What do I do as a project manager ?

 Hi, so you are wondering what is my role of a Digital Project Manager, and what is the value I can bring to your project?

In few words I help « create stuff »… More precisely, I manage any project that involves a digital product. I like to separate the projects in 2 categories. Technical or creative projects, and very often, both will overlap.

• Technical project management  I can develop a website an e-commerce or an application.
• Creative project management I can create a branding, a packaging, a marketing strategy.

In both cases, the workflow is the same, I will apply the same overall methodology to achieve the end goals.

1. Define the vision
2. Do the research
3. Know who are the stakeholders*
4. Make some Planning
5. Produce something
6. Test it
7. Release it
8. Check the quality

All projects will have this overall structure, but some projects will focus more on certain areas.

For example, if you are creating a new phone, a lot of time will be placed on research and testing. If you are creating a brand, a lot of time will be spent or research.

If you are creating an e-commerce website, a lot of time will be spent on quality check after release, to see how you can improve the sales.

*The stakeholders

“Individuals and organizations who are actively involved in the project, or whose interests may be positively or negatively affected as a result of project execution or successful project completion.”

In other words, your project’s stakeholders are the people or groups who have something to gain (or lose) from your project’s outcome.

The key is the vision

For a project to be successful, the vision need to be stated at the very beginning. The vision is inspirational and motivational but also provides direction for the project. It will be the guide for decision to be made now and in the future.

« An effective vision should be concise, futuristic and realistic. »

For example, if your goal is to climb a mountain, there might be many different ways to reach the top. And at the start, you will have a plan to get there, but along the route, you might need to make some changes and corrections.

You might as well realise you took complexity wrong route, and you need to start from the bottom. But it does not matter, the top of the mountain is still the goal.

An Agile Project Manager

All this process is what we call the « Agile methodology ». In simple words, it is a flexible, iterative design and build process.

I find Agile to be my preferred methodology because it relies on a high level of customer involvement and so the end product is much more likely to be in tune with what the market wants.

As an Agile Project Manager I will have some key tasks that will be recurring during the duration of the project:

• Hold meetings and stay in constant contact with all the stakeholders of the project
• Use feedback by testing and prototyping
• Ensuring technical specifications are met and in line with the needs of the project
• Evaluation and implementation of product optimisations
• Keep track of deadlines and budget

How to Agile ?

In Agile, the purpose is to break down large projects into more manageable tasks, which are completed in short iterations throughout the project life cycle.

There are 2 main methodologies that I could use in a project. The scrum or the Kanban methods.

• Scrum will be ideal for larger projects, where more people are involved, and there is a clear hierarchy established. It relies heavily on team work, good planning and collaboration. One of the cons is that it takes more management and is only really advantageous for larger projects.
• Kanban is a more straight forward way of managing a product development. The whole team uses only one board, with 3 columns, to-do, doing and done. This very simple and effective approach and is great for smaller projects, but can be more difficult to implement on large teams or complex projects.

What are my qualities as a Digital Project Manager?

• Visionary
• Creative
• Problem solver
• Able to Communicate with all types of stakeholders
• Hands-on

But as well, let’s be honest, what are my (little) defaults:

• Get carried away by the project and too involved
• Taking on too much responsibilities or not delegating enough
• Being too details oriented or perfecionnsit

My key projects

In my career as a project manager, I have worked on many projects. Here are some I’m really proud of. They illustrate perfectly my wide range of skills and experience.