The role of the project manager in the design team is usually clear. In the traditional development, the PM handles the communication with the client, owns the project plan, controls and commands the team to accomplish tasks — in a nutshell, project management “balances the issues of both technology and organization, to gain the maximum out of the development”. (Uikey, Suman 2012).
Working closely with many project managers over my design career, I have developer my way of effectively co–handling the team, allocating jobs, and communicating with the client. The project manager would always stay close to me, ensuring the team is getting their job done on a granular level of completing tasks — however, the PM would never intrude the design work, disrupt the routine, or bring up creative suggestions.
I have, unfortunately, never worked with a design producer, nor have I come across anyone with a title. The Design Producer is not someone who owns the task list — it is “a steady force, who knows how to keep a team safe in uncharted territory” (Zid 2018). In short, the producer works closely with the design team, focusing on getting the best work done. Having a strong producer means having an empowering force that drives the project — precisely what I have been missing for a long time, not letting anyone outside the design team influence our creative decisions.
Being in charge of a design team revamping a massive public website, I am now planning to review my way of collaborating with our Project Manager, involve him in more creative decisions, and allow him to act as the ruling force over the process — not only from the project, but from the team perspective.
Getting ready to kick off the sprint this week, I am asking myself: am I ready to become my own producer?
References:
UIKEY, Nitin and Ugrasen SUMAN. 2012. ‘An Empirical Study to Design an Effective Agile Project Management Framework’. ACM International Conference Proceeding Series, 3 September 2012, 385–90.
ZID, Linda. 2018. ‘Why Successful Teams Need Producers, Not Just Project Managers’. 2018. Hightail Blog [online]. Available at: https://blog.hightail.com/successful-teams-need-producers-just-project-managers/ [accessed 14 Oct 2021].