Project management is a business function that can be applied in a variety of ways. In my previous blog highlighting the benefits of project management, I discuss how its function goes beyond simply meeting project requirements. When it comes to website development, we encourage the collaboration of what I call, “program-based” project managers and “web-based” project managers.
While both project management roles have interaction with their client, the web-based project manager focuses on the timeliness and execution of the web development project itself; whereas, the program-based project manager focuses on the contributions of the wider-program workstreams to the web work at hand.
While not revolutionary, this web project management collaboration warrants a discussion around the various advantages to both the web team and the success of the project plan, whether it be a website refresh or complete rebuild.
An Agile Project Team
Multiple project managers communicating about web work is more efficient than one person trying to keep track of a bunch of moving parts. Each project manager owns certain responsibilities and collaborates with other managers regularly to discuss progress and what else needs to happen to keep the overall project on track. The web project manager focuses on the development and communication of the progress to the client. In turn, the program-based project manager ensures any information the wider-program workflow needs is collected in a timely manner and packaged in a useful way for a web designer or developer. This collaboration allows each project manager to pay closer attention to detail on their respective focus areas and avoids overwhelming a single person in bringing all the moving parts together. Additionally, both project managers hold each other accountable for their work, which is crucial in executing any project.
Quality Assured
When working on a task or project consistently over long periods of time, it can be hard to see areas of improvement, which is true for any type of work. To avoid the folly of being too close to one’s work, a collaboration of project management can and should be leveraged. While the web team possesses their own quality assurance (QA) process, bringing in someone new to the work can make the process even better. The program-based project manager may bring a new perspective to the web design project and can help coordinate wider-program team members to QA in a timely fashion if applicable. This project management process ensures what is presented to the client is in a great place and may also mean less revisions down the line.
Integrated Strategy
While efficient and quality work is certainly important, it is also beneficial look at the project management plan as a whole rather than considering workstreams as independent functions. For our web clients, it is crucial that their main marketing tool (i.e. their website) reflects their overall strategy. Every piece of page body copy written, every blog drafted, search engine optimizations implemented, and paid media ad run — all should support the client’s digital strategy. When managing projects, it’s easy to look at a large website project and focus on the developmental pieces. However, it is important to ensure that everything going into the project is well thought-out. Various moving pieces can be a lot for one person to own. Collaborating with other project managers ensures no detail is missed and that a cohesive strategy is carried through all executed projects.
While advantages to collaborative website project management seem obvious, this may not be the case for everyone. Ultimately, it comes down to what your business can support. Not everyone will have a need for this type of project management system. However, if you are in a position to support a variety of digital offerings, along with website work, collaboration can make all the difference. This project management solution not only allows for your brand and key stakeholders to get information from all sides, but also elevates the quality of your deliverable and shortens the time in which it can be accomplished.
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