You can yell at the cows, or you can pave the cow paths.
Zeldman
Last month I was lucky enough to attend the DPM summit in Philadelphia, PA.
“The inaugural Digital PM Summit was a big hit. Held in Philadelphia in the fall of 2013, the event was created to celebrate and foster a growing community of people who manage all things digital.”
I took away so many important ideas/lessons/connections/notes/ and ah-ha moments that I’m sure will have an impact on the way we work here at Plank.
But in the meantime, here’s one thing from each talk I saw that resonated with me from Day 1 (Day 2 coming up next week).
Jeffrey Zeldman
The Ten Commandments of Web Design
Jeffrey talked about user experience and trying to reconcile the design vision for a website with what users want.
Take away:
“You can yell at the cows, or you can pave the cow paths.”
Jared Ponchot
Designing on Purpose: Design Process & Deliverables in the Responsive Age
Jared talked about the idea of finding the best lightweight deliverables. How much documentation and planning is the right amount?
Take away:
“Create lighter weight, living deliverables.”
Brett Harned
Brett’s talk on being a better project manager was so good I have to include two highlights:
Take aways:
“When setting up project postmortem’s — make it a two-step process — one quick session to list out good and bad, then a bigger, moderated discussion.”
Improve your core competencies — (in my case note taking skills). Continue improving! Set reminders and practice!
Adam Edgerton
Retain Your PMs: Preventing Pitfalls
Adam outlined part of the workflow at MetalToad, where he’s director of project management:
Take away:
Think about moving from a maintenance/support model to a dedicated “support group” team.
Dave Prior
Dave ran down the benefits of an Agile/SCRUM methodology. Something we touch on at Plank every now and then. The one thing he did say which really struck me was:
Take away:
“As a PM, I practice “Servant Leadership” — I do whatever you guys need me to do.”
Whitney Hess
Outside In: Can Independents Be Managed?
Whitney moderated an excellent discussion on the topic of using contractors/freelancers and consultants.
Take away:
“Never forget the ‘contract’ in contractor”
Meghan Wilker & Nancy Lyons
Embracing Chaos: An Interactive Project Management Survival Guide
Meghan and Nancy gave us some great practical advice.
Take away:
“Project management is like air quality. If you can see it, it’s probably killing you.”
