get more done!

GET MORE DONE!

ByMark Phillips

Adobe Developer Summit Unconference 2009

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WHY GET MORE DONE

You can’t hire anyone else.You don’t want to be fired.

You want to do a good job &Have time for other things.

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WHO AM I

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WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT

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WHAT ITS NOT

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WHO YOU ARE

Designer, developer, copywriter, creative, support person –

member of a team.You solve and facilitate solutions

for your client.

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WHO YOU ARE

Manager who’s job is to get people of different skills and

backgrounds to work together.You are judged by the results

you deliver for your client.

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NO MATTER WHO YOU ARE

ITS ALL ABOUT THE CLIENT.

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TIP NUMERO UNO

“The only results that matter are EXTERNAL”

-Peter Drucker

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BE A FACILITATOR

Solve ProblemsBuild Solutions

Deploy SolutionsSupport Solutions

HELP ACCOMPLISH GOALS

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BE A FACILITATOR

HELP MAKE GOOD THINGS HAPPEN

“The only thing in abundance is mediocrity”

-Peter Drucker

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WHAT IS TIME MANAGEMENT?

Time ManagementIs a set of habits for making the

best use ofYOUR OWN TIMEso that you can

GET MORE DONE.

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WHAT IS PROJECT MANAGEMENT?

Project ManagementIs a set of habits for making the

best use ofOTHER PEOPLE’S TIME

so that the team can GET MORE DONE.

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PROJECT MANAGEMENT REDEFINED

COMMUNICATION

EXPECTATIONS

ESTIMATES

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PROJECT MANAGEMENT REDEFINED

help your client

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COMMUNICATION

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CONTEXT MATTERS

The only problem worth solving is the one the client defines.

Let the client frame the problem and then solve that problem.

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One Story

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TIP NUMERO DOS

Listen to your client

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GET MORE DONE

Your time and money will be spent most effectively if it is

focused on solving your client’s problem.

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COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY

When you communicate, the only thing that matters is what is understood by either party.

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COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY

When you are talking, it’s what the other person hears.

When you are listening, it’s how much you understood.

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TIP NUMERO THREE

Cater Communication to

Context

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EVERY PROJECT HAS 3 PHASES

PLANNINGACTIVE

WAREHOUSECater your communications to

each phase.

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PLANNING PHASE

Is where you define a project’s goals, the time table, budgets, resource allocations and risks.

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SUPER GRANDE TIP NUMERO 4

DON’T EVER WRITE A SPEC FOR A CLIENT

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WHAT IS A SPEC?

A spec document is an extremely useful document for

your INTERNAL team.It is the wrong tool for a client.

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BULLET POINT SPEC

Tastes better.Less filling.

Exactly the right tool for the client.

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BULLET POINT SPEC

All bullet points.Only a few questions.

Answered in one or two sentences.

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BULLET POINT SPEC

• Project goals • Time table • Budget & resource allocation • Risks

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Two Stories

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GET MORE DONE

Your time and money will be spent most effectively if you are using the right tools with

your client.

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Discussions?

Consider them issues (not endless)

Threaded message board with due dates or an issue tracker

Meeting as a last resort -> only when necessary

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ACTIVE PHASE

Is where the deliverables are worked on and the plan is put

into action.

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ACTIVE PHASE

Its where everything that can go wrong does.

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TIP NUMBER 5

Make Sure You Communicate.

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For Communication

Automatic emails when something changes.

Wiki, software, emails, message board, calls and even meetings.

How often? Depends on length of the project.

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What to Cover

• Goals update• Schedule• Budget• Need information?• Risks

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When Things Go Wrong!

Don’t Hold Back

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OTRO SUPER GRANDE TIP (NUMERO 6)

>30% =bring it up as a risk>70% =bring it up as a fact

=100% =too late =death spiral of despair

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WAREHOUSING PHASE

Is when the project moves to a different phase in the lifecycle. It is no longer being built but

rather maintained, archived or shelved.

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WAREHOUSING PHASE

Lessons learned and final comments.

Fresh, but not blaming.Record immediately.

Wait two days to share them.

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PROJECT MANAGEMENT REDEFINED

COMMUNICATION

EXPECTATIONS

ESTIMATES

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Expectations

Make a good project feel bad.Make a bad project feel even

worse.Or, a bad project can be a

“learning experience”

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Here comes another tip (7)

Manage expectationsManage expectationsManage expectations

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You Are The Expert

Use that asymmetry.Trust your expertise.

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The Master of Management

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“Captain, we have a problem.”

Is not a knock on you.You are sharing your expertise.

You are helping your client.

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GET MORE DONE

Your time and money will be spent most effectively if you

communicate and change the plan to reflect how the client’s

problem is being solved.

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PROJECT MANAGEMENT REDEFINED

COMMUNICATION

EXPECTATIONS

ESTIMATES

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Let Experience Guide You

Estimates allow you to measure perception against reality so

you can improve pricing, scheduling, expectations

management and productivity.

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TIP OCHO

“Everything measured improves”

-Dan Gilbert

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Where do good estimates come from?

Tracking Time

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Dimensions in Time Tracking

• Track time on tasks• Track against calendar dates• Compare estimates to actuals• Keep a record of the estimates

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Track Time on Tasks

Create a task list (doubles as spec).

Buckets of at least 20 hours.Consistent descriptions and/or

work types.

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Track Time Against Calendar Dates

Effort DOES NOT = Duration.Track start dates and end dates.

Learn what times are most productive for which activities.

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Rule of Thumb

Duration = 2x effort + (1 day/2 days of effort).

orDuration = 4 x Effort

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Always include management time.

As a line item orAs additional hours or

As a proportionate increase in rate.

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Combo Rule of Thumb and Tip 9

1 hour of pm per 5 hours of production time.

1 hour of am per 7 hours of production time.

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Compare Estimates to Actuals

Monitor your time profitability.It’s a window into how long it

really takes to do things.It can be brutal.

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Keep a Record of Your Est. & Actuals

It is a goldmine of information for you or for any organization.

It is the key to visibility and process improvement.

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One Last Story

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GET MORE DONE

Your time and money will be spent most effectively if you can learn how to solve your

client’s problems better.

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GET MORE DONE

Results are on the outsideListen to your client

Cater communications to contextDON’T EVER WRITE A SPEC

CommunicateManage Expectations

TRACK YOUR TIME

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PROJECT MANAGEMENT REDEFINED

help your client

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EL ULTIMO TIP

Make it a habit.

THANK YOU

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TWITTER.COM/MPMOBILE

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Other Tips

Use 1-2-3 to Prioritize Tasks

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Let Your People Know

Let your people know what it is they should be working on at any time and what tasks are more important than others.

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1-2-3 Method of Prioritization

When assigning out tasks via email or other tool preface the

subject line with 1, 2 or 3.1 –do it soon

3 –do it when you can2 –do it before 3 and after 1

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GET MORE DONE

Your resources are spent most effectively when they are

working on the right things at the right time.

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Another Other Tip

Use the Launch Countdown method

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MANAGE YOUR OWN PROCESS

To be effective you need to manage your own work. That means using some

structure to define how you produce creative deliverables.

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WHAT IS THE METHOD

The Launch Countdown Method is a simple naming convention

to help you keep track of where you are on all your

assets.

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HOW IT WORKS

Every asset goes through three phases.

3 –needs to be started2 –asset is in progress

1 –ready for launch

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HOW IT WORKS

Put the number 3, 2 or 1 ahead of every asset’s name.

You’ll know what stage its in.You can juggle your work.

You can give information on its state. And it creates a super handy list on

your computer’s file systems.

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GET MORE DONE

Prioritize tasksUse Launch Countdown Method

THANK YOU

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