When starting this project, and having learnt from the last one, I knew it was paramount to set up a structure from the beginning that allowed clear project and time management. The first meeting was important as it required admin tasks and would influence future meetings and tasks. One of the first things we did as a group was assign roles based on the project and what was involved. We did this so we could have a project leader from the beginning that dealt with communications to the client. This made it easy for us to get started with research and I think added an element of professionalism which was important considering we were working with a real client. We also decided to have a different session leader for each meeting. This eased the workload of the project leader and ensured our meetings were coherent. I was responsible for leading the first meeting so I set up an agenda that outlined what needed to be accomplished. This proved to be very effective and was continued for every subsequent meeting.

During the first meeting, one of the first things we did was to set up a Trello board. This gave us a platform to organise, delegate and visualise tasks to do. We adopted the Kanban method to use within Trello because it made it easier to see who was working on a task. This simplified the process of delegating work and minimised the need to waste time sorting out who is working on a task. Trello was very efficient as an organisation tool and I am glad we started using it from the beginning of the project.

As well as Trello, we also made a private Miro board. This was a great collaborative tool that we used regularly to easily share ideas. The first meeting included curating a single project proposal, assigning job roles and establishing some questions to ask our client for the next meeting. These tasks were all carried out in Miro and followed the agenda that was previously created. Moving forward, the Miro board naturally took on a timeline format, where every meeting would be laid out to the right-hand side of the last meeting. This was not decided by anyone in particular, but made it easy to go back and refer to previous meetings. I’m glad the Miro board took this organised format as it saved a lot of time when looking for information.

During the first meeting we made a preliminary Gantt chart. This outlined the key dates of the project and allowed us to visualise the process we had to follow. Although it was basic at first, it was useful during the research stage of the project. A couple of weeks in however, we concluded that a more comprehensive Gantt chart would be useful. The new chart was made roughly half way through the project and not only allowed us to see what had to get done before the final pitch, but also documented who had worked on previous tasks and for how long. This chart was made in Trello due to its task delegation functionality. Due to the use of Gantt charts, we adopted the waterfall approach to project management. We decided to use waterfall methodology because it suited the time frames we were working to as we mostly had a different agenda and set of tasks each week. Working to a deadline meant we had tasks to stick to and needed to ensure they were complete before client meetings.

Our plans did change throughout the process and the meetings with the client were really informative, sometimes changing our weekly tasks. To manage changes and setbacks we had private video calls where we could personally discuss project matters and we also used a private group chat to ask quick questions. If I could do something differently within the project, I would not use the group messaging service and instead use Trello. Group messaging via Teams did not cause any problems but using Trello would have kept all organisational matters in one place.

From the start, I knew I wanted to focus my efforts on the group project and work on my portfolio later on in the term. This is because I wanted to wait until I had some guidance and tutoring on graphic design before I made a start. This also allowed me to spend a good few weeks focused on the group project without distraction. When it came time to start my portfolio, I had to implement a time management routine and make sure both projects were getting the time they needed.

To structure our meetings we elected a chair person, minutes and decided an agenda for each meeting. We did this to structure the meetings and and ensure what was concluded from the meetings was documented appropriately. As elected chair person for the first week, I had to make sure the meeting was relevant throughout and that we were keeping to our time limit guide. I enjoyed being the chair person which made me think I wouldn’t mind taking a managerial job one day. I tried to keep everyone on track and direct the meeting but I also let people speak their mind and finish making points. Although the step from chair person to manager is quite a leap, it has opened up the possibility for me.

In terms of time management, one thing we did early on was a Gantt chart. This was only a preliminary solution but allowed me to quickly see what I had to get done and how long I had to do it. We thought using a Gantt chart was the best time management tool because it was easy to read, accessible for all team members and modifiable. This also helped with the collaboration of our group because we could use each others research to guide our own research direction. I undertook UX research and managed to get it done in time and make it relevant to our project.

Some other tools that we used to help us manage the project include Miro, Trello, Teams, group chats and video calls. I think being able to talk to my team on a video call was very beneficial as it has that personal quality that means we can all contribute our feelings and schedules at the same time, quickly and easily. Personally, to manage my own time and projects, I found keeping a note pad and writing things down helped a lot, just writing something down on paper may seem basic but it helped me remember project information and freed up my mind for other ideas. Miro also helped with this as we used it as a virtual sketchbook for our ideas due to its collaborative nature and tools available.

Communicating with my team was something that was always ongoing. We had a group chat that we can use to post our thoughts, questions and ideas but we also used video calls frequently. We would make sure to video call at least twice a week. As well as this, we used Trello to help us organise our time. Trello was used quite a lot but I think we had too many platforms of communication to keep up with and it got confusing at times. Maybe not using one of the collaboration apps would be beneficial in the long term as it would be easier to keep track of work. Living in the same house as two of my team members made it very easy to track hours worked and personal direction but it did require a different approach. For example, when we were doing the 635 method to create ideas, we could all be in the same room but I had to use an agile approach to my ideas as they would be built on very quickly by other group members. Being in the same house also helped with design sprints and ideating but the other two members did not benefit from this arrangement. To try to combat this, we used the Kanban approach and video called a lot during the ideation process. The Kanban board on Miro made it easier to stay on the same page and trach each others work loads.