1

Project Management for Digital Media

Cleveland Digital Publishing Users GroupFebruary 27, 2014

Dan Yurman djysrv@gmail.com ~ @djysrv

2

Keeping Digital Media Projects on Track

• Railroads use timetables to tell riders when trains arrive and depart• Digital media projects use

schedules too• This presentation is an

introduction to project management tools for digital media including mainstream and social media channels

3

Tonight’s Agenda

Two Parts• What are the key elements of project management• Work breakdown structure• Schedule• Gantt Chart• Resource estimate

• Walk through of a practical example• Social media campaign for a jazz band’s five city tour

4

Creating a Work Breakdown Structure

• Purpose • Identify all the tasks in a project

• Use • Defines the structure of the scope-of-work of the project• Sets up a foundation for estimating duration of each task and time to

completion for the project as a whole• Provides a structure for estimating costs and schedules• Supports monitoring progress that a project is on time and within budget

5

Why Bother?

• Any project which does not have well defined objectives will produce results that are randomly distributed• Just because you are having a

crisis doesn’t mean your clients will have one too• Have a plan. Keep your

customers. Be a master of your universe

6

Why Bother?

• The project plan is a wise investment in time.• There is no single rule of thumb for

the time it takes to develop a project plan• The 80/20 rule is a reasonable set

of boundaries• No more than 20% of the time to plan

and track the status of a project • At least 80% of the time to get the

work done• Your mileage may vary

7

Why bother with a WBS?

• How often at the end of a project, you hear people say if they’d known all the work that was involved, they would have had a better chance to meet the schedule dates and deliver the product / service within budget• A WBS will get you there.• A schedule will tell you when you’ve arrived• A budget will tell you what the trip will cost

• The examples shown here are not exhaustive. The point is to illustrate the art of the possible for people new to project management

8

Success factors for a WBS

How much detail is enough?• Tasks must capture meaningful blocks of work without burying the

resulting schedule in unnecessary details• Tasks must have a beginning and an end• Don’t include “open-ended” tasks. Focus on “deliverables,” the end-

products of tasks• Rules of thumb – no task less than eight hours or longer than a status

reporting period, e.g., one week or one month• Combine like tasks under summary level milestones

9

Example of a WBS

• Put in a lawn, shrubs, fence, and sprinklers• Acquire all plants and materials• Install sprinkler system

• Set locations for sprinkler heads, hose connections, pumps, and controls• Dig trenches • Install pipes & hardware; wire controller• Cover trenches

• Plant grass & shrubs• Prepare site, remove construction debris• Spread top soil, fertilizer, lawn seed• Plant shrubs

• Build fence• Dig post holes• Hang fencing wire

• Set sprinkler schedule and run it

10

Example of a WBS & Schedule

11

Developing a Schedule

What’s in a schedule?• Tasks define the work and are in the correct order over time• Unique v. parallel (concurrent) tasks are spelled out• Covers the durations of all tasks• Task relationships are made clear. What comes first, second, third, etc.?• Durations are realistic given the available people, skills, materials, and

equipment• Uses summary milestones to group completion of a group of related tasks• Completion of all tasks meets customer’s deadline

12

Project Plan with WBS & Schedule

13

What is a GANTT Chart?

• A Gantt chart illustrates a project schedule including the start and finish dates of the tasks, summary tasks, and milestones of a project• It is a type of bar chart, developed by Henry Gantt in the 1910

• You don’t have to use project management software to create one• In this presentation we will use Excel. There are numerous tools,

techniques, and tips online to do this • http://www.gantt.com/

14

Example of GANTT Chart

15

Estimating Resources

• Every task has work associated with it• Every task has work units composed of labor hours, rates, materials,

and services.• Some tasks have more than one kind of resource • Tasks without resources are not real work• If you can’t measure the work, it’s not going to happen• Costs for simple projects can be estimated with a spreadsheet

16

Examples of Resources

Landscaping Project Resource Items• People (labor)• Contractor crew (3 people)

• Materials (procurement)• Grass seed, shrubs, fence posts, fence wire, sprinkler hardware

• Landscaping project resource (units of measure)• Labor hours at rates per hours for each person on the job• Dollar cost of materials

17

Estimating Resources

• Custom business templates are used for specific industries, e.g., construction, manufacturing, shipping, etc.• What these templates have in common are repeatable processes with

well understood tasks and costs (based on experience)• Where social media is different is that most projects are one-time

efforts with unique elements • What’s a social media campaign project manager to do?

18

Shifting Gears Applying What We Know to Digital

Media• Work Breakdown Structure• Schedule• Resource Estimate• Keep your eye on the ball, follow

a star, but get it in writing

19

Digital Media Project ManagementA Practical Example

• Cleveland’s world famous Euclid Ave. Jazz Band is going on a five city tour in two months (Not a real band. Don’t look it up in Scene)

• You have just been put in charge of the media campaign for the tour. Social media is a big element. What are you going to do?• Options• Disappear; Run away to Costa Rica• Stay home; Call your cousin Vinnie to make excuses for your panic attack• Take a deep breath and prepare a project plan• Follow the steps in this presentation to achieve success

20

Next Steps in Digital Project Plan

• Where to Start? Ask fundamental questions.• Where is the band going? What cities, dates, venues?

• Five cities in five weeks• Cincinnati, Memphis, St. Louis, Kansas City, Denver

• How much social and mainstream media does the band want?• The tour is a capstone event for the band which has just released a new CD • It wants to pull out all the stops

• What kind of tools do you need for the project plan?• A spreadsheet that runs on a desktop or laptop computer• You can do this at home, but don’t try this on a tablet or mobile phone

21

Review of ToolsExamples (Not a complete list)

Digital Media Tools• Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Email, etc. • Google Plus (Hangouts / video chat)• YouTube videos of highlights of band’s prior tours• Outreach to entertainment blogs, fansMainstream Media• Paid display advertising, radio ads• Earned media coverage (reviews of performances)

22

Jazz Band Five City Tour – WBS 1

Work Breakdown Structure Euclid Ave Jazz Band Five City Tour

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Activity

1.0

Tour Cities

1.1

* Cincinnati

1.2 * Memphis

1.3 * St. Louis

1.4 * Kansas City

1.5 * Denver

23

Jazz Band Five City Tour – WBS 2

2.0

Tour Publicity

2.1 * Update Band Information

2.11 * * Band Bios2.12 * * List music to be performed

2.2

Update Internet Information2.21 ** Web Site Updates2.22 ** Facebook Page Updates2.23 ** Twitter feed updates2.24 ** Social media engagement with fans2.25 ** Outreach to Entertainment Bloggers2.26 ** In venue coming attractions promos2.27 ** Email campaign

2.3

Media Buys & Outreach2.31 ** Cincinnati2.32 ** Memphis2.33 ** St. Louis2.34 ** Kansas City2.35 ** Denver

24

Jazz Band Five City Tour – WBS 3

3.0

Post Tour Lessons Learned

3.1

** Ticket sales data by location

3.2 ** Social media & email analytics

3.3 ** Earned media coverage & reviews

3.4 ** Lessons learned for next tour

25

Jazz Band Five City Tour – WBS FullWork Breakdown Structure Euclid Ave Jazz Band Five City Tour

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Activity

1.0

Tour Cities1.1

* Cincinnati1.2 * Memphis1.3 * St. Louis1.4 * Kansas City1.5 * Denver

2.0

Tour Publicity

2.1 * Update Band Information

2.11 * * Band Bios2.12 * * List music to be performed

2.2

Update Internet Information2.21 ** Web Site Updates2.22 ** Facebook Page Updates2.23 ** Twitter feed updates2.24 ** Social media engagement with fans2.25 ** Outreach to Entertainment Bloggers2.26 ** In venue coming attractions promos2.27 ** Email campaign

2.3

Media Buys & Outreach2.31 ** Cincinnati2.32 ** Memphis2.33 ** St. Louis2.34 ** Kansas City2.35 ** Denver

3.0

Post Tour Lessons Learned3.1

** Ticket sales data by location3.2 ** Social media & email analytics3.3 ** Earned media coverage & reviews3.4 ** Lessons learned for next tour

26

Jazz Band Five City Tour – Gantt & ScheduleFollow the colors in the WBS

Work Breakdown Structure Euclid Ave Jazz Band Five City Tour GANTT Chart Dates by WeekLevel 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Activity 03/01/14 03/08/14 03/15/14 03/22/14 03/29/14 04/05/14 04/12/14 04/19/14 04/26/14 05/03/14 05/10/14 05/17/14

1.0

Tour Cities 1.1

* Cincinnati 1.2 * Memphis 1.3 * St. Louis 1.4 * Kansas City 1.5 * Denver

2.0

Tour Publicity

2.1 * Update Band Information

2.11 * * Band Bios 2.12 * * List music to be performed

2.2

Update Internet Information 2.21 ** Web Site Updates 2.22 ** Facebook Page Updates 2.23 ** Twitter feed updates 2.24 ** Social media engagement with fans 2.25 ** Outreach to Entertainment Bloggers 2.26 ** In venue coming attractions promos 2.27 ** Email campaign

2.3

Media Buys & Outreach 2.31 ** Cincinnati 2.32 ** Memphis 2.33 ** St. Louis 2.34 ** Kansas City 2.35 ** Denver

3.0

Post Tour Lessons Learned 3.1

** Ticket sales data by location 3.2 ** Social media & email analytics 3.3 ** Earned media coverage & reviews 3.4 ** Lessons learned for next tour

27

How the Pieces Come Together

• Work Breakdown Structure (tasks)• Schedule of Tasks (time)• Resources (people, things, services, and what they cost)• What comes first (tasks in order over time)• Using a free project management tool (Gantter)• http://www.inquesttechnologies.com/ • Example on next slide

28

29

Estimating Costs

What you need to create a budget that matches the tasks in the schedule• List of available staff, specialties, work assignments• Labor rates for each person based on what they do• Hours for each staff member assigned to each task

30

Estimating Costs

Alternative approaches• Use a spreadsheet calculating costs using an average labor rate• Use a spreadsheet calculating costs based on actual labor rates• Use project management software to allocate costs by staff, hours,

and rates• Note that when all labor rates are within a range of $5-10/hr, using an

average labor rate produces a “good enough” cost estimate• In the example on the next slide, the difference for $9,100 in costs is $25

31

Spreadsheet Mode

Resource Loading Tasks

Cost Hours Rate Labor Category 03/01/14 03/08/14 03/15/14 03/22/14 03/29/14 04/05/14 04/12/14 04/19/14 04/26/14 05/03/14 05/10/14 05/17/14

$840 28 $30 Email Specialist         4 4 4 4 4 4   4

$648 24 $27 Media Buyer         4 4 4 4 4   4

$2,280 76 $30 Public Relations Specialist 4 4 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 4

$3,364 116 $29 Social Media Manager     8 8 16 16 16 16 16 8 8 4

$924 28 $33 Web Analytics         4 4 4 4 4 4   4

$1,064 38 $28 Web Content Manager 8 8 8 2 2 2 2 2     4

$9,120 310 12 12 24 16 38 38 38 38 38 24 8 24

Source Robert Half Salary Guides

http://www.roberthalf.com/salary-guides

$9,145 $29.50 Average $354 $354 $708 $472 $1,121 $1,121 $1,121 $1,121 $1,121 $708 $236 $708

32

Track Spending

• Clearly communicate expectations regarding scheduled costs to team members, especially if you are using freelancers• Written contracts• Change order process• Keep track of the time it takes to complete scheduled tasks

• Don’t wait for monthly invoices• Compare hours from timecards by week to budget• By position and by rate

• Calculate differences between costs and budget

33

Lessons Learned Phase

• Why do it?• Band tours seven times in ten months• Continuously improve use / value of mainstream and social media boosts

tickets sales • Build fan base for CDs sales and future performances in better venues

• Numbers matter (selected examples)• Social media clicks by channel by city for each tour• Conversions of clicks to sold tickets• Ticket sales by venue / city and CDs sold at performances or by mail• Number of views of YouTube videos prior to / after each venue• Update social media campaign for each new tour based on numbers

34

Free and Low Cost Tools

• Gantter• Google Chrome application for scheduling tasks• Works with Google Drive or on your desktop• Free and paid versions ($10 from Google Play Store)• http://www.inquesttechnologies.com/ • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxVkeK9j3Wg • Compare to Microsoft Project cost of $500

• LucidChart• Google Chrome application for flow diagrams• https://www.lucidchart.com/• http://www.youtube.com/user/lucidchart • Free and premium packages • Compare to Microsoft Visio cost of $250

35

Free & Low Cost Tools

• Open Office or Libre Office• Free “open source” desktop productivity suites• Word processor, spreadsheet, presentation software, drawing, etc.• https://www.openoffice.org/ or https://www.libreoffice.org/ • Compare to Microsoft Office Home Edition at $140• Suites compared in computer trade press

• http://www.infoworld.com/d/applications/review-apache-openoffice-4-vs-libreoffice-41-224280

• Google Docs• Cloud based office productivity and online collaboration suite • Includes word processor, spreadsheet, presentation software, calendar and email• Google Drive for all your data and a huge library of add-ons• $50/year per user http://www.google.com/enterprise/apps/business/index.html • Compare to Microsoft Sharepoint and Exchange (expensive; price varies)

36

Free & Low Cost Tools

• Social Media• Facebook page – free (fans in every city)• Twitter – free (fame in 140 characters)• Email – Constant Contact; free for first 1,000 names• Blog – Google Blogger or Wordpress with custom domain name ($)• Google Analytics – free• YouTube – free video hosting• Google Plus & Hangouts for live, online video chats with fans and band

members (free)

37

What to Read About Project Management?

• The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management • Author: Eric Verzuh • Includes downloadable templates

for various kinds of projects• http://

www.amazon.com/Eric-Verzuh/e/B001IGORE0/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

• Isbn: 978-1-118-07377-3• Kindle or paperback editions ($15)

38

What to Read About Project Management?

• Making Things Happen: Mastering Project Management• Author: Scott Berkun• Paperback from Amazon $36• Isbn: 978-0-596-51771-7

39

Training in Project Management

40

Thank you

• Slides & Files online at CDPUG Blog• http://blog.cdpug.org

• Questions?

Dan Yurmandjysrv@gmail.com

Mobile: 216-369-7194Linkedin

http://www.linkedin.com/in/danyurman/