For some reason the rigorous documentation practices that drive software development have not migrated to the creative space. The ability to write down your expectations, audience desires, and overall strategy is critical to ensuring success.
A lot of professional design firms that I worked with as a Fortune 500 marketing manager didn't even have a standardized project management process. This was very scary. To think that you're spending thousands if not hundreds of thousands or millions on an agency that just "wags" it scared me to death.
Trust me; I know how hard it is to get senior executives to give good direction on projects. They like to be elusive and provide vague instructions on what they want. They believe that it "empowers" their staff. For a lot of people, documentation freaks them out. They are not comfortable seeing everything on paper without any wiggle room. Most clients know that the unexpected will happen (budgets change, timelines decrease, management overhauls, etc...). When everything is written in stone, no one is sure how to handle these changes.
I've written about it before (here, here, and here). Documentation is your savior. It allows both client and agency to be on the same page concerning deliverables, strategy, timeframe, and budget. It's not fun or glamorous; but it's the #1 way to ensure that your projects meet and/or exceed all expectations. And that's the #1 driver of customer satisfaction.
technorati tags > marketing, process, collateral, project management, documentation, budget, timeframe, strategy, audience, creative brief
A lot of professional design firms that I worked with as a Fortune 500 marketing manager didn't even have a standardized project management process. This was very scary. To think that you're spending thousands if not hundreds of thousands or millions on an agency that just "wags" it scared me to death.
Trust me; I know how hard it is to get senior executives to give good direction on projects. They like to be elusive and provide vague instructions on what they want. They believe that it "empowers" their staff. For a lot of people, documentation freaks them out. They are not comfortable seeing everything on paper without any wiggle room. Most clients know that the unexpected will happen (budgets change, timelines decrease, management overhauls, etc...). When everything is written in stone, no one is sure how to handle these changes.
I've written about it before (here, here, and here). Documentation is your savior. It allows both client and agency to be on the same page concerning deliverables, strategy, timeframe, and budget. It's not fun or glamorous; but it's the #1 way to ensure that your projects meet and/or exceed all expectations. And that's the #1 driver of customer satisfaction.
technorati tags > marketing, process, collateral, project management, documentation, budget, timeframe, strategy, audience, creative brief
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Nice post, full from some important point and defines importance of documentation.