Production Processes – Understandings of Project Management

To understand more about the production processes used by professional organisations, I arrange to meet up with two different companies to ask them about the production processes they use.

The first company I talked to was Sequence, who employ over 30 skilled staff, are one of the 50 fastest growing digital companies in the UK and the largest new media house in South Wales. There I talked to one of their account managers.

The second company I talked to was Filco which is a family run supermarket chain in South Wales and I talked to their Advertising Designer.

So as not to overwhelm them with too many questions and take up too much of their time I settled on five questions to ask.

Q1. Is the majority of your business client based or speculative work?

Sequence
At Sequence about 40% - 50% of their business is client based but the rest is speculative work, where they pitch ideas (invitation to tender) to companies like the BBC and other clients (existing and non-existing) based on what they might like.

Filco
At Filco all their work is produced solely for the supermarkets they own and for their website but of that work about 70% is client-based, and that is dictated by the Directors and what they specifically want to promote on a week by week basis. The other 30% is speculative designs pitch by the Advertising Designer to the Directors.

Q2. How is your team structured in terms of in house and freelance expertise?

Sequence
At Sequence they try to keep everything done in-house as much as possible to avoid complications and keep the costs down, but they will on occasion, when deadlines are tight or they need experts to produce complex Flash productions bring in freelancers from a pool of people they’ve worked with before. The Executive Management team at Sequence is built upon the dynamic professional model and they claim that this is without doubt key to their ongoing success. They also claim on their website that the direct ‘hands on’ approach exhibited ensures continuing client satisfaction, sustained business development, as well as excellent ongoing commitment from all employees.
All paper based printing is done outside of house.

Filco
At Filco all their work is produced in house by the Advertising Designer and his assistant, who liaise directly with the Buying Director and Director who are all based in the head office. Even though it’s a smaller company than Sequence in terms of design output they produce all their paper based printing in house from A4 to wall sized posters.

Q3. Do you use a standardized project cycle model on each job?

Sequence
At Sequence they use different processes for different jobs i.e. a graphics leaflet would use a different process to a website or game. DSDM (Dynamic Systems Development Method) is used on the majority of their work because it assumes that the client will want to change things along the way and suits a more flexible way of working and keeping the client involved.
They also use Prince 2 on projects that need a more controlled environment especially when dealing with companies or government agencies who use this model in their own departments.

Filco
At Filco they use a project life cycle passed around Prince 2. At the start of a project they formulate a plan of action, which involves
• Planning
• Initiating
• Directing
• Controlling
• Managing Product Delivery
• Managing Boundaries
• Closing Project
At lot of the work produced is adapting previous designs with this weeks offers so once your past the first few stages the Advertising Designer and his assistant are pretty much left self directed for the rest of the project.

Q4. How do you encourage collaborative working and successful communications with your clients/employers?

Sequence
At Sequence they believe that customers shape the project. They believe that you have to have an equal partnership and make them feel like their involved every step of the way. Right from the start employees are chosen for specific projects based on how well they think that they will get along with the clients. When they’re given a brief from the client they specifically ask what are the MUST HAVES, SHOULD HAVES, AND WON”T HAVES to make sure that right from the start your going in the direction the clients want.
Clients have easy access to the account and management departments who can inform them on the progress of their projects and are always kept in the loop.

Filco
At Filco they have a very open office based structure, with everyone based in the same office at their main supermarket. As it’s a family business passed down through the generations they still hold family values at the heart of its operation and encourage an open approach to projects where everyone is involved in equal measures no matter how much input the might have in the end design.

Q5. How do you test your work before completion; I.e. User / Expert Testing?

Sequence
At Sequence they mainly use in house expert testing. Elements of their work are first tested in isolation e.g. a flash button, and then the whole project is tested for full functionality. The Design and Development teams work together to bring the project together as a working product. Then the development team test the work, before they pass it onto the Quality Inspection team who test the product (using profile testing – role playing as the user that will be using the product) before they pass it onto the client for them to test.
They will sometimes use expert testing – special testing is often required for disability websites, where they use people with disabilities as expert testers. They also sometimes use children to test sites if it’s possible and necessary.

Filco
At Filco the Advertising Designer and his assistant perform expert testing before passing it on to the Directors who perform their own usability testing. They rely mainly on their own experience and marketing skills.