How to kick off a creative project
One of the most powerful human traits is creativity. It can boost progress while also forcing the tide of change. Unlike project management, there are no boundaries to creativity, so it would appear that the two have little in common. Yet when it comes to creative projects, there is a need to find a way in which the two can coexist in order to achieve the desired results.
Let’s take a look at what creative project management is and how you should kick off the creative project process.
What is creative project management?
Project management itself encompasses a number of different techniques and skills that are used in the effective management of a project and project team. Create project management is the process involved in applying these skills and techniques to creative projects and teams, these can be things like brand awareness campaigns, producing newsletters etc. Project management methods are valued in the creative industry helping them to bring ideas to fruition and streamline their projects.
There are ways in which creative projects differ, and the following key terms are important:
- Creative assets – Used to refer to media files that make a brand recognisable. They can include jingles, photographs and digital catalogues
- Creative workflow – The tasks and activities that make up the creative project. They allow the project to flow smoothly
- Creative resource management – In a creative project, this refers to the members of the team and the hours they put into the project. It is important for the project manager to assign project tasks based on skill sets and allow realistic deadlines with some buffer time in order for creativity not to be stifled.
Whilst creativity can often appear disorganised, it can, in fact, run incredibly smoothly and be a well-organised process. Where this differs from other types of projects is that it may often be appropriate to give a little free rein to team members in order to produce the best results. When it comes to creativity, a brief outline of what is required is a good starting point for the creative side to start coming up with ideas.
The creative project management process in practice
It can often be hard to translate creative ideas into actual deliverables, making managing creative projects challenging. It can also be difficult to align one person’s creative visions with another’s, requiring more communication and in some cases, compromise. As with any project, a creative one goes through the same project management phases:
- Initiation – This will help you lay the foundation for your project; you will need to meet with your stakeholders and discuss what is involved. This will lead to the creation of a business case, which, once approved, will allow for feasibility studies and the creation of a project charter. You will also need to choose the most appropriate creative project management software to manage workloads, launch the project, store project information and keep everything in one place.
- Planning – This is where you will determine elements like your project goals and scope. You will also plan your budget and resources and create a project schedule. It is common to use a creative brief at this point which can then be expanded over time. This should outline the target audience of the project, any key messages, the deliverables, the timeline, the budget and any promotional methods.
- Execution – Now, you will put your plan into action, assign tasks and make sure that team members understand their responsibilities. Communication will be the key to how well you execute your project.
- Monitoring and control – Closely connected to the execution stage of your project, you should ensure that you are monitoring your project continually in order to keep it on track. You also need to establish your KPIs, review any possible project risks and manage scope creep. You will also be able to consider stakeholder involvement at this stage so that you can make any adaptations in order to fit with client requirements.
- Closure – Once all of the other stages are completed, you reach the closure stage of your creative project. This is the point where you will show the final product to the client, complete all of the paperwork and have a meeting to go through what went well in the project and what didn’t so that you know how you might be able to improve the next project that you work on. You will also need to store all of the paperwork and thank the team for everything that they have done.
Final tips for managing a great creative project
Managing any creative project can be tricky, so when it comes to your planning, here are some tips to help you polish the way in which you manage the project
Ensure you have a transparent process
It is important to build trust between your team and the stakeholders and this means having a transparent process in place. Show your stakeholders clear insights along the way and that you are willing to cooperate.
Don’t micromanage
Micromanaging can have a negative impact on the performance of your team. Offer a more relaxed environment that will help the creative team members to really bring their best to the project. Set clear goals and remember to check up on how things are going, but don’t continually peer over the shoulders of your project team.
Be flexible with changes
Change is difficult for many people, if not all people, but being open to change means that you will be able to adapt. This can be helpful when your stakeholders ask for some changes, someone in the team is off sick or something needs to be amended because it isn’t working.
Offer recognition
During a project lifecycle, there will be times when your project team feels up or down, but as long as they are doing everything that you are asking of them, you should make sure that you recognise the individual talents that are at work within the team.