches and asks her where the Matisse works are. Miriam searches “Matisse”. And brings up a list of objects. The visitor points out a few that are particularly interesting. Miriam opens the full record and finds out the location of those objects in the galleries.

Sam is a 36 year-old museum member. As he pulls into the parking garage, he receives an alert welcoming him to LACMA and reminding him to launch the app. He launches the app and as he exits the garage, he receives an alert letting him know that there is a special tour with winetasting starting in 20 minutes. He indicates that he plans to join the event and shares the event to the social media channel of his choice to let his friends know what he’s doing.

Sample Use Case Scenario

Samples Requirements DocumentFunctional specifications:1. Visitors with the app installed on their phone can receive an alert on their homescreen when they arrive on campus welcoming them, reminding them to launch the app.2. At key locations around campus, the user of the app can receive short alerts letting them know what is nearby. These alerts may stay on screen for a short period of time (if they are location-specific) or remain on screen throughout their visit (if they are not location-specific). 3. The user can select an alert and be taken to extended content about an artwork, architectural highlight, event, or special offer.

Requirements Documentation• Consider an “open spec” – one that doesn’t specify HOW the requirements

are to be met. Describe each feature at the level of interaction design and use cases – what each feature is and what the user experience should be.

• Be very specific and plain-spoken. Avoid saying “it”. Keep value-laden and mission-driven language out of it.

• Include expectations about longevity and maintenance.• Include front-end AND back-end expectations – ie, don’t just say what

content you want to include; also specify your needs for managing that content.

• Map requirements to objectives so that if something has to be cut you can be clear about what is being lost.

QA AND BUG TRACKING

Anatomy of a Bad Bug

What’s wrong with email?

Good luck with your own mobile projects and happy project-managing!

Questions? aheibel@lacma.org or Twitter @aheibel