Project manager

As we work simultaneously with several projects, it's crucial to have someone who leads each one and makes sure the goals are achieved.

A project manager supervises and coordinates all tasks and members of the team.  They are ultimately responsible for production, coordination and communication with the client. They have to schedule meetings with the client to keep them informed about the status and progress of the project.

A project manager is responsible for:

• Creating the Notion project team space.
• Completing the project documentation (teams, roadmap, goals…) and granting access to the client.
• Creating the project on Figma.

Project Management

Even though there is a hierarchy in the studio, we try to make it slightly vague. Everyone who is involved in a project is in contact, to an extent, with the client. Transparency and transversality are two of the key points of our approach.

Although the organisation of the project is the responsibility of the project manager, it’s very important that everyone involved takes part in managing the project. Responsibility is shared when tasks are marked as completed or notes are taken on all decisions so as not to lose any information. To coordinate the project and its tasks, we use Notion. Notion allows us to document, organise and monitor the work. On Notion we can see the roadmap and the tasks that must be completed, and also access all the information needed to carry out these tasks.

You can learn more about Notion here.

Once the lead designer has completed all the initial information of a project (stated previously) the designer will go ahead and document all those workspaces, tasks and meetings.

What is my duty as a Lead Designer?

• Complete all the project information (teams, estimated starting and finishing date, roadmap…).
• Delete callouts.
• Delete irrelevant workspaces.
• Complete the Kanban with the project tasks.
• Complete the roadmap with the project tasks.
• During meetings, take notes on the next steps needed.
• Check regularly to ensure information is updated.

What’s my duty as a Designer?

• Document assigned tasks.
• Take notes in the meetings you attend.

Time Management

Project Kickoff

The start of a project happens during a kickoff meeting with the client’s team, the project manager and all mendesaltaren members who will be working on the project.

These meetings are led by the Lead Product Designer[CSR3] and minutes will always be taken, preferably by someone who isn’t leading the meeting. At the end of the minutes there must always be a conclusion and “next steps” section.

In the kickoff we always go over the following points:

• Introduction of both teams.
• Establishment of the business goal we want to achieve so that everyone is on the same page.
• Presentation of work methods and communication channels.
• Overview of the work roadmap.
• Questions (if there are any) about the client’s briefing.
• Next steps.

Weekly Sprints

As we work with weekly sprints, we usually share our progress with the client on a weekly basis. The regularity can vary depending on the client or the project’s needs. It’s very important to clearly define the aim of a meeting or presentation, as well as being direct and getting straight to the point once the meeting begins, so as to avoid the “design by committee” issue or waste our colleagues and stakeholders’ time.

Normally, after a quick check-in with the client, we will report on any feedback and quickly set the meeting in motion.

Relevant Assets

Projects

Kick off

Project Set-up

The actions to be taken for a project initiation are:

• Creating the project on Notion.
• Separating the agreed roadmap into specific goals.
• Preparing the kickoff and scheduling it.
• Creating the channels and inviting the client to join them.
• Establishing goals.
• Collecting all the information needed to be shared at an internal level as well as with the client.
• Collecting all the information and adding it into the project Notion.

Creating the Project on Notion

The project on Notion will be created once the proposal has been accepted. It will contain all the information that has been collected during the presale, meaning:

• A screenshot of the roadmap on the relevant section of the template.
• Setting objectives/services.
• Estimated starting and finishing date.
• Client information (name, position, email…).
• Any other relevant outcomes from the presale.

Once the project has started, the Lead Designer will be in charge of completing the rest of the information, as well as splitting up the roadmap and adding it to Key Tasks.

The Key Tasks template can be found in the project template.