Good project managers are a desired commodity.  Great project managers will have companies lining up and bidding for them like crazy.  The Visual Effects, Video game, and Architectural Visualization industries are all very creative based industries, and they all seem to suffer from poor project management.  I am speaking generally of course, there are always exceptions, but why does it seem that creative industries suffer a bit more from poor project management?  I believe that as a whole, visually creative people tend to have less success with managing their projects.  Let’s look at three basic things that  for better project management.

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1 – Good and Consistent Communication

All projects need communication in order to be completed.  A good project manager will keep both the client and the artists working on the project up to date with its status.  By consistently communicating status updates, daily, weekly, whatever your project requires, it is easier to spot any possible problem areas for meeting set deadlines and goals.  Communication is the foundation of good project management.  As a freelance artist it is especially crucial keep consistent communication with your client to keep them engaged and understanding the current progress.

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2 – Setting and Managing Expectations

Each project will have different goals associated with it, and it is vital that everyone involved with the project have a clear understanding of what those goals are.  From the start, a good project manager will issue a well written document setting the expectations for what will be required from their team, as well as what the client should expect.  This also allows time to set a timeline and explain why certain tasks take longer for the team to complete.  With these conversations early in a project, and continued consistent communication there are less surprises between the production team and the client.  In the VFX and game world the client can be your developer or perhaps the film director.

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3 – Involving Your Team Only as Needed

To try and maximize your teams ability to maintain focus and productivity(link) a good project manager knows how to protect their team from outside distractions.  The best creative work is done when artists are in the zone and one of the more frustrating aspects of working can be to finally get in the zone, only to have it interrupted for something either unimportant, or that could have waited or even been answered by the project manager.  This also includes the client.  The client should get status updates from the project manager so that they do not distract the artists with untimely questions or critiques.

You can see from these three tips that  communication is very important   A project manager must be constantly communicating and listening to their team in order to produce the best product, on time and on budget.
What is it that makes great project managers great, however is a different series of traits.  99u had a great list of 10 characteristics of great project managers, and my particular favorite was number seven.

“7. Possess domain expertise in project management as applied to a particular field.

It’s not just that they (great project managers) have generic project management skills; they have a deep familiarity with one or multiple fields that gives them a natural authority and solid strategic insight.”

A project manager is at their best when they have a solid understanding of the work that their team is producing.  They are able to schedule more accurately, as well as the team will respect them more, and respect any input provided by the project manager.

Whether at a large company or running your own freelance business, project management is always necessary, and if done right can be a positive influence on work.  Individuals can take simple steps like using excel spreadsheets to keep projects on track and ensure their completion.  Is project management important? Yes.  In the IT community over 50% of IT projects fail as a direct result of poor project management.  Yes IT is different than 3D graphics, and VFX but they both involve technology that is evolving very quickly and good management of all the factors can help ensure that the projects are done at the highest quality possible within the budget and time frame.