Ella Romanos is the Chief Operating Officer of Fundamentally Games, who has been working in the gaming industry for 13 years. Based on her experience in managing teams and projects, she identified five things that help her to be a good and effective producer.The original material was published on the Gamesindustry website.
biz — below are the key points from it.
1. Take the organization to a new levelElla notes that there is no one-size-fits-all solution.
However, it has its own set of tools that help in organizing the workflow:
- a personal to-do list, where she tries to enter no more than three items a day;a to-do list for each project that helps her keep track of key tasks;
- organization of emails.
- Romanos advises to reset the counter of unread incoming messages at least once a week;reminders about tasks that are assigned to others.
- To do this, Romanos uses TaskOnBot in Slack.Romanos calls the to-do list one of the most important tools.
It is needed in order to free your brain from unnecessary information, and not just to organize tasks for every day. At the same time, it is important not to get confused in your list — otherwise it is better to abandon it altogether.
In addition, Romanos also advises to have a separate list for the “dump” of tasks. It can be replenished during the day, after which you can view and select items that can be moved to the list of important things.
2. Ask stupid questionsAccording to Ella, the ability to ask stupid questions is the key to becoming an effective producer.
This point is especially important for novice specialists, who often hesitate to clarify incomprehensible points.
The absence of such questions leads to misunderstandings, worsens communication and can negatively affect the entire project. Romanos herself always tries to ask again in cases when she is not familiar with the subject of discussion or does not understand it well.
3. Track the decisions madeThis is a key part of any producer’s job.
Dozens of decisions are made during development, which may initially seem insignificant. At the same time, each of them can affect the process — both in a positive and negative way.
Romanos advises taking notes during all meetings and meetings to keep track of development progress. This will help to justify the decisions made and convey them to every manager they may affect.
In his team, Romanos uses Cloverpop in Slack for this. This application allows you to add new details to the list of decisions made and easily notify the necessary employees about them.
4. The ability to simplify complex thingsElla Romanos admits that it took her years to learn how to turn complex tasks into easily digestible information.
However, this skill is critically important for a producer, because it allows you to decompose even the most complex project into its component parts and convey them to each member of the team.
Romanos has some tips for this:
- create templates and structure tasks. This not only saves time, but also simplifies communication and helps team members understand each other better.;always ask if you have explained everything correctly and allow people to ask you stupid questions.;
- think systematically when implementing new processes: if team members know the context of all elements of a particular task, it will be easier for them to understand it.
- 5. Understand the required level of detail
Romanos notes that every team and every project is different from each other.
That is why it is impossible to find a universal solution for production management.
For example, some team members prefer a more practical approach to task management, while others like to get more freedom. Some clients and managers require more reports than others. The same applies to projects, some of which require a more detailed approach due to the high risks.
The producer must take into account all these factors and, according to Romanos, answer the question: what level of detail is required for the most optimal project management?