Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Project Management Programs and YOU! Part 1, The Questions

First things first, in my last post I talked about some project management (PM) software that I was looking at to possibly implement at my new job. Take a look yourself, but there are TONS out there that people have begun to make. It seems that there really isn't a perfect way to manage a project, but that's another topic i'll go into later on.

In any case, when choosing software you have to ask yourself a number of things:
  • Why (my favorite question!) do I need this?
    • What's the reason that you need PM software? Are you working on a small project and you need to track what the team is doing? Maybe you're building a new feature for something and just need to see all of the items that need to be done. Make sure you actually need software before you start to look.
  • Who is going to be using this?
    • Is just your team needed to view the software? Does your team have an easy viewable way to track their tasks and mark them complete? Does your client or publisher need access? If so, then you need to make sure that the software has a view that is easy for them to digest. Or, it at least has a good way for you to export information. 
  • What information is needed?
    • How are you managing your team? Do they like having tasks and subtasks assigned to them? Do they enjoy only seeing their items and nothing else? Do you want them to track time? Do you need to be able to separate things by department?
  • How many people are going to use this?
    • A lot of the programs are based on how many users, so that is a big factor that you should make sure you're aware of. Some, like Asana, can be used by up to (don't quote me) 10 people before you have to pay, so that's something to keep in mind.
  • What are the tools you use in tandem?
    • Do you have your own cloud server that holds all your files? Does the program you're looking at support that server? Are you expecting the program to hold your files?
  • How much money are you willing to spend?
    • Let's be honest. A decent amount get expensive as your team grows. Make sure you're willing to put up some big bucks to use the "primo" systems (Hansoft, JIRA, etc).
  • What kind of project methodology are you using for your team?
    • Are you using a agile scrum type method? Maybe agile kanban? Whatever method you're using, make sure that the PM software supports it.
These are just some of the things that I personally think of when looking. What are some of the thoughts that you think of when choosing a program?
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2 comments:

  1. UnknownFebruary 20, 2014 at 5:00 AM

    Hey Alvin, great blog so far! It's great to see someone typing about the 'hows' and 'whys' of being a producer. I have a few questions to keep the info pumping:
    -If you were going address a group of games students (or someone who hasn't been in the industry before), I can imagine that they probably won't know the importance of working with a producer and PM software. What would you recommend to those students in order for them to get a good taste of how important a producer role is?
    -Have you ever had trouble convincing someone of this? You, for example, are starting work at a new company. The team there might possibly have been working with a certain workflow and team methodology for a while. What would you do if you realized they could be managed better (even though a project is underway OR they're possibly stubborn).
    -Are there any functions of popular PM software that you wish people incorporated into the design? Have you ever thought of designing one yourself to boast your innovative ideas?

    Cheers mate, Sam B.

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    Replies
    1. UnknownMarch 9, 2014 at 6:28 PM

      So Sam, to answer a couple of your questions:

      - In order to explain a Producer's role, you'd need to understand how managing a game works. Essentially, the producers main job is to get the game out in time. But, in addition to that, a producer needs to make sure that the team has all of the tools needed to get their job done efficiently. This means, if they need a new tool, or there is a task that is too menial for them to do, it's up to you to make sure that this "issues" are fixed. When I was working on Alpha Protocol, I made sure to take as many small tasks off the animation team to make sure that they were just focusing on making amazing animations.

      - Teams hate managing their time. They just want to take as long as possible to make the items that they have been tasked to do. SO, it's important to sell the item to them. Sometimes, though, they (as the team) or you (as the producer) get a choice, so it's important to explain to them why you have to use a particular software. It could be lots of reasons. Sometimes, publishers have a specific software that they use for all their projects, or it's a software that the whole company uses. But, in every case, make sure your team at least understands the reasoning behind everything.

      - SO, there are lots. The biggest thing for me, though, is to have a program that the team really gets behind, and also gives the management what they need to understand where the project is going, as well as any issues that could be coming up in the near future. I don't think i've found one that has satisfied both.

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